Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 157450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 630(@250wpm)___ 525(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 787(@200wpm)___ 630(@250wpm)___ 525(@300wpm)
“Go. Now. All of you. Go!” I wave them away. Danny and Jessie exchange anxious glances, but they scatter.
Thank fuck.
I turn my attention back to Alessia. “This is why I didn’t bring you here. There are just too many people in this house.”
She tears her gaze away from me, her brow furrowed, her mouth a tight line.
“This morning I had breakfast with nine staff, and that was just the first sitting. I didn’t want to intimidate you with all…this.” I wave at the portraits of my father and the first earl while she traces the intricate carvings on the eagle with one finger. She remains mute.
“And I wanted you to myself,” I whisper.
A tear slides down her cheek.
Fuck.
“Do you know what he said?” she whispers.
“Who?”
“Ylli.”
One of those fucking intruders at the Hideout. “No.” Where is she going with this?
“He said that I am your concubine.” Her voice is hushed, full of shame.
No!
“That’s…absurd. It’s the twenty-first century….” It takes all my self-restraint not to pull her into my arms, but I inch closer, so close that the warmth from her body seeps into mine. Somehow I manage not to touch her. “I would say that you’re my girlfriend. That’s what we say here. Though I don’t want to presume. We’ve not discussed our relationship, as this has all happened so quickly. But that’s what I want to call you. Girlfriend. My girlfriend. Which means that we are together in a relationship. But that’s only if you’ll have me.”
Her eyelashes flutter over her dark, dark eyes, but she gives nothing away.
Shit.
“You’re a bright, talented woman, Alessia. And you’re free. Free to make your own choices.”
“But I’m not.”
“You are here. I know you’re from a different culture, and I know we’re not economic equals, but that’s just an accident of birth….We are equals in every other way. I’ve fucked up. I should have told you, and I’m sorry, deeply sorry. But I don’t want you to go, I want you to stay. Please.”
Her fathomless eyes strip me bare as she studies my face, and then she turns her attention to the carved eagle.
Why is she avoiding me? What is she thinking?
Is it the trauma she’s just been through?
Or is it because those fuckers are out of the picture, so she no longer needs me?
Shit. Maybe that’s the reason.
“Look, I can’t keep you here if you want to leave. Magda is moving to Canada. So where you’ll go, I don’t know. If nothing else, stay until you know where. But please don’t go. Stay. With me.”
She can’t run…she can’t.
Forgive me! Please.
I hold my breath. Waiting.
It’s excruciating. I’m the defendant in the dock waiting for the verdict.
She turns her tearstained face to me. “You are not ashamed of me?”
Ashamed? No!
I can bear it no longer. I skim the back of my index finger across her cheek, capturing a tear. “No. No. Of course not. I…I…I’ve fallen in love with you.”
Her lips part, and I hear her just-audible gasp.
Shit. Am I too late?
Her eyes glisten with fresh tears, and my heart clenches with a new and intimidating sensation. Perhaps she’ll reject me. My anxiety level ratchets up several notches, and I’ve never felt as vulnerable as I do now.
What’s the verdict, Alessia?
I open my arms, and she looks from my hands to my face. Her expression uncertain. It’s killing me. She bites her lower lip and takes one small hesitant step, and she’s in my embrace. I wrap my arms around her and press her to my chest. I never want to let her go. Closing my eyes, I bury my nose in her hair and inhale her sweet scent. “My love,” I whisper.
She shudders and starts to sob.
“I know. I know. I’ve got you. You’ve had a terrible fright. I’m sorry I left you on your own. It was a stupid thing to do. Forgive me. But those arseholes are in police custody. They’re gone. They won’t harm you again. I’ve got you.” Her arms slide around me, and she grabs my coat at the back. She holds me as she weeps.
“I should have told you, Alessia. I’m sorry.”
We stand for seconds, minutes, I don’t know. Jensen and Healey give up on us and wander down the stairs.
“You can cry on me anytime,” I tease. She sniffles, and I tip her chin up and stare down into beautiful, red-rimmed eyes. “I thought…oh, God, I thought if they got their hands on you…I’d never see you again.”
Swallowing, she gives me a weak smile.
“And you must know,” I continue, “I’d be honored to call you mine. I need you.” And loosening my hold, I gently caress her face, avoiding the slight red mark on her right cheek. The sight of her bruise fills me with anger, but, taking great care not to touch it, I smooth away her tears with my thumbs. She places her hand on my chest. Through my shirt I feel the warmth. It spreads. Everywhere.