Alarm jolted through her, and her eyes flew open.
No.
No!
The sheets beside her were smooth, empty. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, gilding the room with brightness—and revealing its stark vacancy.
He was gone.
Her heart lurched. The bloody man had gone.
She threw back the bedclothes and, heedless of her nakedness, stumbled to the window. Panic swelled until it brimmed over into fury. She would kill him. She would chase him to the ends of the earth and kill him for leaving her again?—
“You wear the dawn better than any silk, princesse.”
The words spun through her like fine wine, heady and intoxicating, and when she turned, her pulse leapt, fluttering wildly.
He was the man she had wanted from the very first moment she saw him—so impossibly handsome, so noble without meaning to be, so exasperatingly cocksure and yet so utterly, devastatingly loveable.
He was fully dressed, immaculate from polished boots to precise cravat, balancing a tray laden with steaming cups and covered dishes. The rich aroma of chocolate, fresh bread, and bacon drifted into the room, teasing her senses, grounding her in the absurd reality of him.
The blasted man. The impossible, wonderful, infuriating man.
Her heart thudded back into its place, though still too fast, and she had to force deep breaths before she could steady herself.
“I had thought…” Her voice cracked. “The bed was empty. Don’t do that again.”
And then, before she could stop it, tears welled, spilling hot and fast down her cheeks.
In an instant, the tray was abandoned, and warm, strong arms closed around her. He gathered her against him, protective and sure, folding her into the unshakable safety of his frame.
“Plus jamais. Jamais. Oh, ma princesse.”
Never again.
The words were rough and certain, and she clung to him as though they were a lifeline. He steadied her, anchoring her even though everything still felt so fragile.
“I trust you. I do,” she whispered into his chest. “It’s only… I’m so happy, and when I thought—” Her breath hitched, broken.
“I know.” His hand soothed over her hair. “And my purpose, for the rest of my life, is to keep you safe in that happiness. To fight for it. For you. We are meant to be together, you and I. Destined. Nothing will tear us apart again.”
He was hers.
She believed that. She did.
“It is fate, non? Madam Nadya promised. We endured our time apart, but now we can be together again. Forever.”
Ambrosia blinked the tears out of her eyes and pulled back to stare up at him. “Forever.”
He lowered his lips and sealed the promise with the most tender, the most loving, aching, devoted of all kisses.
When their lips parted in a sigh, Ambrosia was surprised to see Dash blinking hard.
His eyes looked suspiciously bright, and then one lone tear escaped to trail down that noble tanned cheek and disappear into the shadow of his morning stubble.
“You forgive me?” The words emerged from him along with a choking sound. “I’m so––”
But Ambrosia stopped his words with another kiss. A soft one that was meant to absolve him of this completely.
