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KHALL
Rain slid down the windows as Khall poured out two mugs of cold cream froth and April unwrapped the still-warm packet of cookies.
He’d spent the last few hours trying to contain everything he wanted to say to her until they were alone, but now that he had her here, he was finding it hard to figure out where to begin.
“What a day,” she said, shaking her head. “Seems just right that it ends with a rainstorm.”
“April,” he said suddenly, afraid they would launch into small talk, and he would miss his opportunity. “I need to talk to you.”
Her eyebrows lifted, but she waited.
“I’ll start with an apology,” he said. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way about your past. What happened to you wasn’t your fault. But it made you who you are, and brought you to me, for which I’m so grateful. I’m sorry, April.”
She bit her lip.
“And I’m even more sorry for how I spoke with you about Minerva,” he went on. “I know how much you care about her. My words were foolish and cruel. I’m ashamed of myself.”
She studied him with solemn eyes.
“Yes,” she said after a moment, nodding slowly. “I can see that you’re sorry.”
“I left you that message earlier,” he said. “But when I couldn’t get to you, when I thought I might never see you again, and that I had left things that way… I don’t know how I would have lived with myself.”
“We’re fine,” she told him, placing her small pale hands over his large green ones. “We’re all fine. And I know your anger came from a place of wanting to protect your children. Your words hurt me, but I understand why you were angry. You’re an excellent father, Khall. And as far as I’m concerned, that’s the most important thing you can be.”
She smiled up at him and he thought his heart would break with gratitude. He didn’t deserve her forgiveness, but he would earn it over time, if she let him.
“I thought about every single thing you said,” he told her. “If you and the girls agree that it’s best, I’ll take the new job.”
“Really?” she breathed, looking very excited.
“Really,” he said, his heart warming at the sight of her shining eyes. “We can look for a big country house. And I’ll think about letting Minerva join the cadets. No promises.”
“I’m sorry for encouraging her to talk to you without thinking about how it might make you feel,” April said suddenly. “I understand why you wouldn’t want to see your daughter join the forces after what happened to your wife. I would never want to disrespect her memory, or put Minerva in danger.”
“I know that,” Khall said, putting down his mug to take her hand in both of his. “You care about her, and about Bo. And… maybe about me too?”
She nodded slowly, her bright eyes fixed on his.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, April,” he told her, his voice husky.
Her lips parted and he had to tear his eyes from the sight or risk pulling her into his arms without hearing what she had to say first.
“The night you let me touch you, we were both out of control,” he went on, doggedly. “It was a moment of passion. Maybe in the light of day, you don’t really want to be with a boring old man like me. And if that’s the case, please say so. I won’t hold it against you, and I’ll never bring this up again.”
“Khall,” she said softly.
“But if you want me the way I want you, if you care for me even a fraction as much as I do for you, I will move the suns and moon to make you happy,” he told her. “Because you make me a better man, and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how incredibly special you are.”
Then she was flowing into his arms, stopping his mouth with the ardent, greedy kisses he longed for.
He lifted her effortlessly, carrying her to his room as if this were a race against time. Slamming the door shut behind him, he placed her gently back on her feet.
April was up on her toes almost instantly, sliding her arms around his neck, pressing her sweet lips to his jaw, his neck.
“Easy, baby,” he whispered, nearly groaning with need.
But she was already loosening his tie and tugging at the buttons of his dress shirt.
