Chapter Eighteen
Wilhelm’s apartment was magnificent, but he’d warned Juliette it wasn’t very “homey” and he hadn’t been kidding. Metal and glass gave it a modern, sleek look, but it wasn’t a very comfortable place, especially not to raise babies.
“I’ll redecorate,” he said as she followed him in, pushing the babies in the two-seat stroller, with Gunther behind them carrying the things they’d packed in the car. Everything else was gone.
Wilhelm said he’d order new baby things, and the place would be suitable for the twins in no time. Juliette believed it. He seemed excited at the idea of a change, and after seeing so much pain in his eyes over the last few days, it was wonderful to see a glimmer of optimism there.
She never wanted to see pain in his eyes again, especially not the way he’d looked when he’d turned to her in the driveway after thinking she and the babies had been trapped inside the burning mansion. He’d looked so lost, so ruined . . . she couldn’t bear the thought of him hurting that way again.
Knowing he loved her and the babies enough to have been that distraught and out of his mind, knocking down police officers like bowling pins to run through fire for them, had only made her love him even more fiercely.
The portable cribs would do for tonight. The twins didn’t seem to mind, because they fell asleep as soon as they were put down. After Gunther left, Wilhelm took Juliette’s hand and pulled her into his lap.
“I love you, Juliette.”
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her forehead against his. “I love you.”
He breathed deeply for a few moments. “When I thought I’d lost you . . . I couldn’t . . .” He took one sharp breath and leaned back to look her in the eyes. “I don’t want to waste any more time. I want you in my life, in the twins’ lives. I want you, period. Live with me here. When the fire investigators are finished on the property, I’ll build us a house, any way you want it. We’ll have a big yard just for the cubs to play in. We’ll have a commercial kitchen, so you can create your pastries and candies even when you’re not at Bonbon. I’ll hire any kind of domestic help you want or need, and you can open a thousand shops or not a single extra one at all. I just need you with me, Juliette. Tell me what it’ll take to make that happen.”
Juliette blinked back tears and put her hand on Wilhelm’s cheek. “You’ve already made it happen, Wilhelm. I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere. I never thought I could be happy again. I never thought I’d risk my heart to love again. But you make me happy. The twins make me happy.”
She rubbed her nose against his. “I think you’re stuck with me.”
He beamed and shifted her so that she straddled his lap. Wilhelm squeezed one ass cheek to pull her tighter against him. His other hand sank into her hair. “Oh no, sounds awful,” he said softly.
Juliette laughed against his lips as he pulled her down for a kiss.
In moments, they were pulling their clothes off, and Wilhelm rose, still holding her as he walked them to his shower. All white tile, steel, and glass, it was as modern as the rest of his apartment, with three shower heads that turned a simple shower into a spa-like experience.
He stood behind her, his naked body pressed against hers, his cock nestled between her thighs. His hand slid down her stomach until his fingertips slipped into her heat. She sighed and leaned back against him and voiced the one niggling doubt that had kept her from giving in to his advances for months.
“You’re sure, Wilhelm? I mean, really sure?”
“I want you more than anything.” He sucked a trail of fire across her neck.
Her voice softened, because even though she knew he loved her, she was so used to being afraid of this. “You have to be sure, because I couldn’t take it if . . .” She couldn’t even say, “If you left me because I couldn’t give you cubs,” let alone bear it happening again.
“Oh, Juliette. I’m surer of this than anything I’ve ever done in my life.” He turned her in his arms, and she could see the truth of it in his eyes. “I’m sure I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“Even though I can never give you babies?” She hated how her voice wavered, but she had to say it.
He stroked her cheek and smiled softly at her, water running down the sides of his face and dripping off his chin. “We have babies, Juliette.”
She sobbed, and the last shreds of doubt and feelings of inadequacy melted away in his kiss.