Take Me I'm Yours (Coffee House Chronicles) (27 page)

“You’re right,” she whispered, staring into her lap. “
If I could take it all back, I would. All of it. But I can’t. The best I can do is tell you I’m sorry and hope you forgive me.”

“I forgive you.” His voice was dark and rough around the edges
.

He hadn’t even hesitated when he spoke. As though he was ready and willing to accept her apology.
She looked up, met his piercing blue gaze and her heart melted a little. He looked awful, for sure, but she knew under all that stubble and fatigue was the handsome man she had fallen in love with. She couldn’t help but smile.
She loved him.
Maybe she always did a little.

“What?” he asked, his brows knit. “Why are you looking at me that way?”

She couldn’t tell him the truth, not yet. So instead she opted to veer left. It was her little way of saving herself from rejection.

“I couldn’t bear thinking you were angry with me. It hurt so much. And I really couldn’t bear seeing you with Delilah
.” She blinked away the tears and swallowed hard. She wanted to get through this without being emotional.

He reached for his coffee
, took a sip and looked at her thoughtfully. She could only wonder what was going on in that head of his.

“You think I liked seeing you with Ethan?”

“No.” She kept her eyes down, not wanting to see his fiery gaze. She was afraid he would be looking at her the way he had before when he was so angry. When he shoved her against the wall and—

“He’s using you as leverage to get what he wants from his father. That’s all.”

“I know,” she said. “He told me everything.” He interrupted her thoughts, thank goodness. She didn’t want to think about their interlude at the bathrooms of Kiyoshi Steakhouse and Sushi Bar. At the time, it had never occurred to her they might get caught.

Finally, she lifted her gaze and met his. His hard look softened.
“He never appreciated you.”

“I know that
too. I told him to leave me alone.”

“I hope he really is miserable without you.”

“I’m sure he will be.” Now was as good a time as any to find out Graeme’s big secret. “Delilah said you had news about the gallery.”

He blinked surprise. “Did she tell you?
Since you two seem to be back in good graces.”

“
Yes, we made up. And no, she wouldn’t tell me.”

“First there’s something else I want to tell you. About my business.” He paused and she waited. “Ethan and I were partners but I bought him out when his father decided to put him on full time.
”

“That’s why he wanted me back,” she said, putting the pieces in place.

Graeme nodded. “But I’m giving it up. All of it. I’m finding new designers for all my clients. It’s not something I’m proud of and I know you don’t like it. So I’m done.”

Stunned, she stared at him and tried not to let her mouth hang open. “But Graeme…that’s your livelihood.”

“Not anymore. That man I was with at the gallery is from Amsterdam. He’s commissioned a lot of art from me. So much, in fact, he gave me an advance. I don’t need that website gig anymore.”

“Really?” Her mouth went dry. What exactly was he saying?

“The rest he’ll pay when I deliver.”

“How many paintings
?”

“Let me say enough to keep me busy for the next six months.
He owns several galleries across Europe and he wants to do an unveiling when I’m finished. The first opening will be in Amsterdam.”

“So you’ll be traveling?”

“I’ll be out of the country for a few months, yes. I wasn’t going to tell you until I knew for sure and now I do. I’d really like you to go with me.”

She blinked. What
did he say? He wanted her to travel with him? To Europe?

“Graeme…I…”

“I know it’s sudden, but I can’t imagine anyone else being there with me. It’s my big break. I think it could finally launch my career and I can get out of web design once and for all. I knew the web business was only temporary and I’ve hated it from the start anyway. It was a means to an end. It was a way for me to pay the bills and still paint. So what do you think? Will you come?”

“
I’m in love with you, Graeme.” There. She’d said it without even missing a beat. It was out in the open and there was no going back now.

Graeme was silent as he
gazed at her. He slowly placed his cup back on the table and stood. Her heart was in her throat as she watched him, waiting, holding her breath to see what he would do next. She wondered if he would walk out on her now. If this was it. She had professed her true feelings for him. Was he dumping her for good?

T
hat was the emotional side of her brain. If she had been listening to the logical side—and what Graeme had asked of her—then she would realize he wasn’t walking out on her. He wasn’t dumping her.

He
walked around the table and sat next to her. He cupped her chin, turned her face toward him and gently brushed his lips against hers.

“
You know, Delilah is a lovely girl, but she’s not my type.” He smiled, his eyes finally twinkling with life.

“W
hat is your type?” Her heart beat a rapid pace. She thought she knew the answer, but she wanted to hear him say it.

“Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

“I…”

“A certain Black-Eyed Girl is definitely my type,” he teased.

“About the painting, Graeme—”

“It’s yours, Marion. I want you to have it.” A slow smile spread on his face. “
I love you. I always have. Since the day I first saw you.”

“Really?” She squeaked the word since tears—damn it—burn
ed the back of her throat.

“Really.
Take me, Marion, I’m yours, if you want me.”

“I want you, Graeme.”
Leaning in, she put her lips against his and muttered, “You’re the only man I want.”

