Page 59 of Tiger's Curse
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
His voice was soft. “That was . . . excellent. I like this Shakespeare.”
“Me too.”
I was thumbing through the poetry book searching for another poem when Ren said, “Kelsey, perhaps I could share a poem of my country . . . with you.”
Surprised, I set my book down. “Sure, I’d love to hear some Indian poetry.”
He opened his eyes and stared up at the trees overhead. Capturing my hand, he twined my fingers through his and rested our hands on his chest. A slight breeze was blowing. It caused the leaves to dance and twist in the sun, weaving shadows and sunlight across his handsome face.
“This is an old poem of India. It’s taken from an epic story that’s been told for as long as I can remember. It’s called theSakuntalaby Kalidasa.”
Thy heart, indeed, I know not:
but mine, oh! cruel, love
warms by day and by night;
and all my faculties are centered on thee.
Thee, O slender maid,
love only warms;
but me he burns;
as the day-star only stifles the fragrance of the night-flower,
but quenches the very orb of the moon.
This heart of mine,
oh thou who art of all things the dearest to it,
will have no object but thee.
“Ren, that was very beautiful.”
His eyes turned to my face. He smiled and reached a hand up to touch my cheek. My pulse quickened, and my face felt hot where he touched it. I became suddenly aware that my fingers were still twined in his hair, and my hand was resting on his chest. I quickly removed them and twisted them in my lap. He sat up slightly, leaning on one hand, which brought his beautiful face very close to mine. His fingers moved down to my chin and, with the lightest touch, he tilted my face so that my eyes met his intense blue ones.
“Kelsey?”
“Yes?” I whispered.
“I would like permission . . . to kiss you.”
Whoa. Red alert!The comfortable feeling I was enjoying with my tiger just a few minutes before had disappeared. I became acutely nervous and prickly. My perspective swung 180 degrees. I was, of course, aware that a man’s heart beat inside the tiger’s body, but, somehow, I’d shifted that knowledge to the back of my mind.
Awareness of the prince burst into my conscious mind. I stared at him, astonished. He was, well, to be blunt, he was out of my league. I’d never even considered the possibility of a relationship with him, other than friendship.
His question forced me to acknowledge that my comfortable pet tiger was actually a virile, robust example of masculinity. My heart started hammering against my ribcage. Several thoughts went through my head all at once, but the dominant thought was that I would very muchliketo be kissed by Ren.
Other thoughts were creeping around at the edge of my consciousness too, trying to wiggle into the forefront. Thoughts like—it’s too soon— we barely know each other—and maybe he’s just lonely—spun through my mind. But, I clipped the threads of those thoughts and let them blow away. Stomping down on caution, I decided that I did want him to kiss me.
