When his mouth found hers and he kissed her, slow and sweet and sensual, she felt all of her fears melt away.
She felt hope, and the promise of a future--and a happiness--she’d long imagined was out of reach.
But nothing was out of her reach now.
Not when her heart was overflowing with love and Mathias was holding her close in his strong arms.
>She didn’t know how, didn’t care why.
She only knew that she needed him.
And right now, all she wanted to do was walk out into the night air and scream Mathias’s name.
Quietly, she left the basement shelter and walked up the stairs to the door leading to the cathedral grounds. She found a wooden bench and sank down onto it. It was a place she’d sat many times before, her private meditation nook in the middle of the bustling city.
Tipping her head back, she looked up, beyond the cathedral towers at the stars and the waning crescent moon. She closed her eyes and remembered the terrified, brutalized little girl who’d come here the first time.
She was back again, scared and hurting, but she was different now. She had a new strength, thanks to Ozzy and the home he had opened to her. Now he was gone, but she was still standing. And he would want her to stand. He wouldn’t want her to run.
She didn’t want to run, not anymore.
Not from anyone, ever again.
Not even from Mathias, and the feelings he had awakened in her.
“Is this seat taken?”
She dropped her chin, her eyes flying open. “You found me.”
“I found you,” Mathias said. He sat down next to her on the bench. “Ozzy’s killer is dead. You’re safe now. I wanted you to know that.”
“You...?” she asked, unsure what she needed to know in that moment. The fact that he was there with her was the only thing that really mattered.
“We got him, Nova. And from what we’ve gathered, it doesn’t appear that anyone else knows you’re in London. Doyle and the others weren’t looking for you. You and Eddie aren’t in any danger now.”
“Thank you,” she murmured. “You came here just to tell me that?”
He nodded. “Are you...all right?”
“I miss Oz,” she admitted. “I’ll always miss Oz.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” He frowned, gave a mild shake of his head. “If there’s anything I can do...”
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “Eddie and I will be fine. We’ll figure things out.”
Mathias smiled at that, a smile that seemed heavy with regret. “Have you thought about what you’ll do...whether you’ll go back to Ozzy’s place...?”
“I don’t want to take Eddie back there,” she said, realizing it only now. She hadn’t really thought about alternatives, but she knew she’d land on her feet somewhere. “We’ll figure things out.”
“You already said that,” he murmured. He reached out to her, stroked her cheek with a light caress. “Why don’t you figure it out while you’re staying with me.”
Nova frowned. “Staying with you, where?”
“At my place in the city.”
“You mean, the Order’s headquarters?”
He shrugged. “I’m the commander of the London office. So, technically, the headquarters is my place. You and Eddie would stay with me, in my private quarters in the mansion.”