by Lakes, Lynde
She opened it, then staggered back a few steps. Her breath caught, and shock rocked her senses. She hadn’t expected those blue eyes to be looking back at her. She pressed her fingers to her lips, fighting a wave of dizziness. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t think. Marc stood only a foot away. Alive. It didn’t make sense. But here he was— lean, fit and looking more alive and, in spite of the dark stubble on his face and that wayward strand of wavy black hair curling defiantly on his forehead, more devastatingly handsome than ever. He didn’t move, yet the space between them seemed to dwindle. She threw herself into his arms. “Oh, God, oh God, it’s you,” she cried, covering his prickly face with kisses. “It’s really you.” It was a miracle. She didn’t know how, didn’t know why, only that he’d come back to her. Suddenly, Rusti took a step back, then another. Her throat felt dry, tight. How could this be? “Marc,” she said. Her voice quavered. “Are you hurt? There was blood everywhere.”
“It’s okay, Sweetheart,” he said. “I’m okay. We used a blood packet, bulletproof vest, and rubber bullets. It was all staged. I’m sorry, Rusti. It had to be this way.”
“What way, exactly?” She didn’t try to disguise the hurt, the anger in her tone.
The tiny tension lines around Marc’s eyes deepened. Although Rusti longed to smooth them away, she stood as still as a statue.
“Razor Jones had to die. And you had to believe it in order to convince Terrilla that I was loyal to my last breath. Your reaction had to be real.”
She clutched the doorframe for support. “I understand why you had to end it with Terrilla the way you did and even the staged death scene. But how could you let me suffer all this time?”
“I couldn’t tell you because you were never to know. I was supposed to walk out of your life. Forever. Take a new assignment with a new identity. But I couldn’t do it. Buck’s not happy. Things aren’t as clean this way. But he’ll get over it.”
“I was never to know you were alive?”
“That was the plan. Only Buck, Baxter, and the marksman know about it.”
She just stood there, with their gazes locked while seconds, minutes, an eternity ticked by. Her body ached to meet the need in his eyes. But the feeling of betrayal held her back. “You were willing to just leave me like that? Have you any idea what your deception did to me?” she said softly. “I died inside. I’m not sure the damage can be repaired.”
“I would never have done that to you if there had been any other way.” His eyes were full of regret and love and promise. He grabbed her around the waist and drew her close again. The heat of his hands coursed through her robe. Her brain told her that a man who would deceive her in such a heartless way was a man she didn’t dare trust. And no matter how much she wished otherwise, a man she couldn’t have. “You lied to me—caused me such terrible anguish…”
His jaw muscles twitched. “All the way here I kept wondering if you could forgive me.”
“It’s not a case of forgiveness, Marc. I’m not sure I’m the same person you fell in love with, the same person I was just a few hours ago.”
She appreciated his courage and understood that undercover people couldn’t operate like ordinary folks, yet he’d betrayed her. “I keep hoping you’ll say some magic words that will put all the pieces of my heart back together again. So far, you haven’t.”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m so damn sorry. I would cut out my heart before I’d ever hurt you again.” The anguish in his voice tore at her resolve.
A silence fell between them…she was drowning in it.
Desire made it impossible to move away from him. “I can’t live with distrust,” she said. It was a last ditch effort to resist him.
“From this second on—everything will be out in the open. No lies, no deception. Ever.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
A log split, sending the reflection of sparks dancing around the walls. He tightened his hold on her, setting her aflame. His lips were just inches away. Their breath mingled, then he was kissing her, and she clung to him. Her fears dissolved under his warm, consuming lips. She didn’t want him to stop. She wanted only to block out the horror of the last few days. He was alive.
After a few moments he swept her up and carried her to the bed. “Hey, not so fast,” she said. “Now what?”
“We disappear,” he said. “Buck will assign me a desk job, no more undercover work.” His voice deepened. He eased his hands over the curves of her hips. “We can start a new life together. Mr. and Mrs. Marc Devaux.”
Rusti’s heart swelled with love. Marc had given up undercover work, taken a desk job to be with her. The ultimate sacrifice for a man like him.
Rusti knew there would be problems to solve. She couldn’t go back to California, but an attorney could handle René’s estate and her own affairs. Whatever she had to give up of her old life would be worth it to be with Marc.
“With you as my wife, we’ll live an ordinary life with a house and kids.” He smiled that crooked, heart-wrenching smile. “Come to think of it, we never talked about children. How many would you like?”
“Children. Our children?” She sounded like an idiot. She laughed. “A boy and a girl for sure. Is a houseful too many?”
The firelight painted the walls with a coral glow. Soft violin music floated up to them from downstairs. “Any more doubts?” Razor asked in his deep voice.
“None,” she whispered, pulling him down beside her on the bed. “None, whatsoever.”
The End
www.lyndelakes.com
Other Books by Lynde Lakes:
Murder in the Clear Zone
Pointing Leaf
Primitive Flame
Star Fallen Lover
Evernight Publishing
http://www.evernightpublishing.com