ADDISON

“I still can’t believe you agreed to this,” I chuckle, standing at the bottom of the concrete stairs that lead up to the banquet hall.

“It’s your big break. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I turned you down?” Dominic grins.

He looks absolutely delectable in a pinstriped dress shirt and gray dress pants. The dark blue of the shirt makes his bluish-gray eyes shine, and I find myself staring at him without even realizing it.

“It’s your big break, too,” I laugh.

“The things I do for you…” His hand snakes around my waist, and he leans down to kiss me gently.

“We can still go home, you know.”

Dominic’s mouth hovers over my ear. “If I take you home now, that dress won’t last five minutes before it’s in a heap on the floor, Princess.”

I close my eyes and try to rein in the wave of lust that overwhelms me. Even after six weeks, the mere whisper of his breath on my earlobe causes a pool of liquid desire with me. It’s like nothing I’ve ever known.

He’s like nothing I’ve ever known.

“Promise?” I breathe.

“If I don’t take you in the broom closet of this place first.” And just like that, he pulls away from me and clears his throat, adjusting his mind, body, and thoughts to the respectable police chief he’s supposed to be. He gently pulls me by the hand up the stairs, and a doorman holds the glass doors open for us.

I allow him to lead me through the corridor in a daze. This is something I’ve waited for my entire life, something I should be relishing in. But all I can think of is getting this man back to our apartment and showing him what he means to me.

At the interior doors that lead into the banquet hall, I stop. I’m dressed in a beautiful black satin gown with an amazing pair of red stiletto heels that match the shade of my lipstick, and my auburn hair cascades down my back in flowing waves. But no one is even going to notice.

Because of the gorgeous man beside me.

“All eyes are going to be on you, Dominic.”

“Maybe, but it’s because of your talent that they’ll even recognize me.”

Three weeks ago, tucked in together on his leather couch, with only a glass each of bourbon and the darkened cityscape blinking back at us as we cuddled, I revealed to him the final edited photographs that I’d taken of him. I can’t deny it; those pictures are some of the best work I’ve ever done.

But I had a damn fine subject to work with.

Each photo depicts his tattoos and his perfect, muscular body in such an way that not only does the series of shots ooze sexuality and intrigue, but they boast the allurement of New York City and the raw beauty of those that live in it.

The man within those photos not only lives in the city used as a backdrop, but he also serves it, protects it…and watches over it.

The photos portray the relationship between man and city; he is a part of it, just as much as it is a part of him.

And after I admitted that I dreamed of a day where I no longer had to rely on short-term freelance gigs to make my way, he surprised me by encouraging me to submit those photos to a few magazines and photography studios I’d be interested in working for.

Never in a million years could I have imagined the bidding war that ensued.

Now, here I am, standing outside the doors of the ceremonial unveiling of those photographs, and my formal introduction to the company as the new design editor and chief photographer for City Ink magazine. They bought the entire series for more money than I make in an entire year.

“Besides,” Dominic’s voice brings me back to the here and now. “My eyes are going to be on you.”

I have my dream job.

And my dream boyfriend.

I hate that word, boyfriend. It’s seems like such a juvenile description for someone like Dominic Kerr. He is the embodiment of all that I deem strong, safe, and stable in the world.

He’s more than a boyfriend.

He’s mine.

“I’d rather the rest of you be on me, too,” I grin. “Let’s do this.”

Dominic reaches out for my arm gently, preventing me from pulling the banquet hall doors open. “Wait a sec…”

I watch him in confusion as he pulls me away from the doors and ushers me around the corner away from the prying eyes of the doormen and incoming guests. “What’s wrong?” I ask.

He clears his throat again, looking suddenly nervous. A shiver of wariness courses through me at the sight. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look nervous or uncertain about anything in the time I’ve known him.

“I was hoping that, since the rest of me can’t be on you,” he smirks faintly. “That at least this could be.”

From the depths of his pocket, he pulls out a small silver box and holds it between us.

My eyes widen and I gasp. No. It can’t be.

“Dominic?” I can barely speak, but my question is clear.

My surprise only urges him on, and his little smirk widens as he leans in close to me. “I’m the one asking the questions here, Princess,” he whispers.

“B-but—”

He opens the box to reveal an absolutely breathtaking three-carat princess-cut diamond ring in a white gold setting. “Addison, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

My hands come up to my face, covering my mouth and muffling the gasp that escapes my throat.

Oh my God. “I…I mean…we’ve only known e-each other—”

“Long enough for me to know you’re the one I want, Princess. We haven’t exactly taken things slow with other aspects of this relationship, so I figure, why wait to make you mine?”

I stare at him. Part of me wants to cry a river of ridiculously happy tears. The other part of me is already mentally searching for that broom closet he mentioned earlier. “Oh, Dominic…”

“Is that a yes?”

I chuckle just as the tears begin to spill over my eyelids. “That is definitely a yes.”

“That’s my girl.”

He slides the ring onto my trembling hand, and I waste no time in throwing myself toward him and wrapping my arms around his neck. “I love you so much, Dominic.”

“And I love you, Princess.”

He is mine.

And I am his.

We belong together.

And that’s all that matters.