Page 51 of Absolution
“You say you can’t live without me. I refuse to live without you. If you go to England, I’ll follow. I’ll move into that awful manor, and we will suffer through every day of it together. There’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
My voice drops to a more dangerous register. “Can’t I?”
She shakes her head in staunch refusal. “No, you can’t. You can manhandle me. You can tie me up if you want to. But you won’t. Not if I don’t consent. I hold all the power here, Dane.”
“You can’t forgive what I’ve done to you,” I insist, even though my chest tightens with longing.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do. I’m your queen, aren’t I? I demand that you stay. You will accept my forgiveness. You’re the one who doesn’t have a choice. Because I’m not letting you go.”
My knees fold, and I’m kneeling before her. I grasp her hands in mine and press reverent kisses to her knuckles, paying fealty to my queen. My goddess.
“We’re equals, even if I do hold all the power,” she insists, grabbing my shoulders in an effort to pull me to my feet.
“No, we’re not,” I declare. “You are so much more than I will ever be. I will spend the rest of my life striving to be worthy of you. I’ll prove it to you every day. I…”
My heart swells to the point of pain, and strange words I can’t quite formulate tease at the tip of my tongue.
I swallow down the bizarre urge.
I can’t say them, because I won’t lie to my wife.
I’ll never be fully capable of that feeling, no matter how deep and depraved my obsession is.
She grabs the handle on the duffel bag that I dropped.
“Come on,” she urges, tugging at my hand. “We’re putting your things back where they belong.”
I take the bag from her. My queen won’t strain herself to carry out a menial task ever again. That’s my job.
I lace our fingers together. My hand is a careful cage around hers, but she has my heart on a chain. With one delicate tug, I’ll follow wherever she leads.
18
DANE
“I’d still prefer it if you would let me kill your uncle,” I say darkly. “Are you sure I can’t change your mind? He more than deserves it.”
If I had my way, I’d take the bastard apart piece by piece.
She gives my hand a gentle squeeze and presses herself closer to my side. We’re sitting on the couch in our living room, waiting.
“You need to keep those thoughts to yourself,” she says firmly. “The officer will be here soon to take my statement, and I can’t have you talking about murder in front of the police.”
I grind my teeth. “You don’t have to tell them anything. I can handle this.”
She places her hand on my tense jaw and fixes me with her clear, aqua stare. “We talked about this last night,” she reminds me. “I’mgoing to handle it. I’m taking my power back. You have to respect that, Dane.”
I turn my head so I can kiss her palm. “I do respect you. You’re so much stronger than I am, little dove.”
I crave to surrender to my most primal, vicious impulses, but my stubborn wife is determined to take her uncle down on her own. All she will allow me to do is sit by her side in solidarity.
The inaction sets me on edge, and I resist the urge to flex my fingers with unspent aggression.
It’s a miracle that she’s allowing me to sit by her at all. After the cruel things I said to her yesterday, she has every right to punish me, even if I was trying to protect her.
But my sweet, gentle Abigail has practically been wrapped around me for nearly twenty-four hours, as though she can’t bear to put an inch of distance between us.
If she wants to cling to me, I’ll gladly oblige her. I’ll never reject her touch again.
