him.
They closed the distance between them and Dirk?s arms came around her in an embrace she couldn?t have escaped had she wanted to. He held her so tightly it nearly hurt, but she didn?t care. Instead, she squeezed him in return, unbelieving that he was really here, that he was really holding her.
She sighed against his chest and all of her worry, anxiety, fear and sadness fell away. She never imagined that someone simply cradling her in their arms could relieve so much of her pain.
Dirk leaned back and Jane was reluctant to ease up on her grip on him, but she did, only slightly.
?It worked! You?re really here!? he cried as he brushed her hair out of her face.
?How?? she questioned, but before she could say more, he silenced her with a kiss.
His lips were warm and she happily welcomed his intimate greeting. There was a passion in their kiss so intense that she felt as if the strength of it could elevate them right off of their feet. Oh, how she had missed him. The feel of his embrace, the scent of him, the way he made her feel complete and brought her a joy she didn?t know existed. And the taste of his lips
She knew she?d never forget it and had only moments ago thought that she?d never experience it again. She savored him, drinking him in like a desert nomad who?d found water after being without for days. This man was hers and more than that, he was part of her. He was her other half, created for no one but her.
She could?ve kissed him for an eternity. She knew that they needed to talk, but right there, in that moment, nothing else mattered. Dirk began to pull away and she moved toward him, not letting him break the contact. He smiled against her lips, then kissed her vigorously for another moment. Jane squeezed him and held him tightly, not wanting to ever let him go, but he began to pull away again and she whined as he did so.
He pulled her head to his chest and squeezed her yet again, then placed a kiss on her hair and whispered, ?I?ve been losing my mind without you, Jane.?
?Me too,? she answered as new tears fell from her eyes, this time, not out of sadness or desperation.
?Jane, you must tell me where they?ve taken you,? he spoke softly.
This finally made her pull back to look at him. Questions filled her mind and she asked the first thing that came to her, ?Are you really here? Am I really here??
Dirk sighed and brushed his fingertips over her cheek. ?Mein Liebling, only part of this is real.?
?But how? Am I dreaming?? she questioned as her confusion grew.
?Yes, both of us are dreaming,? he answered. ?I didn?t ask enough questions to understand how this works, all I know is that our minds have connected. I think we?re in some sort of dream world that our minds have created.?
Jane deflated and fell against his chest again. Her eyes stung with unshed tears at the realization that he wasn?t really here with her and that when the dream was over, he?d be gone. ?I never want to wake up,? she sniffled against his shirt.
He petted her hair and said, ?Be strong, mein Liebling. Know that I will find you. I will not stop looking until I do. We will be together again and I will punish those who kept us apart.?
Jane couldn?t fathom waking up to find that they were still apart, but she did find some comfort in his words. She knew that they were true. He would never stop looking.
He placed his fingertips under her chin and tilted her head so that she was looking up at him. ?Now tell me, where have they taken you??
?I don?t know. I woke up in a basement. I was unconscious for most of the time on the road and the short time that I was awake, I was in the trunk.?
Dirk sighed, but continued on, ?Do you know who the men are who took you??
She shook her head. ?No, but I think I did and I think that they are the ones who erased my memory. I?m just not sure why.?
?What do they want with you? If they want money, tell them to name the amount.? A tear slipped from Jane?s cheek at the sight of Dirk?s desperation. He wasn?t handling this any better than she.
?I don?t think that is the reason, Dirk.?