Chapter eighteen: Stay

The party seems to drag on until it finally reaches 11:00. Kate dances with lots of friends, but Thomas manages to casually insert himself in several conversations or steal her away for a dance. His attentiveness, could lead to gossip, but he didn't seem to care. He socialized with her family, well, her mother refused to have anything to do with him and she guessed it was because her mother was starting to suspect that Thomas had affection for her.

She couldn't help but mull his words repeatedly in her head. One of these nights...I'm going to enter your room and make love to you. I am intending to make some romantic advances towards you. I want you to break your engagement. You see my demons and I see yours. No one else saw the turmoil inside her…until him. And that was part of her problem. He seemed to understand her better than anyone else

"Mr. Kovach," all eyes go to Thomas as they prepare to get into their cars. "Kate's still not feeling well." She turns and stares at him, she can't believe he has the audacity. "She thought some fresh air would make her feel better and I offered to walk her home. With your permission of course." She suspected that he only asked permission to make it look proper; even though she was certain in his mind he needed no one's permission. He'd do whatever he wanted, no matter what anyone thinks.

Her mother looked scandalized, but her father surprised her by simply nodding. "Make sure she's back by midnight."

"No, no, she is not-

Her father slammed the car door, ending whatever protests her mother had on her mind. Rosemary watches them from the back window, a curious expression on her face as the car pulls away.

"What are you doing?" she asks.

"Considering what almost happened between us in the garden, do you really want to be trapped in a car alone with me?" His blunt statement caused her to stare at him in shock, but shake her head. He smirks at her. "I thought not. It's only a few blocks and if it's too far, I'll flag down a cab. Besides, I wanted to talk with you about tonight and it would better if your mother or rosemary weren't present."

"You are too bold." She states.

"I thought you admired honesty." He points out.

"I do, but," she swallows hard. "must you blurt out everything that's on your mind?"

"Kate, you already know what's on my mind when I simply look at you." her heart flies up in her chest. "I don't see any point in not saying it to you."

"I disagree; it's not right of you to say such things to me. You know that I'm getting married shortly and for the life of me, I can't figure out why you'd want to put yourself through such torment to attempt to win me, even though Emmett's already won."

"I'm aware of that and believe me, the last place I want to be is right here next to you." she stops and stares at him. "Why the Hell do you think I took off to Birmingham after kissing you?" she shifted a step back as the emotions in his eyes terrify her. "I thought maybe two weeks away from you would get you out of my system and I could have sworn that I had." her heart tore in her chest. "Then, I saw you in that f**king wedding dress. Do you have any idea what you do to me?"

"I'm sorry." She hadn't intended to torment him in such a manner. It had just happened out of nowhere. He steps towards her and she places a hand on his chest. "Please, don't make advances towards me in the street."

"Right." Thomas grabs her by the arm and looks around. Her heart pounds in her chest as pulls her into a nearby alley.

"No, wait…I don't mean that you should drag me into an even more improper place!" he pins her against the wall and Kate struggles against him. "Stop." he shushes her gently as he releases her hands. She hates this; he is so tender and loving towards her that she can't help but react to his gentle touch on her face. "You should go…as soon as possible. Your business with my father must be finished soon."

"Your father said I could stay until the wedding."

"Why?" she demands.

He's silent for a moment before stating. "He may have a motive of his own, but I have one."

She hesitates to ask. "Which is what exactly?"

"I'm going to make you admit that you love me."

She stares at him in shock. "I'm sorry Mr. Shelby; I won't admit it for I do not love you."

"Then how do you explain this?" He asks. "I know you're attracted to me," she frantically shakes her head. "I can feel it Kate, don't deny it. You're unhappy with your family and with him."

She shakes her head. "That is not-

"If you weren't, you wouldn't have clung to me so readily that night in the rain." She flushes as her every being remembers that moment. "Do you love me?" she shakes her head, in denial, those actions cause him to smile. "I don't believe you. Tonight made it very clear that there is something between us."

"Possibly." She admits quietly. "But, things like this always happen before a wedding. I hate to admit this, but... thanks to you I'm having all kinds of doubts and questioning myself. I don't intend to falsely lead you on, so, I'm going to suggest that you leave here as soon as possible."

"No. I'm not going anywhere without you," his blue eyes pin her against the alley wall. "and when I do leave…I'm taking you back home with me."

