Page 77 of Five Stolen Rings
I inhale deeply, the air so cold in my lungs I almost cough. Then I open my mouth and tell her the painful, pathetic truth. “I don’t…have a good reason.”
She cocks her eyebrows at me, so I go on, even though every word tastes like shame and bitter self-loathing.
“I don’t have a good reason,” I grit out. “Except that—” Isigh. “I’m scared, okay? I’m just—afraid. And I don’t know how much time I can devote to a relationship. I don’t know if I want to get married?—”
“Whoa,” she cuts me off, her eyes widening. She holds both hands up; I should have brought gloves for her. “Who said anything about marriage? I’m talking aboutone single date,just to see how it goes?—”
“If I date you, I’m going to marry you,” I say, throwing my arms up in exasperation. “Good grief, Princess. Do you think I can date you and then let you go?”
She stares at me, her eyes even wider now. “I—what?”
I close the distance between us in one long step. “Do you think I can take you onjust one date?” I say, my voice low. “And what then—do you think I could spend weeks, months,yearswith you, only to send you on your way, off to find someone else to spend your life with?” I shake my head, laughing without humor. “I’m not ready for the way I feel about you, Stella.You’renot ready for the way I feel about you.”
For several eternal seconds, the world is silent around us; the crystal night is dark and still, my pulse is frozen in my veins. Then it all rushes back in as, finally, she speaks.
“Tell me.”
It’s barely an exhale, soft and short, and it’s not a demand—it’s a plea.
And I stare at her as my chest rips itself into pieces, as my heart tries to leave the confines of my ribcage.
How do I speak these words to her? How do I speak them tomyself?
I take one deep, shuddering breath. “I want you,” I say haltingly, “more than I have ever wanted anything in my life. Body, mind, and soul—all of your laughs and your cries andeverything in between. I want them. You”—my voice cracks pathetically—“you are my heartbeat.”
There it is: the truth I’ve been running from, hiding from, avoiding like the plague. It hangs between us for several seconds as Stella’s eyes widen slowly.
“Oh,” she says faintly after one long moment. “You—youloveme.”
“I don’t know how to answer that,” I mutter.Lovefeels like such a big commitment, such an enormous word.
But it’s a word that has wings. My feelings for Stella are deep, and true, and idiotically unconditional.
I may be a lone wolf, but Stella…
Stella is the moon I’ve always howled at.
Is that love?
She continues to stare at me, her beautiful eyes bright, her cheeks rosy. “You would die for me,” she breathes.
“Without hesitation,” I say, and I know it’s true.
“You would kill for me,” she goes on. “You would break the Hippocratic Oath for me?—”
“Stop talking nonsense,” I growl, stepping closer and pressing my hand over her mouth. Then I frown. “Your skin is too cold.” I put my other hand on her face, rubbing her cheeks.
Some of the lightness fades from her eyes, replaced by the same gravity I’m feeling. She opens her mouth to speak, and I know what she’s going to say before the words come out.
“The phone call,” she says; it’s not a question.
And good grief. She can’t let this one go, can she?
“It was me,” I say impatiently, rolling my eyes. “Of course it was me?—”
But I break off when her lips find mine ina searing kiss.
STELLA
