Page 29 of Tiger's Dream
As I wiped the tears from her face, she said, “He didn’t know.”
I paused. “Who didn’t know?”
“My brother. I never told him what happened…to the girl.”
A thousand questions rose in my mind. I had assumed that this man who hurt her had done it on her recent trip, which would explain the bruise, but if her brother had been near, then it must have occurred in her past. I pondered the images I’d seen, but couldn’t make sense of them.
“Kadam was right,” she said. “I could not save her from the monster.”
“What you did was dangerous, Ana. You could have crossed paths with your former self in the past.”
“I thought I could change it,” Anamika whispered.
Instinctively knowing that she didn’t want to be alone and also that she wasn’t ready to talk about it, I tucked the blankets around her and picked up her hand.
“I’m going to massage your hand. If, at any point, it makes you feel uncomfortable, let me know and I will stop.”
Anamika didn’t say anything but didn’t pull her hand from my grasp either. I began with her knuckles and moved to her palm.
“You did this…this rubbing of the fingers for Kelsey?” she asked.
“I did.”
“It feels…nice.”
“Good.”
“I am embarrassed for my behavior when you caught me in the garden. I ask for your forgiveness.”
I looked up and was caught for a moment in her wide green eyes. “There is nothing to forgive, Goddess.”
“Knowing this about my past…I do not wish for you to see me as a weakling. I have dealt with men often since that time and have done so successfully, but when I am near you, I find it difficult to—”
“To?”
“To remain at a distance. My emotions lie closer to the surface when I am near you. Perhaps this is because of our connection.”
“Perhaps.”
I slid my fingers up to her wrist and found her skin so incredibly soft that I had to give myself a mental shake to refocus.
“I’m sorry for shutting myself off from you, especially when you needed me,” I said.
“I have no need of a man. A tiger, perhaps, but not a man. At least not like your Kelsey does.”
Frowning, I asked, “Then why were you interested in Ren?”
“Dhiren did not press me as other men do.”
“What do you mean?”
“He did not expect me to…fawn over him.”
“Fawn over?”
Anamika sighed in frustration. “Yes, fawn over. Like when Kelsey held your hand or touched you or”—she swallowed visibly and licked her lips—“kissed you.”
“You are speaking of a physical relationship.”
