He smiled at me. “I see.”
“Does this change your opinion of me?” I asked.
“Hardly,” he told me, a rogue smile playing on a mischievous face.
We stood there staring at one another.
“My mom told me everything,” he said.
“I’m sorry.”
“No. I’m sorry. For what she said. For what I said. I’m just…sorry.”
“What you did for me in court. That was…incredible. Thank you.”
“I’d have done it again and again if it meant freeing you.”
I smiled. We stood, staring again.
“Who was that guy at the courthouse?” he asked, his fists unwittingly tightening at his sides.
“That was Spencer.”
“Spencer. The Spencer who took you dancing that night?”
“Yes.”
“He’s in love with you, ya’ know.”
“No, I-”
“He is. I could see it,” he coolly replied, inching closer, “but that means nothing.”
“Oh?” I asked, one brow raised in question.
“Yes, because you belong to me, Price.” I opened my mouth to confirm what just that but he cut me off. “And before you argue with me,” he continued, grabbing me quickly and clutching me closely to his chest, sucking the very breath from mine.
He brought both hands up to my neck. I could feel the thumping of his heart against my own. “Would you like to know how I know this?”
I simply nodded, unable to speak.
“This,” he said before slamming his mouth on mine.
EPILOGUE
Ian tumbled atop me on the mattress, languidly kissing my shoulders and collarbone and then, as if he couldn’t wait, his lips trailed up my neck at a furious pace to my mouth . I smiled into his lips.
“It works better when the dress is off,” I teased him.
He sat up before dragging me off the bed and standing me in front of the mirror. “You know, I usually hate weddings but this one...,” he said, trailing off, brushing my hair to the side and over my shoulder.
“It wasn’t so shabby,” I completed the thought. “Plus, Ribbon Caye is beautiful this time of year.”
“Mm, hmm,” a distracted Ian replied, unzipping me from behind. “It was nice of your dad to donate it to Masego.”
“He’s really come around,” I said, thinking on how my father had changed.
He’d donated Ribbon Caye to us and it had become a way to provide a steady source of income as we rented it out regularly. He also agreed to a one-hundred-thousand dollar annual stipend. It allowed us to bring children into a safer environment as well as help us afford twenty-four hour armed guards, something he insisted upon, which surprised us. Within six months, my father had also completely rebuilt Masego. It was the finest home for children we’d ever encountered in Uganda, in Africa, really and could house more than two hundred children at once.