11

She heard a whap followed by a cracking sound as she made her way down into the darkness. She imagined the stairs were covered with bits of brave moss and sticky puddles of dragon drool.

Emerson, of course, couldn't actually see the steps in order to judge what they looked like, but her imagination amused her on the blind trek downward into the dungeon.

She missed her son, she thought as her wool socks slipped a little on the step. They amused each other relentlessly and he'd be a fun little companion in the dark castle. He'd be in his socks too, sliding around on purpose, sailing across the floors in his Superman cape.

The hammering crack sounded again, this time louder than the last.

"Liam?" Her voice echoed for seconds and her eyes widened as she wondered how big the dungeon actually was. "Jesus. I hope there isn't really a dragon down here that will flame me to death. Hopefully it's a magical dragon. Like Puff," she muttered to herself.

She heard the sound again and walked toward it.

"Liam? Please say that sound is coming from you."

"Over here."

The soft white glow from his phone spread around him as he appeared from behind a wall and walked toward her. "What're you doing down here?"

There was edge to his voice that hadn't been there before.

"You were gone for awhile so I came to see what you were doing. Also I couldn't take any more hypothetical questions. God, it's freezing down here."

"Why were you answering hypothetical questions to begin with?" He asked as he tugged her hand and walked her back toward where he'd been.

"Math," she said, as if that explained it all. "What're you doing down here? You seem...different."

"Stand there," he instructed. "And hold this toward me, like this." Liam handed his phone to Emerson, held it at the angle he wanted the light to shine, then walked off.

"Okay..." She said skeptically then jiggled in place to keep warm.

She eyed the dark, waiting, then she realized she and the white spotlight were alone. "So, I suppose I'll try asking again." Her voice lifted and echoed to reach wherever he'd disappeared to. "What are you—"

Her words were cut off by the sight of an axe flying from the blackness down onto a piece of wood.

"Holy shit. You could've warned me you were about to murder me."

"I'm not murdering you."

"You could've been. You should have warned me."

"What kind of murderer warns you before killing you?" He asked, tossing the kindling he'd cut off to the side in a clank.

"One with morals?"

Another thwack came down hard, more wood was split into pieces and she shuddered even though she was standing away from the action.

"A murderer with morals. Let me know if you find one."

"I'll start looking for one as soon as I make it out of here alive. Jesus." She pressed a hand to her pounding heart. "So, are you going to tell me what's going on? You really do seem..."

As another swing of axe broke through the thin light and shattered wood into smaller slices, she waited for the lull between blows, no longer bothered.

"Tense," she finished. "Or, angry maybe? I don't know you well enough to know which it is. But it's one of those."

"Neither," he said as he threw the wood onto the pile with more force than was necessary.

She waited a few moments, giving him space in the silence, in the darkness. "Okay, well, I guess I'll go back upstairs then. It's freezing down here anyway. I'll just set your phone right...here for you," she decided then laid it on the ground.

Emerson turned and walked a couple of steps, rubbed at her arms to warm them.

"Don't go."

She stopped walking, turned.

"Don't go." He tossed the axe into the woodpile and made his way toward her. He smelled of musky earth and fresh pine with hints of that masculine scent that was naturally his.

He approached and wrapped his arms around her, holding tightly.

Her head tucked against his chest, hearing his heartbeat pound steadily, her own pulse skipping along with it in response.

"My brother's going to have surgery tomorrow. It's experimental. I've been trying to fly a doctor in for a while to do it. That was my brother who texted me earlier, saying that it's been scheduled for tomorrow. So, the good news is you'll finally get out of here because even if I have to call in the National Guard, I'll be at the hospital in Boston tomorrow."

She heard that there was still a bite in his voice but at least she understood he was dealing, in his own way, with something that stung his insides. Family first, she knew, feeling very much the same.

"That's big news about your brother. I'm so sorry, must be difficult for all of you. What's going on with him?"

He breathed deep, exhaled. "I'll explain later, don't think I can hash over the details any more right now."

She held him just a little bit closer, a little bit tighter. "Your brother is fortunate to have you by his side. Even if it means you get road-rash along the way."

For suspended minutes, neither said anything and they stood in the dungeon with only the glow of his phone providing a haze of light nearby.

"I want you by my side," he said to her.

She pulled back, peered at him, the thick shadows casting razor sharp angles on his unshaven face, a harsh contrast of ferocity and vulnerability.

"I don't want anything to happen to him. He's my big brother and...I don't want to lose him. And I don't want to lose you. I've lost you once, I don't want to lose you twice."

She tried to swallow but found she had nothing to actually swallow—her mouth had gone dry.

"My son. I can't keep staying away from him like this. It's not fair to him. Or my mom, she probably needs a break."

"Emerson." He said her name with gentle depth. "I'm asking you to stay with me. Be here with me. Maybe it'll work out with each other, maybe it won't. But I want you here for us to try. Say yes and we'll get your son and mother here tomorrow. We can send a plane for them, and yes, we can still make sure cupcakes get delivered to his daycare. He can even wear his Superman cape every day for all I care. Just...say yes."

