The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo (Love at Stake #14)

The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo (Love at Stake #14) Page 38

"I'm sorry, Leah. I was desperate to take away yer suffering. Abby says I was a noble idiot, and she's right. I made a terrible mistake."

"I think I was the one who made a mistake." Leah walked slowly toward him. "We were there at the harbor, and you were begging me to go with you, and I refused. I didn't want to bring shame on my family." She snorted. "I guess I was a noble idiot, too."

His heart stilled. "Y-ye remember that?"

She smiled, lifting her hands in the air. "I remember everything."

"Ye remember Li Lei?"

She nodded. "I would say your kissing has vastly improved over the years."

He stiffened. "Ye were my first."

"You were my first, too."

"Can ye forgive me?"

"For what? I was the one who refused to run away with you."

"I promised to find you again, and I was too late. I saw yer boat capsize in the storm."

She sighed. "I don't think I fought very hard to survive. I had realized my mistake, and I didn't want to live without you." She wiped her eyes. "Can you forgive me?"

"For what? Ye came back to me. Ye gave me another chance."

She frowned at him. "And then you tried to erase it all. Were you going to wait another three hundred years, hoping that I would reincarnate and find you again?"

He winced.

She huffed. "That's all fine and dandy for you. But what about me? Was I supposed to miss out on this lifetime? Don't you dare mess with my head again!"

"I dinna think ye would miss me if ye couldna remember. Now I realize I was punishing myself. I couldna forgive myself for failing to protect you."

"How could you have protected me? Dougal, there was nothing you could do. And when the demon bit me, there was nothing I could do. We just have to live with it."

He nodded. "I am trying to forgive myself."

She smiled sadly. "I'm trying, too."

He stepped closer. "So . . . am I still at a hundred percent?"

"Yes."

He took her hand. "And ye still want to marry me?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Ye agreed to have five children."

Her eyes widened. "I did? I don't remember that."

His mouth twitched. "Nay. Ye dinna. I was just testing."

She swatted his shoulder.

He pulled her into his arms. "Did ye want to molest me in my room over there?"

She splayed her hands over his chest. "Yes. And I want my dragon back."

"The one in my kilt?"

She snorted. "The one you're hiding under your sweater." She found the chain and tugged the jade dragon out. "I can't believe you stole my necklace."

"It kept me from going insane. I missed you something fierce." He kissed her brow.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, Dougal. I have always loved you."

He hugged her tight. "I love you, too."

With a playful shove, she pushed him back, then scooped up his pipes and ran for the guesthouse.

He followed her. "Och, lass, I see ye're in a hurry to get under my kilt."

She laughed. "You wish."

"I do wish."