A devilish look appears in her eyes. “Follow me.”
She heads back outside, leading me straight toward the garage. My curiosity rises when she pulls back a bookcase and stairs appear leading down. It hits me then.
“Are you taking me to your infamous vault?” I tease, but I’m actually extremely flattered that she’s trusting me with her secrets. I know she’s already shown Gatlin, but that’s about the extent of what he shared. Only because he knew someone had to know where she’d put the key and panels.
At the bottom of the steps, I whistle at the state-of-the-art, massive vault door. It has to be at least a foot thick. She walks up to it, then donates a drop of blood and scans her eye.
“This is quite the setup,” I tell her as she opens the door. She steps inside, and I follow, coming to a halt right inside the door.
The room is crammed with treasures. Jewelry, papers, books, cabinets with a multitude of drawers, some open with items spilling out, and in a glass case in the corner, the infamous vase. Partially finished.
“Don’t touch anything,” she reminds me, leaning against the table in the center of the room.
It’s a veritable museum of history. Pieces dating from all periods of time. Ancient Egypt. Ancient Greece. World War II. A Fabergé egg. And those are only the things I recognize.
“Have you shown Hawthorne these relics?”
Her lips twitch. “No, I’m afraid he’ll forget he’s not supposed to touch.”
I chuckle. She knows him too well. “Probably would.”
The silence falls between us, and I take a deep breath, trying to center my thoughts.
“You gave me the greatest gift today. Truth,” I begin with the point where things began to make sense to me. “All my life, my father gave me nothing but lies and half-truths. And while I could easily discern the difference, I never had a way to force him to give me the answers I so desperately needed.”
“Believe me, I tried everything,” I admit with a wince. “Potions. Spells. Curses. He warded himself so well against me and mage magic overall that nothing ever worked. Until today.”
Her eyes are glued to me.
“Hearing the truth freed me, and it helped me understand you better,” I explain, nervously pacing back and forth. “Spending the last few weeks here, with you, have shown me I was wrong. When Mathias revealed your role in the portals, I didn’t stop to think about why you hid your past. I was too consumed by the fact that I’d let myself be blindsided again. It felt like a lie when in actuality it was fear and your protective instincts that prevented you from telling us. Or anyone, for that matter.”
I move toward her and take her hands in mine. “The four of us, Hawthorne, Gatlin, Mathias and I, were lucky. We found each other and formed a family. All this time, you had nobody. If something happened, you picked up the pieces. Alone.”
She stares up at me, her eyes searching mine. “I should have told you.”
I shake my head. “If you had told us, I don’t know that our reactions would have been any different from what they were. I wish I could say we would have understood, but I doubt it. By getting to know you, care for you, we gained a perspective and attachment that never would have happened if we’d known your past.”
Her eyes drift to the vase in the corner. “Honestly, I would have buried the past if it hadn’t been for my sister. For her, I’d endure anything. Loneliness. Heartbreak. Fury.” She brings her gaze back to me. “You’re right. I was afraid to love again. But I realize now that I can’t go back to the way I was before all of you. You’ve changed me. I want this. I want you.”
Before all this happened, I would look into her gaze and practically see the walls she’d built. Now, her eyes are clear and open, with hope shining in their depths.
“I’m such a fool,” I tell her, slipping my hands around her jaw to cup her face. “You told me in the beginning you wouldn’t share all your secrets. And I told you it was fine as long as you didn’t lie. But the truth is, I lied. When I fell for you, I expected you to open yourself up and trust me. Then, when your past came to light, I immediately cut you off. Punished you with recriminations and anger. I’m sorry. I’m sorryI lied,and I’m sorry I bailed on you.”
Tears slip down her cheeks as she stares up at me. “Does that mean we can start over?”
“No, it means that despite being a fool, I’m hoping you’ll forgive me, so we can move forward, stronger than before, together,” I say, bending down to brush my lips against hers. “It’s been bloody torturous being so close to you and not being able to touch you. Hold you. Kiss you.”
I lean down and do what I’ve only been dreaming about for what seems like fucking ages. Her lips are soft and welcoming and cling to mine with a desperation I thought only I was feeling. My hand moves to the back of her head, holding her to me as I drag the kiss on, unable to stop.
My dick hardens, and I back her up a step, but she immediately jerks out of my arms. “Stop.” I freeze. Does she not want this? “This isn’t the place.” She motions to the dangerouspiles of trinkets on the table behind her, then leads me out of the room and closes the vault door.
I turn toward the stairs, eager to find the nearest damn bed, but she grips my shirt and stops me. Stretching up, her lips meet mine and the fire between us roars to life. Her mouth claims mine as her hands reach for the buttons.
To hell with it.
My hands immediately go to the hem of her sweater, and I yank it off her, revealing her pink silk bra, the light color bright against her olive complexion. My fingers nimbly pinch the clasp in the back, and she immediately shoves it away. My mouth waters at the sight of the luscious breasts that have been haunting my dreams and cold showers for weeks.
Our hands reach for each other, but I capture hers in mine and trap them above her head as I push her against the vault door. She hisses and arches as her bare skin touches the cool steel. I wave a finger, warming the door behind her, and she chuckles.
