Arianna & Finn (Royals of Valleria #3) (25 page)

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Authors: Marianne Knightly

BOOK: Arianna & Finn (Royals of Valleria #3)

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“I thought we discussed this. Any man who saves my daughter can call me Gabriel.”

“And you can call me Genevieve, and I don’t want to hear another word about it.”

“I’d listen to my wife; she’s a force to be reckoned with.”

Finn smiled, then winced at the pain it caused. “Of course. Gabriel, Genevieve.”

Genevieve stood. “We’re going to get some coffee and give the family a call. Why don’t you two spend some time together?”

“Please stay. I didn’t mean to chase you off.”

“You didn’t,” Genevieve said with a smile and took her husband’s hand as they walked out the door.

“They’re subtle, aren’t they?” Finn asked rhetorically before he turned back to look at Arianna. Just the power of his gaze had her heart jumping. As her heart monitor jumped, too, he smiled.

“I think you like me,” he said as he cupped her face. Bandages covered his hands, but just the touch of his skin against hers had her sighing.

“I think I do, too. Oh, Finn, I’m so sorry, about everything. I should have trusted you. I should have -.”

Finn put a bruised finger to her lips. “Shhh. None of that. You’re okay. That’s all that matters.” Finn’s smile turned to worry as he took in her bruises. “Oh, baby, what were you thinking coming here?”

“I was thinking about you,” she said as she laid a hand over his wrist. “I wanted to help you. I needed you, Finn.”

Finn leaned forward and gently touched his forehead to hers. “I need you, too, Princess. But, please, for the love of God, don’t do anything like that again. My heart stopped when I saw you there, with the bombs going off around us.”

“I won’t.” After a pause, she said, “I’m sorry about Henry.”

Finn sighed as he sat up again. “I’m sorry, too.” She held his hand, letting death and grief have a few minutes.

“What happens now?”

“We try to move on, repair the palace, and find everyone who was allied with him. It might take us years to draw them all out.”

“You’re also the ruler of Brazenbourg now.”

Finn nodded as he rubbed her legs through the blanket covering her. “I never expected it. Now, I’m not sure what to do.”

“I could help you.”

His hand stilled. “Do you really want to?”

“Yes. I want to help you, Finn.”

He gave her a searching look before he spoke. “I love you, Arianna; that hasn’t changed. But I’m not looking for a friend to help me out. I want someone to rule with me. I want that someone to be you.”

“Finn.”

“Rule with me. Be my partner, my best friend, and Brazenbourg’s faithful Princess. And be the mother of our children.” He put a hand over her abdomen, where their child lay nestled inside.

She gasped, avoiding his question for the moment. “You know?”

He nodded. “Your parents told me.”

“I wanted to tell you. That’s one of the reasons I came to Brazenbourg; I wanted to tell you in person.” She lifted her hand to his cheek, and his hand covered hers against his face. “I wanted to see your face when I told you.”

“Your parents said that the baby’s okay. It wasn’t hurt in the explosion.”

“Thank God for that.”

He kissed the palm of her hand and let it go. “Arianna. I know it wouldn’t be easy being with me. You’d have to deal with the fallout from being engaged to my brother, to being with me and having our child. It’s a lot to explain, and you’ll probably have to explain it for a long time to come. I know I don’t deserve you, but I think you could grow to love me, if you tried.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “Oh, Finn. I do love you.”

His breath caught. “You love me?”

“Oh, yes.” Her hands delved into his hair and combed it back.

“Because of the baby?”

“Because of you. I don’t just want you because you’re the father of my child. I want you because you’re you. You’re kind, generous, and a wonderful leader, even if you don’t know it.”

“Does that mean you’ll marry me?”

“Oh, yes, Finn. I’d be honored to be your wife.”

“Arianna.” He swept down and gave her a tender kiss; even when they wanted to devour each other, he still treated her with care and compassion. Finn said he didn’t deserve her, but she thought it was her that didn’t deserve him. She would spend the rest of her life proving she did.

His lips traveled from her mouth to kiss her nose, forehead, and cheeks, then down her neck and over her collarbone. He took a minute to rest his head against her chest, where her heart beat strong for him and their child.

She ran her hands through his hair and down his back. “We can have a quick wedding once I’m out.”

“Certainly not. You will marry in a church with your head held high, and that’s final.”

“The White Church by the lake?”

Finn smiled, ignoring the pain this time. “Yes, if you don’t mind.”

“Well, it does have that handy room for consummating the marriage.”

“We’ve kind of already done that part.”

“Does that mean you don’t want to do it again?”

“Never.” Finn reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a small velvet box. She gasped.

“You’ve already said yes, and a woman who marries me deserves a ring. She deserves a lot more than that, but I figure it’s a good place to start.”

He pulled out a beautiful ring in a halo setting. Set in the middle was an emerald of several carats, surrounded on all sides by a ring of diamonds, which extended onto the silver band. “It’s beautiful.”

“It was my mother’s,” Finn said gruffly as he slipped it on. “I wish you could have met her, and my father.”

“So do I,” Arianna said, marveling at the beautiful ring, when a thought occurred to her. “Uh-oh.”

“What is it? Are you in pain?”

“No, no. It’s just, I think you’ll need to ask my father’s permission before marrying me.”

Finn smiled broadly. “I do, do I?”

“Yes. I mean, I don’t think he’ll refuse, but you never know.”

“Stop worrying, Princess. I already asked him.”

“You did? When?”

“When you wouldn’t wake up,” he said, brushing back a lock of her hair. “I told your father that I loved you and that I wanted to marry you as soon as you got healthy again. That’s when he told me about the baby, and asked me if I was ready for that responsibility.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him that I’d been dreaming of that possibility and that there was no way I was turning back from it, and from you. You’re my dream, Princess, you and our babies.”

“Babies? Plural?”

“You don’t think I’m going to stop at just one, do you?” He leaned forward and kissed her, this time with a little heat that had parts of her waking up. They couldn’t act on that heat now, but soon. Soon.

“I love you, Finn.”

“I love you, Arianna.” Finn slid down the bed and kissed her womb through the blanket. “I love you, too, little one.”

THE END

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Want more royals? Royals of Valleria #4 is coming this fall, and Royals of Valleria #5 is coming out this winter. Make sure you’re
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A Note from the Author

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for reading Arianna and Finn’s story! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did, you may want to consider:

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Marianne

About the Author

Marianne Knightly is a pen name.

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