Page 22 of Scandalized by My Prince
“I’m sorry I freaked you out,” she said. “I’ve never overloaded before. It took me a minute to yank my shields back up. It shouldn’t happenagain.”
“It better not,” he declared. “My heart couldn’ttakeit.”
That had to be the most terrifying thing he’d ever experience. For a moment, he’d thought he killed her or at least something inside of her. It had been a bit of a wakeup he’d desperately needed. If not for her minor meltdown, he’d have been a stubborn fool a bit longer thannecessary.
“What secrets are you keeping from me?” he askedlightly.
“Nothing much,” she said flippantly. “Other than I’m from a couple hundred years in thefuture.”
Killian blinked several times. He had to have heard her wrong. “Comeagain?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself,” she ordered. “Youheardme.”
He had, but that didn’t mean any of it made sense. There were a lot of little details about her that he hadn’t been able to explain. She had odd phrasing from time to time, and then there was her weird description of her family. What had she said? None of them were aliveat the moment. Did that mean theywerealive? It was too much for him to take in allatonce.
“Lass, that is impossible,” he said,bewildered.
She sighed. “I suppose it was too much to ask for you to accept it without digging for moreinformation.”
“Would you, in my place?” hecountered.
He wanted to believe her, but he was having difficulty grasping the concept. Time travel? It made his head hurt thinking of the possibilities. She’d claimed to have come to save him. Had she? Was there more he didn’t fullyunderstand?
“No,” she agreed. “It’s not in my nature to take something at face value. In your place, I’d be skeptical too. I will explain a little bit now, and maybe later we can go into more detail if that’s all rightwithyou.”
He wanted to say no. The need for answers filled him, as did the need to demand them, but for her, he’d find some patience. “Give me the basics, and later you can bridgethegaps.”
She remained quiet for a few moments and then began to speak. “It started when my cousin went missing. Genevieve was there one moment, and the next she was gone. I went to see Trenton—the man who loves her.” She stopped and glanced at him and then shook her head. “That’s information I can give you later. To make things simple, I read in a journal how it was possible to travel through time. My gifts make it easier for me, and I knew I had to come here when I caught a glimpseofyou.”
“Your gifts told you that?” He tried to control his feelings because they might overwhelm her, but it was becoming difficult to hold them back. “I’m not so sure I will be able to believe all of this with no proof to backitup.”
“I see your point.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “What can I do to make you see I’m telling thetruth?”
He wasn’t sure. Was there any way to do that? “Can you atleasttry?”
“I’ll do my best on one condition,” she said. “Stay here with me tomorrow and forget about thatmeeting.”
“Why does it mean so much to you?” heasked.
He didn’t begin to understand what her motivations were. If she was truly from the future, she might know something about the meeting inManchester.
“Because if you go,” she said emphatically. “You could die, and I can’t live with that.” And then she explained the massacre to him and what might happen if he went. As he listened, he couldn’t help but start to believe her tale. Either way, the outcome of the meeting would be telling. If it went as she described, it was a clear indicator she was from the future. He could take her at her word for now and give her some peace. When it was all over, he’d have the truth either way. Something told him that she would continue to surprise him for the rest ofhislife.
Killian remained quiet for several seconds. He didn’t ask any questions, unsure how to respond to her description of the bloody event. There was one thing he did want more than anything—her. “I’m glad you’ve told me everything,” he said decidedly. His next move had never been clearer. She was the love of his life, and he couldn’t lethergo.
“Secrets are a hard thing to hold onto. Will you stay herewithme?”
He would. “Aye, I believeIwill.”
She smiled. “That’s good. I’d have hated to use the laudanum I smuggled along. It’s much easier if you stay herewithme.”
He raised a brow. “Surely you wouldn’t actuallydrugme.”
“No,” she said. “It didn’t sit well with me and I’d already decided against it.” She frowned. “Can you forgive me for not being honest and considering such a drasticaction?”
He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She hadn’t gone through with it and he took a small comfort in that much. “Aye I don’t think there’s anything to forgive anyway. We both held things back and for good reason.” All he wanted was to move forward and have her as part of his life forever. “Right now, I just want to love you again.” He leaned down and kissed her lightly. “Will you consent to be my wife when we return to Kingsbridge. I want a proper wedding with my family inattendance.”
Maybe love wasn’t as bad a thing as he’d originally believed. He still wasn’t comfortable with some aspects of his life and how he’d come to acquire the title of earl. It was something he’d never fully be able to accept. He didn’t deserve it, and he’d do his best to make up for that fact. Aubriella was another matter. Loving her would always be the best part of his life, and he’d fight to keep her in it. If she didn’t agree to be his, he wasn’t sure how he’dreact.
“I’d love nothing more,” she said, then smiled coyly. Relief flooded him at her words. “Now stop talking and make love to meagain.”
“Greedy wench,” heteased.
“But you love it,” shecountered.
Killian kissed her in response because she was right. Aubriella was the one he’d been searching for and didn’t realize he needed. Nothing in his world had been right until he’d found her. He’d be a prince for her if she wanted him to be, but he’d be happy as long as she was his forever. He didn’t needanythingelse.
