“I’m sorry. I know you asked that I stay hidden, but I couldn’t. Not when they wished—” He silenced her with a kiss. It seared her lips and her mouth, and when he pulled away, he held her face. “You were wonderful,” he said. “Truly.” Her eyes watered. “I thought they would take me from you.” “Never,” he whispered, and he spoke the word over and over again like a prayer—a desperate plea—until she almost believed it.
