Page 211 of Beyond the Blue Horizon

The Sanctuary.

Thisrefugehe gave his entire life to.

It was similar to the cabin where we were staying but at least three times the size. A giant stone fireplace sat in the middle of the far wall. There were windows on each side of it, and one side led out to a porch that overhung the lake.

Completely awe-striking.

But it was the man who’d stolen my breath.

The one who’d stolen my heart.

And I knew after today there would be no getting any of myself back.

He flicked a switch on the wall and the fireplace jumped to life, flames licking from the hearth and adding a glow to the dim, late afternoon light that flooded into the space.

“Don’t bring anyone here, Piper.” His words were gravel as he spoke, and I returned my full attention to him.

To this gloriously foreboding man who held me like a treasure.

“This is my own haven. The barest amount of peace that I have, even though I still can never find much of it. But you…you belong in the middle of it. A balm. Respite. A cure.”

His strong brow pinched when he said the last, inflicted by the idea that he could be healed the way he was healing me.

I dragged my fingertips down his cheek, and my voice was held in a whisper. “Maybe we’re supposed to mend each other. Maybe all our broken pieces fit.”

A clash of grief and greed flashed across his face, and he started to walk again, moving through the great room. He bypassed the gorgeous kitchen and wound around the oversized furniture before he knelt so he could lay me down in the middle of a plush, fluffy rug in front of the fireplace.

He peeled himself out of his leather jacket, then crawled the rest of the way over me. He remained on his knees as he planted his hands on either side of my head.

Energy lapped in the small space that separated us.

A glow that whispered and whisked across our flesh.

A call of our spirits that were finally being heard.

A soft grin rippled over Theo’s mouth. “The first night I found you, I sat right in front of this fireplace thinking about the way I wanted to strip you out of your clothes and watch the flames dance across your pale skin. Way I wanted to peel you apart and put you back together.”

“Is that your plan?” It was a shaky tease.

“Oh, I have all kinds of plans for you, Piper Whittman.”

“Then you’d better get started.”

“Guess I’d better. Wouldn’t want to earn another one star.”

Lightness weaved with the intensity that blazed between us.

He took the hem of my sweater and pulled it over my head.

He sat back on his knees, and my chest gripped at the sight of him.

Pinks and reds and the deepest blues filtered in through the enormous windows as they reflected off the glittering waters of the lake just outside.

It cast him in a chaotic rainbow as he knelt between my legs.

A fortress.

A tower of steel and fortitude.