AMELIA
I don't know how long I stayed in the basement, completely shocked. My mind was empty and overwhelmed at the same time, so many were the thoughts, the questions, and so vast was the shock.
He'd kissed me.
Erik ... had kissed me.
It hadn't been a violent or passionate kiss, the kind of kiss that preludes furious, steamy s*x - no, it had been silent and secret and filled with a promise, the promise he'd made to me before sealing it with that kiss.
Whatever happens, whenever you want or need, I'll be here. However you want me to be.
He'd left the moment after, but not in a hurry, like a thief on the run; he'd looked into my eyes one last time, as if to repeat that promise, and then he'd crossed the door, closing it behind his back. As if he knew I needed a moment of solitude
