Page 182 of Rogue of My Heart

“It may stain?—”

“It will be fine.” He helped her to stand, but it was as if all the bones in the lower half of her body had congealed into something resembling warm pudding.

* * *

As she started to collapse into another heap on the floor, she felt herself cradled in a pair of strong arms and nestled against a warm chest.

She instantly nuzzled closer to the pleasing scent that wafted to her nostrils. “You smell divine,” she whispered.

His only reply was, “You never could handle your alcohol.”

“I’m perfectly fine—” She frowned, her vision fuzzy. Was she dreaming, or had she learned how to fly? “Wait. Are you carrying me?”

She paused. “Again?”

“It seems to have become something of a recent habit,” he returned dryly.

She wiggled in his arms. “Oh, you must put me down!”

He grunted. “Hold still, unless you want me to drop you.”

She instantly ceased her struggles. “But surely I’m too heavy?—”

“Haven’t I already proven that I’m not that old that just yet?” His lips twitched, and suddenly she wanted nothing more than to kiss him soundly on the mouth.

She shook her head. Dear Lord, the wine must have gone straight to my head.

Michael entered her bedchamber and set her on her feet near the bed.

His eyes were warm and filled with desire as his hands slowly slid away from her. He paused, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he stepped back and murmured, “I think you can make it from here.”

When he started to turn away, Albina reached out and grabbed hold of his shirtsleeve. “What if I wanted you to stay?”

His jaw clenched, but he didn’t move. “Why? What good would that do either of us? We already know what’s going to happen after tomorrow.”

She swallowed, her throat dry. “Because, good or not, I’ve never stopped wanting you, Chael.” She sighed, a quivering thread of emotion causing her voice to tremble. “I always have, and I always will.”

He turned and captured her face between his large palms, growling with a mixture between pleasure and pain. “God, Albina. No matter what happens between us, I can’t seem to stop myself from bowing to your every need, your every desire. I only wish that I was enough.” His throat worked with suppressed emotion. “All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy. It’s the reason why I left London five years ago. It wasn’t because I stopped loving you, but because I was afraid that if I stayed, my love would destroy you. I wanted to give you back your freedom, to give you space to do the only thing you truly wanted, to write.”

* * *

Albina felt a sob welling up in her chest, but she pushed it back down.

She clutched his shoulders and looked him straight in the eye, praying that he could see how sincere her words were. “You are all I’ve ever needed, Chael. You always have been. It’s true that I needed to find myself again, and not just so I could pen an advice column for a monthly article. But when you left, that is what nearly destroyed me. I thought you didn’t care about me anymore.”

He pressed his forehead against hers. “God, I’ve been such a blind fool. All this time I thought I was doing right by you, but all I’ve managed to do is injure us both.”

“We were both wrong,” she corrected. “If it hadn’t been for our pride standing in the way, we might have spent the past five years together instead of apart. But because we didn’t know what to say to each other, we’ve wasted so much time.” The sob she’d been trying so hard to contain finally escaped. “I don’t want to waste any more. I want us to be together.

Always.”

Michael blew out a breath, shaking his head. “Miracles can come true, after all,” he whispered, as he caught her mouth with his.

Albina felt tears course down her face, but she ignored them as she clung to Michael as if she were his only tether to this earth.

They undressed quickly and fell upon her bed in a naked tangle of arms and legs. They kissed and touched and loved one another until the dawn rose. And after a long and satisfying night, they fell asleep, cradled in each other’s arms.

Eleven