Chapter 11 - The Confession
That night, before the raid on the docks, Julian found Clara in the conservatory. She was sitting among the orchids, staring out at the moonlight reflecting off the glass.
"You heard the plan," Julian said, standing in the doorway.
"I did," Clara replied softly without turning around. "Are you going with them?"
"I have to. A king does not send his men to do a job he is unwilling to do himself."
Clara stood up and walked over to him. She looked at his sling, then up at his dark, intense eyes. "When Hector and Diego attacked my bakery, I thought my life was over. I thought Lily was going to be an orphan. Then you stepped in. You became our shield."
"I will always be your shield, Clara."
"But who shields you?" she whispered.
Before Julian could answer, Clara reached up and pressed her lips to his. Julian froze for a fraction of a second, his mind short-circuiting. Then, with a low groan, his uninjured arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest. He kissed her with a desperate, starving intensity—thirty years of frozen isolation melting away in the warmth of her mouth.
When they finally broke apart, both were breathing heavily.
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"Come back to me tonight," Clara whispered, resting her forehead against his chest. "Come back to us."
"I swear it," Julian murmured, burying his face in her hair. "I will always come back to you."
