I couldn’t lie to him, so I remained silent, but that was all he needed for confirmation.

“Damn it, Nova,” he growled. “That’s bullshit.”

“Why?” I asked quietly. “I want to spend my life with you, but I also want you to have the option in case your feelings change.”

“You think you’re an option?” he demanded angrily. “This was never an option. It was written in stone the day I met you. You and I are destined to be together. There is no other ending but the two of us together until death takes one of us. And even then, I will continue to love you. In this life and the next, you are mine.”

“But what if—”

With a vicious curse, he attacked my mouth, effortlessly shutting me up. I kissed him back because kissing him was all I ever wanted to do. The way his fingers bit into my skin, the way his lips seemed to fuse to mine, he owned me with nothing more than an angry kiss.

When he lifted his head minutes later, we were both gasping for air. “There is no ‘what if,’ just as there will be no waiting. We’re getting married in November.”

Licking my lips, I tried to find an argument, but the whole “I refuse to be a teen bride” thing had seemed lame to my own ears the last time I’d said it and was even more so now that the truth was out. My cousins would all gang up on me if they even knew I’d said that to begin with, especially River.

“Okay, fine,” I gave in. As soon as the words left me, a weight felt as if it were lifted off my chest. “But if you think this gets you out of proposing, you’re dead wrong, mister.”

“When have I ever not given you what you wanted, my heart?” he murmured against my lips.

“You make me sound spoiled,” I complained halfheartedly.

“Baby, spoiling you is my greatest pleasure.” Something darkened in his eyes, and instantly, my body reacted to the spark in them. “I love you so fucking much.”

“Ryan.”

“November can’t come fast enough,” he groaned, leaning his head back against the chair. “I’m going to be a wreck until that ring is on your finger.”

A soft laugh escaped me. “Oh, please. A ring isn’t going to calm you down. Not even a little. Nothing ever will.”

“I’m calm when you’re beside me,” he argued. “Every time you touch me, this tightness that chokes the life from me eases. I have no worries, no bad memories, no enemies. In those moments, there is only you and peace.”

A sob bubbled up in my throat. “R-Ryan.”

“Shh,” he soothed, kissing along my jaw. “Your tears are my kryptonite. Even when they are happy tears, they are the worst kind of torture, my heart.”

“Y-you definitely know how to kiss it b-better.” I turned in his arms so I was straddling his lap, my tears already drying on my lashes as he kissed down my neck to the top of my shirt. “You know, you demanding I marry you is pretty special.”