Page 50 of Omega Island
He shook his head at me and began to undo his kimono. Beneath it, he was naked. He laid the garment on the lounger next to me, then strode casually away from me, his slim buttocks tightening with each step. He raised his arms over his head, bent at the waist and dived seamlessly into the clear pool.
I watched him swim his laps back and forth. He was like a dark fish gliding gracefully through the water as if it were his second home. My heart overflowed, nearly choking me. I still had moments where I couldn’t quite believe he was mine.
When he pulled himself out of the water, liquid streaming from his shoulders and head, I couldn’t look away.
He walked to the towel rack and grabbed a towel, slowly drying himself off. Then he sat on the lounger beside me, pushing his kimono to the edge, and pretending not to notice my stares.
Now I needed to cool off. I stood. “I’m going to take another dip. When I’m done, do you want to take a walk and watch the sunset with me?”
“Late dinner?” he asked.
“Yeah. I’m fine with that.”
He nodded.
I plunged into the cool water and swam hard hoping to wear off the excess energy that threatened to boil over inside me.
Just as I got out of the pool, thunder crackled in the distance.
We lay back under the umbrellas as it started to pour.
The hot, late afternoon rain was here and gone in about fifteen minutes. Afterward, everything dripping, we donned our kimonos and set off toward the golf course to a little spot that gave a great view of the sea.
* * *
Senta stood facing the ocean,the trees behind him still dripping, his physique a dark silhouette against the gray-blue sky. He rippled with prestige and strength, a man who looked deeply at everything around him with a grace I could only hope to one day possess.
“Senta, I think—I know—ah.” The words inside me were huge and came with a force that choked me.
He turned, smiling at my tangled attempt at speech. “You think you know what?”
“That I—” I stepped forward, lifting my hand. “That I love you.” It wasn’t hard to say, it was just that the words seemed so little in comparison to what I felt.
Wind flapped on the leaves. The ocean before us stretched to the horizon and beyond, making my heart leap. He made my heart leap.
He let out a laugh and reached for me, his arms going around me. “Raimi, I’ve loved you from the day we met.”
I nuzzled the side of his face. “Not that soon, I think.”
“No. I knew then. It wasn’t my heat. It was you. Just you. I loveyou.”
We kissed under radiant trees, everything reflecting and scintillating from the afternoon rain, our arms holding each other tight. His hand came up to brush my hair back from my face. He ran his fingers over my cheeks, down to my nape, and held me gently in the curve of his palm.
When we broke apart, I looked into his depthless gaze, wanting him more than ever. “Now what do we do?”
He laughed again, deep and low. “Marry me?”
I stepped back, hands gripping his forearms. “What? Really?”
“I can’t give you children. But I can give you everything else.”
Children. I hadn’t really thought about that. I’d been so caught up in the whirlwind that was him. “Oh, Senta. I’m okay with that. Really. I’m okay.”
He smiled and started to turn away. I held him tighter, forcing him to keep facing me.
“So you really want to marry me?” I asked
“Yes. Really.” His tone was rougher now.
