Page 96 of Diners, Damsels & Wolves

“Stop trying to break up with me!”

“Clarissa.” He hung his head, unable to meet her eyes. “You don’t understand, my hands are stained. Filthy with blood.”

“Whose blood?” she challenged. “Because I highly doubt those men were saints before they strolled into Fairville. I doubt I was the first one they came across in a dark parking lot, and I know I wasn’t going to be the last. You stopped that.”

He nodded. What the hell else was he supposed to do?

“Don’t understand,” she scoffed. “I was the one they attacked and held hostage, so don’t you tell me I don’t understand.”

Daring to gaze up at her, he swallowed around the lump in his throat. Her chin was set, her eyes hard. She meant every word. They stared at each other for a long time before he realized she was waiting for him to respond.

“You’re right,” he said. “I’m sorry I said that, but it doesn’t change the way I feel. Seeing you there in the woods, here in the hospital, all of this is because of my world.”

“Well, I’m a part of it now, so we’ll just have to figure it out so it doesn’t happen again.”

The blood drained from his face. What the hell was he going to do with this woman?

“And Rachel.” The fight left her eyes, her body started to tremble as she gulped for breath. “Rachel, she’s not, she’s really not sick? I’m going to get her back?”

“It’s possible.” He didn’t want to lie to her, but she was so frazzled, he was worried a lengthy explanation would make it worse.

“Rachel,” she whispered. “I’ve missed her so much. I always … I wondered, her diagnosis never seemed right. Oh Rachel, she’s lost so much of her life.”

“I know, I’m sorry about that.”

She looked at him questioningly.

“My grandfather’s legacy, my legacy, embodies everything I despise about Alphas. He did this to her, my family did this to her, to you. My father tried to be better, and I’m trying to be better than him, but I missed this most horrible stain. I will do everything I can to fix this.”

She brushed her fingers against his face, smoothing the creases and furrows of worry. He felt ashamed that he’d enjoyed it; he was unworthy of her touch.

“Thomas, you are not your grandfather.” Her words were simple, her eyes full of conviction. His heart shattered. She saw him, the whole him, and she meant what she was saying. “I think your heroism these past few weeks has proven that. You know, in the cabin, I was awake for all of it. Even though I couldn’t see everything, I remember feeling it all,” she said. “I remember hearing it. I remember you being there.

“I was so relieved. I thought I was never going to see you again, to get a chance to tell you the truth. I wasn’t afraid of or disgusted by you.

“Under the pain, that’s all I could think about, that I’d never get to see you again to tell you the truth.” She broke into sobs. “I remember what you said to me when it was over. What you called me. I lo—I love you, Thomas. I never want you to leave me again.”

She was hiccupping so hard she could barely get the words out.

“Shhh, Clarissa, it’s okay.” He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his chest. He never wanted to let her go.

His heart sang for the joy of it, the realization all his worries had been fruitless. She wanted him the same way he wanted her. She knew the truth, and still she leaned into his embrace, her tears soaking into his shirt.

“You know, I always wanted a dog.” She sobbed. “Rachel told me we couldn’t get one because we weren’t home enough.” Sob. “Do you—” Sob. “Do you still want to go to the art gallery?”

Leaning back, he took her face in his hands as gently as he could and kissed her.

“Let’s wait and see how long you need to be in the hospital first, my love,” he murmured, before kissing her again.

Twenty Nine

Epilogue

Nine Weeks Later

Running through the trees, Clarissa laughed. Her hair was loose, dancing around her face. She twisted her body to smile back at him. The air was full of July warmth, making her face glisten. The sheer pink negligee she wore pulled around her hips as she ran from him.

Tom’s maroon wolf chased her, nipping playfully at her heels. He was full of her. Her scent—sweet sweat mixed with peonies and her arousal—filled his senses. The way her body moved, teasing him for the chase. It drove him wild; he couldn’t wait any longer.