Page 90 of Stripped

"I knew you were following us. I could feel you too." She had been a fool to push this man away. "Wraith, how do we move forward?"

He took her hand in his, interlocking their fingers. He was quiet for a while, thinking. "Marry me."

She shook her head. "I thought you couldn't be in a relationship because of your job. Gabriel said as much to me."

"I'll handle it."

"I never planned on marrying anyone. Ever." She didn't want to lose him, but marriage was a bit sudden. "There's no rush."

"I know what I want, and I actually know what you need," he countered.

"You don't know what I need."

"In this case, princess, I think I do."

"I'll think about it."

* * *

Pim rolled over, covering her head with the duvet, as Wraith shook her awake.

"Get up," he said, pulling the cover down. She squinted at him through puffy eyes. He was already dressed.

"What time is it?"

"It's early, but I want to show you something. Get dressed." He handed her a pair of jeans and a sweater.

She got out of bed and changed, pulling on her boots. He helped her with her coat and she took his hand, following him outside. It was dark, the air still and cold. The world had not yet woken up. He led them down to the river, to an outcropping of rocks that formed a path across the gently flowing water, and let go of her hand. "I'll go first," he said, as he nimbly jumped from rock to rock, forging the trail. She followed, careful not to slip.

The sky was beginning to change behind them. Dawn was on its way. They hiked up a hill out of the tree line and into the heather. Finding a large boulder, they sat down. The secret of the day was beginning to open as the sun rose in the horizon.

"I woke up in The Tower after being in a coma," Wraith said softly, so as not to disturb the serenity of the moment. "Robert McFadden was dead. I had become Robert Wraith. I used to come here when I was recovering, to try to come to terms with it all."

She reached out and took his hand. Incredible rays of color, pink and purple, filled the sky, slashed by moody clouds. The wind whistled around them, blowing their hair.

"The hardest part was the utter loneliness. No one knew me. I had no past to guide me or future to look forward to. No one I could trust." He looked at her, raising a brow. "I didn't know myself anymore. I didn't want to know this new man, Robert Wraith."

She listened as the colors came to life in deep reds, rich browns and vivid greens.

"But when I came and sat here, none of it mattered. To look out on this beauty, offered me a new freedom. The chance, for a brief moment every day, to dream."

"And what did you dream of?" she asked.

"For someone to love and someone to trust."

She looked down. She broke that trust yesterday, broke the confidence they shared. "I'm sorry, Wraith."

"Aye, I know you are, and that's not why I brought you out here." He put his arm around her. "I brought you here because I want the dream. I need to know that you trust me."

"I do trust you."

"Saying it and knowing it deep in your heart, are two different things."

"I—" she started to speak, but he stopped her.

"I need you to tell me what Sokolov did to you. What he said to you. Everything."

She stiffened.

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