Chapter Twenty-Three
………………………….
Henri
“ILY, IF YOU CAN HEAR ME…please don’t leave.” I shuddered as I sat on her bed. The sun had set an hour ago, and I still hadn’t left. Q hadn’t returned. The doctor had tried to kick me out and failed.
I’d refused lunch because the thought of eating turned my guts into knots.
All I wanted to do was talk to Ily. To tell her she was safe. That she didn’t have to hide any longer.
Stroking her hair back, I murmured, “If you’re with Peter, tell him he can’t have you. Not yet. You’re not done with this life, mon c?ur . Tell him he’s welcome to haunt us, but you have to wake up. I can’t do this without you.”
I studied her face for any signs that she’d heard me.
The serene blankness reminded me of how she’d checked out when Victor raped her. How she said she didn’t watch and went somewhere he couldn’t reach.
“You can open your eyes now, alright? Victor is dead. We’re in France. No one will ever harm you again.” My heart fisted. “Especially me.”
Twilight turned to darkness.
Suzette, Q’s housekeeper who I’d met once before, bustled in and turned on the lights. She returned an hour later with a bowl of rich pumpkin soup and bread, placing it on the sideboard.
She didn’t speak. She merely smiled, gathered a few empty water glasses from the doctor, and left.
Kissing Ily’s floppy fingers, I begged her in every language and dimension to wake up. “We’re free, little nightmare. The collars are gone. The pain is gone. All you have to do is open your eyes.”
Pressing my forehead to her wrist, I whispered, “Please, Ily. If you come back to me, we can go anywhere you want. I’ll take you home. We’ll go see Krish and your parents. I’ll take you to any gem store—” My mouth twisted. “On second thoughts, no gems. I don’t think I’ll be able to look at another diamond again.”
She didn’t move, didn’t sigh.
Fresh fear tiptoed up my spine. Believing she’d died had almost killed me. But seeing her in limbo? Being utterly helpless to bring her back…it was almost worse. I didn’t know if her mind was free. Was she in a good dream or bad? Was she still on that island being tortured and starved?
Running my thumb over her wedding ring finger, I whispered, “Six months isn’t long enough, Ily. I want six goddamn decades with you. So open your eyes and—”
“Still no change?” Rachel asked quietly from the doorway.
I sucked in a tattered breath and looked up.
Staggering from Ily’s bedside, I tripped across the room and snatched her close. “ You . Dammit, Rach, first you saved my life and now you’ve gone and saved hers. How…how can I ever repay you?”
She grunted with discomfort as I squeezed her with every shred of gratitude.
Her hard, round belly dug into my hips as I said, “You put your own life on the line. You gave her your blood. You saved her—”
“No.” She sniffed back tears and tugged out of my embrace. “Peter did.” She winced. “Caishen told me how Peter grabbed her and spun her around. The bullet went into him, not her. He did it in a split second. He was the one who saved her, not me.”
I swallowed hard, cursing Peter and worshipping him all over again. “Did he…did he go quickly?”
She fought back tears. “Caishen said by the time he got to him and Ily, Peter was passed out on top of her. The bullet went into his back. Caishen tried to stem the bleeding, but…”
I nodded and cupped her cheek. “He deserved better.”
“He did.” She nodded and placed her hand over mine. “I can’t believe he’s gone. Mollie didn’t make it, either. They found her dead in the garden.”
I tripped backward. “Fucking hell.”
“We’d planned on moving in together,” Rachel murmured. “Getting work in the same science field. Sharing baby duties. Recovering with someone who’s been there, you know? It was the one thing that kept us going. Knowing we’d have each other…”
“I’m so sorry, Rachel.”
A tear rolled off her nose. She touched her baby bump. “Now, it’s just me and him .” Her face twisted. “I can’t say this to anyone else, but…I can’t decide if I love this baby or absolutely despise him.”
“Because of who his father was?”
She looked me in the eye. “What if he turns out to be like Victor? What if I’m condemning a bunch of other people to horror just by keeping him alive?”
Returning to Ily’s side, I sat and took her hand again. “You can’t know who he’ll become, but you can look at me.” I winced. “I know I did bad things. I hurt people. But…I changed.” I sighed and looked at the open door, keeping my voice down. “Q has a son. He says he isn’t like us, either. That he doesn’t crave pain. So it’s not necessarily genetic. Your son won’t either, Rach. He’s yours , not Victor’s. He’ll grow up to be like you, not him.”
