Page 115 of Keep Me Safe
“Are you attempting to speak German to me?” I asked in English.
“Yes.”
“Why?” Not that it mattered. Nothing else did after what she’d just said.
“Because you speak German.” Then she blushed, a muted shade echoing the color of her shoes. “And I want to know what you’re saying.”
My mind was cloudy with emotion. “What have you learned?”
“Not much, a few phrases. Just in case.”
“In case?”
“In case they come out of your mouth.”
It was only a few steps, and then she didn’t have to worry about words coming out of my mouth—it was too busy kissing her. My arms were no longer empty, and I enjoyed the feel of her again. The subtle tremble I could draw out of her with just a touch.
When I paused to try to calm myself, her hand clamped around my tie and pulled me back in, greedy.
“I want to know which phrases,” I said, my lips trailing down the side of her neck.
“Try some out.”
So, I returned to my native language, finding the idea of her American ears understanding me wildly appealing. “I’m so happy to see you.”
She answered in German. “I’m happy to see you too.”
My mouth roved over her skin as my hands slipped down her back. “I like your shoes.”
“Thank you.”
“They make me want to do indecent things to you right now, right here in this office.”
Clearly that was too much, judging by her blank stare. She shook her head, and I had half a mind to communicate it in a different way, but I was enjoying this game. “Are you staying?”
She gave me an enormous smile. “Yes.” Her voice was quiet, but the words were strong. “You are my home.”
I couldn’t wait another second; I needed her now. My suit jacket came off easily, and I tossed it onto my desk, but my gaze snagged on the black box sitting there.
Well . . . I was going to have to give my assistant a raise. Or at least a bonus for making what I was about to do possible.
I snapped up the box and pulled the engagement ring from it, turning to face her. I moved deliberately, stalking toward her,her wide eyes fixed on the ring. She looked petrified, but she didn’t run from me, or this moment that was rapidly evolving into something powerful and monumental.
There was a sharp breath from her when I sank to one knee, grasping her trembling left hand in mine.
“I’ll love you forever. Marry me.”
Her gaze drifted from the ring slowly to connect with my eyes.
I spoke in English then. “Do you know what I just said?”
“Yes.”
I blinked. “Yes, you understand or?—?”
“Yes. Yes, Shawn, yes.”
For the second time, I slid the ring on her finger, but this time it was her choice that I did so, and it carried the meaning it was supposed to. I couldn’t get to my feet fast enough, lifting her in my arms. “Did I miss any of the phrases you learned?”
