“Leith...he was strangled,” Ben said, gauging Jacques’s reaction.

He only frowned.

“They’ll turn him to ash before I can prove he was murdered, too.”

“Then I’ll bring his body here.” Another body would spell certain disaster if they were caught, but they’d already exhumed one for the sake of exposing a crime. If it meant justice for both by the end, then it made the most sense to bring Leith’s body.

“Then do it.” Ben gestured towards the stairs. He needed to rest for a few hours and clean his hands.

“I’ll leave this evening,” Jacques said as they parted ways.

Ben retreated to his room and filled the washbowl. He splashed his face and scrubbed his hands twice, yet he could not erase the feeling of his father’s skin. His father’s bruised flesh flashed in and out of his mind, the image searing itself into the back of his eyelids.

He’d never forget it.

“Ben!” someone shouted.

Angry footsteps pounded up the stairs.

“Ben!” It was Remi’s voice that drifted down the hall. “Ben! Where are you?”

“Here,” he called back.

Whatever exhaustion was left behind in his tired bones left him the second he felt the intensity of her anger. She flew through the door, the brass handle slamming into the wall, as she forced her way into the room. Shocked, he held up his hands to stop her from falling over as she narrowly avoided tripping over her hem.

“You knew,” she hissed, her face reddening as she went on. “You knew, and you didn’t tell me!”

Ben spoke softly. “What do you mean?”

Panic seeped its way into his veins, pumping a fresh dose of fear into his beating heart. Did she know about the body in the cellar? Had she overheard him and Jacques somehow? He waited anxiously for her to catch her breath.

“Leith! They say he was murdered.” She shook with anger, her eyes watering with fresh tears. “Lamotte says you inspected his body, and you didn’t tell me.”

“I did see his body, you’re right.” Ben weighed his words carefully. “But how did you know that? Where did you go?”

She whirled on him. “I went to visit Leith’s mother! I needed to after this morning. I just couldn’t bear the thought of seeing him again…not like that.”

She must have meant her dream. Nightmares were something he could sympathize with, given Soleil’s penchant for haunting his dreams. It seemed her trip around the Isle became an altogether different excursion, not that he could blame her. She’d gone out seeking closure and instead found herself with new information. Information he should have shared with her the minute he learned the truth.

“You should have told me.” Her tears fell down her smooth cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” he offered weakly. “You must know that.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Her voice cracked. With her arms pressed tight to her chest, she was the picture of grief. One word away from crumbling.

“I wanted to be sure,” he admitted. Though he was confident in his deduction, he still wanted a second chance to examine Leith closely without additional eyes bearing down on him. “That is my only reason for holding back. Forgive me.”

Remi didn’t move for a long while. She just stood, lost in sorrow.

Ben squeezed his fists at his sides, willing himself to wait. He desperately wanted to offer her comfort.

“I’m tired, Ben.” She sounded small as she said it. “Edgar is dead, and now Leith is gone. These notes…so many notes. I can’t…I can’t go on like this.”

Ben approached her carefully, reminding himself to be gentle with her. “Remi?”

She looked up at him.

“I’m sorry about Leith,” he whispered. “About my father. About me.”

“Everyone is leaving me,” she choked. “Elise will be gone soon, too. There will be no one left…”

His heart ached. “I won’t leave. Not again.”

“Prove it.” Her lips shook as she grasped the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. Her voice was weak, yet her hold on him was strong. “Prove that you won’t leave me, too.”

His hands wrapped over hers, and he bent his head lower. “Tell me how, and I will. Whatever you want from me, I will give it to you.”

Her voice did not waver. “Kiss me.”

At her command, Ben felt the scorching heat of his needs and desires crash together, two demons of their own design that battled often in his mind. Ever at odds, it seemed, they were suddenly unified, singular in their desires. “Certainly,” he hummed deeply.

If she was keen to give him the lead, he would not waste a second longer lingering on the fantasy; he would make it real.

REMI

Ben’s fingers tangled in her hair, pulling at the roots just enough that there was pleasure in the pain. His other arm wrapped around her, pulling their bodies together as his mouth closed over hers. It was a heady kiss, thoughtful even. His teeth grazed her lower lip, nipping at her flesh, the sting soothed immediately with a gentle stroke of his wet tongue. She missed the feeling the moment his mouth left hers, traveling to nip her ear.

“Have I proven myself?” His voice was deep as he spoke. “Or is there more you want from me?”

Her mind still spun from the kiss. What more could she want?

Ben groaned, pressing into her. “Say it, and I will give it to you.”

She blushed, turning her face into his. “I want…everything.”

“Do you want me to touch you?” he asked, pressing his forehead to hers. His eyes probed hers, and she felt as if she’d explode into flames. “Is that how I’m meant to prove myself to you?”

Remi held her breath as she searched for the right words to say. “I want you to undo me,” she whispered finally, “and put me back together after it’s been done.”

Ben’s smile was tender as he nodded. “That I can promise.”

He kissed her again, softer. He lingered, pulling on her lips with his own. She was beside herself with the sweetness of it, the way it made her center warm. She felt his fingers on her chest, undoing the buttons of her blouse. The fabric brushed against her breasts as it fell away, making her gasp.

Ben moved on to her skirt, careful in his ministrations. Standing before him in her stockings and a chemise, she felt for the first time the chill in the room.

“Cold?” His eyes dropped to her chest.

Remi glanced down and bit her lip. Her nipples were peaked, pressing against the thin fabric of her chemise.