She chewed the inside of her cheek, unwilling to share the rest of her thoughts. “Do you mind if I stay a while?”
“Not at all. The more Ily hears us, the better.”
“Or she’ll think it’s yet another evening at The Jewelry Box.” Rachel made herself comfortable on the chair the doctor had vacated. Her hands rubbed her belly, face twisting with memories. “No one will ever understand what we shared. The things we did.”
I looked away.
Despite what’d happened between us, I felt inexplicably comfortable in Rachel’s company. We’d played unspeakable games. I’d seen Victor do despicable things to her. She’d watched me do perverse things to Ily. And yet…no judgement, no scorn. We were merely two people who’d survived.
“Victor’s dead, Ily,” Rachel spoke louder. “If you can hear us, it’s just me and Henri. He’s here. He’s okay. I didn’t know if he’d survive. That’s why I didn’t tell you he was here before. But he’s holding your hand right now. He wants to take you home and have a fresh start.” A sinful smile quirked her lips. “He also really, really wants to kiss you. I know that look in his eyes. And I’m sure you can guess where that kiss would lead.”
I held my breath, willing, willing Ily to respond.
I deflated when she didn’t.
Casting Rachel a look, I tried to find the strength to joke but couldn’t. “You’ve been talking to her?”
“Ever since I saw you grab that guy’s gun and try to kill yourself.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“I didn’t see much really. I was with Ben, Stewart, Pen, and Abby when I saw your brother knock you unconscious. Dr Belford came running from where she’d been treating the other injured jewels. She and Rose helped direct the doctors who came with the soldiers to give care to those most urgent. With you lying unconscious and bleeding and Ily unconscious and bleeding and Peter….” She swallowed hard. “I checked Ily’s pulse and found the faintest heartbeat. It was Dr Belford who asked if anyone had O-negative blood. I knew mine, thanks to a fun biology class where we all pricked ourselves. As we were bundled into a helicopter, she linked me to Ily before another doctor took over, and we flew away. I didn’t stop talking to her the entire flight.”
“I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.” I bowed my chin. “I can’t say thank you to Peter, but between the two of you, you’re the reason I’m not dead right now. The only reason.”
She gave me a sad smile. “She still needs to wake up first. Then we can talk about gratitude.”
My heart squeezed. I turned back to face Ily.
Silence fell as the stars came out and the sounds of other people in this chateau faded as they went to bed.
Sleep kept sneaking over my mind as I clung to Ily’s hand.
I needed to rest. I could barely move unassisted, but the thought of leaving her…even for a nap.
I can’t do it.
A couple hours passed by the time Rachel clambered from her chair and headed toward the door. “You know…there is one thing you could give me. If you want…”
Blinking back exhaustion, I made eye contact with her. “Anything. Name it and its yours.”
“He asked you to be his godfather.”
I froze. “ What did you say?”
“I…” Standing taller, she murmured, “On that island you were free to be the worst version of yourself. You had immunity to hurt us, maim us, even kill us. Yet…you didn’t. Yes, you fumbled a few times. But you were good , Master H. And yes, I’m using your title because you were the only one who took care of us. You were the only one who withstood all that temptation, survived all that pain. If it ever comes down to teaching my son how to be a good man, I wouldn’t trust anyone the way I trust you. So…would you? Would you be my son’s godfather? To ensure he never becomes his biological father?”
Q staggered to a stop in the threshold, his gaze locked on Rachel.
Rachel flinched as he intruded on such an intimate moment.
I waited for him to leave, but he merely crossed his arms and leaned against the door jamb, his eyebrow quirked with interest.
Glowering at him, I didn’t care he listened and answered truthfully. “You’re forgetting I did hurt you. I hurt Ily. It took me a long time to snap out of that spell, and I’m definitely not immune to temptation.”
Looking at Q, Rachel pursed her lips as if to leave, but then she rushed, “I would rather someone who has been bad and then seen the error of his ways than someone preaching what he hasn’t practiced. Think about it. I’ll see you and Ily tomorrow. Give her a kiss from me.”
