The Palace (Chateau 4)

She didn’t ask again. “So…who is Stasia?”

The party was days ago. Already forgotten about it. “Socialite.”

“I mean, was she his girlfriend or something?”

“No. She’s trying to hook him because he’s rich and powerful.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because she did the same with me.”

Her eyes immediately changed, reacting in jealousy.

“Before we met.” I’d always tell the truth, and if she didn’t want to hear it, she should stop the line of questioning. “She went for me first since I’m the count.”

Her eyes dropped, looking at her hand on my stomach.

My hand slid up her neck and to her cheek. “But I’ve found my countess. And she’s far more beautiful than any other woman in that room.”

Her eyes lifted again, a slight smile entering her gaze. The tightness of her features faded when she heard my praise. The previous jealousy faded until it disappeared entirely. “Je t’aime…”

My thumb brushed her bottom lip, and I stared at her mouth, the source of those poetic words. The waves of her love washed over me, brought me deep under the sea until I couldn’t breathe. But I’d rather suffocate with her than take a full breath without her. “Je t’aime.”

“Mon amour…” Her quiet voice came from the couch in the sitting area. Her book was on the coffee table in front of her. The daylight streamed through the open windows and blanketed her beautiful face in a wondrous glow.

I stared at her from my seat at the desk, taking in the scene like a work of art. It could easily be painted and hung over someone’s mantel. I closed my laptop and moved to the couch across from her. Arms on my thighs. Hands together. Eyes on her face. Work required my attention, but it became secondary to her needs. “Oui, chérie?”

Her legs were crossed, and she held herself with poise, her back straight, her hands together on her lap. She had all the qualities of royalty without even trying. Most of the qualities she possessed were innate and didn’t need to be taught. “You’ll give me anything I ask for?”

The softness in my features immediately turned stony. “Except one.”

“Then I want to ask you something—and I want an answer.”

My eyes immediately narrowed at the bait and switch.

“You can’t tell me you love me without giving me this answer. You can’t say you want me forever without giving me this answer. I want this answer, and if you love me, there should be no hesitation to oblige.”

I felt like I’d walked into a negotiation unprepared. She set the tone, manipulated me into denying her only one thing, so she could ask for something else and get the answer she wanted. I was annoyed. Irritated. A little pissed off. But I also felt respect. “I never want to hear you say you’re stupid ever again.” Her sister had destroyed her self-esteem with lies. She’d ripped her apart and held her to a standard she never asked to be held to. The only reason Raven was alive was because of her. The only reason she was spared time and time again was because Melanie fought for her. Raven was just jealous that Melanie was far more beautiful—as she should be.

Her eyes softened in a way they never had before. Her entire face changed, her breathing included. Her stare lasted a long time, looking at me like I’d just given her wings. Her insecurities were erased by my confidence, because I knew my chérie better than Raven ever did.

“What is your question, chérie?” I’d been the provider and the protector since Magnus and I fled in the streets with gunshots ringing behind us. I became the man of the family because my father was a coward. There had been no one else I wanted to take care of until Melanie, and it was my greatest joy. It wasn’t the fancy clothes and expensive makeup that I provided. It was the love that she needed. It was the confidence that she needed. It was being the man that she needed.

She hesitated, her fingers starting to fidget in her lap.

Still and silent, I gave her the floor to speak her mind. No one else could command my attention the way she did. No one could yell and interrupt me and live to tell the tale. But I let her do whatever she goddamn well pleased. Because she was my chérie.

Her eyes were reinvigorated with confidence. “I want to know what happened to you.”

With my hands together, I gave her the same look I had for the last few minutes.

“I want to love all of you, not just the man I know now. I want to love the man I never met. I want to…know you. I want to know you in a way no one else does.” Her eyes pleaded with mine, desperate to get this answer.