Page 24 (1/2)

"Release me, Colin"

Amelia held back a sob by dint of will alone The feel of his big, powerful body pressed so passionately against her back was both a balm and a barb Her nerves were raw; her e of abandonent care

"I cannot," he said hoarsely, his hot cheek pressed ardently to hers "I ao, you will leave me"

"I want to leave you," she whispered "As you left me"

"It was the only choice that afforded me the opportunity to have you Can you not see?" The tone of his voice was a rough plea "If I had not left and made my fortune elsewhere, you would never beto have you, even give you up for a tied at his arms Every breath she took was filled with the scent of him, a scent that awakened her body to ht behind them It was an unbearable torment "Release me"

"Promise to stay and hearshe had no choice Knowing they had to find some closure to this so they could bothhim with an uplifted chin, she tried to keep her face impassive despite the tears she could not stop For his part, Colin made no effort to hide his torment His handsome features racked with painful eht have felt differently," she said flatly, "if you had told me of your desire to build a different life for yourself, if you hadme out"

"Be honest, Amelia" He clasped his hands behind hi out for her "You would never have allowed ed th to deny you"

"Why could you not stay?"

"Hoas I to afford you with a servant’s ?"

"I could have borne any livelihood if only you were there to share it!"

"And what of the nights?" he challenged "Would you feel the saer stipend of coal? And what of the days? Where we must rise before the sun to work ourselves to exhaustion?"

"You could have kept ht," she retorted "A lifetihtsI would damn the coal to hell ifof each hour would bringif it led me back to you"

"You deserve better!"

Amelia stomped her foot "It was not for you to decide that I was incapable of living such a life! It was not for you to decide that I was not strong enough!"

"I never doubted that you wouldwith an edgy intensity so reth, my capability to live in that manner!"

"You did not even try!"

"I couldn’t" Colin’s voice grewat your cracked and reddened hands? How could I bear the tears that would coed for a moment’s comfort?"

"Love requires sacrifice"

"Not when the entirety of the sacrifice isthat ht you to an unhappy end"

"You don’t understand" Her hand lifted to cover her heart "I would have been happy as long as I had you"

"And I would have hatedanew, A about their love for each other "If we had never met, you would have been happy with the life you had, wouldn’t you?"

"Amelia--"

"Your discontent steined I had for you"

"No, that is not true"

"It is" The pain in her chest intensified until she could hardly breathe "I’ht have been happy"

His eyes widened "Dear God, do not say such a thing! Never You are the only thing that has ever brought me happiness"

Suddenly, she felt so old and so tired "Leaving your country and your faather information for the CrownThat is what you call happiness? You are deluded"

"Da her by the shoulders "You are worth it, all of it I would do it again a hundred tiht you were unworthy, and you did not harbor these feelings of inferiority until you met me That is not love, Colin I do not knohat that is, but I knohat it is not"

Made anxious by Amelia’s sudden composure, Colin considered ways to keep her connected to hiht they had been as close as two lovers could ever hope to be, and now they were as distant as strangers "Whatever doubts s for you I love you From the moment I first saw you, I loved you, and I have never stopped Not for a moment"

"Oh?" Amelia wiped at her tears with hands so steady, he felt a prickling disquiet "What of the ti you displayed so beautifully last night? Were you in love with me then?"

"Yes, dath of his heated body to hers "Even then Sex is sex to aof our seed to be healthy It has nothing to do with elevated feelings"

"Si your needs as you did behind the store ere younger?" She shook her head "Last night, with every touchevery caressI wondered how many women you must have entertained in order to acquire such skill"

"Jealous?" he lashed, bleeding inside and frightened by her rapid retreat She spoke with no inflection, no feeling, as if she cared not at all "Do you wish it had been you who served ? No affection or concern?"

"I am jealous, yes, but also sad" Her beautiful eyes were empty "You lived a full life without me, Colin At times, you were likely content with your lot You should not have come back Those women did not make you wish to be someone you are not, as I do"

"I never think of the her beloved face in his hands "Never All the while I thought of you and how deeply I wanted you I wished they were you It was an ache that never faded I learned, yes I beca to you, so that I could satisfy you in every way I wanted to be all you needed, all you wanted"

"How miserable," she said "It breakshappy"

Furious at his helplessness and confused by the turns the conversation was taking, Colin held her still and took herand sure into the hot, moist depths

He tasted her pain and sorrow, her bitterness and anger He drank it all, stroking across her tongue with his, before sucking fiercely

Clutching his forearms with both hands, she moaned and trembled in his arms Her body could not resist his, even now It was a weakness he hated to exploit, but he would if necessary