“Come with us, Mar. Hang up your hat. This could be a second chance for both of us.”
Her gaze went to where Juliette and Vi stood. “Not sure I’m ready for that.”
He knew pushing would make no difference, so he relented. “Don’t take too long.”
There were tears in her eyes when they rose up to his. She gave him a lopsided grin. “Think you’d be getting rid of me that easily, little brother?”
He pulled her into his arms. “Better not.”
They stood that way for several minutes before she drew back, sniffling and rubbing at her cheeks.
“Do something for me?” At his nod, she pressed on. “Don’t do anything stupid, okay? I can only make you disappear once and if you screw it up…”
“I won’t,” he promised. “I’m done with all of this. I just want her.”
She expelled a sharp breath. “Good.”
She hurried past him to stand with Juliette and Vi in the filmy shimmer of twilight. Killian watched the trio with a sense of tightness blossoming in his chest. Fear and uncertainty coiled beneath a plume of excitement and joy. He could feel himself shedding tens of thousands of pounds as the weight of the world shifted off his shoulders. He felt no loss at the prospect of never having the things he now possessed. He felt no sadness for walking away from the chains binding him to the past. If anything, the anticipation made him want to break down and sob like a baby.
It was over. The nightmares were gone. He was finally free.
“Hey you.” Juliette crossed over to him, a teasing smile making her eyes twinkle. “What are you looking so happy about over here?”
Without missing a beat, he took her hand and spun her in a flawless twirl straight into his arms. Her squeal echoed off the metal containers around them, followed by the sweet chime of her laughter as she collided with his chest. Her arms went around his neck and she peered up at him with so much love shining in her eyes he felt momentarily dizzy.
“Are you sure you want this?” she asked him softly. “I’m so afraid you’ll come to hate me later for—”
“I could never hate you,” he broke in. “And I have never wanted anything more than I want this.”
She exhaled. “Okay, good, because I want to be with you for the rest of my life and the thought of you not feeling the same—”
“You are never getting rid of me.”
Her head rested on his shoulder. “I’m holding you to that.”
He made love to her that night in his bed. He held her close through every thrust, every delicate bow of her body, and every gasp of his name. He held her long after she’d fallen asleep curled up in his arms. It would be the last time they’d be in that bed together. The last time their joined satisfaction would fill those walls. He waited for some shred of regret, a whisper of uncertainty, but nothing came. If anything, he felt like a prisoner finally getting out of a twenty two year long sentence. He couldn’t wait for dawn.
Stroking a kiss to Juliette’s mouth, he slipped out of bed. He pulled on his trousers and quietly left the room. Silence followed him through the familiar corridors, but it rang differently. It felt foreign and complex. He ignored it all the way to the conservatory. The cold stones nipped at his bare feet as he padded to the heart of his mother’s pride and joy.
Three urns greeted him. One for each of the people he’d lost. Unlike his mother and father’s, Molly’s glinted like a shiny coin.
“I’m leaving,” he told them quietly. “I’m going to marry Juliette and have as many babies as she’ll give me and I am never coming back.”
He couldn’t see it, but he felt the shift in the air. While he didn’t believe in ghosts or spirits, he liked to think his parents were happy with his decision. That they supported it.
Carefully, he gathered the three pots up and took them with him from their stand. He tucked them away inside the hallway closet; he’d promised Maraveet he wouldn’t bring anything with him, but he wouldn’t leave those behind.
That done, he returned to his room, to Juliette who hadn’t moved in his absence. He shut the door and padded back to the bed. The rustle of his pants sliding down his legs had her stirring. She turned her head and squinted through the predawn glow at him.
“Why are you out of bed? Something wrong?”
Kicking off his trousers, he went to her. His fingers hooked in the sheets covering her and he tugged them free. Immediately, her eyes darkened. Her breathing quickened. She was reaching for him even before the condom had snapped properly in place.
“Nothing.” He climbed between her legs and cradled her to him as he pushed inside her. Her low groan pulsed through him as her willing body gripped him tight. “Not a damn thing.”
He took her with slow, even thrusts, working her the way to the very brink before letting her tumble over with a quiet whimper of his name whispered in his ear. Her heat engulfed him, sucking him deeper into her folds. He took his time building her up a second time. Building her up only to demolish her all over again. Only he went with her this time. He let himself get lost in the silky confines of her beautiful body as dragged the very last shudder out of both of them and collapsed in her arms.
“I’m going to miss this bed,” she whispered, her fingers lovingly stroking his hair as he nuzzled into her chest. “It holds so many good orgasm memories.”
Killian burst out laughing. The sound echoed through the room and tangled with hers. He raised his head and peered down into her partially shadowed features.
“We’ll make new orgasm memories in a new bed,” he promised. “And in the showers, floors, and all the walls and tables.”
“Wow! You’ve really thought this through.”
Lowering his head, he kissed her lightly. “I am always thinking of ways to get inside you.”
She giggled and caressed the side of his face with gentle fingers. Her eyes searched his as her body stayed firmly closed around him. Killian did not mind. Being enclosed in her arms, her legs, her sex and lips was the only place he ever wanted to be again.
“How does it feel knowing you’ve tamed the wolf, little lamb?”
He expected her to laugh or tell him great. That she was done with the beast. But she kissed him softly and whispered, “I don’t want to tame him. I fell in love with him first.”
Chapter 36
As nerves went, hers were shot. Every second thrummed with a rigid anticipation that made her want to be sick. The late spring morning was bright with so much possibility it hurt to even look at. The breeze was cool as it whispered around them, encouraging or deterring, she wasn’t sure, but it danced through her unbound hair, sending the curtain across her face. She shoved the strands behind her ear and went back to cradling herself.
“It’ll be all right, love,” Killian whispered into the back of her head. His arms tightened around her from behind, compressing her already queasy stomach with his clasped hands. “Just a few more minutes.”
He’d been saying that for nearly an hour. She was beginning to think he didn’t know she could tell time. But she didn’t push. She let him hold her as they stood far below his home, hidden from view in a tucked away road surrounded by trees, watching as the sun rose over the top of his hill. It crashed into the walls of his home and pooled into the fountain of his mother. The whole thing made Juliette want to cry and it wasn’t even her house.
In the car, a non-descript two door Coupe in an unassuming white, Vi was peering up at the estate through the back window. Her face was set, but Juliette could just make out the tense lines around her mouth and the slight twitch as she nibbled on the inside of her lips. She hadn’t said a word since they loaded the car in the pre hours of butt crack dawn, other than to assure Juliette that she was fine. Juliette really wanted to believe her, because if she wasn’t, then it would be Juliette’s fault. She wasn’t entirely sure Vi even fully understood what was happening. What if she regretted it later and resented Juliette for tearing her away from the only home she’d ever known? The thought made her sick. They’d finally begun to make progress. They were finally as close as sisters were supposed to be. She honestly didn’t think she’d be able to handle it if the girl hated her.