"That will never happen, Mr. Shelby."

I'm not going to force you into anything that you don't want."

She repeats calmly. "It'll never happen Thomas."

"It will. You come off as this quiet and proper lady, but that's not what you are. There's a fire and passion in you, which you try to control. I see it and in your heart, you know that I'm a match for you." she bites her lip as she shakes her head in disagreement. "You can't admit it because you're afraid."

She glowers at him. "I'm not afraid of anything!"

"You're afraid of me." he says. "You thought you had your life perfectly planned out, with the perfect man, who had the perfect family. Then you met me and now you're afraid of the possibility that maybe you want more that what you've settled for. You can have more with me Kate."

"Not…that I'm taking you up on your offer, but what is it that you can offer me that Emmett cannot?"

"Love, for starters."

"Emmett does love me. He's sweet, kind and good to me."

"That's true, but he doesn't love you. He admires you, there's a difference. I can see that, you're a beautiful woman." She flushes. "See? You're not used to a man telling you that you're beautiful. He should have said that to you many times before I did. But you are beautiful Kate," he steps towards her again. "so beautiful. You're kind, gentle, loyal and sweet. F**king hell, you're so sweet at times that there are times I think you can't possibly be human."

"Thomas." she places a hand on his chest, as if she could stop him from getting closer to her and stop those thoughts from traveling from his heart to his mouth.

"I know, I'm nowhere near as good a person as you want in your life, but I do know that I need you in my life. I want to see your face every morning when we first wake up. I want to see you grow with my child, inside you." her weak heart stirs in her chest at the quiet passion in his voice. "I love everything about you. The way your eyes spark with fury when you're angry with me. The way…you're able to get me to talk to you about my feelings. I never share anything with anyone, but you...always manage to get me to talk without trying."

"Oh my, Thomas," she inhales as she wipes an eye, vexed that he's moved her so deeply. "I am…honestly almost sorry that I didn't meet you first. You truly made a very compelling argument."

"Not an argument. Proposal. Will you consider it?" he inquires, his blue eyes studying her face intently. "I know, I'm entering this race late, but, I'm not going to give up on pursing you. We can't keep ignoring what's going on between us, it won't make it go away."

She's quiet for a long moment. She is engaged, she loves Emmet and her wedding day is getting closer and closer. Still, there's this pull towards Thomas. She bites her lip. "What are you proposing then?" she asks. "That…we have an affair?"

"No." He states calmly. "I guess you could call it…courting."

She smirks. "Choke on that word, Mr. Shelby?"

"It's been a while, but…you're that kind of lady and I respect you too much."

"Yet, tonight you informed that you'd enter my room one night, claim my virtue and make love to me!"

He chuckles. "I told you before, you challenge me and I'll challenge you back."

"That you did." She exhaled deeply. "I know that I'm going to regret this but…I'll consider your offer." he smiles at her. "Now, don't go getting excited. My reasoning is, maybe this is the best way for you to understand that there'll never be anything between us. You'll have a good chance to try and win me, but I won't change my mind and marry you."

"You already agreed to consider my offer of marriage, with very little protest." He takes her hand and leads her out of the alley. "I'd consider that to be a very good sign."

"I don't want for you to be left with any reason to reproach yourself. This way, you'll know that you tried your best and I can be confident that Emmett's love is enough for me. It's rather beneficial for both of us."

"Have it your way, but, you'll see he's not enough for you."

"So you say." She clears her throat as they walk down the street. "You're fairly confident that you'll be able to win my hand."

"Because I know you and I know there is no better man to love you than me."

Kate swallows as her cheeks heat at his words. "Let's talk. I know nothing about your parents."

"I intend for it to remain that way."

She nods. "Alright. Tell me about yourself, when you were young." He shoots her a look. "This is your opportunity to tell me more about yourself, I suggest you take it."

"Why don't you ask me a question and then I ask you one?" he states. "I intend to get to know you better as well."

She nods. "Alright, I'll go first. What's your full name?"

He smiles as he answers her question. They made it home just five minutes before midnight. And loathe to admit it…no matter how inappropriate he behaved towards her, she always enjoyed his company.

Author's note: A glitch in Fanfiction, isn't allowing me to read anyone's newest reviews, so, I can't respond. It should fix itself in a few days.