66. LUCAS

Angel’s body was relaxed against mine, but I could hear the erratic beat of her heart. For some reason, she was nervous to be alone with me and I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

The water was starting to cool but it didn’t look like Angel was cold yet.

Taking the cloth, I dripped water onto her chest, watching as the water droplets rolled down her chest. Nate’s mark was almost completely healed. My eyes traced her skin until I reached Mason’s mark.

Satisfaction filled me.

By tomorrow she would be carrying all three of our marks.

And hopefully my ring.

My stomach twisted with nerves.

What if I asked her and she said no? It wouldn’t actually matter because she was already mine. A ring was just to let everyone know that she belonged to us. One of these days when it was warm enough, I was going to make sure that Angel wore clothes that showed off our marks.

Everyone would be able to see it.

Angel shifted, snapping me back to the present.

Sitting up, she reached for the soap and lathered her hands. Her eyes locked with mine for a second for a few seconds before they dropped to my chest.

She straddled one thigh and scooted closer to press her hand to my chest.

I could feel the slight tremble of her body as she washed my chest and then my arms. Her hands lingered on mine, fingertips tracing the lines on my palm before they dropped away.

She did the same with my other hand and then scooted closer to press her hands to my chest again after lathering her hands with more soap. Her hands moved down my chest, fingers tracing my abs, and then moved lower.

I sucked in a sharp breath when her fingers wrapped around my cock.

It was not what I expected her to do.

“Angel…” I gripped her wrist to stop her from going any further. “This isn’t about me. I want to take care of you.”

“You have.” She frowned at me. “You’ve washed every inch of me. You even gave me a light massage. So now, let me take care of you.”

I tugged her against my chest and wrapped my arms around her. My head lowered to her neck. I breathed her in for a few seconds before I raised my head to stare down at her.

“You’re sore.”

Colour flooded her cheeks. “H-how do you know that?”

“You are my mate, little rabbit. It’s my job to take care of you and that includes knowing when you’re in pain.” I stroked her cheek. “I have a very important question I need to ask you.”

Curiosity darkened her eyes, but she remained silent and allowed me to take the lead.

I climbed out of the tub and grabbed a towel to wrap around my hips before I reached for another one. The moment Angel stepped out of the tub, I started drying her body and then wrapped the towel around her.

Swinging her into my arms, I carried her out of the bathroom towards the sitting area where I had set everything up earlier.

I took a seat with her on my lap and reached for the small box.

“Marry me, Angel.”

She reached up with a shaky hand and slowly opened the box. A gasp fell from her lips and her eyes widened as she stared at the ring.

“I asked Nate to get me your ring size,” I told her. “It’s not the same ring Arabella wore if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Angel shook her head as she pulled the ring out of the box.

“It was custom-made just for you.”

Still, she said nothing.

I was starting to regret not planning things more carefully. Should I have asked her over a candlelight dinner?

“It’s almost the same as the necklace you gave me,” she said softly.

I nodded. “It represents all three of us, so everyone knows that you don’t belong just to me, but to all of us.”

Taking the ring from her, I hesitated a second before I slid it onto her finger. She didn’t protest or take it off. Angel held her hand up and studied the ring.

“If you don’t like it, I can get you another one.”

Angel smiled at me. “It’s very beautiful,” she said softly. “It’s just big.”

I relaxed slightly. “I want everyone to know that you belong to us. During the colder months, they won’t be able to see our marks so the ring will have to do.”

“I would have been okay with a smaller ring.”

Chuckling, I raised her hand to my lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

“You didn’t say no.”

She finally looked at me. “I can’t exactly say no, can I? You already marked me, which is as good as a marriage, isn’t it?”

That was not what I expected her to say. Guilt flooded me when I remembered that I didn’t exactly give her a choice when I marked her. I marked her without asking her if I could.

“Angel I－”

“It’s not going to change anything,” she interrupted. “I have this cool moving dragon tattoo now.”

“I should have asked you first,” I muttered. “I should have talked to you about this, especially after how I treated you.”

My fingers slipped up to her wrist to trace the brand on her skin.

“What’s done is done, Lucas. We can’t exactly turn back time.”

“We can,” I said softly. “If we can find a witch strong enough to do.”

Her eyes darted over my face. She wasn’t smiling anymore but there was a strange emotion filling her eyes. Swallowing, she gripped my shoulder and turned to straddle my lap. Her hands slipped up to the back of my neck to play with the strands of hair at the nape of my neck.

“Do you regret it?” she asked softly. “Do you regret marking me?”

“I regret doing it the way I had,” I told her honestly. “Things between us…I tried my best to stay away from you due to my marriage with Arabella. I knew you were my mate the moment I laid eyes on you.”

“It’s the real reason you brought me.”

I nodded. “I didn’t want anyone else to take you. I thought that I would be able to keep you close and keep my distance from you. It was hell watching my brothers being able to touch you and kiss you the way I couldn’t.”

She remained silent.

“The more time I spent with you, the harder it was for me to stop myself from claiming you.” I paused. “And then they kidnapped you and the thought of losing you. I know I shouldn’t have talked to you first, but I couldn’t help myself. The beast took control and before I knew it, I had marked you.”

“It’s forever, right?”

“Yes.”

“I already belong to you then, don’t I?” Her eyes dropped to the ring. “Do I have to wear it all the time? I’m afraid I might lose it.”

I smiled. “If that happens then we can get you a new one.”

“That will cost a fortune!”

“I’m the king, little rabbit. I can afford it.”

She didn’t return my smile. “Is it going to be a big wedding?”

“You don’t want it to be?”

Angel licked her lips. For a moment her eyes darted away and then locked with mine again.

“Honestly, I never thought I would be getting married. I had given up hope of finding the perfect man a long time ago, so I never dreamed of my wedding.” Her teeth sank into her bottom lip. “It doesn’t have to be anything fancy but taking the fact that you’re the king into consideration…it’s going to be fancy, isn’t it?”

“Unfortunately.” I smiled at her. “I can arrange for us to have a small ceremony for now. Once things with our mother are taken care of, we will have to arrange a bigger wedding which will also be your coronation.”

Angel sighed. “I’ll take that deal. It will give me some time to get used to the idea of turning into a queen.”