Ryk was beginning to lose that glow of hope, that idea that all his secret dreams were coming true. She was afarid of him still, she did not trust in him, why should she. He was a letch, a rake, and a cad. He hid his distress poorly, showing it plain on his face. He loved her with all that he was, but she never knew, he never told her, and he had a reputation that he had nurtured into what he'd wanted it to be. Being known as a womanizer made it easier for people to overlook his greater traits, like a sharp mind and quick wits. The more he was disliked and envied for his sexual conquests, the less likely they were to notice him robbing them blind.
"Yes, he knew," Ryk dropped his gaze in shame. "Nammick was a very clever man. He's the only person to ever puzzle it out so easily. He still called me friend, always tried to get me to leave this life. Perhaps if he were alive I'd no longer be Rufus. Now only you and Einin Beirne know my secret, and though you know I'm Rufus, and the city knows of Rufus and the Soot Wolves, I doubt many know what that means. I am the king of the city in all but name. I guard it's streets, I protect its people. If you marry me, you marry Ryk, and you marry Rufus. One is nothing without the other." He lifted his eyes to hers, finding his confidence once again, "If you marry me, I will tell you all my secrets, you will know me, the real me, the man that was before I created Ryk and stole the mantle of Rufus. I love you, and only you. I have never spoken those words to any person in my life. I have never loved, not even my mother, not until you. You make me weak, and strong. I've always protected you, though in secret, because I love you. Don't make my words, my secrets, meaningless. You are my heart. Not because you owe me, but because you love me too. I know you do. You can't hide it from me. I see it in the way you move, in the way you guard yourself. You think I'll hurt you. I won't. I'm begging you. I never beg, I take what I want, without asking. But this I cannot steal or leverage from you. It must be freely given. Your heart in exchange for mine. Please Lanna." His pleading words were etched into the movements of his body, the expression on his face. His heart was in her hands, and there was no way he could control the outcome.
