Jess started crying. Cal sucked in a breath.
I just clung to Sully, drowning in the oceans in his eyes and the absolute treasure I found there.
“I don’t know what the traditional vows are. I have no idea what I’m supposed to say to you to make this official, but—” He cleared his throat, giving me a sexy grimace. “I love you, Eleanor. I love you so much, but I know it’s merely a fraction of how much I’ll love you as we grow old together. There is still so much to learn, so many habits to uncover, so many quirks and ideals to share. As we get to know each other, I’m afraid of how deeply I’ll fall in love with you. There is no one else. There never was and never will be. You are my one and only, and that is my oath to you. Accept me, and you accept my drive to keep you safe. Love me, and you agree to be loved every day I am alive and beyond. Marry me, and you are mine forever. You are not only my friend and lover but you are my conscience, too. I promise to always listen to you. I promise I won’t go too far. I trust you to indulge me when I’m overbearing and trust you have the temper to put me in my place when I need it. I trust you, Eleanor, with everything that I am.”
He confessed to a level of devotion that any girl could ever dream of, and he delivered it elegantly and threateningly. His eyes glowed with domination all while his face softened with reverence.
The longer we stood bound together, the more his troth made my heart race to be alone, to touch him and confirm that this was real. This wasn’t a falsity or a fantasy. My reality had become euphoric without any need for tricks.
The celebrant coughed behind his hand. “If that’s all, Mr. Sinclair? Perhaps, Ms. Grace would like to say a few words.”
Sully shot him a scowl but smiled guiltily at me. “Sorry if I went a bit dramatic.” He cupped my cheek and ran his fingers through my loose hair, unable to stop himself from tugging a little and shooting shards of electricity down my spine.
I gasped as my inner muscles clenched.
Our proximity crackled with passion. The constant hum that always ignited between us had created its own force field, sizzling and thirsty with sparkling wattage, ensuring I would never stop wanting this man. “It wasn’t dramatic,” I whispered. “It was perfect. I don’t have anything nearly as wonderful to say. You’ve wowed me.”
Tucking wayward strands behind my ear, sending another lick of yearning through my belly, he murmured, “You don’t have to say a thing for it to be perfect. You’re perfect.” He smirked, showing hints of the elixir king who I’d first met. “But…it is your turn, Jinx, and I expect you to vow your life to me.”
I blushed.
We’d come so far from that first day. That first thorn of lust that’d pierced our skin, had wriggled into blood and bone, ensuring we were both infected with a lifetime of commitment.
Smiling, I sucked in a breath and pulled my fingers from his. My massive engagement ring glittered, refracting the sun’s spires of magenta, coming alive like a tiny fire upon my hand.
It did what Sully intended. It marked me better than any tattoo or brand. It bound me to his heart and his islands, and I would never take it off.
Exhaling my worry that I’d stumble over words or make a mess of my declaration, I spread Sully’s long, handsome fingers and slipped the masculine wedding band over his knuckle.
As it slid into place, something clicked open inside me.
A key to a place within that I didn’t even know existed. From that place came a warm river of knowledge that this was right, this was exactly as it should be. They’d been many moments of premonition while living in this fantastical world and fighting off hallucination horrors. Seer-like visions when Sully was hurt, about to be, or that he would derail my life far worse than I feared.
And this one? It granted a flash-forward into the future as well as a rewind to the past, and I stood in the crosshairs of so many decisions and destinations all forking out like a thousand needles on a compass. There were so many journeys I could’ve taken, so many people I could’ve met, so many adventures I could’ve chased, yet…none of those would’ve been right.
Yes, I could’ve had a good life. And yes, I could’ve been happy, but only because I wouldn’t have known the absolute joy of finding the one.
Sully was the one.
No question or doubt.
He was the reason I’d been birthed at this exact time in history because there was more than just serendipitous chance that’d brought us together but a lifetime of reincarnation and unknown attempts to find each other.