She looked so bewildered, he brought her into his arms. ‘Like this,’ he said. Kissing her gently, he set her down on the bed. Everything had been racing towards an inevitable conclusion, but suddenly she wrapped her arms around her naked chest and crossed her legs for good measure, hiding her face in her knees. He had never seen a sadder picture. ‘If you’ve changed your mind...’ easing his neck, he shrugged ‘...there’s nothing wrong with that. You’re frightened. I get it.’
‘A little,’ she admitted in a small voice.
At that moment, he would have liked to take the individual responsible for doing this to her by the scruff of his neck and bring him to his knees in front of Samia to beg for her forgiveness. ‘Did he hurt you very badly?’
‘Yes.’
He could barely hear her. ‘Every time?’
‘Every time,’ she confirmed in the faintest of voices.
Gritting his teeth, he lay down beside her and gathered her into his arms. Compared to this, his turmoil was nothing. His emotions had been battered? Not in comparison to Samia’s. Any move he made now would feel like a violation. He had to re-evaluate everything.
‘Luca?’
‘Don’t. Don’t look at me like that. There’s no cause for you to be embarrassed.’
‘I’ve done nothing wrong?’ she suggested with a sad little twist of her mouth. ‘You must be wondering if you can trust anything I say.’
‘No. I believe you.’
‘I was running away from his thugs when I blundered into that bar,’ she said softly. He stilled, knowing she needed to have someone listen to her. ‘He’s on his honeymoon with his new young wife, having left instructions to make sure I had a good time too. The only difference is that a good time for me in his eyes is as much pain and suffering as he can inflict. And anyone I turn to will receive the same treatment.’ She shook her head in despair and her eyes were stricken as they stared into his. ‘I’ve put you in danger, but I was desperate. I wasn’t thinking—’
‘You were thinking,’ he insisted. ‘You needed to get away. And you’ve put no one in danger, least of all me.’
‘He texted me the details of how he’d like to see me beaten up,’ she continued, staring blindly into some scene of horror. ‘He said I’d never find a hole small enough to hide in.’
Nice, he thought, grinding his jaw. What type of moron did that to a woman, to anyone? Remaining silent, he let Samia talk. This was therapy for a wounded mind. Her profession was immaterial. All he cared about was the well-being of his bride.
‘He could never let go of anything he’d once owned,’ she was saying, almost as if speaking to herself. ‘Goodness knew, I had enough opportunity to learn that while we were together, but I was blind to it, thinking only that I’d lost my mother and now I had to save my father. I left when my father went to prison where my ex couldn’t harm him. I know my father wasn’t totally blameless, but he was weak, and that monster took advantage of him. I thought I could protect him, but I was wrong.’
‘How were you supposed to stand up to a bully and protect your father, when you could hardly protect yourself?’
‘I didn’t think. I just knew I had to help him, and I tried.’
‘You did your best,’ he reassured her, ‘and that’s all any of us can do.’
‘Then, you came along, and yes, while I genuinely didn’t know who you were at first, I did see an opportunity to figure out my next move while I was safely away at sea on your yacht.’
He let the silence hang, and then he said, ‘Thank you for your honesty. And, for the record? Not all men are the same.’
Relaxing a little, she looked into his eyes. ‘I know that now.’
Standing up, he covered her with the sheet and tucked her in, so every inch of her body was covered. He couldn’t bear to see her looking so vulnerable. She had nothing to apologise for. It was her ex-husband who should hang his head in shame. Samia was a survivor, and had proved this time and time again. ‘I think we both need to take a few deep breaths and step back,’ he said.
‘What if I don’t want to?’ she whispered.
When he studied her face, he saw the same appeal that stabbed his heart each time he looked at her. Would this feeling vanish in time, or was it something to build on?
‘You’re welcome to sleep here,’ he told her. ‘I’ll take a guest suite.’
‘Must you?’ She held out her hand to him.
‘Yes. But first I have a question to ask you.’
‘Go on...’
‘Marry me.’