She bolted before I could reply.
A few seconds ticked past before Q ran his tongue over his bottom lip. “You know, earlier today, when she hugged you, I wondered if that child in her belly was yours. And now she’s offering you to be his godfather. What on earth happened on that island?”
Exhaustion chose that moment to make me wobble on the bed. The floor seemed far, far away but also incredibly inviting. “Story for another day, I’m afraid.”
“You need to sleep.” His gaze shot to the untouched food. “And eat.”
“I will when she wakes.”
“How about a compromise?” Snapping his fingers, he stepped aside as two men carried in a mattress and base.
None of us said a word as they positioned it next to Ily’s bed. Suzette darted in with sheets, blankets, and pillows, and quickly made it into a comfy nest I very much wanted to pass out in.
“Sleep, Henri.” Q headed toward the door. “And come morning, when you wake, I expect you to eat. You’re no good to her if you don’t.”
I passed out still holding Ily’s hand before he even left.
* * * * *
“You really need to open your eyes, little nightmare.”
“And wake from this?” Ily smiled and swam into my arms. “Why? When I have everything I could ever want right here.”
I gathered her close, our bare wet skin slicking and teasing. Her curves to my hollows. Her softness to my hardness. We fit so fucking well. I ached for her. Longed for her. My hips rocked of their own accord, searching for her, needing to be inside her all while she rubbed herself against me, coating me in a different kind of moisture.
“You’re going to make me come,” I groaned.
“Not yet.” She giggled. “Be a good boy and behave.”
“Behave?” I smirked. “You’re the one seducing me.”
“Are you seduced?”
My head fell back as she bit my throat. “Do I feel seduced?”
She arched her hips, pressing my throbbing cock against her belly and making ripples of pleasure quake through me. “I’d say you’re ready.”
“Ready for—”
“To fuck me.”
Grabbing a fistful of her hair, I tugged her head back and kissed her.
She moaned as I waded across the perfectly clear pool. She clung to me as I stepped over rocks that glittered like diamonds and passed beneath a star-sparkling waterfall. The lush rainforest dripped with a recent downpour. Jeweled frogs hopped from leaf to leaf.
Pressing her against a boulder, I ducked my knees and sought out her heat.
She kissed me harder.
Licked me.
Bit me.
I lost myself.
Grabbing her hips, I hoisted her higher up the rock. Her wet hair stencilled the boulder, her eyes ablaze with blinding sunlight. “I want you, Hen. So much.”
I fell on her.
I kissed her throat. I bit her ear. I found her mouth again and kissed her exquisitely hard all while her fingers dropped between us and found me.
I shuddered as she wrapped her hand around my erection.
I gasped as she pumped me.
I groaned as she guided me to breach her body.
“You’ll wake up after this, won’t you?” I whispered into her mouth. “Promise me, you’ll follow me back to where you belong if we do this.”
She squeezed me so damn hard, my vision stuttered. “Make me come first, and then we’ll see.”
I choked on a breath as I entered her.
I couldn’t think or move as I became utterly bewitched by her heat, her wetness, her welcome.
“Yes.” Clawing at my shoulders, she arched her hips. “More. Give me more.”
Starbursts exploded in my eyes as I mounted her against that rock and joined our two forms together.
I slammed home.
She cried out.
I moved hard and deep, fucking her, making love to her, sending water waking with choppy waves.
“Harder,” she panted. “I need you to hurt me.”
“Ily. Fuck.” Looking down her body, I focused on where I disappeared inside her below the water’s surface. The rhythm of us writhing together. The sheer eroticism of giving each other such mind-breaking pleasure. “I don’t want to hurt you anymore. I can’t.”
She matched me thrust for thrust. Her skin glowed as bright as the sun.
I could barely see her as I rocked.
But I could feel her.
Feel her clenching around me, teasing me, imploring me to give in to sin.
“I need it,” she begged. “I need the pain, Master H.”
The crystal pool suddenly became black tar.
The jungle died.
The waterfall stopped falling.
“I-I can’t.” I clung to her, desperate to worship her and atone for everything I’d done wrong. “I love you, Ily. But I can’t—”
“Then I’m not going to wake up.”
She vanished from my arms.
I woke up screaming.