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A Husband's Regret (The Unwanted Series)(53)



"No, you wouldn't," she answered for him. "Of course you wouldn't."

"I don't . . ."

"What about when we were on our honeymoon and I danced with Sasha Tisdale? You nearly went purple with jealousy."

"You still remember that jerk's name?" he asked incredulously. The same  jealousy flared in his eyes again, and she grinned irreverently.

"Well he was really, really good looking," she reminded, and he  glowered, starting to look less shocked and more like the arrogant man  she knew and loved beyond all reason.

"Seriously? You think that second ‘really' was warranted?"

"I only left off the third one in deference to your fragile ego," she  teased. "Bryce, you were beyond irrational about that dance. You were  jealous and possessive but nowhere near violent. Now, I'm no expert, but  from what I've read about abusive spouses, they barely need an excuse  to trigger the violence. Even when you were emotionally hurtful-even  then-you were punishing yourself more than me." She switched to sign  language. It's just not in your nature to be violent.

How do you know that? How can you be sure? he asked, his eyes were  filled with anguished uncertainty, and she cupped his jaw before going  up on her toes to plant a kiss on his gorgeous mouth.

"Because even at your most irrational, when I thought you were kicking  me out of the house and then after my return when you seemed to hate me  so much . . . I never once feared you. Not once, Bryce."

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, shutting his eyes and ducking his head. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm . . ."





  

She stopped his words with a soft kiss, and his eyes opened and met hers. She ended the kiss with a smile.

"I know you are," she acknowledged. "I forgive you, Bryce, and I love you very much."

"You do?"

She nodded.

"Of course I do. I don't think that our problems have been miraculously  resolved by any means. I think that we have a long, hard road ahead of  us actually. But I think that we can finally move forward."

"I've been going back to therapy," he admitted softly. "It's been . . . helpful."

"I hope that we can go together sometime," she said, and he nodded.

"I'd like that." He stared down at her with something like awe in his  eyes before shaking his head in disbelief. "How the hell did I get so  lucky?"

"I got lucky too, you know," she pointed out, and wrapped her arms  around his waist. "Last night I said that I fell in love with a man not a  superhero. But you know what? You are my hero, Bryce."

"How can you say that after everything that's happened and everything that you've heard tonight?"

"Bryce, if anything, tonight has taught me that you're the kind of man  who would place himself squarely between his family and any threat. Of  course you're a hero. Mine, Kayla's, Rick's . . . never doubt that."

Bryce stared down into the tear-ravaged face of this woman who meant the  world to him and saw sincerity shining up at him. It was in her eyes  and in her smile, and the relief that coursed through his body nearly  buckled his knees. For the first time in longer than he could remember,  he really felt like everything was going to work out. That somehow,  against all odds, he had managed to redeem himself and win his wife  back. The panic and fear that he'd been living with for more than two  years-no, even longer than that-since they had first married, was  dissipating and he felt years younger. He captured her mouth with his  own and kissed her with desperation that bordered on obsessive. When he  eventually felt able to let her go, they were both flushed and  breathless.

"I'm going to marry you someday, Bronwyn Kirkland Palmer," he told her with a cocky grin, and she licked her lips dazedly.

"Do you have a timeline on that wedding date, Mr. Palmer?" she asked him sweetly.

"Hey, don't rush me, lady. We've only just started dating. I have big plans for this courtship, you know."

"Oh? What kind of plans?" she asked, curious, rubbing her body  sensuously against his. He smiled gently before cupping her face and  tilting her head back for another one of his drugging kisses.

"You're just going to have to wait and see," he muttered, his voice alive with promise.





CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

TWO MONTHS LATER

I haven't been back here since before the accident," Bryce told Bronwyn  as they stepped into their beautiful holiday home in Knysna. They had  arrived after dark and so had missed out on the house's spectacular  panoramic views of the gorgeous lagoon and Knysna Heads. Still, the  serenity of the place was reflected in the sounds of the quietly  chirruping night insects and the susurration of the gentle waves lapping  at the shore. Bronwyn was filled with mixed emotions as she stepped  into the huge stone foyer. The last time she had been here hadn't been a  happy time for her, and as she glanced around the gorgeously appointed  house, all she could see was her former self disconsolately drifting  from room to room like a lonely little ghost as hope faded to despair  with every passing minute.

The domestic staff had been in before their arrival since the place was  freshly cleaned and the refrigerator restocked for their weekend here.  He hadn't told her that this was where he was bringing her, but she had  easily recognized the unmistakable Garden Route and had known for hours  where they were headed. The drive had become more and more tense with  every kilometer that the car ate up, and the last hour had been mostly  quiet without Kayla around to break the silence. They had asked Rick and  Lisa to take the little girl for this weekend that Bryce had so  carefully been planning for weeks.

Bronwyn wandered into the living room and he trailed after her, dropping  their bags in the hallway. She made her way to the floor-to-ceiling  window that overlooked the tranquil lagoon. Because of the  pitch-blackness outside, she could see nothing but her own troubled  reflection staring back at her, and she tracked Bryce's movements as he  came up to stand behind her. He placed his hands on her slender  shoulders and tugged her back until she was leaning against his chest.  She went willingly into his loose embrace, her head tilting back until  it rested just below his shoulder. His strong arms folded around her  narrow waist, his hands rested against her abdomen, and his lightly  stubbled jaw nuzzled into the nook just below her ear. She could feel  his gentle, warm breath washing against the sensitive skin of her ear as  he exhaled deeply.





  

"I know this place holds some pretty unhappy memories for you," he  murmured, his lips brushing against her earlobe as he spoke. "I want to  replace those memories with sweeter ones."

She dropped her hands and entwined her fingers with his.

"Will you give me the chance do that for you, Bron?" he asked thickly,  and she blinked away the tears before nodding. She watched his  reflection in the glass and saw the naked relief on his face at her  response.

"Thank you," he said before sucking her delicate lobe into his mouth.  She dragged in a harsh breath at the sensation. His hands moved to the  curve of her waist, and he turned her around before she fully understood  what his intention was. She had her hands braced against his broad  chest and could feel the accelerated beat of his heart as he stared down  into her eyes. He had looped his arms around her waist and his hands  were now resting just above the curve of her behind.

"It's been years since I kissed you last," he observed urgently, his  eyes dropping down to her lips and dilating when she sucked her full  lower lip into her mouth to moisten it.

"It has been years," she agreed-even though it had been mere hours. Ever  since they had started seeing each other again, they had been getting  increasingly hot and heavy with the petting, and while they had gotten  close to making love, they had always stopped before the point of no  return. Neither of them wanted to muddy the waters with sex before they  both felt that their relationship was strong enough to withstand all  emotional and physical obstacles. They would not rush into bed until  they were both completely ready for it. Somehow, by unspoken mutual  agreement, they knew that this weekend would see them consummating their  new relationship. Bryce had known it when he had planned the trip, and  Bronwyn had known it when she had agreed to go with him.

He groaned and dropped his hungry mouth onto hers and just about ate her  alive. Bronwyn met his desperate kiss with feverish concentration, her  tongue dueling with his in a battle for supremacy. The kiss eventually  gentled, and his hands lifted to cup her face as he tilted her head for  easier access to her mouth. He loved holding her face when he kissed  her; his thumbs were always restlessly stroking her soft skin, brushing  over her cheekbones and tracing the delicate line of her jaw. After a  long while, he eased up, his tongue retreated, and his mouth softened as  he feathered butterfly kisses on her lips and up over her cheeks and  down into her neck.