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  He’d convinced Juliette there was no need to worry about Sven or his pilot. He even had the plane double-checked without resistance, as if he understood just how much caution was necessary.

  She couldn’t wait for him to get back and tell her all that had gone on in Aspen.

  But more than that, Juliette was sure she had to get out of that house.

  A change of scenery would ease her mind. The babies had recently been fed and would be content for a while, and weren’t car rides supposed to lull babies to sleep anyway? They had a double stroller and all the supplies she could have needed, so she asked Gunther if he’d mind if they went to Bonbon for a while, at least until Wilhelm got back.

  “I’m supposed to do whatever you want, Juliette,” Gunther said with a smile. “Or Wilhelm will have my head on a plaque on his wall. I’ll start packing the car.”

  She told him which things to take and which to leave, grateful that he wasn’t fighting her on leaving. “Do you feel at all uneasy here, Gunther? It’s a beautiful home, but I just need to be somewhere else.” It hadn’t bothered her when Wilhelm was there. She’d spent the night without hesitation. Now, it seemed too dark and bleak.

  Gunther loaded the double stroller into the trunk of his car. “I’ve always been uncomfortable here, but after what’s happened, even more so.”

  “I know, but I mean today. Do you feel like something’s wrong?”

  Gunther stopped for a moment and looked at the mansion. “Maybe? It’s hard to tell with all the bad feelings surrounding this place.”

  They put the babies in their car seats in the back of the Mercedes, and Gunther patted his pockets. “Wilhelm should be touching down at any second. I’ll let him know we’ll be at your shop.” He checked his inside pockets. “Must have left my phone on the table.”

  As Gunther headed back inside, Juliette pulled her phone out. “I’ll call him while you’re getting it.” She closed the back door on Thomas’ side and turned her back to the car as she dialed Wilhelm’s number. It might not go through if he was still in the air, but she’d probably be able to leave a message.

  It was still ringing when a loud click sounded through the air, and she and Gunther both froze for a split second.

  The front windows and doors of the mansion exploded outward. Glass, wood, and brick flying through the air narrowly missed her, and the blast knocked Gunther backward. He caught himself and stayed upright, but turned and dove toward Juliette, screaming, “Get down!”

  Another blast, louder than the first, sent more shrapnel peppering the front lawn and driveway, pinging off the car. Glass cracked, and Juliette managed to see past Gunther that the passenger side window had shattered in a tight spiderweb of lines.

  Both babies cried inside the car, and she scrambled to get out from beneath Gunther to check on them. When they stood to see the flaming, smoking ruins of what was once a gorgeous mansion, Juliette’s breath caught.

  If not for the sheer extravagance of it, with its circular driveway and long walk to the front door with hedges and statuary, they could have all been killed. If they’d been twenty or thirty feet closer to the blast, maybe even the babies in the car …

  She rushed around to the opposite side of the car and pulled Leah out. Juliette passed her to Gunther before crawling across the seat and picking up Thomas.

  “There could be more,” Gunther said, pushing her to hurry down the drive as far away from the mansion as possible. Gunther spied her phone where she’d dropped it during the blast and snatched it from the ground. He held it up. The screen was badly damaged, but it was on.

  “I’ll try 911,” he said as they rushed away from the burning mansion. Juliette held Thomas tightly to her and thanked whatever gods were listening that she’d felt the need to get out of that house when she had.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The ride from the airport to the mansion felt almost as long as the flight to Aspen. Wilhelm called Gunther to reassure himself everything was fine. When Gunther didn’t answer, he started to dial Juliette, but his phone rang before he could finish it. Detective Frasier sounded like he might be in a bar.

  “We’ve got him,” he said. “The guy who shot at you spilled everything—how he’d been paid to rig your brother’s car and then eliminate you when you weren’t willing to hand over the kids. Combined with Ralph Marcoby’s financial records, it won’t matter if he fights it to the end. We’ve got him.”

  Relief washed over Wilhelm. “Thank you, Detective.”

  “Considering he made an attempt on your life today, he’s not going to get approved for any kind of bail, so he’ll be sitting in a cell until trial. And depending on how hard he lawyers up and how many motions they file, that could be a couple of years.”

  He couldn’t wait to tell Juliette that the nightmare was over. And it relieved him even more that right after telling her about Ralph’s threat to take him to court to get custody, he could explain how that was impossible now.

  That relieved him even more than the idea that his brother’s apprehended. In a couple of short days, he’d grown so attached to the twins, he couldn’t imagine losing them.

  He hung up, and thought about calling Juliette, but they were only a couple of miles away from the mansion. News like that was best delivered in person.

  He sniffed the air, curling his nose at the acrid scent of smoke. He was already weary of the scent, but this was different. This wasn’t from the morgue in Aspen. There was smoke in the air.

  “Wilhelm!” Sven’s hands white-knuckled the steering wheel as he stared ahead, agape. They were a hill and a few curves away from the mansion, but the black smoke cloud hanging in the air was directly above where it must be.

  No. No, no, no.

