Chapter Twenty-Eight
Colby beamed so hard her cheeks hurt. By the time the FBI dragged Liam off in their very own ambulance, the coroner was on scene. Three stories up. First bedroom on the right.
Her right foot still twitched with the urge to march back up those stairs and kick Hammer’s ass for knocking her out. Didn’t matter that he was dead; he was a dick for getting the best of her—twice!
Kevin’s boys had already cleared the home of petrol, then put down a layer of fire retardant foam to absorb the fumes, and, in the small chance of fire, to squelch it before it caught its first breath of oxygen.
The homeowners were on site and aghast that their lovely Victorian was now fodder for every news outlet on the East Coast. After a thorough search, the police concluded there were no other women to be saved, that the Dugan’s had only trapped Colby beneath the floorboards once they’d broken into the place and taken advantage of the partially laid hardwood floor.
The rain stopped, and for now, Colby and Ash sat in the open gate of the first EMT wagon that had arrived on the scene.
Her wrists had been treated and wrapped, and she was at peace. The knot on her head wasn’t enough reason for a ride to the emergency room. Not for her. Her mother was safe with Tula and the hotel had located Pierre in an adjoining room full of little children who loved him crazy with affection. All in all, a very good end to the day.
Ash was in rare form, his name cleared and his spirits high. He had yet to remove his broad palm from the small of her back where the tip of his little finger was tucked into the waistband of her jeans, just enough to let her know they had unfinished business.
He scratched his free hand over his head, his eyes aglow, and a delightful, puzzled glint in his eye. “Did I hear you right in there? Did you say marriage?”
Oh that. Contentment giggled out of her. Colby kicked her bare feet, in love with life and her man. “I might have. Did you say you protect what’s yours?”
Ash winked, the tease. “Aye, I did. You didn’t have to stab me brother to prove you love me, though.”
She lifted her nose. “You didn’t have to stake those two vampires to prove you love me, either,” she mimicked his accent as well as his cheeky smile.
“Aye, but you couldn’t have gotten yourself out of this by yourself, love, not this time, not with the likes of Bonnie and Clyde in there.” His big chin nodded at the entry where poor Kevin stood with an army of Boston’s finest at his beck and call.
Now that the Beantown Stalker(s) had been apprehended and the siege of the city was ended, the mayor was on his way down for a press conference, a protocol nightmare of biblical proportions for the beleaguered fire chief.
“Admit it, you need me to protect you,” Ash declared proudly, and a little tenderly, hip bumping her.
Oh, that again. Him, Tarzan. Me, Jane. “I was happy you showed up.” She gave him that much. He’d never change, and Colby was okay with it. Now, if he’d just let her live it down.
Ash spread his hand at her back, warming and teasing as another finger slid past her waistband. “Marriage is a solemn vow between a man and his woman.”
“It is,” she agreed noncommittally, her belly clenching at the attention he suddenly commanded. “In some churches, I guess. Some religions.”
“In some countries, ’tis the start of a week long celebration.”
“With your black beer and Irish whiskey, no doubt?”
“Aye,” he said, his gaze dipping to her mouth. “And more.”
She licked her lips, wanting him to know how much she craved another taste of him. “Like?”
The world stilled as he leaned his forehead into hers. “Like handfasting and the sweet taste of honey mead toasts, Lass,” he murmured, his voice thick and low, filled with that hot Irish brogue. “Like the bride’s magic hankie and the trill of wedding bells from sun up to sun down. Like fairies and lucky days and luckier months and…” He snapped his mouth shut as if he’d said too much, but his eyes kept talking. He didn’t have to say a word. His love radiated straight from his heart to hers. She knew what was coming.
“Colby Quaid,” he breathed, his voice rich with—fear? Anticipation? She couldn’t decide. “I’ve never wanted anyone in me life as much as I want you. Will you…“ He swallowed hard. “Will you walk with me?”
“A walk? Oh, sure.” Taking a deep breath, her lips curved into a thank-goodness-he’s-not-proposing grin. She’d thought he was for a moment there. That would’ve been outrageous, a marriage proposal on a day like this. Even her brows lifted in relief. He’d gotten so serious that…
He wasn’t smiling.
Oh, my. He’s serious and… He’s not talking about a stroll, is he?
“Ash?” she asked, her attention caught and her heart along with it. “W-walk with you?”
“Aye,” he nodded, all five fingers now tucked in the back of her pants where no one could see them strumming the swell of her ass. “I’ve nah got treasures to give you, nor gold at the end of your rainbow. If Quaid, Inc. is your calling, I’ll follow, but love…” He drew in a deep breath, his eyes dark and not glancing away for even the space of a heartbeat. Her heartbeat. “Will you walk with me?” He said those five words with great deliberation.
Walk nothing. That wasn’t what he meant. This was a marriage proposal. The Irish version. He didn’t want a walk around the block, but around the moon. If she said yes, this would be a forever kind of a stroll through the rest of her life, with their hands held tight and their hearts clasped tighter. In sunshine and shadow. In storm and sunshine and…
Oh, for hell’s sake, she was starting to think as poetically as he talked.
“Yes,” she breathed, her fingers suddenly at his ear, tugging him down to her mouth. “I’ll walk with you.”
A tortured groan wound out of him as those fingers slipped out of her pants. His hands cupped her head, his long fingers in her hair, his thumbs on her cheeks. Reverently, he drew her forward to his lips, brushing over hers before he let go of his restraint and engulfed her mouth. In front of God and everyone, he kissed the hell out of her.
The thunder in his heart was her heartbeat, his breath in her face, her air. She knew it then. She could live forever on nothing but—Ash.