She stepped back, touched that he'd remembered details like cupcakes and superhero capes that filled her head on a daily basis.

"What are you asking, Liam? You mean move in here with you? My mom lives with us too. I can't leave her in California."

Hearing her own words, she pulled in a thin inhale. She couldn't uproot her life to be so spontaneous. Especially for a man. She was an independent woman with a successful job and a healthy, happy son. She couldn't uproot their lives just to date a man.

Could she?

"Why?"

"Why?" He repeated her question.

"Why do you want me here? I mean, we barely know each other."

"Because from the moment I met you five years ago, I wanted to know more of you. You said you didn't want to exchange names, that we should be adventurous and spontaneous, and we said goodbye the next day. We did it your way then. But I want to do it my way this time. I want to know more of you. I want you and Archer to move here. Your mother too. She can take over the two-bedroom place on the property once Annie moves out if she wants her own space, or she can stay in here."

"I don't think my mom wants to live in a dungeon. Archer might."

He smiled and cupped her face in his hands. "I meant the castle, but wherever she wants. Hell, I'll build her a house if it means you'll move here."

She breathed deep, steady, and ordered herself to think as she felt her mind sinking into the possibility.

"But my job, my career."

"I love that your mind is practical at times and fiery at others. See, that's what I want to know more of. What's the trigger? What makes you choose one or the other? That's what I want to know.

"And you said yourself your boss is 'misleadingly intrigued' by me. He'll either let you work from here and be excited about the bragging rights of you working with 'Liam Wyatt, arrant butt-face,' or you leave there and come work with me."

"Unscrupulous, arrant butt-face," she reminded him.

"How could I forget?"

"Because you're unscrupulous," she tossed back. "So what if I want to start my own business?"

"Then start your own business. I don't think you understand. I just want you here, Emerson. The rest are just details to work out. Like you realizing I'm not an unscrupulous, arrant butt-face, for starters."

"This isn't funny. These are important details. My life details."

"I agree. And I want them to be our life details. Say yes."

She bit at her bottom lip, considered, and couldn't believe she was considering something so crazy and yet something that felt so right, so silly to make a big deal out of when it so easily snapped into place in her mind.

"I'll need to talk to them first, Archer and my mom, to make sure this is something they want too."

"Absolutely. Call them now."

She smiled. "You really are persistent when you set your mind to something, aren't you?"

"And so are you," he said and skimmed his thumb along her bottom lip where she'd bit at it.

"Yes, that's true. And," she pulled in a breath, held it, then exhaled. "Yes. I'll talk to them but I'm sure they'll both be fine with it once I explain the castle. Archer will immediately start jumping on the bed when he finds out—it's his current favorite activity with his cape on. And my mom would love it. She's Irish, and how can you be Irish and not have a fondness for castles?"

"I have a fondness for you, Emerson Brown."

She smiled just before he caught her lips in a kiss that heated her from the inside out, melting all the amazingly alive parts of her and sending sizzling sparkles of excitement to others. "And I have a fondness for you, Liam Wyatt."

She lifted to her toes as the kiss deepened with pleasure, with promise. "I'm sorry about your brother. Whenever you want to tell me more about it, I'd love to hear."

"Appreciate it."

"Anytime. So do you want to tell your harem upstairs that I'm moving in here or should I? There may be tears. Possibly some sharp objects thrown."

He laughed and grabbed his phone off the floor then took her hand in his, leading them toward the stairs back up.

"They'll love you because I love you. Eventually."

"You'll love me eventually?"

"Depends on how many sharp objects you throw."

She leaned her head against his shoulder, chuckled as they walked hand in hand. "Well that depends on whether or not you try to make me fly in that tin bug with top wings."

They reached the top of the stairs and started toward the glow of the fireplace once again but he stopped, faced her. "I mean that I love you. I never really knew what that meant, not really. But I want you to be happy, intensely happy, and I want us to be happy together. I want my brother to be okay. I want your family to enjoy living here. I want them to be my family too. That might be too much to ask, but it's what I want. And I'm really good at getting what I want."

She raised up again and met her mouth with his, feeling his lips warm beneath hers.

"Don't I know it?" She smiled, mulled over what he'd said. "I need time to let myself fall in love with you, Liam. I came here under fabricated pretenses and have been operating with the idea that I may never see you again after I leave. So I need time to let myself feel."

Her head shook and a frown burrowed. "Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I'm no one if I don't know what I'm feeling. I love you too. Dammit, Liam. I don't know if I believe in love at first sight."

"First sight was five years ago."

"I'm sure I could argue that point."

"I'm sure you could."

"But I won't because I like the sound of it."

This time he laughed as he held onto her once again, his arms wrapped around for security, for desire, for forever. If he got his way...

And he always did.

~The End~

SPECIAL NOTE TO READERS: Each book in the One Night Collection is a standalone novella, featuring new characters with a story all their own, that takes place over the course of one night. The exception to this is One Summer Night which features a fun roundup of all the main characters in the collection as they come together for a fabulous Fourth of July celebration.

One Night Collection

ONE AUTUMN NIGHT

ONE WINTER NIGHT

ONE SPRING NIGHT

ONE SUMMER NIGHT