“Thank you too.”
“No, I mean, thank you for letting me…. I’ve never come inside anyone before.”
He shifted slightly under her ear, and she knew he was wondering, so she whispered the truth. “It was a first for me too.”
He chuckled, a low, pleased sound. Somehow possessive without being smug. The most carefree and happy she had ever heard him.
For the first time in years, something settled inside her. She was in the right place. Exactly where she wanted to be.
And, for the first time, she was starting to believe he wanted to be there too.
Chapter Fourteen
Tor could smellKeely’s hair and warm skin, the scent of sex heavy in the room. She sighed gently, her body soft and trusting in his arms. Gods, he’d come inside her. He should have been terrified, but instead, it felt perfect. He had chosen her, and she had chosen him back.
He had never known a woman like her. Riding day and night to get to her was the first thing he’d done right in months. Yes, her very existence threatened his control in every way. But she was worth it.
She tilted her head up to look at him, and he smiled back at her. And then felt his smile falter—her eyes were clear, but fine worry lines had settled on her brow. And when she nibbled on her lip, he knew that there was more she needed to say.
All he wanted was to hold her, lying quietly together. After all the weeks of uncertainty and loneliness, he wanted to take a moment to enjoy being with her. But Keely had something on her mind, and if he’d learned anything, it was that ignoring it would not make it better.
He cleared his throat. “You can tell me. Or ask me. Whatever it is, I won’t ever lie to you.”
She nodded slowly, her eyes traveling over his face, searching. “What did you think of my letter?” she asked eventually.
How the hell was he going to answer that? “I don’t really—”
“I mean,” she interrupted. “Were you pleased with it?”
He frowned. “No.”
She flinched, her eyes going wide as she stiffened. “You’re not pleased. But you still came all this way, you still—” She sat up, taking the blanket with her as she shook her head. “I don’t understand you. Not at all.”
She might not understand him. But hereallydidn’t understand her, or anything about what the fuck was happening. “Why should I be pleased with a letter that tells me goodbye?”
“What?” She blinked, and then scraped at her eyes with the back of her hand, but she didn’t try to pull away. If anything, she softened slightly.
“Tell me why I should be pleased that you were leaving.”
Her eyebrows pulled closer together as she turned her face toward him. “But that’s not what my letter said… well, not everything.”
It was his turn to blink. “Wasn’t it?”
“Didn’t you read it?”
“No. I left within minutes of getting it. I’ve been on the road every second of the day since then.”
He wanted to stop there, but he’d only just promised never to lie. “And, honestly, I didn’t want to read it. I didn’t want to know that you were gone forever. It’s still in my pocket.”
“Oh, Bard.” She started to laugh, a wild, hysterical, slightly watery laugh. The laugh of a person standing on top of a mountain and wondering if they might accidentally jump.
She looked at him and then away as her laugh trailed off, but she didn’t say anything. There was something more. Something in her letter. Something that she was now afraid to reveal. Gods. “Keely, you’re worrying me.”
She bent her knees, wrapping her arms around them, watching him uneasily. “You came for me. Bard. You came to find me, and that means everything. But Tor, there’s something you need to know.”
The silence extended around them, filled with only the soft sigh of the wind around the rough farmhouse.
“Keely?” he prompted.
