Page 9 of Desperately Yours

Against all odds, he fought for me.

And yet, I hadn’t seen him at all since that moment.

It wouldn’t gel.

The doctors checked my vitals, gave me a compress, and told me to rest more. The interview continued and my guilt deepened. I was able to escape, but that meant I left Fitz to the wolves. It wasn’t fair to him. He saved my life. This was no way to repay him.

Around the corner and out of sight the doctors spoke in low tones to someone else. I suspected Kabir wanted an update. I wished he would bring my water instead.

“I’ll take it from here,” someone assured the doctors.

I looked up, expecting my bodyguard, but instead found Fitz. He cracked a grin, looped my arm around his neck and scooped me up without a word. Weak, I leaned against him, content to be his for a moment. I closed my eyes and rested as we moved quickly through the palace, weaving hallways with the navigational bearings of someone who’d grown up in the palace. Clearly, Fitz had a plan, and every determined step brought him closer to the endgame.

A door opened and Fitz spoke a word of gratitude before he entered. I felt the air change, no longer drafty but warm and cozy. The door closed behind us and within moments, the soft cushion of Fitz’s couch took my weight. I opened my eyes, surprised he brought me to his chambers. Especially without using the passageway. He knelt at my feet, dark eyes searching my face.

“How are you?” His brow creased. “Really?”

“A little dizzy still,” I admitted. “But so happy to see you.”

Relief spilled over his features. “I’ve been going positively mad being away from you. Bleeding bonkers.”

“Why didn’t you come? I mean, I know Dahlia had orders but…” I trailed off as his expression shifted to total defeat. “Your mother?”

He nodded once to confirm it. “Threats.” Fitz didn’t want to elaborate. “Against you.”

I glanced around the space. “And yet here we are…” Snow fell outside his balcony doors. A fire raged in the hearth. Everything begged me to stay, but if it meant the queen had some nefarious plot against me, I wasn’t looking to push my luck.

“Because I can’t stay away from you, Coco.” Fitz rose up on his knees, tightening the space between us. “There are things I need you to know. Truths that…” His palm cupped my jaw as his thumb rubbed my cheek. “These bruises, they make me feel so guilty.”

“Why? You didn’t cause the earthquake, Fitz. You didn’t make me play with the girls on the hill. You—”

“Because I was going to send you home.” He choked back emotion. “I almost did and if I hadn’t, you would have been with me.” Fitz bent closer, lips hovering over the bruise he’d touched. “None of these would exist.” He pressed an airy kiss to my cheek. “It was a mistake. A foolish mistake.”

I wasn’t going to argue that, but I also understood why he did it. “You were trying to save us, Fitz.” I planned to say more. Something about how it wasn’t a fair choice, his country or me. Or that I would have found a way to recover. That I understood if he still needed to send me home. Any one of those could have expressed some of what I was feeling, but before I could form the words, Fitz stole my breath.

Fitz

I captured her lips with mine, unable to stay away one more second. My fingers tunneled into her hair. Fire erupted in my chest, burning with the chemistry ignited between us. I pulled closer, wishing I could put every emotion into my kiss.

The pain I felt thinking she was gone.

The flicker of hope when I felt her fingers grasp mine through the rocks and dirt.

My elation as I realized she was going to make it.

But most of all the realization that I loved her and that I always had.

The connection we’d built over the years had created a deeper bond than I ever could have imagined. She was it, my one and only.

The woman of my dreams.

My everything.

I shifted my grip, pulling my hand from her hair to wrap my arms around her waist. She responded eagerly, as if her mind had been harboring all the same thoughts. Her arms wrapped around me, fingers touching the hair on the back of my neck. My mind went hazy, but I kissed her again, relishing the closeness and our moment of solitude.

I had to tell her. I needed to explain what this meant. Whatshemeant to me. But talking meant stopping, and I couldn’t bear that either.

Not yet.