Miss Delmonte gaped, and when she found her voice, it was only a whisper. “But I am not—”
Silas pressed a finger to her lips and shook his head. “Not a single word, Miss Delmonte. I will not listen to you or anyone else speak such horrid things about someone so dear to me.”
His finger drifted along the edge of her mouth, his gaze falling to his touch as he longed to do so much more. But he forced his attention back to the matter at hand. His gaze softened as it held hers, though his conviction did not waiver.
“I love you, Judith Delmonte.” He spoke her name with its proper pronunciation, smiling as it rolled off his tongue with that Italian ease. “Yes, I am grateful for all you do for my children and my household. You are immensely capable, and I would be a fool to overlook such fine qualities. But you are the greater fool if you think it was gratitude that made my days drag while you were gone. Or that it is mere loneliness that has me pining for your company even when I am surrounded by others.”
The lady’s eyes glistened, her brows rising as he spoke.
“You are lovely,” Silas whispered, his lips pulling into a smile as he studied her features. Logically, he knew others may not think so, but Silas couldn’t think of a lady more deserving of such a description. “You say there are others more suited to be my wife, but I can tell you with absolute certainty there are not. No one could ever compare. Your kindness, patience, spirit are but some of the many qualities I admire about you, but I could never hope to list them all.”
Her lips trembled, and Silas brushed a thumb against them, his arm tightening around her.
“I am going to kiss you now. Not because I am lonely or you’re convenient, but because I cannot bear to go another moment without doing so,” he said, his hand drifting down her neck to rest at her nape.
Her eyes were wide, but her gaze fell to his lips. Silas drew closer, and she softened in his hold. With no more than an inch between them, he paused and held her gaze, studying her warm eyes. Her lids slid closed, and Silas smiled to himself. Needing no more invitation, he pressed his lips to hers.
Though buried beneath layers of embarrassment and self-flagellation, Silas still relished their first kiss; it had been a moment of utter passion and bliss, unlike anything he’d experienced before. Yet it was naught but a poor pantomime of this moment. Yes, there was the heat and ardor that accompanied the attraction he felt for her, but the love driving his touch gave the sentiment so much more power than before. It was as though her soul wove through his, binding them together irreparably. It was no longer his heart being inside his chest. It was hers.Theirs.
Miss Delmonte—his Judith—couldn’t be more wrong about his feelings, for Silas was certain if she left him, he would never be whole again.
*
Judith tried to fight the surge of tears filling her eyes, but she couldn’t with him so close. He surrounded her, but his touch did not conquer or consume as it had in the past. It was tender and gentle, holding her as though she was precious. Dear. Some part of her thought it a terrible idea to surrender to it, but Judith couldn’t muster the strength to free herself. She didn’t want to. Not truly. How could anyone turn aside from such pure adoration?
Good gracious, Judith couldn’t think straight with his lips pressed to hers. This was everything she’d ever imagined a kiss to be, but yet, so much more. No matter how much she’d dreamed of receiving such affection, she hadn’t been able to imagine the feelings sweeping through her. With each touch, her heartbeat quickened, beating a rapid pulse that matched his, leaving her both elated and dizzy.
His arms settled around her, resting at the small of her back, and he drew back, holding her gaze with that lazy grin of his that was somehow infuriating and amusing all at the same time.
“Mr. Byrnes…” she murmured.
“Silas,” he whispered.
Judith’s breath caught, her heart flinching at the implication even as her lips did as told.
“Silas,” she repeated in a hushed tone, though Judith could not recall what she had been about to say.
One of his hands traveled up her back, coming to rest on her neck, his fingers tickling the hairs at the nape of her neck as his thumb brushed along her jaw.
“Can you forgive me the sins of my past?” he asked. “I know I have given you ample reason to doubt my heart, but I know my feelings well enough. I love you, Judith. I cannot bear to be apart from you. I want you to be my wife because I know I shall never love another as I love you.”
Judith held his gaze, her heart fluttering not only at the ardor beneath the words but at the sound of her name on his lips. Even in the few proposals she’d received, no man had called her by her true name, and Silas spoke it with such tenderness. His gaze held her, his eyes burning with such adoration, giving strength to his words. Silas saw her and loved her.
“Marry me, Judith? Please.”
Tears burst out, streaming down her cheeks as she let out a choked sob. Silas’s brows rose, and Judith shook her head, pressing a hand to her lips, though she tried to assure him she wasn’t saying no to his question, she couldn’t manage a single word. She nodded, but that only added to his confusion.
And matters grew worse as Silas wiped at her tears. The gentleness was enough to draw forth more, but then he whispered so many more little kindnesses, speaking all the many things she'd always dreamt of hearing from the man she loved. But it wasn’t some daydream or fantasy. It was happening to her. Poor, plain Judith Delmonte had won the heart of Silas Byrnes.
There was no other happiness to compare to such a moment. No words to convey the joy sweeping through her. Judith couldn’t breathe, and no matter how she tried, she couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. Silas dabbed at her cheeks with his handkerchief, his brows pinching together, and Judith forced herself to focus on him.
“Yes.” The word was garbled and hardly worthy of being called a word, but it squeaked out.
Silas stilled, his eyes widening as he stared at her. “Pardon?”
Judith gave him a watery smile, the word coming easier this time. “Yes.”
Letting out a huff, he leaned back, his brows rising. “Yes?”