  They rounded the last curve that would bring the mansion into sight, and Wilhelm’s heart stopped in his chest. It looked like someone had scooped the building out with a giant-sized shovel. The top half of the front face of the mansion was completely gone, and what was left was in flames.

  The driveway was lined with emergency vehicles. Police cars, fire trucks, an ambulance. They blocked in the black Mercedes Gunther drove along with a white Toyota.

  Juliette’s car.

  Wilhelm opened the door and leapt from the car while it was still rolling, pushing aside the first police officer who grabbed his shoulders to stop him. Another shouted “Sir!” and grabbed his arm, but Wilhelm slung him away like a rag doll, his only thought to get inside that house.

  “Juliette!” he bellowed, fighting through the police and firefighters intent on blocking his way. “Juliette!”

  Flames shot toward them, something exploding inside the house, and Wilhelm knew he couldn’t make it through that fire, not even for Juliette. Not even for the babies.

  The babies.

  Juliette.

  “My family’s in there!” he shouted, his voice breaking as he pushed forward again, deciding that he didn’t care how hot the flames were, he’d get through them or die trying. Oh my God, Juliette …

  His tiger howled as Wilhelm roared her name and tried to disentangle himself from the men shouting that he couldn’t go in there, that he needed to calm down. Grief and horror overwhelmed him, and he dropped to his knees, at least eight men hanging onto him in case he bolted forward.

  “Wilhelm!” A sweet voice came from behind him, far behind him. “Wilhelm, we’re here!”

  They let go of him enough that he could turn, and on the far curve of the driveway Juliette and Gunther emerged from behind an ambulance, each holding a baby. A healthy, whole baby. Juliette handed Leah to Gunther and ran for him.

  “Juliette,” he breathed, then tore away from the hands that held him. In a few great bounds he reached her. He wrapped her in his arms and lifted her off her feet as he buried his face against her neck and sobbed. “Oh God, I thought I’d lost you. I thought I’d lost you all.”

  “No,” she cried. “We were leaving when it happened. All of us are okay.” Her voice shook
with emotion that tore at Wilhelm’s heart. “I’m so sorry we couldn’t warn you. My phone died after we called for help and all these people just arrived and—”

  Wilhelm kissed her, cutting off her explanation. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was she was there now, unharmed. He cupped her cheek in his hands. “All I care about is that you’re safe.”

  He stroked her face, unashamed of the tears that streamed down his own. “The thought that you—that the babies—I thought I’d lose my mind. But you’re here. You’re all here.” He kissed her again, then lifted and spun her for the sheer joy of holding her close.

  His family was safe. They were safe, and everything was going to be okay.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Wilhelm’s apartment was magnificent, but he’d warned Juliette it wasn’t very “homey” and he hadn’t been kidding. Metal and glass gave it a modern, sleek look, but it wasn’t a very comfortable place, especially not to raise babies.

  “I’ll redecorate,” he said as she followed him in, pushing the babies in the two-seat stroller, with Gunther behind them carrying the things they’d packed in the car. Everything else was gone.

  Wilhelm said he’d order new baby things, and the place would be suitable for the twins in no time. Juliette believed it. He seemed excited at the idea of a change, and after seeing so much pain in his eyes over the last few days, it was wonderful to see a glimmer of optimism there.

  She never wanted to see pain in his eyes again, especially not the way he’d looked when he’d turned to her in the driveway after thinking she and the babies had been trapped inside the burning mansion. He’d looked so lost, so ruined … she couldn’t bear the thought of him hurting that way again.

  Knowing he loved her and the babies enough to have been that distraught and out of his mind, knocking down police officers like bowling pins to run through fire for them, had only made her love him even more fiercely.

  The portable cribs would do for tonight. The twins didn’t seem to mind, because they fell asleep as soon as they were put down. After Gunther left, Wilhelm took Juliette’s hand and pulled her into his lap.

  “I love you, Juliette.”

  She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her forehead against his. “I love you.”

  He breathed deeply for a few moments. “When I thought I’d lost you … I couldn’t …” He took one sharp breath and leaned back to look her in the eyes. “I don’t want to waste any more time. I want you in my life, in the twins’ lives. I want you, period. Live with me here. When the fire investigators are finished on the property, I’ll build us a house, any way you want it. We’ll have a big yard just for the cubs to play in. We’ll have a commercial kitchen, so you can create your pastries and candies even when you’re not at Bonbon. I’ll hire any kind of domestic help you want or need, and you can open a thousand shops or not a single extra one at all. I just need you with me, Juliette. Tell me what it’ll take to make that happen.”

  Juliette blinked back tears and put her hand on Wilhelm’s cheek. “You’ve already made it happen, Wilhelm. I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere. I never thought I could be happy again. I never thought I’d risk my heart to love again. But you make me happy. The twins make me happy.”

  She rubbed her nose against his. “I think you’re stuck with me.”

  He beamed and shifted her so that she straddled his lap. Wilhelm squeezed one ass cheek to pull her tighter against him. His other hand sank into her hair. “Oh no, sounds awful,” he said softly.

