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.“Do you think he sent those men after you because he wanted you back? He was afraid of what you saw and that you might testify against him? Or did he give you something he wanted back?”Her gaze jumped to his face.“A wealthy man gives expensive presents.They often want them back in a fit of temper, especially if it is a family heirloom.”“I think he sent those men after me out of pure spite.He once told me that I could never leave him—that he wouldn’t let me.I was young enough and stupid enough to be thrilled.I thought that meant he loved me and would fix anything that went wrong between us.”He reached out.Judith flinched away from him.He shook his head.“Don’t.” Hard authority edged his voice.He wasn’t about to lose her, not now.“We’ve come this far, Judith, there’s no point in retreating.Look at me.”He held out his arms to encompass the house.“I’m still standing.You relived the entire horrible event, experienced the same intense emotions and I’m handling it.”Judith sighed and walked away from him, over to the window to look out at her gardens below, breathing deeply, striving for control.Stefan followed her, doing a slow sweep of the countryside from the vantage of her large bank of windows.The bright flowers shimmered in the slight breeze and at once he felt a lessening of the intensity of Judith’s emotions.Degree by slow degree, she was bringing her passionate nature back under control.He didn’t mind passion or fire.He could handle both.And he could handle her sorrow, her tears.She was his.It was that simple to him.She was his.Whatever she needed, he intended to provide.She shivered and he moved in close, rubbing her arms to warm her.“This is happening too fast.I don’t trust fast,” she murmured, shaking her head.“You don’t trust,” Stefan corrected gently.“Neither do I, but that doesn’t negate the fact that we’re already here.Let’s eat lunch, Judith.Show me around your house.Let’s just take a little breathing room.”“You think that’s the worst of me?” She looked over her shoulder at him.“It isn’t, Thomas.I wish it was the worst.”She was determined to drive him away, to expose her worst secrets.To her, he was Thomas Vincent, a good man.She had no idea that on her worst day, she couldn’t hold a candle to the sins of Stefan Prakenskii.He bent his head and placed his mouth against her ear.“Tell me then.Give me the worst, Judith.”“You’re a good person, Thomas.Inside, where it counts, you’re a good person.I don’t understand why you think you could ever be with someone who can’t control their emotions and others pay the price.”“You aren’t less than me because your element gets away from you.Never think I haven’t done far worse in my lifetime.”He turned her around to face him, automatically drawing her back away from the window.The habit was ingrained in him, like so many others he would never overcome even if his life changed completely.He was giving her Stefan’s truth, not Thomas’s.It was possible she would put his sentiment down to service in the military, misleading herself, but he would give her as much truth as he could, share himself with her, not his cover.She studied his expression, his jaw, the coolness of his stare.“I want him dead.Jean-Claude.I want him to suffer and die.” This time she didn’t look away, her gaze steady, her chin up as if she was waiting for judgment.“So you want justice.” He shrugged.“That’s hardly unusual, or something to be ashamed of, mi angel caido.” This time he changed to Spanish, wanting to drive home the point that he was also educated in languages, and that no matter how fallen she thought herself, she was his angel and always would be.Judith continued to stare him straight in the eye as she shook her head slowly, deliberately.“Not justice.Justice was Jean-Claude going to jail for his crimes.I want revenge for the torture and murder of my brother.For the others that lost their lives that day.I’m well aware that my need for revenge makes me no better than he is, but I will find a way.My time will come.And I’m not going to let any innocent suffer because of my loss of humanity.”Stefan regarded her for a long time in absolute silence, so long that Judith wasn’t certain he would respond.She’d told him the worst and refused to look away from him.He was a difficult man to read.His aquamarine eyes looked back into hers, but told her nothing at all.She heard the ticking of the clock and her stomach did a slow flip.She realized she didn’t want him to think so badly of her when she knew she deserved it.“What kind of woman builds her life around revenge?” she whispered, hating the silence between them, hating that she couldn’t read his inscrutable expression.“I know I have five wonderful women in my life.The farm.My painting and kaleidoscopes, both of which I love and have achieved some success in my chosen career, but it isn’t enough, it won’t ever be enough until Jean-Claude La Roux has suffered the way he made my brother suffer.”The ticking of the clock grew louder.Her heart thudded hard in her chest until she could hear every beat thundering in her ears.She hadn’t realized until that moment how he’d already changed her.Laughter was real.She felt at ease in his company, she felt happy.She hadn’t really been happy since her brother’s death and maybe she was a little angry and guilty that she could actually be happy.What right did she have when Paul’s last hours had been excruciating agony?She refused to lower her chin, or look away from Thomas.He was so utterly still, his gaze never leaving hers.She had confessed to save him—or to drive him away so she could keep her anger and hatred bottled up tight, locked away in a dark studio where no one would ever know her shameful secret.Silence stretched between them until she wanted to scream with the terrible tension.Stefan stepped closer to her, his strong fingers curling around the nape of her neck.There was always such command in the way he touched her.This time was subtly different.This time there was possession as if she belonged to him.Her heart jumped.She tasted fear.He wasn’t going to reject her and once he claimed her, she was forever set 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.