Page 93 of The Billionaire’s Fake Fiancée
The heat from his body surges over me.
For the first time, he too feels open. Really, open.
The last barrier around my heart falls.
A closeness, a connection, that feels so right.
We've seen life through each other's eyes, been through similar experiences, and this has only brought us closer.
When I move forward, he matches me, step for step.
Then I'm in his arms. His familiar scent, pine and cloves, surrounds me. He holds me close, placing his chin on my head.
A shudder runs through him. I grip him tight, pushing myself as close as possible to him.
Then his palm slides down my arm, sending a shiver down my spine. His fingers settle over mine, toying with the ring I wear.
The one I'll never take off again.
"I love you, Sienna," he says.
My heart stutters. Stops. Starts again.
Tears prick my eyes as he brings my fingers to his lips, kisses the ring.
"I'm sorry I left the way I did, that morning."
"Shh." He brings his finger to my lips. "You don't have to explain anything." That smoldering voice sends shivers down my spine. Will I ever be able to listen to it again and not be turned on?
My eyes lock with his. Silver-green temptation. I shudder as he traces the curve of my lips, then grip his wrist with my fingers, to stop him. "I want to tell you what happened. Why I had to leave that morning. I had a call from India, from my blood family."
After all these years, it's still difficult to accept that my blood family had tracked me down. That my mother never gave up hope of finding me. And she'd survived, waited, hung onto life till we met, till she got to know me again as a daughter.
I swallow the emotions that twist my heart.
His arms tighten around me. My soul mate holds me, as I tell him about going to Bombay. About my family, how my father had been killed while on duty. My mother dying in my arms. About Neil and how he'd taken care of my mother. Neil had loved her, I realize.
"He sounds like an amazing man. I'm glad you went, that you had a chance to meet your mother."
I lean my head against his chest and listen to the beat of his heart. Strong. Vital. Mine.
Turning my face up to his, I say, "I love you, Jace."
He bends, brushing his lips over mine. A touch. A sizzle. Filled with so much heart. Filled with... the essence that is him. Only him.
I feel safe with him. Protected. Safe enough to surrender to him. With him I am free. To be myself.
"Don't ever leave me again," he says.
"Never." I intend to keep my promise this time.
Epilogue
Four months later
When you lose everything, only to get it back a second time, you'll never take anything in life for granted again.
I fling open the window of the house Jace and I bought a week ago and lean out as far as I can, breathing in the crisp morning air. It's autumn, the colors across the valley reflecting amber and gold.
