"Yes!" I screamed, the sound tearing from my throat with a joy so pure it felt electric. "Yes, a thousand times, yes!"

I threw my arms around his neck, the force of my movement sending us both tumbling back onto the damp sand. Lucien's laughter was a beautiful, jagged sound against my ear as he crushed me to him. He rolled us over until he was hovering above me, his charcoal doublet ruined by salt and silt, but his eyes-God, his eyes were more brilliant than the ring. He slid the band onto my ...