Ronan and I are never afraid of touching each other. If anything, it’s what brings us closer and makes us calmer.
We started with a touch. The first time he did it in RES’s library, I kind of fell under his spell and he fell under mine.
Today, I have a surprise for him.
We came to his parents’ house for dinner. Charlotte is finally out of the danger zone. Those couple of months after Eduard’s death were complete hell.
Edric had to make his brother’s death seem like an accident, and Charlotte’s illness was taking its toll on him and Ronan. I held my fiancé’s hand through it all until the results came out and the doctor said the last surgery had been a success.
She had to do a lot of recovery therapy, and Edric didn’t leave her side through it all. Ronan didn’t either.
One of my favourite memories about that time was when Edric asked Ronan for forgiveness for not seeing Eduard’s actions, and Ronan said he was sorry he hadn’t seen his mum’s illness.
Edric and Ronan grew so close during Charlotte’s recovery journey. I think seeing them together by her side helped her mental state more than any doctor would tell them.
Ronan and I were supposed to leave after dinner, but he said he needed to grab something from his room.
He’s been taking a long time, so I might as well ask him now.
“Lars.” I grin when I see him coming out of Ronan’s room. “How do I look?”
I pull on my white T-shirt, on which is written ‘Belle’.
I’m also wearing a black tulle skirt, a leather jacket, and boots — comfy, as usual.
“That’s the second time you’ve asked me that question tonight, Miss Teal.”
“Stop being such a snob, and it’s only Teal,” I tease.
Lars and I have grown close over time. He wouldn’t admit it, but he always has a dark chocolate bar ready for me then he whines about how I keep stealing them.
“You look beautiful.” He lifts his chin. “And stop eating the chocolate no one offers you.”
I make a face as he strides down the hall then I go into the room.
Okay, this is it.
It’s not like it needs to be traditional or something — not that I care about that anyway.
“Hey, Ronan, when are we getting married…?”
I trail off when I find him in the middle of removing his trousers in front of a bed filled with baskets of dark chocolate.
“Fuck, belle, you weren’t supposed to come in yet.”
I grin. “Don’t stop on my account.”
His hands remain on his belt. “Lars said dark chocolate is the best bribe I could use with you.”
“Lars wasn’t wrong.”
“Wait.” His hand leaves his belt, and I nearly reach over to put it back.
Ronan is so beautiful, sometimes I stay up just to stare at him.
It’s not only his physical beauty, though; it’s also his soul that speaks to me and wrenches me out of my own soul.
He’s the calm after the storm.
He’s the light after the darkness.
He’s everything.
“Go back.” He narrows his eyes. “Did I hear something about marriage?”
“Yeah. I thought…you know…we’d make things official?” Otherwise I’ll start punching every girl who looks at him at uni.
He still attracts attention like a magnet. I thought that would be over after RES, but nope, his popularity knows no limits. I need to stake my claim before anyone tries to take him away.
It’s not that I’m threatened or anything, but I’m as greedy about Ronan as he is about me. That will probably never change.
People say we’re too young to get married, but it’s not about age for me. I’ve decided Ronan is the only human being I’ll spend the rest of my life with. It’s a cemented fact. So why delay it?
“Hey.” He appears offended. “I was planning a night out to ask you. This is not fair.”
“You wanted to ask me?”
“I wanted to marry you before that fucker Aiden married Elsa, but you always say all the grandiose stuff is stupid, so I figured I’d wait.”
My heart skips a beat as I stand on my tiptoes, wrap my arms around his neck, and seal a kiss to his cheek. “It isn’t stupid when you’re involved, Ronan.”
His grin widens. “One-nil, Xander.”
I laugh. “So does this mean you’ll marry me?”
“Of course I’m marrying you, and you didn’t ask first — I did.”
“We’ll agree to disagree, your lordship,” I tease. “What did you have in mind with the chocolate?”
“A few things.” His eyes shine with mischief.
“Like what?”
“Like this.” His lips meet mine, and then we’re falling on the bed.
If this is my life going forward, I’m so ready for it.
5
Silver
Age Twenty-one
“What the hell are you doing here?” I whisper-yell as Cole leans against the bathroom’s door and clicks it closed behind him. “This is the ladies’ room.”
“I know.” He stalks towards me, and every step he takes is like he’s walking straight to my heart.
I was right. There’s no way my feelings for him would ever fizzle out.
With every passing day, I fall harder and faster into him.
With every day, he becomes my everything.
We moved to Oxford for university, and soon after, we told Mum and Papa about our relationship.
I can’t be with him officially. At least, not yet. Papa won the election and became the prime minister, then remarried Mum a year after Helen’s death.
That caused quite a ruckus in the media, despite their strategic approach. Frederic made it look like Mum consoled Papa and they rediscovered their initial attraction.
It’s true that Cole and I don’t live under the same roof anymore, and he eclipsed himself from the family circle to not be associated as my brother. But it’ll take years for the world to come to terms with us.
We’re bigger than the world, he and I. They’re not ready for us.
Papa and Mum are the Conservative Party — despite their non-conservative actions with that affair. I can’t exactly bring their votes down by announcing I’m in love with my ex-stepbrother.
I can only do that once Papa is out of 10 Downing Street.
Because of that, our relationship is just known on a familial and close friends level. As in only Aiden, Xander, and Ronan from our friends.
But even with that, Cole shouldn’t be here.
“Everyone else is outside,” I scold. “We’re supposed to be celebrating Xander and Kim’s engagement.”
“I know.” His eyes gleam as he cages me against the counter, his hands on either side of me.
I wrap both arms around his neck. “We can’t do this.”
“I know.”
And then his lips devour mine. I climb up his body as he fiddles with his belt, and soon enough he’s plunging inside me.
I kiss him like a madwoman as he fucks me hard, fast and dirty against the counter of the bathroom.