“I’m serious, Quint. We need to be sensible.”
“Whatever you say.”
“What?” She’d never been more shocked. He always made his case then hammered it into the ground.
He smiled. “I’m trying to learn a new skill set here, something Tina told me I sucked at.”
“Namely?” She narrowed her gaze.
“How to talk to a woman for one thing. But more importantly, how to talk to the woman I love so that she keeps understanding just how much I love her.” A frown appeared, deepening his serious expression. “I’ve never been in a relationship before, so you’ll need to be patient with me, but like hell I’m going to make the same mistake twice. The most important thing to me is that you’re in my life, that you marry me, that we build a life of our own together.
“I know that means changes in my life, lots of changes. But whether we do this with pre-nups or not is immaterial to me.”
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him again. He responded in kind, holding her close, until he drew back and said, “Carly, whatever you need in this situation, name it, it’s yours.”
She pulled away from him, then slid her hands down both his arms. Taking one of his hands in hers, she drew him in the direction of the Jeep and the small group waiting on them: Tina, Brad, and of course Quint’s lawyer. Renee had already taken the other tour back down the hill.
“Okay, but here’s where I’d like to begin, because if we don’t make this change right now, I’m pretty sure your lawyer is going to have a heart attack.”
Quint chuckled. “Again, whatever you say, however you want this to go.”
He squeezed her hand as they walked back in the direction of the Jeep, but halfway there he stopped her again, took her in his arms, and kissed her. When he released her he looked into her eyes and after a long moment smiled. “I never thought I’d have so much and now you’re here.”
“Oh, Quint.” Her heart swelled at his words and she kissed him again, stopping only because they weren’t alone.
The trip down the hill became a dream as Carly looked deep into the future and smiled. She’d taken Quint up the mountain all those weeks ago where their journey together had started as a one-night-stand. But the journey had changed completely and miraculously. As she drove her jeep down the winding, dirt road, with Quint’s hand firmly on her thigh, she drove into a new future, full of promise and yes, all sorts of possibilities.
Caris Roane/Valerie King Bio
As of July 2013, and the publication of A SEDUCTIVE PROPOSITION, Caris Roane has published eleven paranormal novels and novellas and one contemporary romance. Writing as Valerie King, she has published fifty Regency works. In 2005, Romantic Times gave her a Career Achievement award in Regency Romance. As Caris Roane, she currently writes paranormal romance for St. Martin’s Press and is also self-publishing the continuing stories of her Guardians of Ascension series.
To learn more about Caris Roane/Valerie King, and to see her current releases, please visit her website:
www.carisroane.com
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Novels
Guardians of Ascension Series
ASCENSION
BURNING SKIES
WINGS OF FIRE
BORN OF ASHES
OBSIDIAN FLAME
GATES OF RAPTURE
Novellas
BRINK OF ETERNITY, Dawn of Ascension Series #1
THE DARKENING, Dawn of Ascension Series #2
EMBRACE THE DARK, Blood Rose Series #1
WICKED NIGHT, Amulet Trilogy #1
DARK NIGHT, Amulet Trilogy #2
Coming Soon!
RAPTURE’S EDGE, Dawn of Ascension Series #3
EMBRACE THE MAGIC, Blood Rose Series #2
BORN IN CHAINS, Men in Chains series #1