Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
“And here you are, all mine,” I say. “Sweetheart, your worth is beyond measure.”
I pull her to my chest and kiss the top of her head fiercely.
“Now it’s time to put this behind us.” I stand and hold her to my chest, walking toward the bathroom. When I reach the tiled floor, I gently slide her down my body and begin to strip off her clothing. She allows me, lifting her arms so I can take them off. When she’s stripped, I take my clothes off as well. I lift the pile of dirty, ruined clothing, and shove them in the trash bin.
Holding her naked body to mine, I turn the shower on. When steam billows around us, I take her by the hand and guide her into the hot water before I join her.
It feels good, the hot liquid scalding our skin like this. I turn her to face me. She lifts her chin and lets the hot water cascade over her head and face. I lift the bottle of shampoo, tip some into my hands, and lather her hair. She holds onto my shoulders as I clean her hair, then soap her body, cleaning every drop of blood, sweat, and tears from her. And when I’m done, she takes the soap from my hands. We don’t speak. There’s no need.
First, she washes my hair, standing on the very tips of her toes to reach me. I bow so she can do the job. Then she washes my shoulders, her hands massaging the taut muscles until I relax under her touch. Next my chest, my back, and my legs, until she’s washed me clean as well. I hold her to me when we’re done, under the steam and heat.
She whispers to me. “I want your babies, Tomas.”
I blink in surprise. I can’t believe this is where her mind goes after a night like tonight. And what changed her mind? I hold her tighter. I know she has more to say. After a moment, she does.
“The only way to fully put this era behind us and begin again is to start a family of our own,” she says. “To truly unite us. And the idea of bringing new life into this world pleases me now.”
It amazes me how quickly circumstances can change. Months ago, I didn’t even know who Caroline was, and now I’m here with her, we’ve washed away the memory of the two men I killed tonight for her, and now we’re planning our future.
She lays her head on my chest, and wraps her arms around me, as the hot water continues to pound down. “And you’ve wanted that from the start, haven’t you?”
I hold her to me. “I want to see my children with your eyes, your laugh, your radiance and beauty,” I tell her.
She doesn’t protest. Maybe now she actually believes me. If she doesn’t, I’ll whisper it in her ear when she wakes and sing it to her as she goes to sleep at night. I’ll tell her every single day until she knows to her core how much she means to me. Though she’s beautiful to me, her beauty transcends the physical. Her heart and soul are precious. I don’t deserve a woman like her, but I’ll be the best husband I can possibly be.
I don’t speak this to her. Not tonight. But I will.
We have a lifetime together for me to prove to her how much I love her.
I reach behind her and shut off the shower. Still, she clings to me. I hold her to me with one arm and reach for a towel with the other. In silence, I towel her off, then wrap her up, sling a towel over my waist, and carry her to bed.
I toss the towels to the floor. We don’t dress but climb under the covers exhausted. I lie on my back, pull her up to my chest, then drape the blanket around her. She’ll sleep fitfully tonight, but every time she wakes, I want her to feel me around her.
Protecting her.
Shielding her.
Loving her.
Chapter 22
Caroline
“May I serve you tonight?” I ask. It’s one week since the ambush on our compound, and Tomas has allowed me to return to the kitchen. At first, he wouldn’t let me out of his sight, and I had to follow him literally everywhere. From meetings, to trips he made, meals and the like, I was his shadow through it all.
Ok. I still am.
But the past day or so he’s lightened up a bit. For Tomas, that means he smiles a bit more. The crease in his forehead has softened, and he speaks in gentler tones.
Sometimes.
Today, he seems preoccupied again, and he doesn’t look up when I speak to him.
“Tomas?”
He looks to me and blinks as if just seeing me. “Yes?”
“May I serve you today?” I’ve made one of his favorite meals, a baked fish with vegetables and bread I’ve baked with my own two hands.