“Rachael, love of my life, how could you think I, of all people, would presume to judge another? All one can do in this life is to try to do their best in any given circumstances.”
She lifted her head and stared into his face, his eyes. “I don’t deserve you, Rio,”
He fought back the strange lump in his throat. His people wouldn’t see him or speak with him, yet she thought she didn’t deserve him. His hand went to the nape of her neck, held her still for his kiss. He put every bit of tenderness he could find in himself in that kiss, tasting her tears, her sorrow, tasting love.
“I think you’re an amazing woman,” he murmured when he lifted his head.
She managed to smile at him. “It’s a darned good thing because it might be difficult to get rid of me.” Rachael slowly uncurled her body, She had cried so much her eyes burned and her throat ached. She was determined to pull
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over the railing. “You know those little leech things you love so much? They just sink their teeth in and hold on, well that’s me with you.”
He made a face at her, reluctantly allowing his arms to drop away as she stretched and stood up to limp across the room to open the door.
“Isn’t it strange how the house can feel so small at times?”
He smiled at her, knowing she was trying to regain some semblance of control. “Why do you think I often leave the door open?” Her body was supple and strong with generous feminine curves, a body a man could lose himself in. He liked watching her move around his home. She touched a candle, her fingers gliding gracefully over it. She picked up his clothes and tossed them in the small box he never used for dirty clothes. “I’m messy.”
A ghost of a smile curved her mouth. “You think that’s news to me?”
“I was hoping you hadn’t noticed.” Her smile widened. “It’s impossible not to notice. You like soaking dishes in the sink. It drives me crazy. What’s the point of soaking them? Why don’t you just do them? You’ve already gone to the trouble of scraping them and rinsing, you might as well get it over with.”
“There’s a perfectly logical explanation,” he said. “To wash the dishes in hot water, I have to actually use the gas or the wood. It’s more economical to wait and wash a bunch together. Hauling gas in is a pain. I use it sparingly.” She made a face at him. “I suppose I’ll have to concede the point.”
He stood up, filling the room immediately with his wide shoulders and powerful presence. “Do you want to move, Rachael?” He had spent years building his house and the underground storage hidden beneath it. The water system had been difficult to hide. He had everything he wanted in
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things necessary in modern living, he would have to build a house closer to the protection of the village where they could have a generator. So far from protection, the noise and smell of a generator was too dangerous, a complete giveaway to Tomas and anyone else chasing him.
“Move?” Rachael gripped the edge of the door and turned back to look at him with her enormous eyes. “Why would you want to leave this beautiful house? The carvings are extraordinary. I love this house. I don’t think there’s any reason to move.”
“We don’t have a decent cooler most of the tune. Hauling ice is nearly impossible, unless I get it from the village, and I rarely shop there.”
“Your system works quite well. I don’t think we’ll
starve.”
“You might not feel that way when the kids start
coming.”
Rachael stepped backwards out the door, laughing at him. “Kids? They’re going to start coming our way, are
they?”
He stalked her, following her onto the verandah and pinning her against the rail. “I think there’s bound to be lots of kids,” he murmured. His hands came up to cup the soft weight of her breasts. He rubbed his shadowed jaw over her sensitive skin, gently over her peaking nipples. “Marry me, Rachael. We can’t use the ritual ceremony of our people, but Kim’s father can marry us.”