A Shifter Disaster Thanksgiving (Holiday Shifters of Frost Mountain #6)

Chapter Fifteen

“We Do Not Kneel”

The novel lay next to her, a crease in its wide red spine. Diane’s only regret was that she hadn’t waited longer to finish it. Having nothing to read could easily drive you insane with boredom. Wasn’t that why housewives her age tended to bury their noses in romance novels or park themselves in front of a TV?

She wouldn’t be getting any more books soon, that was for sure, especially with Quinta gone.

Diane couldn’t help wondering what the woman must be feeling. It was one thing to have your husband taken away from you, either by fate or a chief’s guards. It was another to find out you’d been living with a killer.

It was all like a murder mystery. The thought brought a smile to Diane’s lips, just as the cabin door swung open and Sylvester walked in, his expression unreadable.

She rose to her feet, supporting her weight against the stone mantle, trying for an encouraging smile as though her heart wasn’t slamming in her ribcage at the mere sight of him. “How’d it go with your brother?”

He came to stand next to her, gazing down into the flames. “Whatever enmity we had between us is now over.”

“That’s great,” she murmured. “I guess taking me as your wife to piss him off was never really necessary.”

Half his face was cast in shadow as he turned to look at her, and it occurred to her that she shouldn’t have said that—not that she hadn’t thought it

“Are you alright?” To her surprise, he didn’t sound irritated, only concerned.

She nodded. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You look… downcast.”

Well, that was one way to put it. She smiled but it was halfhearted. “I’m alright. I mean, I guess so. I just…” A sigh filled the air between them. “I’m still not sure what you want with me, Sylvester. I don’t know what you feel for me. I haven’t had time to think about it between last night and this morning, but now I’m wondering again.” She chuckled. “It sounds stupid, I know, I—”

“No, it doesn’t.” He was smiling. “Not at all.”

She blinked at him.

“I want you, Diane,” he told her. “Do you understand me?”

“I… I just—”

Before she could complete her sentence, he suddenly dropped to one knee. At first, Diane feared his legs had given out. Then she realized what was happening.

Her eyes widened. “Sylvester, what are you—?”

“In Pine Gap, we men simply ask for what we want. We do not kneel.” When he looked up at her, she thought she might melt on the spot. In the firelight, his eyes gleamed. He tilted his head to one side. “That matters little to me right now. I want you, Diane. Not as my prisoner, not as a means to get to my brother, but as a wife to spend the rest of my days with.”

An uncomfortable silence ensued.

Diane’s heart was threatening to explode now. “Sylvester…”

“What will your answer be, Diane Garrick?”

He smiled at her, and her heart melted.

“This Thanksgiving dinner was a disaster,” she said, with a shrug. “But hopefully, next year’s will be much better.”

The look he gave her was one of pure confusion.

“What I’m trying to say is”—she felt herself blush to the roots of her hair—“yes, Sylvester Stormbringer. I will be your wife.”

With that, she threw her arms around his neck as he rose to his feet. Sylvester put his arms around her, lifting her off the floor and kissing her, and in that moment, Diane thought it was the most wonderful thing she’d ever experienced.

Things did turn out great, after all. No matter the situation, no knew it wouldn’t be easy being the wife of a dragon, much less a Stormbringer, but this was one romantic adventure she was more than willing to embark on.

A thought occurred to her just then, and she broke the kiss.

“What’s wrong?” Sylvester asked, frowning at her in concern.

She pouted. “You haven’t put a ring on my finger. A ring makes it official.”

His eyes twinkled. “I am a blacksmith. I will make you a ring out of the strongest metal I can find.”

“It’s not a diamond ring,” she replied, “but I’ll take it.”

He threw his head back in laughter. And then he kissed her again.