Page 69 of Staking His Claim

The bewilderment faded, and a strange expression came over her face. Her eyes flicked to him, then shot away. “That would be selfish.”

“You deserve to be happy, too.”

“It’s not just about me. There are other issues at stake here, too.”

He placed his finger under her chin and tilted it so that he could see her eyes. They were guarded. “Like what?”

“Like you.”

He tried to read her, started to hope. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t want you to feel obliged to marry me because of what my stupid pride caused me to say to Keira.”

Had it been pride that had caused her declaration? He’d thought there’d been a lot of honesty—her love for Holly had shone from her.

Yet now doubt shadowed her face.

“You’re having second thoughts about giving Holly up?”

She shook her head. “No, she belongs with you.”

“You could belong with us, too. If you choose.” His finger trailed along her jawline and stroked her hair off her face as he’d seen her do so often in the past. He was no longer sure whether marriage for Holly’s sake alone would be enough for him.

In the past few weeks his fears had changed. He no longer dreaded that Ella would abandon Holly someday, as his mother had abandoned his father, himself and his brother. He now feared that she would never be able to love him. Hell, she hadn’t liked him that long ago. His own arrogance had cemented that. At least the raw antagonism had diminished. He could make her laugh. He was certain she at least liked him now.

But love?

Not yet.

He didn’t want to wait for her to fall in love with him—to live in uncertainty about whether it would come to pass even as he took her to his bed each night.

He wanted her love. Now.

But he didn’t want to put more pressure on her, either. This time he had to be selfless, this time he was putting Ella first.

This was about Ella. It was her choice.

“What do you want, Ella? What is your dream?”

* * *

Ella bit her lip.

How to tell Yevgeny that her dream lay at the magical home he’d bought for him and Holly. She wanted to share that home with him and Holly—she wanted to share their future.

Because she loved them both...more than anything in the world. Between the two of them, they’d taught her to love again. They’d brought her back to life.

Yevgeny’s hands cupped her face.

She met his gaze...and trembled inside.

Could she risk revealing her dream to him? What if he ridiculed it? Or dismissed it? As quickly as they came the thoughts vanished. Once they’d come to an understanding about Holly, Yevgeny had shown her nothing but kindness. And passion. That thought swept in from nowhere and caused her cheeks to heat.

“Let me tell you what I never dared dream of.” His voice broke into her thoughts. “I never dared dream that I’d one day have a family. You see, my family was a train wreck. My mother and father had a dysfunctional relationship and when my mother left, she used me and Dmitri to get what she wanted—financial support while she swanned around with her new lover.”

Ella knew she should have suspected something like this; all the clues had been there. She should have worked out that he was the childhood victim of a bitter divorce.

“Your mother got custody of you both?” she asked slowly.

He nodded, his eyes vulnerable. “She took us away from Russia—to London. Until she decided she wanted to be young and unfettered again and ran off with her toyboy. My father came to fetch us—it was the first time we’d seen him in three years. She’d fed the court a bunch of lies, and he’d been barred from seeing us.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, and took a step forward. She wrapped her arms around this strong man, and leaned into him. She kissed his cheek.

He dropped his face into the cleft formed by her neck and shoulder, and said so softly that she had to strain her ears to hear, “I never wanted to marry—to risk that happening to my child. I was not ever going to give any woman that kind of power over me.”

Ella struggled to absorb what he was telling her. But he’d asked her to marry him. What did that mean? Was this regret for flouting his vow to himself?

Probably.

Ella knew exactly what to do. She had to set him free. Dropping her arms, she said, “And now I’ve gone and told both our families that we’re getting married. I’ll tell Keira it was a mistake.”

“No!” He raised his head. The expression in his eyes caused her breath to catch in disbelief. “Ella, you don’t understand—I want to marry you. That’s the dream I never dared to dream. I love you.”

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