Miss Minerva's Pirate Mishap by Maggie Dallen (to read list .TXT) 📗

everything. And for me, my place is with you.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck with a contented sigh. “I like the sound of that.”

He leaned down until his nose grazed hers, their breath mingling and a heady joy making her dizzy. “And home will be wherever you decide.” He laid a gentle kiss on her lips. “Just so long as we are together.”

She smiled against his lips, her head spinning with this new freedom and all the adventures that were at her fingertips. She tilted her head to the side. “You do not wish to leave all adventures behind, do you?”

“With you?” He laughed. “Certainly not. I cannot wait to watch you embrace this new life. But, as I see it, my new journey is just about to begin, and it would be my honor and my pleasure to watch you take your place in this world.” He held her tight. “In our world.”

“Our world,” she repeated, loving the way it felt on her lips. She grinned up at him, the ocean waves beckoning, the sea air whipping around her as if in celebration, and the sand beneath her feet telling her that this was real. So perfect it might have been a dream...but real, nonetheless.

“Well, love?” Marcus said as he tightened his hold as if he might never let go. “Where to first?”

A laugh she hardly recognized bubbled up from a place inside she’d never explored. Where to? It was entirely up to her. Her laughter turned to an impish grin. “I’m not sure where we shall go next, but for tonight...” She leaned back and tugged on his hand. “You have one more mission left in Billingham.”

His eyes danced with laughter as he wrapped one arm around her and led her back to the cliffside trail. “Ah, I suppose that for once I must ask permission before I take what is mine.”

She laughed. “You are incorrigible.”

“And you love me,” he shot back.

“Very true.”

He stopped short. “Is it?”

A smile still tugged at her lips and that urge to laugh was still there, but her amusement faded to an overwhelming tenderness at the look of hope in his eyes. She turned to face him. “I know it is crazy but...yes, Marcus. I love you.”

He pulled her into his embrace and kissed her until she was breathless. “And I love you, Minerva. I love you with all my heart and soul.” He reached up to cup her cheek. “In you, I have finally found my home.”

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she returned his smile.

He pulled back slightly and reached for her hand. “There is something else I must ask before I deal with your father’s inquisition.”

Her lips parted but before a question could form, he had dropped down onto one knee, his hands holding hers. “My darling, Minerva...will you marry me?”

She dropped onto her knees before him. Her partner. Her mate.

Her love.

“Yes, Marcus.” She kissed him as if to seal the vow right then and there. “That will be our first grand adventure.”

Chapter 16

Marcus didn’t dare exhale fully until he was out of the house where his Min stood waiting.

“Well?” she asked, her hands clasped before her as she moved toward him, her sister Sally trailing behind. Her sisters had taken turns this past week acting as chaperones for the newly courting couple, and Sally flashed him a smile and a wave before going her own way.

Her sisters made remarkably bad chaperones, and for that, he adored them.

Minerva was in his arms and only then did he let out the sigh of relief. “He gave his approval.”

He felt her smile against his cheek, and all was right in the world. Tightening his grip around her waist, he tugged her closer still as she laced her hands behind his neck. “Oh, Marcus, I knew he would.”

He leaned back. “You knew it, did you?”

She laughed. “Well, I’d hoped. Father might be a bit...difficult, at times, but all he’s ever wanted was our happiness.”

His heart swelled at that. Even after a week of interrogations poorly disguised as conversations over dinner or in her father’s study, he agreed with her. Her father was protective, of that there was no doubt. But after the escapade in the cave, the captain seemed to have realized that no amount of holding his daughters close could keep them safe. That not even hiding these beautiful, spirited young ladies up on a hilltop and behind the walls of an old fort could guarantee that they were never hurt.

While Marcus had eventually been deemed worthy—or, if not worthy, at least acceptable of his daughter’s hand—Minerva and her father had been having the sort of conversations that she’d needed to come to grips with who she was...and who she was not. Her mother.

She’d told him the family secret about her mother’s disappearance days ago, and now it was his turn. He leaned down until his forehead pressed against hers. “Are you still certain you wish to run off with me? Now, when you and your father are closer than ever and your sisters—”

“First of all, I shall hardly be running off with you if you are my husband,” she teased, her eyes glinting with laughter and happiness that so perfectly mirrored his own. “And my sisters will be fine. They will be better than fine. Father is coming to understand that they are no longer little children, and while I shall miss them all dearly, I know that they do not need me any longer.”

He kissed her forehead, wishing the gentle touch would be enough to wash away every bittersweet sadness, but he knew from experience that leaving home was never an easy endeavor. Even if one was setting off on an adventure of a lifetime with the love of one’s life.

“Tell me, Min,” he said, wrapping an arm about her waist and leading her to the cliffside where they’d made a habit of strolling every day. “Have you given any thought to our next destination?”

She nodded. “I