“Clara, I’m not leaving until you let me in,” I snapped.
“I’m fine, go back to her,” she called through the door in a shaky voice.
I leaned my head against the wood. “Clara, please let me in.” My voice had changed from demanding to cajoling now. “Baby, open the door.”
It worked. When she pulled the door open, I felt my chest tighten at her red-rimmed eyes behind her glasses.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
She shook her head. “You have nothing to apologise for.”
“Clara, I only took Ophelia to the gala because?—”
She reached up and pressed her fingers over my mouth. “It doesn’t matter,” she said, her tone so sad it gutted me.
“Of course it matters,” I tried to say, but her fingers were still over my lips.
“Rafe, I love you,” she told me. “You’ve got to remember I love you, okay?”
She sounded so final.
I frowned, reaching up to pull her hand away from my mouth and hold it in mine.
“Clara, I love you too, darling. What do you mean by ‘I’ve got to remember’?Pleasetalk to me, tell me what’s going on.”
She smiled a sad smile and went on as if she hadn’t even heard me. “You made me so happy,” she said in just above a whisper. “I felt so safe with you. I didn’t know that life could be this good. I didn’t know I could love anyone this much.”
A warm feeling spread through me and I smiled. “Sweetheart, that’s wonderful. I love you too. I’m so glad that we’re resolving this now. I’m sorry I took Ophelia out, but?—”
She shook her head. “You looked right together. I can see that now.”
I frowned, searching her face. “I’m not interested in Ophelia,” I said slowly. “You understand that, right?”
Her hand came up to trace my jawline as she stared at me as if cataloguing every detail of my face. I caught her hand in mine. “Clara? I fucked up, but I want you. Not her. Yes?”
“Sometimes I think I’m dreaming,” she whispered, a lone tear falling down her cheek. “That I’ve finally snapped, and my mind’s taken me to an alternate reality where I’m yours and you’re mine.”
A trickle of unease went down my spine as I swiped her tear away. “You’re not dreaming, baby. I’m here. I’m yours.” Jesus Christ, something was really wrong with Clara. What the hell was I thinking pulling that stunt with Ophelia? “Clara, you’re scaring me. Please, can’t you tell me why you’re so sad? Why did you retreat from me this week? I’d rather you got angry with me about Ophelia. I can’t bear this sadness, darling.”
Clara shook her head. “I’m not angry with you. I?—”
There was a beat of silence, and then she moved, coming up onto her toes to close her mouth over mine.
Chapter 26
Stay with me
Clara
Rafe growledlow in his throat, and I let the feelings I’d been repressing rush in as he kissed me back. His arms clamped around me like a vice, as if he was worried I’d slip out of his grip. After a moment he pulled back to scan my face, still holding me tight. When I tried to kiss him again, his hand came up to my jaw to hold me steady.
“What... what’s happening?” he asked in a hoarse voice. “Is this what you want?”
I stared straight into his gorgeous blue eyes and told him the truest thing that I had ever said.
“Rafe, all I want is you.”
He hesitated, holding my gaze as his pupils dilated and he kissed me again. We fell back onto the bed, the reassuring weight of his solid body settling on top of me. The feel of him, the smell of him, everything about him calmed the anxiety-riddled, whirling thoughts in my brain. I allowed the endorphins to flood my system,basking in the glow of him. It was a heady feeling after two weeks of shutting down all my emotions.
