Criminal Promises (29 page)

Sighing, she moved into him
and wrapped her arms around his waist. His combination of
tenderness and strength amazed her. His size alone made her feel
feminine. Protected. His tenderness made her feel cherished. “Why
does it seem you understand me better than anyone ever
has?”

“I get everything about
you, Mags.” He pulled back and kissed her softly on the lips. Then
at the corner of each eye and on the tip of her nose. “You slipped
under my skin from the beginning. And when you worked that punching
bag…” He sighed with a goofy smile. “That’s when I think you first
stole a piece of my heart. You make me happy. You’re in my
pores.”

“Does that bother
you?”

“Not as much as I thought
it should. You rescued me from a darkness I hadn’t realized I was
living in.”

Her heart sighed. As cliché as it sounded,
she’d swear it was a sigh.

“Burke.” He had his moods,
but she’d stopped thinking of him as the arrogant Harte. He would
forever be Burke to her. “I want to see where we can take
this.”

“Do you mean
that?”

Wincing when he moved his
left shoulder the wrong way, BD blew out a breath and linked their
fingers. She couldn’t make a statement like that and not answer
him, but she wasn’t talking. “Mags, I’m sorry you were scared. I
care about you more than you can imagine.”

“I’m glad.” Her eyes
widened. Her tongue swept across her lips.

“I’d like to see how far
we can take this.” He leaned forward until his face was close to
hers. “Maybe try it out for say the next fifty or sixty
years.”

“I…you…”

He grinned as his always
confident Maggie stammered. “You what?”

“Most men don’t deal well
with long-term commitments. Especially with single
moms.”

“You’re right.” He
narrowed his eyes. “Let me try again.”

“Harte.”

“I thought you’d started
calling me Burke, which I really like by the way.” He locked his
gaze with hers and saw everything he could ever hope to have. Love,
fiery passion, a few great kids were only the beginning. “That’s
okay. I can do better.”

“Don’t…”

“No. Too late.” He walked
to the bag she’d put on the table and grabbed a small box from a
side pocket. He went back to her, where she still stood completely
and gloriously naked.

Maybe one day he’d tell her
how her serious don’t-you-think-about-doing-that tone turned him
on. Much later. A man needed some secrets. “Listen close, Mags. I’m
only saying this once, and I hope you’re not in an arguing
mood.”

“Burke.”

“Better.” He grinned. “The
time alone with you has been beyond amazing, if challenging at
times, but I love being with you and your kids.”

She chewed on her bottom lip. The soft flesh
would plump up and taste heavenly when he finally kissed her
again.

“Mags.” He leaned back a
little. Space and less touching would help focus. She muddled his
brain when she got too close. “I never thought I’d be doing this
with you naked.”

“Burke, are
you…”

“Maggie Sullivan,” he
interrupted. “I want to stay with you. I want to spend my life
loving and cherishing you as much as I do this second. I want to
know when I wake up in the middle of the night I can reach out and
find you there. I want to come home to you after a rough day. I
want to be there for you when the kids drive you crazy, as I’ve no
doubt Jared does often. I want to see your children grow up and
become the best people they can.”

He opened the box, pulled out the ring and
held it in front of her. It was an antique, platinum setting with
an intricately engraved filigreed design. The single carat,
heart-shaped diamond in the center was set off by a sapphire
baguette on each side.

“Burke.” Tears thickened
her voice and filled her eyes.

“I want to spend my life
with you, the woman who rescued me before I could rescue her. Mags,
will you marry me?” He held his grandmother’s ring out, waiting
eagerly for her answer.

She swallowed deeply as tears streamed down
her face. Every nuance of her face was forever ingrained in his
memory. Regardless of the next words to come out of her mouth,
she’d never looked more beautiful than in this moment. And he knew
by her eyes she loved him.

She just had to accept him.

She leaned forward, put her hand on his
cheek, kissed him gently, and then laid her cheek against his. His
shoulders knotted as he braced for her refusal.

“Marriage,” she whispered,
“is serious business.”

He’d pushed too far, too
fast. “I know. I love you. I don’t want to live without
you.”

“I love you.” Her warm
exhale brushed over his ear, sending goosebumps down his spine. “I
don’t want to live without you either, Detective Burke Harte. Yes,
I’ll marry you.”

He pulled her closer. His breath swept across
her skin. She wiped away tears and pushed away so she was facing
him.

“On a couple of
conditions,” she added.

Nothing came easy.
Burke knew the rule, and more precisely the truth
of it in relation to women—especially this one. He hated
conditions, but for Maggie he was game. “Name them.”

“Jared has to
agree.”

“Logical.” He wouldn’t
love her as much if she didn’t think about her kids first. And he
could bribe Jared.

“I want the wedding to be
small.”

“As long as there is
one.”

“I want it to be soon.”
She smiled and leaned forward to kiss him.

“I think I can get behind
that idea.” He pulled a little away, took her left hand and
grinned. “You took Mike’s ring off.”

“It was time.”

“Maggie.” She’d reached
the point of wanting to move on. With him.

She tightened her grip on
his hand and shook her head. “Do I get that rock or
not?”

He chuckled and nodded. His grin made his
cheeks hurt as he slipped on the ring.

She gaped at his ring on
her finger and when she looked up, tears shimmered on her
eyelashes. Her voice was barely a whisper. “It’s
gorgeous.”

He smiled and ran his thumb
under her eyes, gently wiping her tears away. “It was my
great-grandmother’s. My great-grandfather spent years mining the
materials to make this with his own hands. He thought he was being
funny when he used a heart in the design.”

The tears were now
streaming down her face. “I love it even more because of what it
means to you. I love you, Burke. You are my heart.”

“And you’re mine.” He
kissed the tears from her cheeks, and then slowly rained kisses
over her face working his way back to her lips. Giving her one last
brief kiss, he pulled away from her. “I can hardly wait until
you’re Maggie Harte.”

“My granddad told me
something once before he died.” She gripped his hand and squeezed
until her knuckles turned white. “Love is the noblest emotion you
can feel. It’s what gives a man hope, and the courage to not give
up. You give me hope and courage, Burke.”

And she gave him so much more.

# # #

Heart stopping puppy chases, childhood
melodrama and the aborted hangings of innocent toys are all in a
day’s work for Nikki Duncan. This athletic equestrian turned
reluctant homemaker turned daring author, is drawn to the siren
song of a fresh storyline.

Nikki plots murder and mayhem over breakfast,
scandalous
exposés
at lunch and the
sensual turn of phrase after dinner. Nevertheless, it is the
pleasurable excitement and anticipation of unraveling her
character’s motivation that drives her to write long past the
witching hour.

The only anxiety and apprehension haunting
this author comes from pondering the mysterious outcome of her
latest twist.

More can be found out about Nikki at her
website
www.NikkiDuncan.com
. Nikki is also
on Twitter
www.twitter.com/nduncanwriter
and Facebook at
www.facebook.com/nduncanwriter
.

Now Available from Samhain Publishing:

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Tulle

Coming Soon from Samhain Publishing:

Tulle and Tulips

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Her Miracle Man