“No, Thierry, that’s not true.”
“Sarah, I am a very private man. I always have been. But your presence in my life has shone light into my darkness.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“I thought so. But now I’m not so sure. You are so open. So willing to give yourself over to that which may bring you pain. I don’t understand. I thought I could control it. But when I witnessed you with Quinn the other day, in his embrace, I lost all decorum. It drove me mad with jealousy. Made me make rash decisions. And earlier tonight that jealousy blinded me and drove me into the night and into the clutches of Janie.”
“She’s gone now.”
“No one has ever rescued me before, do you know that?”
“Veronique did.”
“A very long time ago and for her own purposes. And ever since she plucked me from the heap of burning corpses there has been a part of me that wished that she hadn’t. For centuries I have wished that death would take me, to let me rest.”
I pressed my lips together, trying not to cry. Well, trying not to blubber, anyhow. It was a little late for the not crying.
“And then I met you,” he said, capturing my gaze. “In my darkest hour. When I felt there was nothing left to live for. I knew I’d found an angel who’d come to save me.”
“An angel?”
“Not literally, of course. You are far from angelic sometimes, Sarah.”
I frowned at him.
A smile tugged at his lips. “I had spent centuries with Veronique and had come to care for her in my own way, but she never touched my heart. In fact, I had begun to doubt that I even had one. But a few days with you and you . . . you saved me. Over and over again, and you probably never even realized it. With your words, with your touch—with simplyyou . And I had never been so afraid in my entire life. For I know who I am. What I am. And the thought of becoming close with someone, after so very long, was too much for me to bear. So I tried to push you away.”
“What are you trying to say, Thierry?”
“What I’m trying to say is that I . . . ” His throat worked. “I adore you, Sarah. Every day that you’re in my life. Despite my brain telling me to push you away, to save you from yourself, my heart cannot help but be selfish. The thought fills me with fear, that I may hurt you, that you may be hurt by others, but I can’t be silent any longer. I . . . I love you, Sarah. I do. Please, never doubt that.”
Holy shit.
“Youlove me?” I blinked. In shock. “Really?”
“You sound surprised.”
“Well, I’m surprised. Yeah, I am.”
“You didn’t think me capable of love?”
“Actually, no. No offense.”
He shifted in the chair, looking a little uncomfortable with his admission. “None taken. So now what—?”
I threw my arms around him and cut off his words with a kiss, ignoring my tears, as they’d become tears of happiness. Thierry loved me.Me . How in the hell did that happen?
“I love you, too,” I whispered into his ear. “But I’m pretty sure you already know that, don’t you?”
I let go of him, finally, and leaned back. His eyes were dark.
“So you forgive me?” he asked.
“No. But I think I will eventually. You’re not leaving for France anymore, right?”
He studied me for a moment. “I suppose any trips I have planned can wait.”
“Good answer.”
He smiled. “I won’t be much good to you tied to this chair, you know.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” I kissed him again and felt his response, his lips parting as the kiss deepened. After a moment, I leaned back again. “I’mso keeping the handcuffs. Just try not to struggle too much, because they do pinch.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Indeed.”
“Yes,indeed .” I beamed at him. “So we’re together. You’re not going to go all cold and distant on me again, are you?”
“But I do cold and distant so well.”
“You really do. It’s a gift.”
“If you wish to be with me, I don’t wish to argue.”
“And you love me.”
He smiled. “Yes, I love you, Sarah Dearly.”
“Then everything is perfect.”
My heart swelled almost enough to burst. So I said nothing else, and instead hugged him tightly, my mouth meeting his in another kiss that left nothing unsaid, with nothing restrained. I knew nothing could ruin this moment. It was perfect. My fractured fairy tale come to life.
His cell phone rang and I leaned back, reached into his inner jacket pocket to pull it out, and held the call display up for him to see.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “It’s my wife.”
I grimaced. Well, maybe things weren’tthat perfect.
“Don’t answer it,” he said.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
I saw motion off to the right. George and Quinn were coming toward us, limping slightly and rubbing their heads.
“What in the hell happened?” Quinn asked.
“My brain feels like it’s going to explode,” George said. “And not in a good way.”