Chapter 14 #2
“No, you’re refusing to listen to me. You need to accept and understand that what happened to you as a child doesn’t make me love you any less.
” Theo’s voice softened as he held her gaze.
“In fact, it makes me love you all the more. Your strength in the face of all you’ve been through is astounding.
No other woman could stand next to you and not be found wanting because of how remarkable you are.
And if you think I’m about to let you go, you’re mistaken. You belong to me, Genevieve—”
“I belong to no man,” she snapped, a vivid memory of Ruckley flooding her head. But she was no longer a little girl who could be bullied into submission. She was a grown woman, capable of taking care of herself. No man would ever control her again.
“You didn’t let me finish, mo leannan.” Patience and warmth ran beneath the Gaelic phrase. “You belong to me in the same way I belong to you, mo ghràdh. We were made for each other, Genevieve, and there isn’t anything you can say that will change that.”
“Please stop, Theo. You’re making this far more difficult for me than you realize.”
“Are you going to deny your heart doesn’t belong to me?”
“No, I cannot deny that.”
No sooner had the words passed her lips than Theo stepped forward, forcing Genevieve to take two quick steps back to his one. Inhaling a deep breath, she stood ramrod straight and met his gaze steadily.
“You demanded the truth, Theo, and I answered honestly. I love you, but this...us…”Genevieve waved her hand between the two of them. “…all of it ends here—tonight. I cannot—and will not—marry you.”
“For weeks now, you’ve tried to convince me to take you as my mistress,” he growled. “Now, you’re not just refusing to be my wife. You say we’re finished. I think you owe me an explanation as to why you’re about to walk away from me—from us?”
“I love you, Theo, but I cannot go on like this. If I stay, it will break my heart because I can never marry you. You need to accept my decision.”
“The hell I do,” he snarled and closed the distance between them with the speed of a large predator.
Before she could dart out of reach, she was wrapped in his embrace.
In the next breath, Theo lowered his head as swiftly as a bird of prey might the moment it spotted an enticing morsel.
She didn’t even have time to gasp with surprise as his mouth seared hers, and without a murmur of protest, she surrendered.
A large hand slid up her waist to cup her breast, and he rubbed his thumb over the tip of her hard nipple.
She moaned, and the instant her mouth parted, his tongue was tangling with hers.
His kiss wasn’t simply passionate, it spoke of a hunger she understood.
It was breathtaking, and she never wanted it to end.
Firm hands roughly tugged her hips into his, the hard length of him pressing into the apex of her thighs.
Another moan rolled out of her throat as his mouth sought the indentation of her shoulder.
He murmured something against her skin, but she didn’t hear what he said because the world was spinning around her at a dizzying pace.
Clinging to him, she hovered on the brink of yielding, unable to think clearly. The realization caused her heart to slam painfully against her breast. If he made love to her again, she wouldn’t have the strength to walk away, and for his sake she needed to do just that. A shudder rocked her body.
She had to end this before she lost complete control of her senses, and he convinced her to do something that would only make matters worse.
Once more, she twisted out of his arms, and in the back of her mind, she had the vague notion that the only reason she was free was because he’d allowed her to escape.
Frightened by how close she’d come to surrendering to him completely, she forced herself to eye him with antipathy.
“A typical male reaction,” she said sharply. “When you don’t get the answer you want, you resort to coercion. You cannot simply kiss me into accepting your offer of marriage—”
“Christ almighty, Genevieve. I’m not trying to coerce you.
I’m trying to show you that I don’t care about your past. None of it,” he bit out through clenched teeth, his words echoing with anger and perhaps even a hint of fear.
“I love you. How can I make you understand that your past doesn’t matter to me? It never did.”
Theo’s impassioned declaration vibrated with a strength that made her wonder if she might be wrong.
Could he really love her enough? Genevieve closed her eyes as she realized that over the last several months, every time he’d insisted her past meant nothing, in the furthest recesses of her mind, hope had blossomed.
Was it possible he loved her enough to accept the worst of her past?
Genevieve swayed, struggling to remain on her feet as the fear tightening its vicious grip on her entire body threatened to bring her to her knees.
The only way to know the depth of his love for her was to tell him her last secret. A secret she’d not even told Peter.
“I love you—”
“Apparently not enough to marry me,” he snarled. The pain in his voice made Genevieve wince.
“No, I love you enough not to,” she whispered, her heart aching as if someone was squeezing the life out of her.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? I’m beginning to think you haven’t the slightest idea what love is.” At the accusation, she denied his words with a fierce shake of her head.
“That’s not true, Theo. I love you more than I ever dreamed it possible for someone to love another person.
I don’t just love you, Theo. I crave you—all of you.
” Tears welled up in her eyes as she fought to keep her voice steady.
“When I hear your voice, my heart races out of control. When you smile at me, I forget to breathe. And dear God, when you touch me—when you touch me, the world fades away. You make my existence bearable. But then I come to my senses, and as much as every part of me aches for you, I know the truth. I can never be the wife you need.”
“You’re everything I want—need—in a wife, Genevieve.”
“No, there’s one thing you need from a wife that I can never give you,” she whispered hoarsely, preparing herself for the worst of all outcomes. “I cannot give you an heir. I became with child when I was nine, and Ruckley had a doctor end the pregnancy, then he ensured I could never have children.”