David offered his hand next. “You have my permission as well and my congratulations on losing your heart to a woman unequaled.” He smiled at Ami. “You’ve chosen an honorable man, Ami. I could not be happier for the both of you.”
Darnell pulled Marcus into a jubilant hug. “Welcome to the family. This has been a long time coming.” He grinned as he stepped back. “Apparently you were just waiting for the perfect woman.”
Then it was Ami’s turn to be enclosed in large, muscled arms and passed to the next set as her surrogate family expressed their pleasure over her finding so much happiness after enduring such a horrific initiation to this world.
Ami wiped her damp cheeks as she turned back to Marcus.
Marcus kissed her again, then dropped to both knees. Slipping one hand into his pocket, he withdrew a ring. “Most women in our society prefer gold and diamonds,” he began, uncertainty creeping into his expression and dimming the happiness there. “But, knowing what I do of your world, I wanted this to be not an expression of wealth or status but a true symbol of our union.”
He held up a small, wide silver band whose only ornamentation lay in a dark inscription of some sort. “While gold is weak and malleable, silver is strong.”
She smiled. “Like the love we share.”
A hint of relief touched his returning smile. “Yes.”
She pointed to the dark markings etched into the gleaming metal. “I don’t recognize these symbols.”
“It’s Hebrew. The Scripture of Ruth, taken from the Bible. Loosely translated it means: Where you go, I will follow. Your home will be my home. Your family will be my family. Your people will be my people. And I mean that, Ami. I never want to be parted from you again. Should you at some point in the future find a way to return to Lasara, I will abandon my life here without a single regret and accompany you.”
“Marcus ...”
“Until such time ... my home is your home, Ami. My family”—he glanced at their smiling audience—“is your family. My people are your people.” He took her left hand in his and slid the heavy band over her ring finger. “Will you marry me?”
Overwhelmed, she nodded. “I will.” Throwing her arms around his neck, she buried her face in the warm skin above his collar. “I love you so much.”
His strong arms squeezed her closer as he rose. “I love you, too.” He sounded as choked up as she felt. “I’ve waited so long for you, Ami.”
After a long moment, Darnell cleared his throat and murmured, “Come on, guys, don’t make me cry, too.”
Ami laughed and released her hold.
Marcus took her hand, iridescent eyes glistening, lips curled in a happy smile.
“Thank you for this.” Ami motioned to the nattily-garbed men and the floral plants in the room. “And for this.” She held her hand out to display the ring. “I love it.”
“I know it would’ve been very different on Lasara, but ...”
“It was perfect,” she vowed and meant it.
“I’d like to include as many Lasaran customs as we can in the wedding ceremony.”
“Thank you, Marcus.” Happily, she swung his hand between them as she eyed her family. “All of you, thank you.”
Seth grinned and rubbed his hands together. “Well then. Let’s celebrate, shall we?”
Cheers and eager agreement ensued.
Seth and David suddenly turned their heads toward the front of the house. A couple of seconds later, Marcus did as well.
Seth sighed. “One evening! Can’t we have one evening off?”
Ami heard the front door open.
“Reordon,” Chris called from the foyer, announcing his entrance. “Hey, where is everybody?”
Since none of the men seemed inclined to answer, Ami called, “In here, Chris.”
The thump of boots hitting bamboo flooring preceded his appearance in the doorway. As soon as he saw them, his eyebrows shot up. “What’s going on?” His gaze met Ami’s. Concern flared. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
She laughed and swiped at her damp cheeks. “Marcus proposed to me. We’re getting married.”
His rugged face lit up. “Hey, that’s great!” He strode forward, clasped Marcus’s arm, and pulled him into a man-hug. Then he turned and gave Ami a bone-cracking embrace. “Welcome to the family, Ami.”
Chapter 19
Marcus struggled not to growl as the other man hugged Ami. He hadn’t experienced this jealousy with Bethany. Probably because he had always thought of her as Robert’s woman. But with Ami, it hit him fast and hard whenever another man touched her or smiled at her or leered at her.
Not that Chris was leering. But Marcus had seen other men do it. Ami was a beautiful woman.
When Chris backed away, Marcus wrapped an arm around her and drew Ami into his side. She smiled up at him, glowing with happiness. Damn, he loved her. He always wanted her to be as happy as she was in that moment.
“So,” Chris said, “I couldn’t help but notice the fancy spread in the dining room. Don’t suppose I could join the celebration, could I?”
“Of course you can,” Ami said.
Marcus met Chris’s gaze over her head. Though he seemed jovial enough, the man’s eyes revealed that whatever had brought him here tonight did not entail good news.
Well, screw that. The next crisis could wait. Tonight was Ami’s night.
Marcus pressed a kiss to her soft curls and led her from the room. While Ami had slept, he and the others had worked their asses off preparing a sumptuous feast they had then laid out on the long dining room table while she showered and dressed.
A formal white tablecloth had been added, as well as their finest dinnerware, which wasn’t terribly fine. Crap tended to break a lot around here. Large men and dainty china didn’t mix well. But Darnell had dug up decorative napkins and other little adornments from who knew where that left the presentation looking damned good, if he did say so himself.
“Oh my,” Ami breathed. “It’s beautiful. And there’s so much food! Will others be joining us?”
“No,” Marcus said. “It’s all ours.” And they did their damnedest to eat every crumb.
Seth took his usual place at the head of the table. Marcus and Ami sat close together on one side, thighs touching, arms brushing. David, Darnell, and Chris seated themselves on the other.
Laughter and teasing abounded as platters and glasses emptied.
“So, Chris,” Ami said, when much of the meal had been devoured, “tell us what brought you here tonight.”
Chris choked on the forkful of salad he had just shoveled into his mouth. His eyes met Marcus’s and caught the warning in them. “What?” he asked and took a long drink of tea to stall. “Oh. I was just dropping by to ... hang out.”
“It’s bad news, isn’t it?” Clearly, she didn’t buy it.
“No,” he hedged.
Marcus hoped he lied more convincingly as a cleaner, because right now he was about as convincing as Ami was when she lied.
“Come on. Let’s have it,” she persisted.
Chris met those pretty emerald eyes of hers and crumbled. After tossing Marcus a what-can-I-do look, he said, “You all know I have contacts in ... unusual places. Men and women in certain agencies whose jobs are so highly classified that even their spouses don’t know what their true professions are.”
“That’s what makes you so invaluable,” Seth pointed out.
Chris nodded his thanks. “Well, I went to all of these contacts as soon as we had the commander’s name, trying to find out as much as I could about Emrys and his soldiers, how far his reach extends, if he really is military, anything that would help us plot a course of action for stopping the group in its tracks and doing major damage control.”
“What did you find?” Ami asked.