Broken (The Captive #5.5)(60)

He tilted her head and kissed her trembling lips tenderly. "It would break my heart too," he whispered when he reluctantly pulled away from her. "I could never hurt you in such a way, never. I wouldn't even be able to lay with her, not with the knowledge of what it will do to you. Not when the idea of even touching another woman is completely repulsive to me. This wedding won't happen simply because it can't."

"Then what do we do?"

"We leave."

"Your father won't allow you to leave. I'm not a part of the aristocracy but even I know that such disobedience would never be tolerated. They would hunt you down."

"They would," he agreed.

"They'd kill you," she whispered.

His hands clenched on her, he didn't care about himself, it was her safety that was of far more importance to him. He debated keeping the threat his father had made from her, but she had to know everything before she made any decisions. She may just choose to walk out of his life in order to keep herself safe, and he wouldn't blame her if she did. It would break his heart, he didn't know how he would react to it, but he would allow her to go if it kept her alive.

"It's you my father would kill." Her head shot around, her eyes fixed on his. "He knows about you Genny, and he's made it clear that if I don't marry Anna he will find a way to end your life."

Her eyes searched his face as she studied him. "And what would become of you? What would he do to you?"

"I'm not concerned about me."

"I am."

His fingers slid over her hair. He pulled her closer and kissed her tenderly as the love he had for her swelled even higher. "Taking you from me would be the worst thing he could ever do. If you decide to leave me Genny…"

"No!" she cried. Her hands clasped his wrists. "I never want to be apart from you!"

The relief that filled him with those words was short lived, her life was still in peril and his father would do what he could to make sure that Atticus obeyed him. "It would keep you safe if you did," he whispered.

"Do you think I should leave?"

"I think we should both leave, together. We could hide in the new land. They would never expect us to go there, especially not me. It will be difficult, it will take a lot of getting used to on both our parts, but we would be safe there. We could build a life together without constantly having to worry that they'll find us. There are indigenous people there and plenty of wildlife we could feed from. We'd be free."

She tilted her head to look up at him; her nose almost touched his. "What about everything that you would be giving up?" she inquired. "The money, your home, your family."

"Money will mean nothing over there, I will gladly call wherever you are my home, and we will build our own family." He smiled at her as he stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. "We'll have many children that we'll love and cherish, children that will run free in the new land."

"And they'll never know unhappiness?"

"How could they possibly with you as their mother?"

She laughed as she squeezed his wrists more firmly. "That sounds better than a dream. Camille will have to come with us."

"Of course," he said.

"And will Merle go?" she asked.

"It was Merle's idea and he has offered to take us on his ship."

"He'd be willing to give everything up too?"

"It's not giving everything up; he would be gaining a freedom that he would never have here. Neither of us are particularly fond of the political intrigue of the nobles and though Merle is resigned to marrying Jane, he's always enjoyed his freedom. I think, to him, this is a big adventure and he's more than willing to sign on for it."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"This is the surest I've ever been about anything in my life. It will be us from now on." He leaned over and grabbed hold of the tunic he had draped over the wooden chair beside the bed earlier. He searched through the inside pockets before closing his hand around what he sought and pulling them free. He brought his hand before her and opened it to reveal the simple gold bands he'd taken from his room.

"These rings have been handed down through my mother's family since they first walked upon this earth," he told her. "When my mother died they came to me. They haven't been exchanged in a wedding ceremony since my great great—great grandparents were first wed. These were the first wedding rings ever exchanged between vampires and I want them to be ours."

She gawked at the rings in his hand before she turned toward him. "Atticus, they're… are we even supposed to?"

"We are supposed to do whatever we choose to do from now on," he said with a smile. "Just like these rings were a beginning back then, they're a beginning for us now." He took hold of her hand and held her fingers out. "I want you to be my wife Genny and to wear this ring as a symbol of the fact that you are my wife, if you'll have me."

Lit by her vibrant smile, her face radiated love as she nodded enthusiastically. "Of course I will."

He slid the ring onto her finger and settled it snuggly into place. He handed her the other ring and held his hand out for her to place the ring onto it. "I probably won't be able to make the ceremony happen while we're still in England, not with my father watching. As soon as I can I'll find someone to marry us, but this is permanent for me Genny," he vowed.