Page 85 of A Rogue's Rules for Seduction
She knew what she had to do.
“You said the boat is an hour away?” she asked Tabitha.
“Likely less, by now,” the other woman answered. “I imagine it will dock within thirty minutes.”
Willa paced to the wardrobe and pulled out a gown, as her sisters-in-law exchanged uncertain glances. “Good. There’s enough time for me to dress.”
Chapter 27
From the cliff above the dock, Dom watched the boat’s approach as if the small vessel carried the fate of his soul. He’d loaded and unloaded cargo from every corner of the globe, yet no ship or craft ever held the same significance as this little single-master did. All his happiness depended on the reprovisioning boat, and the hell of it was, there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about his fate. It was all in Willa’s hands—as it should be.
The sunlight struck the waves like shattered glass, and he squinted against its glare. It was either watch the boat come closer or else pace outside of Willa’s bedchamber, desperate for her answer.
He’d done everything he could to give Willa the choice she deserved. His whole body was taut, like he was prepared for a punch straight to his gut. How could he live without her? If she chose to leave him behind, he’d have to find a way to ekeout a miserable existence. One stripped of color and light.
Tense, eager awareness danced through his limbs when her distinctive steps sounded on the gravel path behind him. Hungry for any glimpse of her, he turned as she neared, greedily taking in the sight in case these moments with her were to be his last.
She’d dressed in a blue gown, more vivid than the sky, her hair loose, and he purposefully burned the picture she made into his heart. He searched her face for some sign, a clue that let him know what her decision was, but she held her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun, and the shadow it cast made it hard to read her.
“The boat should be here in quarter of an hour.” His voice came out ragged and harsh, as if he’d been shouting.
She stood beside him and gazed out toward the vessel, which had grown steadily larger as it came closer to the island. “It will take some time to off-load its cargo. There’s still several days left for the party and they’ll want plenty to eat.”
“I don’t give a damn if they starve,” he burst out. “Nothin’ matters except one thing—your answer.”
“Dom.” She said his name on a sigh, and his heart filled with lead.
“You don’t want me,” he said heavily. “I did my best, but I should’ve known that I fucked everythin’ up too much to win you back.” His throat was raw and the greatest challenge of his life was swallowing the tears that wanted to pour forth. He dug his knuckles into his eyes.
“Dom,” she said again.
Her hands cupped his, gently pulling them down, and she gazed up at him. Was that tenderness in her eyes? The look someone gave another before saying goodbye? He shook as if he stood in the middle of a storm.
“Idowant you,” she said softly, and his heart shuddered in his chest.
“What?” he rasped.
“I want you, Dom,” she repeated with greater strength. She smiled and the sight was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. “Because I love you.”
“You do?”
Her fingers tightened around his fists. “I love every part of you.”
He wanted to believe it, but was it real? Could he trust his ears? “Even though I’m rough and mean and come from nothin’—”
“Especiallybecause you’re rough and mean and I don’t care about where you came from, I care about whereweare going.” Her lips trembled and her eyes glittered with tears. “And we’re going to go so many places together. Even if we lived in a tiny shack together—”
“I’m givin’ you a bloodypalace,” he insisted.
“Well, I won’t object to a palace,” she said with asmall laugh, “but truly, we could be anywhere, even living under a twig in the middle of a heath, and all that would matter is that we were together.”
His breath gusted in and out and he couldn’t understand what was happening to him, what this strange feeling was that filled him with brightness and strength and the need to roar to the heavens.
Happiness. It was happiness.
He’d gone so long without it, he didn’t truly know what it meant. Back when he and Willa had first been courting, he’d believed that he was happy, and yet that was a pale echo of this all-consuming joy that filled him.
“I love you, Willa,” he growled. “Lioness. My perfect mate.”
