Although there’s nothing to talk about. The second she’d told me what happened after the masked ball she went to in college, my mind was made up. There’s no way I’m going to force her to attend something that will trigger too many horrible memories.
Expelling a breath, I return to her, propping my head in my hand as I trace a circle on the smooth flesh of her hip with the other one. “What is it?”
Her dark eyes shine in the dim lighting of the room, a thousand emotions swirling within. Every time I look at her, I find something new. Like the tiny flecks of gold in her eyes as she admires me. Like the adorable smattering of freckles below her ear that only those lucky enough to kiss her there can see. Like the vein in her forehead that becomes more noticeable whenever she has something important to say.
Like it is now.
“I don’t want you to have to sacrifice anything to be with me.”
“I’m not sacrificing anything.”
“You’re sacrificing your relationship with your mother,” she reminds me.
“I don’t care about that. If you’re trying to get rid of me, you need better material than my mother’s approval.”
A shadow of a smile plays on her lips, but it vanishes just as quickly as it appeared. She’s about to respond with yet another argument, but before she can, I press my mouth to hers, silencing any further protest.
“You can list every reason under the sun, and I’ll tell you the same thing every time. I don’t care. Don’t care what my mother thinks. Don’t care that we come from two different worlds. Don’t care that this relationship won’t always be easy. Because for every reason you can come up with for why we shouldn’t be together, there’s one even more important reason we should.”
“And what’s that?”
“That I love you. That I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy, no questions asked. That’s why missing the ball wasn’t a difficult decision. Hell, it wasn’t even a decision.”
“You would really do that for me? Miss this huge fundraiser? I know how important your charity work is to you.”
“But you’re more important,” I assure her, cupping her cheek. “When I was with Brooklyn, I lost sight of what was important. I tried to do it all. Run the firm. Raise funds for the charity. Be the man she deserved. But along the way, I stopped focusing on her. Instead, every decision I made was with the business in mind. Not her. Not her well-being. Not what she needed or deserved. I won’t do that with you. I won’t allow a single day to go by where you have to question my devotion to you.”
“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve you, but I’m not going to question it anymore.” She crushes her lips to mine, her grip on me tightening as she hooks a leg over my waist. When I feel her warmth against me, I groan, hardening beneath her. “But I have one request,” she says after tearing out of our kiss.
“That I give you an orgasm nightly? No problem.”
She rolls her eyes. “Is sex all you think about?”
“Not all. But on a daily basis, sex is on my mind at least twenty-three hours of the day.”
“Perv.” She playfully swats me as I squeeze her ass. “But seriously. One request.”
“Whatever it is, it’s yours.”
“Okay. Go to the New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball.”
“I already told you. I’m not spending New Year’s Eve away from you. There’s no way in hell I’m going to be anywhere you’re not at midnight.”
She runs a hand along my torso. “And you won’t be. I’ll be there with you.”
I narrow my gaze on her. “Londyn, I appreciate the gesture more than you can imagine, but you’re my priority. As is your emotional well-being.” I shake my head, my brows furrowed. “Do you really want to do this?”
She swallows hard. “I won’t lie and say the mere thought doesn’t make me anxious. But if there’s anyone who can help me through this, it’s you.” She treats me to a ghost of a kiss, which only makes me want more of her. “You’ve already helped me face so many of my fears. And because of that, I’m stronger. Because of you, I’m stronger. So I want to do this. I want to wear a ridiculously extravagant gown with an equally extravagant mask. I want my mouth to grow dry when I see you in your tux for the first