“Do you think he sent those men after you because he wanted you back? He was afraid of what you saw and that you might testify against him? Or did he give you something he wanted back?”Her gaze jumped to his face.“A wealthy man gives expensive presents.They often want them back in a fit of temper, especially if it is a family heirloom.”“I think he sent those men after me out of pure spite.He once told me that I could never leave him—that he wouldn’t let me.I was young enough and stupid enough to be thrilled.I thought that meant he loved me and would fix anything that went wrong between us.”He reached out.Judith flinched away from him.He shook his head.“Don’t.” Hard authority edged his voice.He wasn’t about to lose her, not now.“We’ve come this far, Judith, there’s no point in retreating.Look at me.”He held out his arms to encompass the house.“I’m still standing.You relived the entire horrible event, experienced the same intense emotions and I’m handling it.”Judith sighed and walked away from him, over to the window to look out at her gardens below, breathing deeply, striving for control.Stefan followed her, doing a slow sweep of the countryside from the vantage of her large bank of windows.The bright flowers shimmered in the slight breeze and at once he felt a lessening of the intensity of Judith’s emotions.Degree by slow degree, she was bringing her passionate nature back under control.He didn’t mind passion or fire.He could handle both.And he could handle her sorrow, her tears.She was his.It was that simple to him.She was his.Whatever she needed, he intended to provide.She shivered and he moved in close, rubbing her arms to warm her.“This is happening too fast.I don’t trust fast,” she murmured, shaking her head.“You don’t trust,” Stefan corrected gently.“Neither do I, but that doesn’t negate the fact that we’re already here.Let’s eat lunch, Judith.Show me around your house.Let’s just take a little breathing room.”“You think that’s the worst of me?” She looked over her shoulder at him.“It isn’t, Thomas.I wish it was the worst.”She was determined to drive him away, to expose her worst secrets.To her, he was Thomas Vincent, a good man.She had no idea that on her worst day, she couldn’t hold a candle to the sins of Stefan Prakenskii.He bent his head and placed his mouth against her ear.“Tell me then.Give me the worst, Judith.”“You’re a good person, Thomas.Inside, where it counts, you’re a good person.I don’t understand why you think you could ever be with someone who can’t control their emotions and others pay the price.”“You aren’t less than me because your element gets away from you.Never think I haven’t done far worse in my lifetime.”He turned her around to face him, automatically drawing her back away from the window.The habit was ingrained in him, like so many others he would never overcome even if his life changed completely.He was giving her Stefan’s truth, not Thomas’s.It was possible she would put his sentiment down to service in the military, misleading herself, but he would give her as much truth as he could, share himself with her, not his cover.She studied his expression, his jaw, the coolness of his stare.“I want him dead.Jean-Claude.I want him to suffer and die.” This time she didn’t look away, her gaze steady, her chin up as if she was waiting for judgment.“So you want justice.” He shrugged.“That’s hardly unusual, or something to be ashamed of, mi angel caido.” This time he changed to Spanish, wanting to drive home the point that he was also educated in languages, and that no matter how fallen she thought herself, she was his angel and always would be.Judith continued to stare him straight in the eye as she shook her head slowly, deliberately.“Not justice.Justice was Jean-Claude going to jail for his crimes.I want revenge for the torture and murder of my brother.For the others that lost their lives that day.I’m well aware that my need for revenge makes me no better than he is, but I will find a way.My time will come.And I’m not going to let any innocent suffer because of my loss of humanity.”Stefan regarded her for a long time in absolute silence, so long that Judith wasn’t certain he would respond.She’d told him the worst and refused to look away from him.He was a difficult man to read.His aquamarine eyes looked back into hers, but told her nothing at all.She heard the ticking of the clock and her stomach did a slow flip.She realized she didn’t want him to think so badly of her when she knew she deserved it.“What kind of woman builds her life around revenge?” she whispered, hating the silence between them, hating that she couldn’t read his inscrutable expression.“I know I have five wonderful women in my life.The farm.My painting and kaleidoscopes, both of which I love and have achieved some success in my chosen career, but it isn’t enough, it won’t ever be enough until Jean-Claude La Roux has suffered the way he made my brother suffer.”The ticking of the clock grew louder.Her heart thudded hard in her chest until she could hear every beat thundering in her ears.She hadn’t realized until that moment how he’d already changed her.Laughter was real.She felt at ease in his company, she felt happy.She hadn’t really been happy since her brother’s death and maybe she was a little angry and guilty that she could actually be happy.What right did she have when Paul’s last hours had been excruciating agony?She refused to lower her chin, or look away from Thomas.He was so utterly still, his gaze never leaving hers.She had confessed to save him—or to drive him away so she could keep her anger and hatred bottled up tight, locked away in a dark studio where no one would ever know her shameful secret.Silence stretched between them until she wanted to scream with the terrible tension.Stefan stepped closer to her, his strong fingers curling around the nape of her neck.There was always such command in the way he touched her.This time was subtly different.This time there was possession as if she belonged to him.Her heart jumped.She tasted fear.He wasn’t going to reject her and once he claimed her, she was forever set on a course [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]