A Thief of Nightshade(39)

She opened her eyes and gasped. The lake, surrounded by magnificently colored trees, stretched farther than she could see.

The sun, just as he’d clearly planned, appeared on the horizon and cast an array of golden threads across the foggy surface of the only mirror that could be shattered and put back together. “Jullian.”

He rested his hands on her shoulders.

“Turn around,” he whispered.

Aubrey did, and behind them stood the most beautiful cabin she’d ever seen.

She could tell that Jullian hadn’t simply hired others to do it, he had done it himself. Every detail, every carved log and stained-glass window was fashioned by him and he had done it all for her. The idea alone that anyone would spend that much time on anything pertaining to her was moving, but this was overwhelming.

Before she could even formulate a response, he picked her up and kissed her.

Her heart raced and with both of them breathless, Jullian carried her inside and laid her on the bed. He started to say something, but Aubrey placed a finger to his lips, then wrapped her arms around his neck and rose to meet his mouth.

His kiss was soft, sincere and somehow ... desperate. His hands touched her skin, caressed. After a few moments, he paused to whisper in her ear, “I know that this isn’t telling you everything. Not yet. I know that. But, this is me ... trying to tell you some things about me, about my past. Please Aubrielle, take this as—”

She cut him off with another kiss, this one deeper and full of a different kind of desperation. He moaned in response and fell back from where he’d been holding himself up by his elbows.

Aubrey pulled away, eyes still closed, but kept her face close to his.

“You want me to take this as your way of trying the best you know how, to tell me what you’re not sure how to tell me? Yes, I know. I am. And I love you, too.”

“I thought I’d lost you,” he choked. “I almost did. I’m still afraid of losing you.”

Aubrey moved from beside Jullian onto his lap, still keeping her cheek touching his. “You found me, Jullian.” She sat up. “Look at me. You aren’t going to lose me.”

He opened his eyes, which were filled with unshed tears.

“You found me. You asked Grant that night if he felt free ... said that you’d known I was held captive by something ...

Jullian, you freed me from that. I want you to feel that same freedom. But, I understand if it takes time. You aren’t going to lose me, I promise.”

He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. His hold tightened and she could tell that something had begun to change. A moment later, he pressed his mouth against hers, this time with such tenderness it was almost painful.

“Aubrey, my family,” he mirrored her earlier actions, closing his eyes and keeping his cheek against hers, “the majority of them think I’m dead. I can’t go back home ... despite how much I miss it.”

“Did you do something illegal?” she asked, intrigued.

This actually elicited a soft chuckle from him. “Well, that depends on how you define the word. But, to answer what you really meant to ask, no, I’m not in any kind of trouble with the law here.”

“Here? As in Georgia here? Or United States here?”

He took way too long to answer for her taste. “I’m not going to lie to you...”

Then it dawned on her. “Witness protection! You’re in hiding. Oh my God, did they feed you a story? Did you really graduate from—”

He was laughing so hard by then he could hardly speak. “Slow down, slow down. No, everything I told you about the past ten years was totally true. And, I guess you could say, in a way, it’s like witness protection. A tad more intense perhaps. That’s as close as I’m able to come to describing it right now. But, I’ll figure out a way to tell you everything.

Please believe me. I will.”

She couldn’t have wiped the smile off her face had she tried. “I believe you.”

He swept her mouth with his thumb.

“What’s behind that smile of yours? I haven’t seen you smile like this in ... since that fundraiser at the Jordans’. I thought you might be upset that I still can’t tell you —”

“It’s a beginning. Just like that night in the garden. And I’m not upset at all.”

“Feels like a beginning doesn’t it?”

Jullian asked.

“Yes, it does.”

He sat up, cradling her face. “The first time we made love ... was it difficult for you? Emotionally? I wish I’d known.”

She placed her hands over his. “I was afraid it would be physically painful.

And it ... it brought up some memories at first. But, I’m glad you didn’t know then.

You would have acted differently. I don’t think I could have handled that.”

“Do I act differently now?”

“No, but that first time I’m sure you would have. Truth is, despite some of my actions, I’ve felt like I gained some small part of myself back after that. You gave me back something that had been taken away from me, that most young women come into adulthood thinking about with excitement, not fear. I avoided intimacy with boyfriends in the past for that very reason. I was terrified of it, but I’ve never felt that way with you, not even in the beginning. I’ve never taken the time to thank you, but since we’re on the subject...”