Page 129 of Spirit Wars
“The dress is gorgeous, but it’s the person in the dress that makes me lose my mind.” He lowers his head to mine, and I breathe out, waiting for his lips to touch mine.
“No kissing!” Trinia yells, appearing literally out of nowhere, scaring me to death.
“What in the world?” I ask, glaring at her. Rauk wraps an arm back around my waist and pulls me close.
“Rauk, don’t you dare,” she warns.
In true Rauk fashion, he pays her absolutely no heed. His lips touch mine, and I forget she’s even in the room. I forget my name for a little bit, and when he pulls away, I’m pretty sure he’s forgotten his own as well. I stare up at him as those three words I haven’t spoken yet bounce around in my head. He’s told me he loves me multiple times now, but I haven’t yet. Every time I start, something holds me back. Looking up at him now, I almost do. But Trinia is really a mood killer. I step away and take a breath. “Does Auri need help?”
He smiles softly. “No, she’s ready to go. Reneta helped her get ready.”
I raise my eyebrows in surprise. “Reneta? Is Auri wearing all black and armor?”
He smirks. “No, she looks beautiful.”
“I can’t wait to see her.”
He looks at me with indecision. “Are you sure you have to go out there?” I shake my head. “You are way too beautiful, and there are too many men out there.”
“Well, then I guess you’d better not leave my side.”
“I’m not planning on it,” he all but growls at me. He opensthe door and steps out into the hallway and puts his hand out to me. I reach out and take his hand. His large hand closes around mine, and his thumb runs soft circles over the back of my hand, his trademark move.
We stop at the end of the hallway, and he looks down at me. “You ready for this?” Nerves assail me, and I glance out into the large room that’s filled with people—some I know, some I don’t. And then my eyes land on a pregnant Kinsley, leaning against Kaldar. She sees me across the room, and her entire face lights up. She turns and grabs somebody, and I watch Farrah turn towards me in surprise. She grins and waves. From the side view, I can see her tiny baby bump.
“Beautiful!” Kinsley mouths, and I can read her lips from here.
I look up at Rauk, who’s been watching the exchange with a smile on his face. “You didn’t tell me they were coming.”
“I wasn’t sure they’d be able to with both of them being pregnant, but they wanted to. They didn’t want to miss this.”
I stare up at him as emotion fills my throat. “Rauk, I—” Words fail me, and his face softens.
“I love you,” he says simply. He runs his fingers over my cheek and leans forward, kissing me lightly. Cheering sounds all around us, and I realize we’re no longer hiding. I pull back, and he smiles down at me. He starts to face the crowd, but I put a hand on his arm, stopping him.
I take a breath and tell him what’s been brewing in my heart for weeks. “I love you.”
The smile that fills his face is unlike any other I’ve ever seen.He grins and shakes his head. “Later,” he promises in a husky voice next to my ear, and a full-body shudder runs through me. He takes my hand in his again, squeezes it and turns to the waiting audience. “Ladies and Gentlemen of the Dragon Kingdom and our visiting friends from the Wolf Kingdom and the Jaguar Kingdom, I present Harper to you.My Queen.”
I’m not sure there’s ever been a more perfect night. And when Auri pulls off the impossible and stands next to us to greet our visitors for a few minutes, the tears in Rauk’s eyes make all the hours of physical labor we’ve spent together in secret so worth it. When Kinsley and Farrah finally make it to us, we group hug. “Who would have thought, huh?” Kinsley asks.
“Three happy endings,” Farrah says smiling.
I meet Rauk’s eyes over the top of their heads and smile. “Who would have thought?” There’s not a dry eye among us, including mine.