  Juliette laughed against his lips as he pulled her down for a kiss.

  In moments, they were pulling their clothes off, and Wilhelm rose, still holding her as he walked them to his shower. All white tile, steel, and glass, it was as modern as the rest of his apartment, with three shower heads that turned a simple shower into a spa-like experience.

  He stood behind her, his naked body pressed against hers, his cock nestled between her thighs. His hand slid down her stomach until his fingertips slipped into her heat. She sighed and leaned back against him and voiced the one niggling doubt that had kept her from giving in to his advances for months.

  “You’re sure, Wilhelm? I mean, really sure?”

  “I want you more than anything.” He sucked a trail of fire across her neck.

  Her voice softened, because even though she knew he loved her, she was so used to being afraid of this. “You have to be sure, because I couldn’t take it if …” She couldn’t even say, “If you left me because I couldn’t give you cubs,” let alone bear it happening again.

  “Oh, Juliette. I’m surer of this than anything I’ve ever done in my life.” He turned her in his arms, and she could see the truth of it in his eyes. “I’m sure I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  “Even though I can never give you babies?” She hated how her voice wavered, but she had to say it.

  He stroked her cheek and smiled softly at her, water running down the sides of his face and dripping off his chin. “We have babies, Juliette.”

  She sobbed, and the last shreds of doubt and feelings of inadequacy melted away in his kiss.

  Epilogue

  One Year Later

  Juliette carried Thomas through the door of the shop where she’d apprenticed when she was much younger. The chef who’d taught her was no longer there, but the shop was still just off the Champs-Elysées. Wilhelm carried Leah, walking behind her. The babies wiggled their fingers at each other and seemed to seek each other out all the time, laughing and cooing almost no matter what was going on around them.

  Wilhelm bought a box of macarons, his wedding band glinting in the light as he paid. It had only been a week since they’d been married, but seeing his ring that matched her own still thrilled Juliette.

  It had been a simple ceremony. Noelle, Andy, Gunther, and Sven had been witnesses, and Gunther and Noelle had been happy to hold the babies. In fact, Juliette suspected that Gunther and Noelle hit it off. She’d rarely seen two relative strangers smile at each other that much, in quite the way they did.

  She was tickled when Wilhelm asked if she minded a honeymoon in Paris—with the babies. Juliette had been dreading being away from them, even though she could hardly wait for her honeymoon with Wilhelm. They’d both decided that it could be just as romantic if they took the twins with them.

  She followed Wilhelm to a bistro table along the sidewalk, and plucked a light green macaron from the box. She sniffed and took a taste, then let Thomas take a bite. He didn’t hate it, but he didn’t seem to love it either. Maybe green tea wasn’t his flavor.

  Wilhelm chose a dark pink one, tasted it, then leaned across the table while Leah nibbled on it. “A little dry. Yours are much better,” he said with a wink.

  Leah seemed to think so, too. She wiped at her mouth, frowning.

  Ralph Marcoby had been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. He could have gotten the death penalty, but despite having capital punishment as an option, Colorado never executed prisoners. Still, the thought of him never able to walk free again had given them both a little comfort. The trial had been just before they got married, and Juliette considered it a kind of wedding gift that allowed them to put that whole ugly chapter behind them as far as possible.

  Wilhelm lifted Juliette’s hand and kissed it. “Where to now, my tigress?”

  “I think the Arc de Triomphe.” They weren’t far from it, and the sun was starting to set. “The view from the top at night is stunning, have you seen it?”

  “No. When I’ve been in Paris, it’s been for business. I never did much sightseeing.”

  “Oh, you’ll love it.” They stood and strolled along the avenue in that direction. “It’s a shame the babies won’t remember this.”

  Wilhelm put his arm around her and pulled her close. “We’ll just have to bring them back every year to be sure they don’t miss anything.”

  She beamed at him, and stopped walking when he leaned down to kiss her. “I lik
e the way you think,” she said with a soft laugh.

  “Good, because I think you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  She leaned against Wilhelm as they started walking again, and thought even the beauty of Paris at night couldn’t compare to the beautiful dream her life had become.

  End

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  About the Author:

  Lizzie Lynn Lee is a gutter-minded hopeless romantic who doesn’t live in this world most of the time. In her perfect utopia, her heroes never take their women for granted, love at first sight exists and soul mates always find a way to be together. She invites you to visit her world, where she spins her tales because the men are sizzling hot, master the art of sex and they are really into their ladies—be that a slim girl, or curvy, interracial, interspecies, sassy or shy—their adventures redefine erotica. Are you ready to be thrilled?

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  Lizzie Lynn Lee Bibliography

  Shunga Chronicles: Lady of the Snow

  Love in the Elevator

  Shunga Chronicles: Prince and the Assassin

  Payback

  Shunga Chronicles: Flight of the Heron

  Wicked Game

  Eve Aizawa: Eve of Seduction

  Busted

  Eve Aizawa: Deus Eve Machina

  Sexopalooza

  Switched

  Cyber Lover

  Jumping Bones

  The Wolf She Married