Will You Marry Me?
Chapter Seventy Six
Bella’s POV
My heart burned with emotions. Fiercely. Erik had declared his love for me. Something I’d never considered a possibility.
This cruel man owned my heart, and I didn’t want it any other way. Erik ’s kiss was violent, harsh. Then he pulled back. “Marry me.”
I froze. It had been an order. Erik wasn’t a man who asked for anything. I leaned back against the wall slowly, searching his eyes.
He didn’t let me retreat. He kissed me again but gentler. “Marry me,Angel.”
It still wasn’t a question, but his voice wasn’t dominant anymore. It was soft, compelling, raw. “Become my Dragon Lady ?” I murmured against his lips. “Become Mrs Erik . Become mine.”
I smiled. “I have been yours for a long time.”
“Is that a yes?” he asked, his hand sliding over my outer thigh, stroking, distracting me.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Isabella Erik,” he murmured. “I like the sound of it.”
I smiled because this name sounded right, more right than Mancini ever had.
Was this love? Was this madness? I didn’t care. It was perfection eitherway.
I was inexplicably nervous when Erik told me he wanted to announce our wedding to his brothers and Nina the next day. We’d all gathered in the kitchen for breakfast, Jordan on Nina’s lap and Jemima on mine.
“You have a new wedding to look forward to,” Erik said without warning. Every pair of eyes darted from him then to me. My cheeks flushed. I wasn’t sure what Ades and Ibash thought of the situation. Youngest brother and Nina liked me, but the other two …
“Will we be allowed to kidnap someone? Or at least spill some blood? Since you sampled the goods before, bloody sheets won’t happen after all,” Ades drawled, grinning.
Erik reached over the table and hit him over the head. Ades only chuckled.
“Be careful I don’t spill your blood.”
Youngest brother smiled at me then rolled his eyes at Ades.Nina got up, handing Jordan to Erik so she could hug me. “I’m so happy.”
Ades and Ibash definitely didn’t look unhappy, but their reaction wasn’t as enthusiastic as Kiara’s or Youngest brother ’s, not that I had expected it to be.When Ades got up to take a call, I followed after him but waited until he was done before I approached him. He eyed me curiously when he noticed me. He didn’t look like a teenager anymore, especially now that he
was sporting stubble.
“Are we good?” I asked.
“If you’re talking about the soup incident, that’s forgotten. Trust me,most people want to do worse to me, especially women, so I’ve learned not to hold grudges.” He shrugged. “And we were the ones who held you captive, so you have more reason to be pissed.”
“True. But my family kidnapped your younger brother and almost killed your oldest, so I guess we’re even?”
Ades’s expression tightened briefly at the mention of my family and my own stomach churned painfully. “You are part of our family now. I don’t give a fuck about the past. Just make sure you don’t break Erik ’s fucking heart.”
“Do you think that’s a possibility?” I teased.
His dark brows drew together. “Before you, I’d have bet my balls against it. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if Erik had something resembling a heart.”
“He loves you.”
Ades looked away, obviously uncomfortable. “We are brothers. We’ll die for each other.”
I smiled.
“We should return,” Ades muttered. “I don’t want Erik to think we’re getting it on behind his back.”
I snorted. “Sorry, Ades, nothing against you, but you don’t stand a chance
.”
Ades gave me an arrogant smile. “You like what you see, admit it.” He sauntered back into the kitchen before I could shoot something back. But for some reason his insufferable ego was almost endearing. It reminded me a bit of NATHAn, which was consoling and painful at the same time.
After my conversation with Ades, I felt better. Now I only needed to straighten out things with Ibash . He and I had never really warmed up to each other, and I wasn’t sure if it was because Ibash didn’t like me or if it was because of his nature.
Erik leaned in when I sat down beside him. “Did he behave?”Ades rolled his eyes at his brother.
“He tried,” I said.
“That’s all I can hope for. Maybe they’ll try your patience as they do
mine.”
“Raising twins will teach you the patience of a saint. I doubt your brothers can test me.”
“We’ll see,” Ades said with a chuckle. “And don’t hold your breath.
Erik won’t reach sainthood anytime soon.”
“I don’t want him to be a saint,” I said, looking at Jordan and Erik , both watching me with those impossibly dark eyes.After breakfast, I asked Ibash if we could talk. We headed into the garden despite Erik ’s suspicious expression.
“Do you disapprove of our wedding?”
Ibash assessed me without a flicker of emotion.
“No. I never considered marriage an option for Erik , but that doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s a good thing. It was for me despite my own reluctance in regards to marriage.”
I nodded.
“You never seemed to like me much.”
“It was never a matter of dislike, Bella. You were our captive, the enemy, and I didn’t want Erik to lose himself in his game. I thought it wouldn’t work. But I was wrong. You saved him.”
“I couldn’t let my family kill him.”
Ibash shook his head. “That’s not what I mean.”
I waited, watching Ibash ’s profile as he stared off into the distance. “Erik and I, we are messed up in ways that can’t be fixed, not really.For someone to accept us despite what we are, it takes a lot of forgiveness and love. Our past ... it broke certain parts of us.”
“Erik never talks about the past.”
Ibash nodded. “He’ll tell you eventually. Give him time.”
“We have all our lives and I can’t believe that I’m getting married for real this time around!.”