Page 139 of The Chase
“Good. You don’t know how happy that makes me. Look, we have all the time in the world to get to know each other. Maybe the rest of our lives?”
“I need more of you.” That came out wrong and I cringed.
He kissed the end of my nose. “Go on, then. Ask me anything.”
There was no way we could avoid it any longer. Our pasts were so much of who we were and exposing ourselves completely and braving to be vulnerable in front of each other was how we’d sustain anus.
“Your parents?” I said softly.
“They’re no longer alive. But you already know that from your research on me.” He let go of my wrists and stepped back and said, “Sure you want to do this?”
“Yes.”
His gaze swept over the ground.
“Your uncle took you in?”
“He’s like a father.”
“How old were you?”
“Nine.”
“Thank God you weren’t on that flight.” He broke my gaze. I read his face. “You were?”
“Staying alive until help came proved more challenging. We crashed in the Outback.”
“Australia? Were you alone?”
There came a pained hesitation. “Yes.”
“What happened?”
His lips curved in a wry smile. “Well, I survived if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“Oh, Tobias. I feel so...”Stupidcame to mind and embarrassment bloomed for my tactlessness.
With his thumb he lifted my chin and leaned in, kissing me tenderly, a slow leisurely melding of tongues as our lips locked passionately. He’d taken this tense moment and morphed it into sweetness.
This man was letting me in.
His lips slid to my throat, planting kiss after kiss, running his lips along to my shoulder and then my ear. “I promise to tell you everything. But not here.”
Hand in hand we moved fast and headed toward the sound of laughter from the other guests. Music became louder as we returned to the foyer.
“Let’s go home,” he said.
“Sorry you didn’t get to see everything,” I said. “Hope I didn’t ruin the evening?”
“Never.”
We hurried toward the front door.
“Zara Leighton?” came the screech of Nigel Turner.
I closed my eyes as though that alone would make the nightmare go away. Tobias gestured to the coat checker and she disappeared behind a wall.
He turned to face Nigel. “Good to see you again. Did you catch the swords? Great collection. Sorry we can’t stay and chat.”
