Page 139 of Between Wrath and Mercy

“If she didn’t die, she still never would have been mine.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I’ve been thinking. Ever since you told me you two are twin flames. Part of me wonders if that’s what Lucia and I were, and that’s why I just feel . . . lost. But then I feel stupid for thinking I could ever have possibly deserved her.”

“Youdiddeserve her Dewalt. You did. The longer I’ve had to wrap my head around the fact that it was you, the more I realize just how blind I was. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were twin flames. You should ask Mairin.”

“I have. She said there’s no way to know.”

“She’s wrong. Here.” I placed my hand over his heart. “You know. Just like Rain and I knew. He never left my heart all those years.”

“May I cut in?” Rain surprised me by appearing next to me the moment I said his name, almost as if I summoned him. He smiled at his friend, who hesitantly returned it after looking at me.

“Of course. Thank you, Emmeline.” He gave a curt nod and backed away, striking a purposeful path through the room, heading toward the hallway he’d found me in. Rain took his place, pulling me against his body. He was warm and unyielding, in not only body but other ways too. He was home, and being wrapped in his arms was a balm.

“That seemed intense.” He watched me warily. I sighed, giving him a tired smile.

“Yes, but not unexpected.” I tucked my head into his chest and abandoned the structured dance both men had been leading me on. Rain held me tight, and I let myself breathe in the comfort of his arms. Dewalt was right, I had jumped into this headfirst. But I had also been right. This was my place. Here in Rain’s arms was where I was always meant to be.

“I’m sure it’s hard for him. The two of us bonded over our shared loss of the Highclere twins. Granted, I never lost you quite like he lost Lucia, but we bonded over it anyway. But now I’ve got you back.” He pulled me closer and kissed the top of my head.

“It can’t be easy.”

“Did you know he sent me three impulses when you showed up at Ravemont?”

“Three?” I was incredulous. “That’s like what Ven did to me in the dungeons. It ruined my whole night.”

“Yes, I was already in the stable when he sent them. I had just returned from praying, and I ran inside the house in a panic. I didn’t know what could have possibly warranted three impulses. Servants were crowding the door, and I almost pushed through them until I heard you. I thought I was hallucinating. I froze, and my heart just plummeted. I immediately convinced myself I was wrong, and it almost felt like losing you again. But then you kept talking.”

He took a deep breath, and I could hear the emotion thick in his throat, making my heart ache.

“Emmeline, I had just asked the gods to let me forget you. And there you were. It took everything in me to gently push past those servants. You were there in the same room as me. You were in trouble, and you needed me. Gods, Emmeline.You needed me. I didn’t even care that you were married. And when I saw your face, when I made you stand up? I wanted to throw myself at your feet.”

I felt a tear break free as I looked into those gold-dappled green eyes I had come to know so intimately. I stopped swaying with him, pulling away to gaze upon him as I spoke, a surety coming over me that I needed to show him just how deeply I felt for him. I’d said it in my vows and told him I’d loved him, but since I’d come back, he had been the one who made it overwhelmingly clear, and I thought it was past time I made my feelings as clear as he always had.

“I love you, Rain. I loved you back then, and I’ve loved you every day since. Loving you is the most terrifying thing I’ve ever known, but I need you to know, I’d suffer all these years again as long as it led me back to you. I know I try your patience, and I’m not the easiest person to love or the most vulnerable with my feelings. Hell, even this is difficult for me. But I will never give you any reason to doubt my love again. Good gods, I’ve never been happier than when I’m in your arms.”

A smile spread across his face as I spoke, and he cupped the back of my neck, pulling me in for an agonizing kiss. The music picked up, and more people flooded into the open space to dance, but Rain and I were frozen. He grasped me by my hips and pressed my body against his, propriety be damned. Tilting my head back, he deepened the kiss before sliding his tongue against the seam of my lips. I let his tongue in with a slight moan, and then his hands left me.

I heard the sound of a rift.

The next thing I knew, we were in the pouring rain. I pulled away with a gasp, and Rain pushed me against a wall where the drizzle couldn’t reach us anymore.

“What are you doing?”

“Making love to my wife.” His lips found purchase on my neck, his hands back on my hips as he pulled me against him.

“Where are we?”

“Our garden.” He murmured against my skin, soft lips marking my collarbone.

I looked past him, and, though only lit by torches on the walls behind me, it appeared as if the garden from his home had been duplicated here at the palace. I started when I realized we weren’t on the ground level but a balcony. And yet there was dirt for the plants to grow.

“You did this?” Rain must have used his divinity to make this possible.

“So many questions tonight. If you don’t want to be interrupted, you need to stop talking.” He put one hand over my mouth as he kissed lower, pulling my dress below my breast and popping my nipple into his mouth, sucking hard. I let my head tilt back against the wall of the palace, and I moaned, still loud, if muffled.

He pressed his hand harder against my mouth.

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