“I’m so fucking sorry.” Zach’s voice was low and strained as he replied.
He leaned back, just far enough that he could look directly into her eyes, and then he lifted his hands to cradle her face. His skin was cold against the heat in her cheeks, but it burned. Her whole body burned. His touch meant everything.
The world faded. There was nothing else, only Zach, his hands, and his low voice.
“I wish I could go back in time and take away all the stupid things I said.” Zach’s gaze never left hers. “I wanted you to be safe. I wanted you away from danger, and I was prepared to put you in a cage to do it.” His fingers trembled against her cheeks. “Worse than that. I wanted you to cage yourself.”
Her eyes stung and she blinked at the tears. “You hurt me, Zach.”
“I know.” He pressed his lips to her forehead, speaking softly against her skin. “I told myself that it was worth it to keep you safe. I told myself that if you stayed away from Gordon, even if you hated me forever, it would be worth it. Because at least you would be alive. I wanted to believe that if I didn’t help you, you would go back to your bakery. To the warmth and beauty that you’d created. But I realize now that all I was doing was trying to protect myself.”
“I would have been alone.” Her words rasped. “Iwasalone.”
“I’ll regret that for the rest of my life.” He pressed one last kiss against her forehead and then he stepped back, letting his hands fall from her face as his Shadows curled back in on themselves, slowly falling away from hers.
Zach smiled sadly. “You already gave me one more chance, I don’t expect another. But I want you to know thatyouare the one who makes me want to stay. You’re worth any risk. Any amount of fear. I hope that one day, I’ll be able to show you. But for now, I’m here to help you. Tell me what you need.”
Tell me what you need.Her Shadows reached for him and her heart thudded heavily in her chest as she tried to absorb what he was saying.
“Tell me how I can help,” Zach said. “Whatever you need. That’s what we’ll do.”
She needed to get out of the room her father had locked her in. She needed to break into Gordon’s terrible grove and destroy his store of blood Shadows. She needed to survive… and then what?
He had hurt her, but she had hurt him too. And yet, here he was. Zach had come for her. He’d followed her. He was offering her more than just his support, he was giving her his trust. His belief. His whole heart. He was allowing himself to be truly vulnerable. For her.
What did she need? Really? This was the moment of choice. She could let him step away from her and go to his long, lonely life, like David. Or she could fight for what they could be. Together.
She already knew the answer. She reached up to wrap her fingers around his biceps, stood on her toes, and then pressed her mouth to his.
Zach’s muscles tensed, his body going utterly still for one long frozen moment, and then he surged forward. He wrapped his arms around her and hauled her up his body to kiss her back.
His Shadows poured over hers in a molten rush of ocean-blue and charcoal. Like falling through the sky toward the ocean. Emma’s Shadows flowed up and out of her, beyond her control, beyond any kind of control, and wrapped themselves around Zach’s, just as his enveloped hers, binding them together.
They held each other, lost in each other, until a car rumbled past on the street outside, reminding them of where they were.
They pulled apart slowly, but his hands remained clenched tight against her back as if he would hold her there forever.
“Can you forgive me?” Zach asked.
“I already forgave you,” Emma said softly.
“That wasn’t…. You have a big heart, and you were trying to set me free.” Zach’s voice dropped to a deep rasp. “Emma, you’re it for me. I’ll never let you doubt it again.”
He was with her. Genuinely, utterly with her. She couldn’t help the smile that slowly spread. Her Shadows were still tangled with Zach’s, woven together and creating a true, unbreakable connection between them. “You’re it for me, too.”
Zach ran his hands down her hair, his fingers trembling slightly as they swayed together for a long moment. “Can we do this together?” he asked.
“Yes.” She held him for another long moment. “I wish we didn’t have to be here, but, Zach, there isn’t anyone in the world I’d rather have at my side.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, accepting her words. Then he opened them again and pressed a hard kiss to her mouth. “What do we do first?” he asked.
“First, we break into Gordon’s creepy atrium and destroy some blood.”
Zach raised his eyebrow. “The big greenhouse on the roof? You’ve been in there?”
“Not exactly…. I had a dream.”
“Alright.” Zach slipped his hand into hers, twining their fingers together without question. “Let’s go.”
