Read Dangerous (The Complete Erotic Romance Novel) Online
Authors: Ella Ardent
Dangerous (The Complete Erotic Romance Novel) (75 page)
“I’d fallen in love once and been wrong,” he admitted quietly, the heat in his voice telling her how much he meant it. “I didn’t trust my own judgment. Plus, I’d put you in danger. I thought I couldn’t live with that happening again.” He exhaled as she stared at him. “With you paying the price for being with me.”
“You could have asked me.”
“I should have.”
“But what’s done is done. Why are you standing here now?”
Reid smiled a little. “It’s been pointed out to me that it would definitely be worse to let the love of my life slip away than to try to make her happy.” He lifted a brow. “It might, in fact, be stupid.”
Kendra bit back a smile of astonishment. “Someone called you stupid?”
He grinned then. “And I knew he was right.” His smile faded and he took her hand. “Will you give us another chance, Kendra?” There was something he wasn’t telling her.
“Another contract,” she said and he nodded. “Why didn’t you take my call on Thursday?”
He winced. “I wasn’t sure I could talk to you without proposing, and I thought it would be less than ideal to propose on the phone.” The low timbre of his voice made her skin heat.
“Less than ideal,” she echoed.
He winced. “You’d tell our kids that I had no ability to be romantic, that I was all business all the time.”
Kendra smiled. “I will, unless you prove otherwise right now.” She eyed him and watched the warmth fill his gaze as he handed her the umbrella.
To her astonishment, Reid Stirling dropped to one knee in the muddy cemetery and took her hand in his. “You’re not the only one who can be surprising, Miss Jones,” he said, his voice low and his eyes gleaming.
Kendra found herself blushing. Her gaze danced past him to the last cluster of mourners to see Leon’s widow was watching them.
Reid took lifted her hand in his. “Kendra Jones, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife and partner in every way?”
She couldn’t let him have it
too
easy, even though the answer was obvious. Kendra leaned toward him, knowing her eyes were dancing. “Why should I do that, Reid Stirling?”
He smiled. “Because I love you, and I’m hoping that you love me.” Concern lit his eyes again, a tiny sign of uncertainty that made her heart pound. “What do you say, Kendra?”
“That there’s an opportunity to have my every dream come true. Somebody taught me not to let those kinds of chances pass me by.”
“Somebody?” He arched a brow.
“A very wise and sexy man. A man I love with all my heart.” Kendra gave his hand a tug and he rose to his feet, his pleasure clear. “I love you, Reid, and I accept.”
“Excellent,” he murmured, his hand sliding into her hair. Kendra shivered a little, knowing how much she had missed his touch. He pulled her close, and surveyed her with a smile. “Then I can finally have a kiss.”
“That and more,” Kendra whispered just before his lips brushed hers.
That and more, satisfaction and surprise for all the days and nights of their shared future. Commitment was the perfect bond, the one that would launch them on a new adventure that would last them the rest of their lives.
Reid’s mouth closed over hers, his kiss sweet and hot and demanding, just the way she always wanted it to be. Kendra twined her arms around his neck and kissed him back, meeting his expectation and demanding more.
Which was exactly how it would always be between them.
* * *
More Books by Ella Ardent
Submission
Surrender
Seduction
Deception
Exhibition
Exposure
Flashback
Switch
Celebration
The Best Man
Always A Bridesmaid
Forever Bound
Available in digital and print formats
The Plume: The First Anthology
(including Submission, Surrender and Seduction)
The Plume: The Second Anthology
(including Deception, Exhibition and Exposure)
The Plume: The Third Anthology
(including Flashback, Switch and Celebration)
The Wedding Anthology
(including The Best Man, Always a Bridesmaid and Forever Bound)
For more information about Ella’s books,
please visit her website at
* * *