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She stood, aware of his watchful gaze upon her, then slowly raised her shirt until she’d bared the left side of her torso. The addition to her tattoo was still hot to the touch because it had only been made yesterday, and last time she’d checked, it had been slightly red. It was fitting, she thought, to mark this major turning point on her body. There was no going back now. She’d firmly closed the door on the last chapter of her life and locked it behind her.
“I added to my tattoo,” she said unnecessarily, fearing her heart might leap out of her throat while she waited for a response from him. He came over and knelt by her side, examining the fresh black ink.
“A key,” he said wonderingly, tracing the outside of the shape with the tip of his finger, so softly she scarcely felt it. “You added a key to the lock on your heart.”
She nodded.
He looked up. “Why?”
She tried to remember the speech she’d rehearsed earlier, but it fled her mind. “I don’t really know how to explain it.”
“Try.” If she hadn’t known him as well as she did, she might have found this abrupt, but she could see the patience in his expression, and the genuine desire to know and to understand her.
Her eyelids fluttered closed. It was easier to think if she couldn’t see the sharp angles of his handsome face, or the sincere emotion in his deep blue eyes. “Because of you, I realized I don’t have to lock my heart away.” She fought the urge to pull the shirt down and hide both the tattoo and the multitude of scars that crisscrossed her body. Difficult as it may be, she wanted to reveal herself to him. To show him everything. “You were the key to learning how to open my heart to love again.”
His fingers brushed her skin again, and they trembled. “The key is for me?” he asked softly.
“It is,” she whispered, grateful he understood.
“What are you trying to tell me?” His lips touched the inflamed skin so tenderly she thought she might weep. “Are you saying what I think you are?”
She dropped her shirt, opened her eyes and pulled him to his feet. Then she squared her shoulders, summoned her last drop of courage, and said, “I want to make a life with you. I’m ready for that now, if you still want me.”
His jaw worked, but he didn’t say anything. His Adam’s apple bobbed. She held her ground, feeling remarkably like she’d tiptoed out onto a ledge above a hundred-foot drop, and was waiting for someone to throw her a lifeline. Then he smiled, and it was the most wonderful thing she’d ever seen.
“Nothing would make me happier.”
He took her hand and pressed it to his cheek, then leaned forward and kissed her ever-so-sweetly. Once, twice, a third time. She was breathless. She’d tumbled off the ledge only to find it was two feet high, and had a layer of pillows ready to cushion her fall. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d been this truly happy.
And then he said, “I love you, Katarina,” and her soul took flight.
“You do?” she whispered.
The corners of his eyes crinkled with laughter. This. This was the expression she wanted to see on his face every day for the rest of her life.
“I do,” he confirmed. “You opened my heart, too. I’d never realized how much possibility was out there until you came along. I love you.”
“That’s a relief,” she told him, “because I love you, too. Sorry it took me a while to figure it out.”
He cupped her face in his palms and peppered her cheeks and forehead with kisses. “I would have waited longer if I’d needed to.” Gathering her in his arms, he hugged her tight. She sighed happily, and rested her cheek on his chest, feeling safe and secure and all those glorious things she’d never believed she’d experience again. “Would you rather I move in with you now, or wait for a while?” he asked. “I don’t mind either way. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
She looped her arms around his lower back and squeezed. “You’re welcome at Sanctuary whenever you’re ready. I’d be happy for you to move in today if that’s what you want.”
“Really?”
She could tell he was battling some insecurities of his own. Insecurities she never wanted him to feel again. “Absolutely. I’d love to have you there, but I know you have your own place now, which might complicate things.”
“Then yes,” he said. “Let’s do it. I’ve never been more ready. As far as my new place goes, it’s not home. Not the way Sanctuary is. I’ll keep it for a while until we sort out our living situation properly, but the landlord won’t have a problem finding a new tenant.”
Her hands slipped down to grab his butt. “Oh, really?”
He groaned. “What say we get out of here? I have the sudden urge to go home.”
She loved the way he said “home,” and the pleasure that passed over his face at being able to do so. She stretched onto her toes and kissed him. “Take me home,” she murmured.
They joined hands and hurried down the stairs. When they entered the square together, both flushed, hands still intertwined, a few of the locals clapped and catcalled.
“Shall we run?” Sterling asked, catching her gaze. Her heart flipped over at the emotion he no longer made any effort to hide from her.
