“Yes?”
“Be sure. Because if you tell me you want to be with me, there will be no going back.
Do not doubt for a second that if you accept me, I will never let you go again. You will be mine forever.”
His forever. At the moment that sounded like heaven. He’d confided in her, finally trusted her to tell her about his past. He’d done something just for her that he’d never done for anyone else. And as far as him loving her was concerned? She wasn’t worried about that. She believed that he already loved her, or he never would have laid his soul bare to her. She just needed to figure out a way to make him see, and if she couldn’t? He’d figure it out for himself in time.
She started to tell him she wanted to be with him, but he stood and backed away from her, into the woods, where he disappeared.
* * * *
Lorent sat on his porch and watched the moon disappear then reappear through the passing clouds. He’d told her. Yes, he’d confided to her in a 131
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dream, but that dream would be as close as he could come to telling her about his past. Maybe that wasn’t good enough.
Yet he couldn’t help but feel hope when he remembered the serene acceptance on her face. She’d not been appalled at any time, nor had he gotten the feeling that she blamed him for the things he’d witnessed or allowed to happen. Maybe he’d been harder on himself, more unforgiving than others might have been. He’d always heard that the worst critic of oneself was oneself. But that still didn’t fix the other problem.
She loved him, but he didn’t know if he reciprocated. What was love?
What did it feel like? He wanted to give her his love, but what if he had none to give? What if that part of him had died long ago? But to be completely honest, if she accepted him, past and all, he’d claim her as his mate. He was too selfish to walk away again. He needed her, wanted her, longed for her.
When she wasn’t with him, he felt the emptiness inside eating away at him.
When she was nearby, when her scent enveloped him, when her tiny hands touched him, he felt whole, healed, and happy.
He stood and sucked in a lungful of the cool night air. If you say yes, Melony, you will be mine forever.
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Chapter Seventeen
The next two weeks flew by. Although Melony had wanted to go see Lorent the day after she’d had the dream where he’d told her all about his past, she’d refrained from doing so—barely. It had only been a dream, after all. She now sat behind the wheel of a giant SUV waiting for Sherry to make an appearance.
She hadn’t given much thought about agreeing to take her to town since the day she’d promised to.
She’d been preoccupied with fretting over what to do about Lorent, and busy with giving haircuts. Every woman and man at Sanctuary had been groomed to perfection. She’d also helped with Christmas decorations. The place looked like a winter wonderland, and she was proud to have been a part of it. She never had gotten around to getting a tree for her cabin, but she didn’t really miss it with all the decorations that were all around her.
Sherry came out of the clearing beside the SUV, and Melony sighed in resignation. A part of her had hoped that Sherry had forgotten. She’d be one happy camper when this trip was over and Sherry was back home safe and sound. She had a bad feeling about this little foray into town, but chalked it up to nerves from doing something she shouldn’t be doing.
Sherry struggled into the passenger side, stretched the seat belt across her swollen belly, and clicked it into place. “Hey!”
Melony smiled. “Hi.”
“Ready?”
“Yeah. Let’s get this over with,” Melony murmured.
Sherry laughed. “It’s not like I’m dragging you to town to be tortured.
This will be fun. Just us girls. Besides, if something goes wrong—and it won’t—we have the long-range walkie in the glove compartment, and there are phones in town. There will only be a short time there and back that we are out of range. We’ll just call back to Sanctuary if need be, and someone will be with us in a jiff.”
“Yeah, and that’s when I get my ass tanned for helping you with this little stunt.”
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“I thought you were supposed to be the optimistic one, not the Negative Nelly.” Sherry sighed. “Look. We’ll drive there. I’ll get Piers’s present, and we’ll come right back. Okay?”
Really, what could happen? It wasn’t as if people didn’t drive to town every day. “Okay.” She put the SUV into gear and started slowly down the bumpy road.
* * * *
Two and a half hours later
Melony breathed a sigh of relief. So far, so good. Sherry’s shortcut—
although bumpy as hell—had taken the drive to town down to well under two hours. She’d kept true to her word, had gotten Piers’s present in no time, and now they were well into the trip back to Sanctuary. If they could get back without getting caught, Melony would be ecstatic.
“Thank you so much for doing this for me, Mel. Can I call you Mel? It’s fitting. I don’t know why I haven’t called you it before now.”
“Sure, and you’re welcome . . . again.” Melony giggled when Sherry laughed.
“I know. I know.” Sherry put her hands up in surrender. “I’ve said thank you a million times, and I hate it myself when people do that, but you have no idea how much this
