ELEVEN
Even though I was stunned into near-silence by what Nick had just said, I still managed to utter a single word, which was what, and clearly enough that I knew he could understand me.
Frowning even harder, he repeated himself. “I’m the one who should be asking for forgiveness…because I’ve been keeping a few secrets from you.”
I looked into Nick's deep gray eyes, startled by their intensity, almost as much as I'd been startled by what he'd just said it when he’d first said it. "What have you been hiding from me, Nick? Please, just tell me.”
With clear tenderness in his eyes, he spoke in a hushed tone barely above a whisper. "All you need to know, Tiffany, is that I know everything about you. Your past, why you're here...everything. I know that your coven was killed by the Dormios--”
“What?”
“But that you think it was me and my people. It wasn’t, though. We would never do such a thing. I think you know that now.”
I did, but I was still stunned by what he’d said about the Dormios, and I found I couldn’t speak.
With his expression still one of tenderness, Nick continued. “My sources have told me that the only reason the Dormios had your coven family killed was just so they could pin it on me and start some kind of a war, while using you to take me out and get revenge.
“Obviously, plans changed, and you lost your powers in the car accident, which I found out from your government file at the prison. Even knowing this, though, I assumed that you’d probably still try to kill me if I brought you here. Clearly, that didn’t stop me. I wanted you because you possess the were-gene, but now, I just want you. I just want to be with you indefinitely…if you’re falling in love with me, too.”
Although still miles beyond shocked and confused, I found myself nodding. “I am…and I’m sorry that I planned to hurt you. I just still can’t believe that James hurt me how he did, though, by killing my coven family.”
It just didn't make sense. While I’d been dating him, nothing about James had struck me as killer-like, and in fact, quite the opposite. During our years together, he’d actually made me feel safe.
However, I now contemplated whether James had been a sociopath and had just been “acting” around me, like how I’d thought Nick had been doing. I knew sociopaths could be charming, lulling their victims into a false sense of security. For all I knew, he could have been lying through his teeth to me every single time he’d spoken to me. Maybe, like Nick said, James had been the real villain, plotting to manipulate me the entire time we were together.
My head was spinning. I didn't feel in my gut that Nick was deceiving me about anything he’d said. I felt actually the opposite in my gut. I had a sense that I could trust him completely. I told him this, prompting him to brush a tender kiss against my lips, and we fell into comfortable silence. A few minutes later, he whispered near my ear, making me jump.
“In the coming weeks, I hope you don’t forget what you just said about trusting me completely, Tiffany.”
I’d been so lost in my thoughts that I'd forgotten I was actually still in Nick’s arms. I'd honestly forgotten he even existed.
Leaning back against the polished oak headboard, he pulled me even a bit closer to him and whispered again. "You’re going to have to continue to trust me about the Dormios, because John is intent on destroying all of us here in Everglen. He’s now working with the government to accomplish that goal. I also wouldn’t put it past him to try to contact you somehow and enlist you in some sort of a revenge plan again, and you’ve got to be on guard for that.
“He’ll try to make you think again that I’m the one who was responsible for killing your coven members, which just isn’t true. John is the ultimate deceiver, Tiffany...the ultimate manipulator. And when and if he’d able to attack us here in Everglen, you’ve got to be strong enough to resist him.”
Suddenly tired, suddenly bone-weary, actually, I looked up at Nick’s face with a sigh. "He was my friend, though. He-"
"That is exactly why you’ve got to keep trusting me…because right now, you're having a little trouble accepting that John is who I'm saying he is and that he'll do what I'm saying he'll do. You've got to understand, though, that this is part of the danger…you not trusting me enough to stay on your guard about the Dormios. I'm not being hyperbolic when I say your life depends on it, Tiffany. They probably will attack us at some point."
"But when-"
"Soon. I’m almost certain about it. Their spies are now constantly giving us problems, and I expect we'll be sweeping the outskirts of town tomorrow for their spies all day. Hopefully, if we can capture some of these spies, we’ll get advance notice of an attack. We might not, though. Just keep your cellular phone on your person at all times so I can get ahold of you if I need to warn you. In the meantime, tonight, just try not to worry about anything, knowing that I’ll keep you safe, no matter what ultimately happens with the Dormios. Okay? Please?"
Stifling a yawn, I nodded. "Okay. I will. I'm tired and confused, and about the Dormios, I'm vaguely scared-"
"You shouldn't be 'vaguely scared.' You should be outright terrified about the Dormios attacking. Don't forget that. It will help you remain on guard."
"Oh, well, thanks for making me feel so much better right before going to sleep."
"I didn't mean to, and I'm sorry about that, but you need to take all this very seriously. At the same time, I promise I'll always protect you to the very best of my abilities. You need to stay on your toes, though, until all this is resolved. You just need to continue trusting me."
"I will, Nick.”
Right then, looking up into his smoky coal-colored eyes, I couldn't imagine not trusting him. There was some look of unmistakable sincerity in his eyes that I just couldn't deny. It was a look that made me feel in the core of my being that he was telling me the truth about everything and that I was right to trust him.
In response to what I'd said about trusting him, he planted a kiss on the top of my head. "Good. Now, no more talking about all this tonight. You need your rest. I might beg you for just one more kiss before you go to sleep, though.”
Studying the way Nick’s dark lashes were casting shadows on his handsome, strong-jawed face in the dim light, I gave him a little smile. "I think I can handle that request. I can handle giving you a little kiss right now. But why don't you kiss me, actually. Just tip me back in your arms and really plant one on me."
"I can definitely handle that."