“Only if you do it out of love,” Penelope nodded.
“And if one day you resent me for it?”
“I will never resent you,” Penelope shook her head. “That is not a possibility. But I will resent you, if you choose to keep me away, even when it makes sense for the both of us to be together like this.”
“You… truly wish to stay?”
“Have I not made myself plain enough, Your Grace?”
A faint laugh escaped him, and his hands slipped from her face to cradle her waist, drawing her nearer.
“I’ve never understood a woman less in my entire life.”
“Good. Perhaps now you’ll stop assuming you know what’s best for me.”
“I don’t assume…”
She cut him off.
“You told me you love me. And I love you. And we’ve made a tangled mess of things, haven’t we?” Her lips trembled faintly. “But love doesn’t need to be perfect to be worth fighting for.”
“I don’t deserve your fight,” Alexander’s throat worked as he swallowed.
“But that does not stop me,” She dropped her hand to rest it over his heart. “You have all of me. Even the stubborn and reckless parts.”
“Penelope…”
“You sent me away because you thought it was noble. Because you believed it was the only way to protect me.” She pressed her palm firmer against his chest, feeling the frantic heartbeat beneath. “But the truth is, you only left me vulnerable to a different kind of harm. You left me alone.”
“I never wanted to be free from you,” she whispered. “I wanted to be free with you.”
Alexander’s hands gripped her waist tighter.
“I’ll be selfish this time,” he murmured against her temple. “I won’t send you away again.”
“You promise?”
“I swear it.”
“And if danger finds us?”
“I’ll stand between you and every threat,” he vowed softly. “I’ll make certain no harm touches you again.”
“You cannot promise the impossible, Alexander.”
“No,” he agreed quietly. “But I can die trying.”
A tear slid down her cheek, and he caught it with his thumb, brushing it gently away.
“You drive me mad,” he confessed, shaking his head. “Utterly mad.”
“You’ve always been mad,” she teased faintly. “You simply needed me to reveal it.”
“I love you,” he whispered again.
“And I you.”
Their foreheads pressed together again. After a long moment, Penelope drew back slightly, her brow knitting in contemplation.