She pulled him to her, kissed him soundly. It kept her from bawling like a baby. When he pulled away, he brushed his hand over her hair, looking at her so tenderly
it gave her the heart squeeze.

“Does that mean you
’ll come with me?”

“Yes, Graeme. I’d follow you to the ends of the
earth and back again.”

“I’m glad to hear that.
” His hands were in her hair, tilting her head back. His lips flitted over her brow. “Because life sure would be lonely without you.”

###

About the
Author:

Michelle Miles is the award-winning author of fast-paced, fun-filled paranormal, fantasy and contemporary romances
. She is the author of the Ellora’s Cave epic fantasy romance series, Realm of Honor which includes her latest book,
Only for a Knight
, the second in the series set in the Celtic Otherworld.

Currently, she is writing and publishing her
Guardians of Atlantis
series about the sexy men of Atlantis and the women who love them. She is also the author of the
Coffee House Chronicles
, a contemporary romance series set in and around a coffee house, as well as an action-adventure series
The Adventures of Ransom and Fortune.
She is a member of Romance Writers of America®, PAN Liaison of the Dallas Area Romance Authors chapter and member of the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal chapter. Her work has placed in the highly-acclaimed Writer’s Digest Writing Competition and the Stroke of Midnight Contest sponsored by the Passionate Ink chapter. She is also a contributor of the charity paranormal anthology,
Entangled,
which has donated over $10,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Discover other titles by Michelle Miles!

Guardians of Atlantis

Erotic Paranormal Romance

Tempting Eden
, Book 1

Seducing Eve, Book 2

Ravishing Helene
, Book 3

Realm of Honor

Epic Fantasy Romance

One Knight Only
, Book 1

Only for a Knight
, Book 2

A Knight to Remember, Book 3

A Knight Like No Other, Book 4

Her Fierce Knight, Book 5

The Coffee House Chronicles

Contemporary Romance

Talk Dirty to Me
, Book 1

Nice Girls Do
, Book 2

Take Me I’m Yours, Book 3

Sex Lust & Martinis
, Book 4

The Coffee Wars
, Book 5

The Adventures of Ransom & Fortune

Time Travel Romance

A Bend in Time
, Book 1

A Break in Time
, Book 2

Stand Alone
Novels, Short Stories and Anthologies:

Phoenix Fire
, a fantasy romance

Eorwulf
, a short story

The Soul of Sharah
, a short story

Entangled, a Paranormal Anthology

Connect with me online!

Website
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Plotting Princesses

Get a sneak peek of Tempting Eden,

the first
novella in the Guardians of Atlantis Series!

Sabre knocked on Helene’s door and waited for her to grant him entrance. When she didn’t he pushed it open and peered into the small confines of her apartment. In the darkness he could see shapes of her furniture strategically placed in her home. She was meticulous in her décor and he knew there wouldn’t be as much as a speck of dust on anything. He could see sunlight slashing through the cobalt waters beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows and fish swimming by as though they had not a care in the world.

Stepping inside, he closed the door and listened in the silence for some hint of life.

“Helene?”

No answer. He flipped on a light to chase away the shadows and scanned the room. Everything was in its place. The sofa sitting atop the handmade Atlantean rug, the modern art on the walls and the heavy wood coffee table and end tables. Yet there was no sign of his sister.

“Helene, are you here?”

Her bedroom door opened but still she did not emerge. She knew he was there, opened the door to let him know where she was yet didn’t come out to greet him. Balling his fists, he charged toward her bedroom…and stopped short in the entrance.

His baby sister was curled on her side on the bed with her knees drawn up to her chest. Her eyes were closed and her dark hair was fanned out on the pillow behind her. A stabbing pain slashed through his heart.

“I came to check on you,” he said.

“I don’t need you to check on me, Sabre.” Her voice was cold, unfeeling. Desolate.

He paused, not sure how to proceed. He knew she was hurting. He knew she was devastated. He also knew she would survive. She had to. She was all the family he had left. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her too.

He didn’t want to ask about how she was feeling—he knew the answer. He also didn’t want to tell her he wanted to make sure she was all right—that would cause her more pain. She’d lost her child after all. She’d been angry and depressed since.

He’d talk to her about something else.

“I’ve been called to a special meeting with General Bastian,” he said.

“So?” She never opened her eyes. Never looked at him.

“It’s also a meeting with the president. Top secret.” That got her attention and she finally blinked open her eyes. He pressed on. “General Bastian thinks it’s about what’s happening.”

“What’s happening? You talk as though it’s nothing to be concerned about,” she snapped. “Do they even really care, Sabre?”

She sat up, her chocolate locks falling around her face. Her thin, gaunt face. He could see the shadows under her eyes and her sunken cheeks and it pained him. She was not the lively young woman of their youth he remembered. The one who looked up to him as her hero. The one who used to tease him about his fascination with humans. It was why he joined the Guardians and why he worked so hard to become General Bastian’s second-in-command.

Why he wanted to keep her safe and make sure nothing ever happened to her.