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it? How had he so blindly accepted her as a lost soul, unconnected and alone like everyone else at Lethe House?
What if she was married? Oh, Christ, what if she had children out there?
He covered his face with one hand, trying desperately to hang on.
"Ian? You are to scare me... ."
He'd never been so frightened in his life. Someone could be out there, waiting to take her away from him.
He thought about the trip he'd taken a few weeks ago, the lawmen he'd spoken to, the descriptions he'd given, and he felt sick with fear. "Oh, Lord, Selena, what have I done?"
She pressed onto her toes and touched his cheek. So soft was her touch, so firm and gentle and loving, that he wanted to cry when she drew back. "Kiss me again."
He grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her to him. He wanted to draw her inside him, to a place where only he could see her, only he could touch her. "You're mine," he breathed. "Mine."
"Ian-"
"I won't let you go."
She frowned. "I do not want you to let me go."
He wanted to lose himself in her innocence, but it was too late. He drew her into his arms and held her tightly, clinging to her, breathing in the sweet perfumed scent of her.
"You're mine," he whispered into her hair, knowing he'd said the words before, hearing the desperate whine in his voice, but unable to change it, unable to think of anything else to say.
She laughed, a bright, clear sound. "Oh, Ian." She hugged him, whispered against the sensitive flesh of his throat. "Of course I am yours."
God, he'd give his soul if it were true. But he'd lost his soul too long ago to bargain with it now.
"Can you hear the music?" she whispered.
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He was so deep in thought, he barely heard her. "There's no music out here."
The breeze whispered through the trees, flapped the skirt of her nightdress. She slid out of his arms and looked up at him. In the distance, the sea was a droning murmur as it crashed against the rocks. "Listen more closely. Johann said music was a beautiful sound. I hear it all around me."
"Selena." He said her name in a throaty voice. Just that and nothing more.
She gazed up at him. "It is all so extraordinary, isn't it?"
He envied her her innocence, her ability to spin dreams. 'There is no music out here, Selena. Just the wind and sea. Ordinary sounds."
She smiled. "You will hear it someday."
Chapter Seventeen
Selena stood at her bedroom window, staring down at the still-darkened yard below. Dawn was a distant blur of bloodred against the black horizon. She wakened, as always, refreshed and excited. Ready for the new day to begin.
Time didn't matter to her as it did to the others. She had relearned how to read the clock, and she knew that now it read 4:30. To Maeve, it was a completely unacceptable time to rise. It was a time for sleeping.
But Selena had slept enough in her life. Too much.
She leaned forward, pressed her forehead to the cold windowpane. Anticipation thrummed through her. The memory of last night wrapped her in warmth. Ian had kissed her, and it was the most wonderful sensation she'd ever imagined. She couldn't wait to feel it again.
Outside, the dark world beckoned her, called to her in a thousand subtle ways. She lifted the sash window, listening to the wonderful creak of the old wood as it reluctantly slid upward. A gentle breeze rolled through the bars, bringing inside the tangy scent of the tide flats. The leaves whispered and danced.