“I am fine.”
“Why do I find myself not believing you?” He walked back, drew her to him and set his mouth over hers in a fierce kiss.
Heat poured through her, and she gave in to his every demand, aching for him, for what could never be.
After a long moment, he lifted his head. “Think only of me, of the love we made this morning.”
Emotions choked her throat. How could she ever forget?
He stroked her cheek. “Do nae let that bastard’s touch soil what is beautiful.”
The warmth fell away. Of course, he believed her withdrawal was due to her remembrance of the man who’d raped her. Except that man had raped her as a child, not a woman.
“I will never forget you.” Her words spilled out with passion, a sadness she couldn’t stop.
He caught her face within his hands. “I want—” His breath hissed through clenched teeth. “I want what I can never have, what I can never give you.”
Pain touched her heart at the dreams he offered. To allow him to feel them was wrong. “We both have our own lives, different paths to take.”
“We do.” But he sounded far from convinced. “After my friends see you to safety, what will you do?”
His question caught her off guard. “Do?”
“What are your plans? Will you stay with your husband’s family?”
Family? She searched for an answer, floundered. Never could she tell him that once she’d delivered the writ, disclosed the rebel hideout, she would seek the next task for hire. But, for the first time in her life, the idea of facing another dangerous mission brought no thrill.
“I have not decided yet.” She couldn’t answer his questions. “And what of you?”
Disappointment shuttered his gaze.
“What is it?”
Patrik stared at her, the turmoil storming his mind easy to read. “We must go.”
After everything they’d shared, that he could close her off so completely hurt. “You are avoiding the question.”
“Are you not doing the same?”
Coldness seeped through Emma as she stepped back. “Nothing has truly changed between us, has it? We are strangers, really. You saved my life, and for that I am grateful.” She exhaled. “But soon, we will part. It is best this way.”
“For whom?”
His anger surprised her, nudged her own. “You said this morning you could offer me nothing. Has that changed?”
Patrik’s face tightened. “Nae.”
“I thought not.” She gentled her words. He deserved not her anger. She had wronged him, more than he would ever know. “Neither can I promise you anything in return.”
“You have nowhere to go.” It wasn’t a question.
“I did not say that.”
“Nae,” he replied. “You said you were unsure, the answer is the same.”
In this she must tread with care. “Patrik,” she said, unable to keep her voice from trembling, “this is not about me or you.”
“I disagree.”
