Page 73 of Redemption

“Why the hell not?” he snarled. “Are you saying you lied to me when you proclaimed your love for me?”

“No. I do love you,” she cried out. “I cannot possibly expect you to understand how—”

“Understand that you have a daughter?” He glared at her. “There’s nothing to understand. You lied to me.”

“A lie you seem unwilling to forgive.” The quiet reply made him grow still as he met her gaze.

“It’s not the lie I find difficult to forgive, Arianna. It’s your lack of faith and trust in me.” An emotion she could only label as pain flickered in his moss green eyes.

“I lied because I thought you would cast me aside as my father did,” she said with an anguished cry. “You cannot possibly imagine what a betrayal such as that does to a person.”

The stunned look on Blake’s face made her turn her head away from him. She refused to accept his pity. All she wanted was for him to understand her reason for lying to him. She needed him to know that it had been her fear of losing him that had driven her to hide the truth. She looked at him again. Blake’s features were unreadable, and she realized she might never be able to make him understand. She released a small sound of despair as her gaze met his as she straightened upright.

“Can you deny you would not have had second thoughts if you’d known about Lucy before we were married? Would you have even offered for me if you’d known?” She indicated her belief he would not have done so with a shake of her head. “It is one thing to accept the fact that your wife is a whore. You can hide such a fact from people, but you cannot hide or explain away my daughter’s presence.”

With a blinding speed that startled Arianna, Blake moved forward and shoved aside the chair between them. His hands gripped her arms as he shook her with a restrained force.

“You are not a whore. What that bastard did to you was abominable, but it does not make you a whore. As for your father if he were alive, I’d thrash him and leave him for dead,” he said harshly. He released her and took a step backward. “I’ll not deny I might have had second thoughts if you had told me about your daughter. But in the end my decision to marry you would still have been the same. I don’t care about your past. I never have because I love you. Nothing will ever change that.”

There was a raw, powerful force in his voice that made Arianna stare at him in astonishment. The fierce intensity of his words was reflected in his harsh expression. As she met his gaze she thought she saw fear flashed in his eyes.

“Christ Jesus, Arianna. Say something.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Blake,” she whispered as she burst into tears. In less than a second, she was in his arms as he pulled her into his tight embrace. The familiar warmth of him engulfed her as she buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed. Blake murmured words of love, reassurance, and forgiveness as he held her close. After several moments, her sobs quieted and Blake tipped her head up with his forefinger.

“I was a brute, my love. I should have realized you would have good reason to hide the truth from me.”

“I’m truly sorry, Blake,” she whispered as she gulped back a fresh round of tears. “You never gave me any reason to doubt your love. I should have trusted you.”

“Enough apologies, Arianna,” he said huskily. “All I want to hear is that you love me, and that you believe me when I say I’ll never betray you.”

“I love you, Blake. I love you more than you will ever know.”

“And do you trust me not to betray you?” The soft question made Arianna stiffen. As she looked into his green eyes, she struggled to say the words she knew he wanted to hear. Her mouth moved as she tried to answer, but the words failed to roll off her tongue. He winced before he bent his head and pressed his lips to her brow.

“It’s all right, my darling. I’ll simply have to work harder to make you believe I’d never do anything to harm you.”

He kissed her forehead again and pulled her close. As her cheek pressed into his shoulder, she experienced a new sense of security. He’d forgiven her and he loved her. There was only one thing more she could ask of him. It was the one thing that would test their newfound understanding. She pushed away from him slightly and met his gaze. Before she could even speak, his fingers pressed against her lips.

“It seems we now have a dilemma on our hands,” he said with a wry smile. “What to say when we bring our daughter home with us.”

Arianna stared at him in open- wonder. Without any pleading from her, he was giving her the ultimate gift. He was willing to take in a child that wasn’t his into his home simply because he loved her. The gesture illustrated the depth of love for her. She continued to stare at him in open-mouthed wonder. Blake shook his head and kissed her gently.

“Clearly I have my work cut out for me when it comes to proving how much I love you, my lady.”

“You would do this for me? You would take Lucy into your home knowing the truth?”

“Our home, my love. How could I not take the child in? I love you,” Blake said softly. “The child is innocent, and I’ll do my best to be a good father to her.”

Unable to speak in the face of his unbelievably generous decision another round of tears streamed down Arianna’s cheeks. Concern darkened Blake’s features and he caught her face in his hands.

“Why are you crying, sweetheart?”

“Because I love you, and I can go home now. I’ve missed you so much.”

“Then let’s go home, Arianna. Let’s take our daughter and go home.”

The words whispered across her senses as Blake kissed her. Gentle and tender, the caress healed a small piece of her heart. In Blake’s arms she was safe. She was loved. She was finally home.