“They just...” she tried. “They just came out of nowhere. And they said my name. They asked for me by name.”
Leo hugged her and pulled her face into his chest so she could feel his warmth, his protection, his presence.
“I know.”
“How? How did you know where to find me?”
“It was Aaron. He paid them to attack you.”
“Aaron? He went this far?”
Leo felt drained. The danger was over, the excitement in his body dissipated, and all that remained was shame. Shame for his family and what they had done to her, and most of all the shame for him that treated her abhorrently, that had put her in harm's way.
“I am so sorry, Prim. This is all my fault. All of it.”
He withdrew a little, still unwilling to let her go despite his feelings.
“I should have protected you better. I should have treated you better.”
He dared look up at Prim. She earned the right to look him in the eye and tell him that he didn't deserve her.
“It was all Aaron,” he explained. “I finally found the proof and confronted him, and you were right. My mother had nothing to do with it. Even if she did, it was unfair, no, it was cruel of me to talk to you like that when all you wanted to do was help me.”
Prim just looked at him as he was pouring out his heart. It was for him something quite novel. He always kept everything bottled up inside, allowing only the emotions that people expected from the rakish Lord of Mildenhall. But today he almost lost the woman that he loved, and suddenly everything else seemed ridiculous.
“I hated my mother for so long, Prim, or so I thought. Because again, you were right. I didn't hate my mother. I hated the injustice done to me. I was sad about the abandonment I witnessed so early in my life. and I was angry with the world for what was taken from me.”
Prim finally moved. And if there was any doubt that his wife was the real strong person in this room, it completely dispersed when, gently, Prim cupped his face and made him look at her.
“I am so sorry, Prim.”
“I know.”
Her sweet tone and her soft look made Leo just break down. He tied his arms around her waist and let his head fall on her shoulder, her supporting him this time. After so many days, after this long, Leo felt that he was finally home.
CHAPTER 30
Night Stands
“You're hurt,” Prim said.
“It's nothing,” Leo replied, looking away.
“You’ve torn your knuckles, you have a knife wound, you have tied with a scarf, and there’s blood all over you. Let’s redefine nothing, should we?”
At the faint whiff of sarcasm, of how it was between them before, Leo looked up into her eyes with hope. It was strange, this new reality they were wrapped in. The relationship was finding a new balance. Again. From strangers to conspirators, from allies to friends, from lovers to husband and wife, from back to stranger to whatever this was right now.
“You have asked for a bath,” Prim said. “Go on, and I'll be there to take care of your wounds. Unless you want me to call the doctor.”
“Can't you help me with our bath?” Leo said. “As you said,I am hurt.”
“This is a very cheap trick.”
“Is it working though?”
Prim looked at him with reservations. She had once before let go of whatever this was between them, and she found herself hurt. Now this new balance was born out of the danger that she faced, but it changed nothing.
Leo seemed to read the shift inside her and dropped the teasing smile. He studied her face, and he seemed to master all his power simply to talk to her. Prime decided to give him the chance to express himself if he felt ready for it. So she just sat on the bed and looked at him.
