Page 106 of Cocky August Rake

“You didn’t ask me, though.”

“No. I knew before I even stepped on your boat that I couldn’t do it.”

His silver eyes searched hers, fierce and almost desperate.

“So why did you come, then?”

Why?

Because she’d wanted him.

She’d wanted to make love with him, knowing it would feel different from anything that had come before.

She’d gone because she wanted one night that belonged only to them. Knowing it would also be their last.

“I needed to love you once before I let you go.”

Finally. Finally, a light flared in his eyes.

“Love?”

Rose simply nodded. And then shrugged.

“I never imagined it could happen to me… love.”

“But you left.” He said. “Why?”

Rose dropped her gaze, searching for the right words.

“The Domus didn’t just save me, it didn’t just give me a home. It made me who I am.” Her throat ached. “And if you truly believe it is so shameful—so wrong—that you can have no part of it, then how could you ever feel for me what I feel for you?”

Rose forced herself to lift her eyes.

“I couldn’t give myself to a man who only wanted part of me.”

He stared at her as though she’d struck him.

“The Domus isn’t shameful.”

Rose went still.

“I was wrong about it,” he said. “And I love you, Rose. Don’t you know that?”

She wanted desperately to believe him. Wanted to seize those words and hold them close.

But wanting her had never been the problem.

“But—”

Reginald crossed the space between them, stopping just beyond her reach.

“I love you.” A strained laugh escaped him. “God, I’ve made a ruin of saying it.”

“Reginald—”

“I was an idiot.”

Rose’s lips parted.