streams of water slipping through the holes in the
roof, while the thunder crashed and the lightning
crackled, we lay wrapped in each other's arms without
speaking, our hands caressing, our lips meeting from
time to time, and it was sweeter than anything I'd
known before.
He could have claimed me then and there, and I
wouldn't have resisted, but he held back, making my
love for him grow even more.
The rain lasted for an hour. Then he put me on
his horse, and slowly we rode toward that huge house
whose chimneys and towers we could see over the
treetops. On the steps before the side door, he drew
me into his arms again. "Isn't it odd, Heavenly, how
you came into my life when I didn't need or want you,
and now I can't imagine life without you."
"Then don't. I love you, Troy. Don't try to put
me out of your life just because you think I'm too
young. I'm not too young. Nobody my age in the hills
is considered young."
"Those hills of yours are awe-inspiring, but I
can't marry, not you, not anyone."
What he said made my heart hurt.
"Then you don't love me?"
"I didn't say that."
"You don't have to marry me if you don't want
to. Just love me long enough to make me feel good
about myself." Quickly I rose on my toes to press my
lips on his, as my fingers curled into his damp hair. His arms tightened about me while I thought of
all the women who must have filled his arms before.