‘That wasn’t an order,’ I told her, and held out one hand. ‘Please.’
She stared at me for long, long moment—then, in a blink, swung her legs over the window sill and slid down, dashing towards me. She only came to a stop a few yards away from me.
Still too far. Much too far.
I gazed at her, unable to take my eyes away. Every second counted.
This isn’t time wasted, I realized. This is the best way to spend time there ever was.
I took a step forward.
And she abruptly jerked back.
‘Stop!’ Quickly, she raised a hands to block my path. ‘I’ve got to tell you something! The doctor was here again. He said… he said that Ella…’
‘I know,’ I cut her off. As if, after paying his bills, I’d let that quack off without squeezing every little bit of information out of him.
‘Then you know you can’t come any closer. If you do—’
As if I care!
I took a determined step forward.
‘No!’ She leapt back, her eyes wide with fear. Fear for me. ‘Aren’t you listening? I might be infected, too! Nobody knows how the sickness is transmitted! It could be through contact, and you’d be—’
With you. Wherever you go.
I could have said it aloud, I suppose. Instead, I chose a much more expedient method. Grabbing her face tightly in my hands, I pulled her towards me and claimed her lips with mine.
You are mine! My lips spoke without speaking. You are mine and I am yours!
She stiffened for just a moment—then softened. Her arms came up around me, pulling me tightly against her with a force I hadn’t thought her capable of. In return, my arms enfolded her, determined never to let go.
‘You crazy, crazy man!’ I felt her whisper against my lips. ‘How could you do something so stupid?’
I cocked my head, challenging her. ‘I prefer the word “determined”, Miss Linton.’
‘Sure you do—mmm!’
I kissed her once again. Kissed her with all the ferocity and determination I could muster. So what if I died? I could have died in the gold rush. I could have died tracking through the dessert. I could have died on the seas a thousand times. And still, I had done it! Profit vs Risk. That’s all there was to it. Profit vs risk. If the former outweighed the latter, you stride ahead and destroy an
ything in your path!
I gazed into her eyes for a long, long moment.
And in this case, the profit most definitely outweighs the risk.
Cholera be damned!
I released her after how long I neither knew nor cared. She took a slightly wobbly step backwards, her eyes still closed in bliss, and when she finally opened them, they were the colour of warm chocolate.
‘Why?’ she whispered.
I could read the rest of the question in those chocolate eyes of hers.
Why risk this? Why kiss me?
I cocked my head. ‘I believe the vows we intend to speak say “till death do us part”, do they not? You ought to know by now, Miss Linton—I don’t speak words I do not mean.’