me out of doing anything to the stone, proclaiming the historical value of it was the most important thing, but she’d understood that I needed to do something. In the end, I’d compromised, though I know a hydraulic press would’ve obliterated it quite satisfyingly.
But now I have a large number of the uniquely beautiful stones, and Emma made me promise to keep them together and I agreed that was reasonable.
But it seems like tonight, before they’re housed in the piece I designed especially for her, we’re going to have a bit of fun among them.
If I were a better man, I’d tell her to go. I don’t deserve her, am still too broken and scarred inside, and she deserves more than I can give her. Not the luxuries my money can afford, because I can give her more than she’d ever want there. But emotionally, I’m still untested, unsure how to love, even if what I feel for Emma is all-consuming. She is all I need. I don’t want her to ever doubt, ever question, and I’ll do anything to be worthy of her.
Still, in my head, the good guy tries to save her from me, chanting go, go, go. But the selfish bastard is stronger, the echo louder . . . mine, mine, mine. And I know which voice I’m going to give in to.
She looks into my eyes and pleads. “Please, Nathan. I need you.”
She says it like she knows the battle raging in my head, my heart. Her eyes beseech me to believe her, to trust her love, to know that I’m enough. And in her eyes, I see what I could be, what I’m already becoming, and what I already am.
Hers.
And she is mine, the voice whispers again.
It’s my undoing, and I realize that I grew up in the wrong business. Gems are about perfection, about regimented structures that look strong but shatter when you strike them just right.
But people aren’t gems. We’re more like metals. Malleable, flexible, and if you blend them just right, you have something stronger and better than either one was before.
All you need is heat, and sometimes a hammer to forge it with.
“Spread your legs, kitty.”
My Emma smirks, letting me know that she’s ready to play, ready for me, for whatever I’m able to give her.
Today, tomorrow, and forever.
Epilogue
Emma - Two Years Later . . .
I lie back on the lush blanket on the deck of the boat, feeling the sun sink deliciously into my already tan skin. A small sound makes me open my eyes behind my dark sunglasses, and I look over, smiling.
Nathan is standing a few feet away, looking out to sea. He looks hot in his own small suit, his tan skin stark against the bright blue Mediterranean waters.
I’m tempted to crawl to him, climb to my knees, and take him into my mouth right here on deck.
There’s no one around for miles except for the skeleton crew below, but they’ve been well-compensated to stay away and be blind to anything that happens between Nathan and me.
But he sees the sparkle in my eyes when I slip my glasses up on top of my head. “Wife, you’d better get downstairs before I throw you over my shoulder.”
I tease, toying with the knot between the cups of my string bikini, grinning. “What if that’s what I want?”
Before I can even finish the words, he’s flipped me upside down and is carefully sprinting toward our cabin. It’s a large space considering it’s on a yacht, housing a king-sized bed, a seating area, and an intimate dining table we’ve yet to use since we chose to dine under the stars last night.
He tosses me on the bed and rips off his own sunglasses to toss them aside, as forgotten as mine that fell off somewhere on our trek downstairs. “You know you just have to say the word. I’ll give you anything you want.”
I smile and hold my arms out to him. “You, just you. That’s all I want.”
It’s the truth.
We’ve worked our way through the past few years together, learning and loving. Of course, he gave me an obnoxiously large diamond engagement ring almost immediately, saying he wanted to lock me down before I could change my mind.
That was never going to happen though. I love him and find his courage at battling through his past just to love me as sexy as his complete and utter dedication to our future.
Plus, he’s waited, albeit impatiently, for me to finish