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“Is there anything else you would like to say?” Eric growled.
“You’ll protect my name, right?”
Eric let out a mirthful laugh, giving her all the answer she needed. There was only one woman he would be protecting tonight.Chapter TwelveI felt Eric before I saw him. I squeezed my father’s calloused hand. “I want you to meet Eric.”
Dad smiled at me. “Not yet.”
I sighed, disappointed. “I don’t understand why you don’t want to meet him. I think you would like him.”
Dad placed a warm hand on my cheek. “I know I will. But you’re not ready for it, and neither is he. Don’t let him in the vineyard yet.” And with that, Dad and the vineyard vanished. Before I could think about what Dad had said, my new favorite voice beckoned me.
“Sorrel,” Eric called.
I turned and was suddenly out of the hot sun. Eric was in my living room, sitting on my couch, dressed to the nines. He took my breath away. “What are you doing here?”
“I needed to see you.” He sounded distressed.
It was then I noticed he was shaking. I rushed to his side and took his hand. As each finger interlocked, my heart knit together with his, piece by piece. “What’s wrong?” I could feel him tremble.
He turned toward me, and with his free hand he brushed his thumb across my cheek. “You’re so beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I blushed. “You’re beautiful too.” I especially liked him in his black suit. It offset his clear aqua eyes.
“I’m not beautiful. I’ve done ugly things, Sorrel. Things I’m not proud of.”
I should have been concerned, yet more than anything I felt a need to comfort him. “It can’t be that bad. I’m sure whatever it is, it’s a misunderstanding.”
He closed his eyes and shuddered. “No, Sorrel. I’m not who you think I am.”
“Who are you?”
He pulled away from me, leaned forward, and rested his arms on his knees. His face fell into his hands. “You can never know.”
I rubbed his back, able to feel every muscle through his suit coat. “I know who you are. I can feel it.”
He turned and met my gaze. “You’re too trusting.”
“That may be, but I can feel your heart. And it’s good.” It belongs to me, I wanted to say. I felt that too.
“How can you feel my heart?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, but you should believe me,” I implored.
Eric leaned his forehead against mine. “If only I could. But I did terrible things tonight.”
“What things?” I whispered, unsettled.
“Whatever was necessary to protect you.”
“Protect me from what?”
“Me.”
“I don’t want to be protected from you.” He needed protection from me.
“Sorrel,” he spoke my name with such tenderness. “We can’t see each other anymore.”
“Why?” I cried, even though my head said that was for the best. I had to break the curse. But my heart was telling me something entirely different.
“It’s not safe. I don’t want to hurt you.”
I placed my hands on his stubbled cheeks. “You won’t.” Deep down I knew that was true. How, I didn’t know.
He didn’t disagree with me. Instead his lips teased my own. His minty breath invited me to draw closer to him.
“If only I could have you. I would do my best to make you happy.” He barely brushed my lips before capturing them, crushing them against his own. In his hunger he pulled me onto his lap and gathered me in his arms, making sure there wasn’t any space between us. I wrapped my arms around his neck and begged him with a sweep of my tongue to deepen the kiss. He obliged and tasted me deeply, making me gasp. He groaned against my lips before releasing them.
Eric ran his hand through my hair. “What I wouldn’t give for this to be real.”
“This is real.”
He chuckled. “I’m glad you think so.”
“It’s not?” I was so confused.
“No. It’s not. And I have to go. I won’t come and see you anymore,” he said, determined, yet sorrow wove through his words.
I grabbed the lapels of his jacket. “Please stay.” Now I was sounding like a desperate schoolgirl, but I didn’t care. We belonged together. In my soul, I knew it.
He took my hands and kissed them. “I can’t. But don’t worry, you’re safe now.”
“I’m braver than you think.” My voice pleaded for him to stay.
“I believe you.” He brushed my lips one more time. “If my life was my own, and given the chance, I think I would find myself very much in love with you. Goodbye, Sorrel.”
“Wait. You can’t say something like that and leave.” But leave he did. He vanished into thin air. A pain so deep filled me that I cried out, waking myself up. I sat up straight in bed, rubbing my chest, breathing hard, feeling like a piece of my soul had just torn. It was only a dream, I told myself over and over again. The most realistic dream I had ever had. I touched my lips. I swear they felt swollen from Eric’s kiss.
