Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 110089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
“What the fuck?” Justice mutters.
“Justice. Language,” Aura says, pressing her lips together.
I shake my head. “No. Wait a minute. Don’t change the subject.” My head starts spinning.
“What subject?” Jos asks innocently, smiling at Leo.
I can’t breathe.
Justice lowers his chin and glowers at them.
Mags is the first to break. “Oh, all right. The fifth player on the board? The one messing with everyone a little bit? That was us.”
“You three?” Justice growls out.
Aura smiles at him like he’s a prized pupil. “Of course, dear.”
I shake my head. How does this make sense? “Why?” It’s the only word that comes to mind.
Aura blushes.
Jos looks at her ice cream.
Mags winks at Fergus.
I wait. My chest hollows out because I’m not breathing, so I force my lungs to work. “Ladies?”
Aura’s eyelashes flutter. “Fine. That Wesley is a nice man, but you walked all over him. We figured you needed somebody …”
“Stronger,” Jos finishes for her.
“Much tougher,” Mags agrees, her gaze sliding over Justice.
Aura blows him a kiss. “You and Justice worked together to figure it out. Plus, not going to lie, we had a lot of fun messing with these so-powerful companies. For goodness’ sake.”
I gape. “You did all of that to matchmake Justice and me?”
“We’d do anything for you, sweetheart,” Aura assures me. “Getting him named bachelor of the year wasn’t easy, you know.”
He moves for her, and I hold up a hand. “Wait. You three offered to take him out for me.”
Justice’s chin goes down.
Aura chortles. “Yes, and you declined our offer. Of course.”
I can’t breathe. I stare at my man. “Before you get pissed, how in the world did you find me today at TimeGem?”
Justice strides right at me, graceful and unhurried, reaches for me, and lifts me to sit in his lap. He cradles me like I’m fragile, and the room shrinks to the space that exists between us. Everything inside me settles. I snuggle in, because why not? The guy rescued me again and, okay, I kind of love him.
“How?” I ask again.
“I’ll always find you.” He leans over and kisses me, and the three women sigh around us. What romantics. I bet he has a tracker in my jewelry. In fact, that makes perfect sense.
Aura clears her throat. “You owe me a rocket launcher.”
I jolt.
Justice pauses and then nods. “That, I do.”
I frown. He is not giving her another rocket launcher.
“Considering I’m surrounded by most of your family,” he says, smiling, “how about we just do this now?”
I blink. “Do what?”
“We’re going to get married.”
“Yay!” Mags chirps. Jos smiles into her ice cream. Aura claps, which is the least surprising reaction.
“I might even wear a dress,” Jos says, eyes bright.
Happiness engulfs me. “You’re supposed to ask.”
He looks at me. “I don’t think so. You’d try to weasel out of it.”
“I would not.” I grin.
“We’re getting married. Say the words, Ella.” His voice lowers and takes on that same command tone he used the other night. It slides across my skin and awakens something.
“Fine. We’re getting married, but we’re throwing a bash. I want a wedding fit for a princess.” I even have a tiara to wear.
“You’ve got it,” he says.
“I’m sure Alana will figure out a way to show the world,” Mags says.
Justice blinks. “Oh wait. I guess you’ll figure out a way to make TimeGem the key? I think it’s yours now. This is going to get complicated.”
“You like complicated,” I murmur. He must, right? Or he wouldn’t have just proposed.
“No, I don’t.” One of his dark eyebrows lifts. “That’s why I live in a house by myself in the middle of the woods.”
“Now with me and a dog,” I add. Well, until I run again. I’m sure he’ll catch me. It’ll be fun, though. I rub my palm along his whiskered jaw. “When we healed Alexei earlier? I figured out how to heal you. We just need to combine the right stones and energy.”
“Yours and mine,” he says softly.
Yeah. Exactly. “We can try later today.”
Aura clears her throat. “You know, we were talking to Ella about how Alexei’s built a guest house for Rosalie’s boarders. It was blown up.”
Justice’s voice goes short. “Yes.”
“You would never let anything like that happen, would you?” Mags asks softly.
“Of course not,” Justice says, and the answer is so automatic it makes the rest of us smile. “You’re saying you want a building on my property for you three to live in?”
Mags grins like she’s won something.
Aura folds her hands and speaks like it’s common sense. “Just think how much safer you’ll feel close to us instead of working from afar.”
Justice’s bronze skin pales a fraction—if that’s possible. I wrap a hand around his chin and kiss him once. He doesn’t soften, exactly, but I feel it in the way his jaw eases. “I’ll think about it,” he grumbles.
I take that as a yes. If a year ago someone had told me that Alana, Rosalie, and I would be engaged or married to some of the most dangerous men alive, I’d have laughed. I never thought I’d find love like this. I never thought there was love like this.