“If you answer something for me first.”
His proximities wreaking havoc on her, she could only swallow audibly and nod.
“Did you mean what you said?”
Her heart jumped in panic. It hadn’t even dawned on her that he might have overheard everything she’d said to Randy or Vi. She hadn’t considered he would even be there. Why would she? What were the odds? But that wasn’t her problem anymore. How much had he heard?
“What?” she forced out at last.
“The things you said.” His lashes lowered, shadowing his eyes as he surveyed her parted lips. “Did you mean them?”
“Did you?” she heard herself ask back. “The things you said in your office, did you mean them?”
His gaze lifted to hers and latched.
“I wanted to.”
His quiet confession splintered through her, denting her resolve.
“But did you?”
It took longer for him to answer. His jaw was clenched so tight, she almost feared his teeth would shatter. His eyes blazed with his inner turmoil. Tension vibrated off him to fill the cool air around them.
“Damn it, Juliette!” he growled at last, his calm mask cracking. “Don’t do this.” Black eyes burned into hers, flashing and crackling with fear, anger, and so much longing it nearly destroyed her. “Don’t ask me that.”
Heartbroken, she started to draw away from him. “Then it doesn’t matter if I meant what I said, does it?” She broke the connection and turned away. “Goodb—”
His hand closed over her mouth from behind. “Don’t!” he breathed into her ear. “Don’t say that again. I can’t stand it.” His fingers relaxed and his hand slipped away. But even without him holding her, she could feel the brush of his chest against her back, the whisper of his breath along her skin. He was so close his heat was a warm blanket around her bare shoulders. “Every voice in my head is telling me I should let you go.” It was only the vibration of those words across her back that assured her she hadn’t misheard. It was the kick of his heart against her shoulder blade. “That yes, I meant every word and I should tell you to leave.”
Juliette struggled to regulate every breath, too afraid the smallest movement might jar him back to his senses.
“Is that what you want?” She licked her lips. “Do you want me to leave?”
“Yes.” He didn’t even hesitate.
The single word shot through her like rusted daggers. Pain and embarrassment heated beneath her cheeks and she began to pull away.
“Ask me what I need, Juliette.”
Her heart cracked against her ribs, a helpless boat in an angry storm.
“What do you need?” It was said in barely above a choked whisper.
“I need to breathe again.” Each word vibrated as though torn from his very soul. They wrapped around her with their thorny edges and cut in deep. “I need to feel what it’s like not to be dying inside.” The tip of his nose grazed the side of her face lightly, barely even a whisper. “I need you.”
Juliette didn’t stop to let him finish. She spun on her heels and threw herself into his arms, arms that wasted no time gathering her up against his chest. Her ribs cracked, but she didn’t care.
“I didn’t,” he whispered into her ear. “I didn’t mean a damn word I said that night.”
“I meant what I said,” she whispered into the side of his neck. “I love you.”
The arms tightened, crushing and painful. “Jesus, Juliette.” His ragged breath burned into the bare skin of her shoulder. “Jesus, I love you.” He drew back to take her face between his hands. Urgency and desperation blazed bright behind his eyes, brightening them with a deep inner light. “I don’t know how, but I’m going to make this work. I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep you. I swear it.”
She started to tell him she believed him when they were interrupted by the hurried click of heels on stone. They both glanced up just as Maraveet rounded a row of bushes and clipped into view, a phone clasped to her ear. Her golden gown shimmered beneath the lights. The sequins glittered with every fluid motion. She spotted them and jogged forward.
“I found them,” she said into the phone. “No, no one’s hurt or naked. Right?” She snickered before turning green eyes on them. “Your sister says a little warning would be nice next time you hang up on her. Also, she’s … hold on.” She paused to listen to whatever Vi was saying on the other end. “Right. Okay, hold on.” Pulling the phone away, she hit speaker and Vi’s voice filled the silence. “All right, go on.”
“About time! Do you have any idea how hard it was to get the two of you in the same place at the same time? You owe us big. I would like my thank you in hundred dollar bills or a nice Porsche, just an FYI.”
Juliette exchanged bemused glances with Killian before facing the other woman. “What is this? What did you two do?”
“What we did?” Maraveet huffed. “We saved our own sanities is what we did.”
“You two are the biggest babies on the planet,” Vi chimed in. “Someone had to do something.”
“I don’t understand! How do you two even know each other?” Juliette demanded.
“We met for coffee,” Maraveet answered as though it were the most normal thing in the world. “We had a few words and decided we had a few things in common.”
“Yeah, like two totally unreasonable, emo siblings,” vi piped in.
Juliette sighed. “So the tickets. That was you?” She looked hard at Maraveet.
“It was me actually.” Vi snickered. “Mar gave them to me, but I was the one who gave them to Randy’s boss and told him Randy had won best employee of the month or some such nonsense. Idiot actually believed me.”
Juliette shook her head. “But why?”
“Because Killian has been an absolute nightmare and he wouldn’t do it himself,” Maraveet muttered. “I thought that if he saw you with another man, he might get his act together and do the right thing. Clearly, I was right.”
“What if it hadn’t worked?” Juliette demanded. “What if it had ended badly?”
There was a pause, and then simultaneously, both Vi and Maraveet asked, “How?”
Clearly the notion of things not going their way had never occurred to them, which kind of scared Juliette.
“Perhaps we should finish this talk at home,” Killian advised, glowering at his sister. “Tell Viola I’ll have someone pick her up and bring her to the manor. I believe it’s time for a family meeting.”
Without waiting for Vi or Maraveet to say a word, Killian took Juliette’s hand and led her back towards the conservatory. Along the way, he released her and slipped that same hand around her back. His fingers curved at her waist, burning her through the thin material of her dress. That single touch worked along every inch of skin, raising goose bumps and reminding her just how badly she’d missed his hands on her.
“Killian?”
He glanced down at her, his face illuminated by the glowing lights pouring over them from the approaching terrace. She waited until they’d climbed the ivory steps to the top before turning to face him.
“What happens now?” She glanced down at the arm hooked gently, but with a near possessiveness about her waist. “What does this mean? Is this going to be only sex again?”
“No.” The fingers on the hand not holding her lifted to ghost lightly along the side of her face. “I meant what I said. I will find a way to keep you. It’s selfish and dangerous and it scares the hell out of me, but I can’t let you go again, not unless it’s what you want.”
“Are you going to keep being the Scarlet Wolf?” she asked.
Killian paused to consider her question. “I don’t understand.”
Emotion tightened around her windpipe, making words and breathing impossible, but she forced them out with a strangled gasp.
“I can’t live in your world,” she choked out. “I can’t run and hide every time the doorbell rings and sneak around to see you in some nondisclosed location for a quickie. I want babies, Killian, and I want to be able to raise them without being afraid something might happen. I want to be with someone I won’t worry about every time he leaves the house. I want normal.”