it.
She had changed.
He closed his eyes against the longing to feel her, to claim her, to make her his own. He reminded himself that he could not pursue it. He had discovered in only a matter of moments that their relationship held a difference. Waste Ho kept herself distant from him as though she… He was unprepared to acknowledge it, but she held herself aloof as though she no longer desired him as husband.
His insides filled with raw emotion at his thoughts and for just a short moment, he let his features mirror the inner struggle of his torment.
He had not expected this change in her. He had thought his pursuit of her would end once he had found her, that she would easily leave with him to return to the Western plains. Never had he dreamed that her feelings for him might have dimmed. Never had he thought that she would have found something else—perhaps someone else—more precious than their own love.
So much was different between them now. And though he tried to fault the English culture for the change in her, he could not. There was something else here, something more compelling, more commanding than just the difference in culture; and he did not know what it was.
True, she had found family here, family and a need to stay—something he had not considered and something he could not change.
But there was more to it. He sensed it, trusting his instincts on such things as readily as he did his sense of sight, smell, or taste.
Either she had changed or something was causing her to act in a way he did not understand, in a way that did not fit her character. For of one thing he was certain, she did not intend to keep her vow.
It was there in her demeanor, unspoken within her words.
Why?
Did she no longer desire him? Or was something else distracting her?
He brushed a delicate tendril of hair from her face, groaning at the effect she had on him. Desire leaped to life within him, and as he looked down on her, he could only hope that someone would come soon to help him put her to bed; for she needed her clothes removed and he doubted he would have the willpower to do it without… Not now. He wanted her too much.
“Waste Ho,” he whispered just before he brushed his lips over hers. “Waste Ho Win, Pretty Voice Woman, Estrela. I have come for you and what do I find? A beautiful woman who is deeply entrenched in a life without me. And I wonder, when I came to you in thought these past years, did your heart beat faster at my memory? I did not think that I would have to win you again, but I see that I am wrong. You do not intend to keep your vow to me. Why? Has your love faded so much while mine has grown stronger? I am like a man demented. I want you and only you. No one else will do for me. And so I will try to understand. I ask that you do not test my patience for long, though. I am but a man with manly needs.” This said, he gave her a lingering kiss, then slipped silently away to summon a servant.
Chapter Four
Strong arms held her, hugging her, endowing her with sweet, precious warmth. It reminded her of…
She dozed, she couldn’t quite recall it. It reminded her of…?
“We’ll marry…” he’d said, his voice quiet, yet certain, filled with authority. “You will give me many sons. You will call me husband, and I shall love you, extend to you all my protection and care for you all of my life. I do not believe there is anything you could do that would make me love you less.”
A picture flashed in her mind, and her body, already drowsy with exhaustion, let the past remind her, let her recall, if only for a moment in sleep, the sweet passion of first love…
The sun was warm upon her skin that day, the prairie alive with the new growth of spring flowers and wild, green grasses. Not one person, not one animal could remain outside and be unaffected by the renewal of spring, by the life all about them. Perhaps it was her imagination, but the birds appeared to sing a little sweeter that day, the air
She had changed.
He closed his eyes against the longing to feel her, to claim her, to make her his own. He reminded himself that he could not pursue it. He had discovered in only a matter of moments that their relationship held a difference. Waste Ho kept herself distant from him as though she… He was unprepared to acknowledge it, but she held herself aloof as though she no longer desired him as husband.
His insides filled with raw emotion at his thoughts and for just a short moment, he let his features mirror the inner struggle of his torment.
He had not expected this change in her. He had thought his pursuit of her would end once he had found her, that she would easily leave with him to return to the Western plains. Never had he dreamed that her feelings for him might have dimmed. Never had he thought that she would have found something else—perhaps someone else—more precious than their own love.
So much was different between them now. And though he tried to fault the English culture for the change in her, he could not. There was something else here, something more compelling, more commanding than just the difference in culture; and he did not know what it was.
True, she had found family here, family and a need to stay—something he had not considered and something he could not change.
But there was more to it. He sensed it, trusting his instincts on such things as readily as he did his sense of sight, smell, or taste.
Either she had changed or something was causing her to act in a way he did not understand, in a way that did not fit her character. For of one thing he was certain, she did not intend to keep her vow.
It was there in her demeanor, unspoken within her words.
Why?
Did she no longer desire him? Or was something else distracting her?
He brushed a delicate tendril of hair from her face, groaning at the effect she had on him. Desire leaped to life within him, and as he looked down on her, he could only hope that someone would come soon to help him put her to bed; for she needed her clothes removed and he doubted he would have the willpower to do it without… Not now. He wanted her too much.
“Waste Ho,” he whispered just before he brushed his lips over hers. “Waste Ho Win, Pretty Voice Woman, Estrela. I have come for you and what do I find? A beautiful woman who is deeply entrenched in a life without me. And I wonder, when I came to you in thought these past years, did your heart beat faster at my memory? I did not think that I would have to win you again, but I see that I am wrong. You do not intend to keep your vow to me. Why? Has your love faded so much while mine has grown stronger? I am like a man demented. I want you and only you. No one else will do for me. And so I will try to understand. I ask that you do not test my patience for long, though. I am but a man with manly needs.” This said, he gave her a lingering kiss, then slipped silently away to summon a servant.
Chapter Four
Strong arms held her, hugging her, endowing her with sweet, precious warmth. It reminded her of…
She dozed, she couldn’t quite recall it. It reminded her of…?
“We’ll marry…” he’d said, his voice quiet, yet certain, filled with authority. “You will give me many sons. You will call me husband, and I shall love you, extend to you all my protection and care for you all of my life. I do not believe there is anything you could do that would make me love you less.”
A picture flashed in her mind, and her body, already drowsy with exhaustion, let the past remind her, let her recall, if only for a moment in sleep, the sweet passion of first love…
The sun was warm upon her skin that day, the prairie alive with the new growth of spring flowers and wild, green grasses. Not one person, not one animal could remain outside and be unaffected by the renewal of spring, by the life all about them. Perhaps it was her imagination, but the birds appeared to sing a little sweeter that day, the air
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