“Then at least want to stay with me. If you could, would you want to be with me?” She belonged with him. He knew it with every breath he took. Knew it with every fiber of his being. How could she not know? Not feel it? It was so clear to him.
142
Christine Feehan
Rachael pulled her hand away from the cat and dragged the cover to her chin. A small protection, but it made her feel in control. Rio stood up in his lazy, languorous way, the one that always reminded her of a feline. Without hesitation he lay down beside her, fitting his body around hers, careful to keep from touching her leg.
The blanket was between them, but Rachael felt his body right through the thin weave. When she took a breath, she took him into her lungs. “You don’t know me any more than I know you. We can’t just pretend we don’t have pasts, Rio, as much as we’d like. I’m not the woman you seem to remember in your dreams, and you can’t be the man I remember. Things like that aren’t real.”
His fingers tangled in her hair. “How do you know they aren’t real? How do you know we weren’t together in a past life? Your hair felt just like this, but it was long, to your waist. When you braided it, the braid was nearly as thick as my forearm. I know the sound of your laughter, Rachael, but more importantly, I know what makes you laugh. I know what makes you sad. I know that you have an aversion to monkeys. How would I know that?” He wrapped her curls around his fingers and buried his face against the silken mass.
“I must have said something, maybe when I had such a high fever. I was probably rambling like crazy.”
“Just the opposite. You were so closemouthed most of the time, it scared me. Sometimes you were barely breathing.”
She laughed softly. “I was afraid you were giving me truth serum.”
“So I could conduct my interrogation.” He lifted his head, his green eyes blazing at her. “Are you afraid of me, Rachael? Are you afraid I’ll betray you for the money?”
She studied his face feature by feature and found she was shaking her head before she could stop herself. “No, I’m not afraid of that.”
“Then talk to me. Tell me who you are.”
She lifted her hand to his face, traced the tiny lines
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around his mouth. “You tell me who you are, Rio. Let me know you before you ask questions of me. I see suffering in your face. You’ve seen betrayal, you know what it is. And you came here for a reason. Tell me what it is. Why do you have to live in this place?”
“I choose to live here, Rachael, I don’t have to live here. There is a difference.”
“You’ve been here for some time. Do Kim and Tama live far away from other people? Does Drake?”
“No, Kim and Tama live in the village. Most of the time if their people move, the entire village moves. They still have longhouses when they’re traveling. Drake lives near a village for our people.”
“Who are your people, Rio? Why don’t you want to be close to them?”
“I’ve always been happier on my own. I don’t mind a solitary life.”
Rachael smiled and snuggled deeper into her pillow. “You aren’t willing to tell me anything at all about yourself. Even in friendship there has to be give-and-take, trust between two people. We don’t have that between us.”
“Then what do we have?” Rio knew she was right, but he didn’t want to hear her say it. He wanted things to be different, but if he told her the things she wanted to know there was no chance for them.
“I’m so tired, Rio,” Rachael said softly. “Can we do this tomorrow? I can’t seem to stay awake no matter how hard I try. I think you keep putting something into that drink you’re always telling me is so healthy.”
She wanted to drop it. He recognized the signs. He was adept at avoiding topics he didn’t want to discuss. And what was the point?