Page 61 of Night Fall
Mya ran a hand through her long curly hair.
She’d kept herself busy while Erik was gone. She’d tidied the house, changed the sheets, did everything she could possibly think of to keep her mind busy until she’d passed by the room she’d made Erik’s shrine for the fifth time. Then she blew out a harsh breath and decided it was time.
For years the shrine had been all she’d had left of him, but now she could touch him, hold him. If she wanted to start moving forward and building a life with Erik, she’d need to get rid of her old vice first.
She stared at his eyes in the picture, looked over his long blonde hair, his frame, and realized that although this portrait was exact in its likeness to him, it was missing his spark the liveliness in his eyes. It was something no one could capture, not even the greatest artist or sculptor. Erik was a masterpiece all on his own, and this replica and all the time she spent using it as a way to keep her connection to him was no longer needed.
Decided, she pulled it down from the wall with a large sigh and felt a weight lift off her shoulders. Then she stared at the empty spot. The portrait had been there for so long that the wall was discolored around it. Mya wiped away the dust, threw away the candles and decided to move the console to the entry way. She rested his picture there. Perhaps in time they would take others, make a family wall out of it. She smiled as the feeling of bliss settled within her.
A family, with him.
She’d wanted that for so long, and to know it was finally obtainable meant everything to her. That thought spiraled through her and led her to check the front door once more to see if Erik was back. A lance of fear sliced through her heart, and she wondered if that would ever go away, if she would ever stop worrying every time he was away from her.
Then she heard Greg’s car door slam, and she smiled. Mya opened the front door, her grin growing as Erik took long, sure steps toward her. When he reached the threshold, she tilted her head up to his.
“Hello, love.”
“Hello, fagr skjaldmær min,” he said, smiling back at her. Then she was in the air, wrapping her legs around him while he kissed her and kicked the door closed behind them. He nuzzled her neck as he set her back down, then turned and looked at the changes she’d made.
“The real thing is much better to look at,” she said breathlessly.
Erik cupped her cheek and she leaned into his touch, her eyes fluttering closed.
“Mya,” he croaked, and her eyes flew open to meet his.
He paused, and she squeezed his arms. “Erik, what is it?”
“No, it’s just…” He trailed off, and she tilted her head in confusion. He frowned before clearing his throat. “This is harder than I thought it would be.”
“What is it? Just tell me what you need to say. I can take it, I swear,” she said, even as a million horrible thoughts flashed through her mind.
Erik took her hands and kissed them. He seemed to relax at simply being able to touch her, and then he fell to one knee.
“Erik?” she gasped.
He slipped something out of his back pocket, and in between his fingers stood a white gold ring. Its prongs were shaped like leaves, and in each of them stood a green diamond. The metal twisted and turned like stems, all coming to surround another large green diamond at the center.
Her eyes widened. “Erik, is that…?”
He smiled. “Yes, I went back and I was able to find it.” He swallowed. “Mya—”
“Yes!”
He stared at her in a mixture of shock and awe. “…what?”
She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around him. “Yes! Yes!” she repeated, basking in his scent, his breath, the feel of his skin against her own.
Erik laughed, and each rumble shook her body. Tears of joy poured from her eyes. He kissed every inch of her skin, then they broke away just enough for her to watch as he slipped the ring onto her finger.
“You didn’t even let me finish my proposal,” he said, in mock sadness.
“I didn’t need to. My answer was yes. It has always been yes, and it always will be.”
Erik cupped her cheeks and kissed her like she was his everything, and she kissed him back just as intensely, just as passionately. His arms went around her waist while hers went around his neck, then he lifted her until she was pinned against the wall. Mya wrapped her legs around him and he pressed further into her. She could feel his erection hard and thick against her stomach, and she moaned, her hips tilting, core pulsing at the thought of having him inside her again.
“May I touch you?” he whispered against her lips.
“Please,” she begged, pushing his blazer off his body and onto the floor.
