It is simple. I can’t believe that I haven’t tried this before. All I need to do to get Remiel to come to me again is to tell him that I love him and that I want to be with him. I have called him a thousand times in the last three months, and while I may have told him I accept my destiny and his part in it, I haven’t ever told him what he really wants to hear. CK will go ballistic, but that is a problem for another time. I have to do this to see if it works.
I take in a deep breath and say, “Remiel, please, I need you to come to me. I need you and I...I love you.”
I wait.
It takes all of five seconds for him to appear on the other side of the clearing and my heart stops. I knew he was ignoring me, and he could hear me every time I called him, the damned arsehole.
He peers at me cautiously but stays right where he is.
I scramble to my feet and then force myself to slow down. I don’t want to scare him off, right when I have him here.
“Hi,” I say quietly with a shy smile.
“Aefre,” he says by way of a greeting.
“Where have you been?” I ask. “I’ve been calling for you.”
“I know,” he says briskly. “I’ve been busy.”
I struggle to keep the smile on my face as I know exactly what he has been doing to keep him so busy. “Did you hear what I said before?”
“Yes,” he says.
Oh, the gods! This man is as infuriating as CK. They are more alike than either one of them would care to admit.
“And?” I ask, trying to keep the edge of frustration out of my voice.
“I’m here aren’t I?” he says and takes a small step forward.
His blue eyes pin mine and he gives me a searching look, presumably to see if he can see any sign of deception. I search his eyes back to see if I can see what he is thinking, but of course I get nothing.
“Why do you only tell me this now?” he asks suspiciously.
“I have been calling you for three months, Remiel,” I say, also sidling forward. “I wanted to tell you this a while ago.”
“So why now?” he presses.
“I didn’t want to blurt my feelings out to an empty clearing!” I can’t help the snap in my voice, and I force a smile on my face to soften the reprimand. “Why didn’t you come to me?” I ask quietly. “I thought we reached an understanding in the bathroom?” Actually, the bathroom incident was a disaster, but I am hoping that he won’t think so.
He takes three more steps forward and then he is within touching distance. “I am unclear what happened in the bathroom,” he says. “It was confusing.”
“Confusing?” I ask. This conversation isn’t heading in the direction I need it to, and I need a minute to steer it back on course.
“You said you accepted me as your Chosen One, that I am your destiny, but you didn’t say that you love me,” he sulks. Geez, if I had any doubts about it before, I am certain now that he and CK are related.
“I wanted you to stick around so I could get to know you a little better,” I say. I think this is a reasonable argument. “I know what I feel for you, but I need more, Remiel. Do you understand that?”
“More?” he asks with a deep frown.
Oh crap, I am losing him. It is blindingly obvious to me that he has no idea how to handle a relationship with a woman. It makes me wonder if he has ever had one?
“I don’t know anything about you except who you are,” I explain quickly. “I don’t know if you have a last name, or what your favorite color is, or anything. You know me, I just wanted the opportunity to know you.”
“Oh,” he says softly with a look of genuine astonishment. I think in that moment, he gets what I am ass backward trying to say to him. “You want to spend time with me?” he asks, perplexed beyond belief.
“Yes,” I say with a broad smile. “If we are to be together, shouldn’t I know everything about you?” I reach for his hand and he lets me take it.
“I see,” he says formally. “Then I shall have to make the time.”