Sea Haven 02 - Spirit Bound

justice.” He shrugged. “That’s hardly unusual, or something to be ashamed of , mi angel caido .” This time he changed to Spanish, wanting to drive home the point that he was also educated in languages, and that no matter how fallen she thought herself, she was his angel and always would be.
    Judith continued to stare him straight in the eye as she shook her head slowly, deliberately. “Not justice. Justice was Jean-Claude going to jail for his crimes. I want revenge for the torture and murder of my brother. For the others that lost their lives that day. I’m well aware that my need for revenge makes me no better than he is, but I will find a way. My time will come. And I’m not going to let any innocent suffer because of my loss of humanity.”
    Stefan regarded her for a long time in absolute silence, so long that Judith wasn’t certain he would respond. She’d told him the worst and refused to look away from him. He was a difficult man to read. His aquamarine eyes looked back into hers, but told her nothing at all. She heard the ticking of the clock and her stomach did a slow flip. She realized she didn’t want him to think so badly of her when she knew she deserved it.
    “What kind of woman builds her life around revenge?” she whispered, hating the silence between them, hating that she couldn’t read his inscrutable expression.
    “I know I have five wonderful women in my life. The farm. My painting and kaleidoscopes, both of which I love and have achieved some success in my chosen career, but it isn’t enough, it won’t ever be enough until Jean-Claude La Roux has suffered the way he made my brother suffer.”
    The ticking of the clock grew louder. Her heart thudded hard in her chest until she could hear every beat thundering in her ears. She hadn’t realized until that moment how he’d already changed her. Laughter was real. She felt at ease in his company, she felt happy. She hadn’t really been happy since her brother’s death and maybe she was a little angry and guilty that she could actually be happy. What right did she have when Paul’s last hours had been excruciating agony?
    She refused to lower her chin, or look away from Thomas. He was so utterly still, his gaze never leaving hers. She had confessed to save him—or to drive him away so she could keep her anger and hatred bottled up tight, locked away in a dark studio where no one would ever know her shameful secret.
    Silence stretched between them until she wanted to scream with the terrible tension. Stefan stepped closer to her, his strong fingers curling around the nape of her neck. There was always such command in the way he touched her. This time was subtly different. This time there was possession as if she belonged to him.
    Her heart jumped. She tasted fear. He wasn’t going to reject her and once he claimed her, she was forever set on a course. She wouldn’t be able to walk away from Thomas Vincent, not with the way her spirit responded to his. Now with the certain knowledge that he could handle her intense emotions and perhaps even help control them.
    She shook her head and went to step back, away from him, away from the danger she instinctively knew she was in.
    His hold on her tightened, keeping her still. “I understand you, Judith. The way you think and feel. I can handle every emotion you have and I can lessen the impact on anyone around us. I can shield others from the intensity. Who else can do that? You need me every bit as much as I need you. You need this man to suffer, I’m your man. You need to disappear and start over; we can do that as well. I’ve got you, moi padshii angel . Whatever happens, I’ve got you.”
    Russian this time. My fallen angel. She had fallen. Judith felt as if the very devil was standing in front of her, offering her the world, and the price was her soul. He wasn’t handsome in the true sense of the word, not with all of his scars, but he was all male, sensual and compelling. He would never be a man who would allow her to walk all over him, nor could she manipulate him. There was far more to Thomas Vincent than she’d first thought.
    “I don’t know you at all.” Her voice came out a shaky whisper.
    “You know enough.”
    “You should be running from this house. It’s called self-preservation , Thomas. I’m already damned. I’ve accepted that.”
    “That’s bullshit, Judith. Revenge is a natural emotion when someone has gone through the trauma you have. You haven’t