Spirit Bound - Christine Feehan [166]
Blythe nodded. “That’s good to know. She’s very loved by all of us.”
“I can see that.” He wrapped his arms more firmly around Judith, the knots in his belly tightening.
There was no way he wanted to have a talk with her about Jean-Claude La Roux. It would be so difficult to explain that he’d not come to Sea Haven with the sole reason of warning his brother. The sin of omission was beginning to loom large and there was nothing left to him but the truth. He dropped his head over hers, his mind racing. He’d been cornered a million times in his career, life and death, kill or be killed. It was his way of life. But this . . . this was entirely different.
Losing Judith was unacceptable to him and he had a feeling this was one of those very important things about relationships he was only beginning to understand. She trusted him. She believed in him and she’d given him every chance for disclosure.
We’ll be fine, moi padshii angel. I clipped your wings and put them in my kaleidoscope. I’m not going anywhere because you’re mine. He knew his murmur of reassurance was more for himself than for her.
Judith lifted her head and blinked up at him. His heart nearly shattered at that love in her eyes. The absolute trust. I believe you, Thomas. Jean-Claude isn’t going to take any more of my life from me.
He nearly groaned in despair. He wanted that kind of trust, but now he knew he had to confess. How understanding would he be if the roles were reversed? He had a suspicious nature, never trusting anyone. How many times had it crossed his mind that she was involved in the theft of the microchip and that it had driven La Roux’s obsession with her? He’d even considered briefly that her guilt and shame for her brother’s death stemmed from the fact that she’d taken the microchip and La Roux had sent his men after her to get it back.
Stefan waited until Judith was safely buckled into the passenger seat and he was behind the wheel of her car. She’d given him a little frown when he’d handed her inside, putting the tote bag with his weapons within easy reach, but she hadn’t protested when he’d taken the driver’s side.
She pressed her lips together as they drove out of Sea Haven. The fog was still heavy and darkness was creeping in as well. “Thomas, if you want out, I’ll understand. My shady life seems to be catching up with me.”
He reached for her hand, tucked it close to his heart and shook his head. “Don’t be silly, Judith. I have no intentions of going anywhere.”
“He’s got to be out of prison. Or he sent someone to do his dirty work, but this feels like him. That ‘Who is he, Judith?’ is so like him. He always looked at me as if I was the beginning and end of the world for him.” She looked down at her hands and sighed. “Which is probably why I fell so hard for him. There’s such a lure in that you know . . .” She trailed off, her breath catching in her throat, her gaze jumping to his face.
He was so connected to her in his mind, he could follow her sudden reasoning and he nearly groaned aloud. He needed her like that, so close he could feel her breathe, his world, the entire world was this woman beside him. Without her, there was no reality. Stefan Prakenskii would remain forever a shadow, slide in and out of danger, taking lives like death itself and eventually he would cross a line he could never go back from.
“Like me. Like me, Judith. Just say it.” A touch of anger edged his voice because her sudden insight wasn’t going to make his confession any easier. If she could reason that out, she would know a man like him studied a mark and figured out how best to insert himself into his or her life to get what he wanted.
Judith nodded slowly. “You do make me feel that way, Thomas.”
“Because I feel as if you are my world. There will never be anyone else for me, Judith. I love you. I don’t know how it happened. Hell, I didn’t even know it could happen.” He