Page 40 of Tiger's Quest
It was strange. Now that I’d admitted aloud that I wanted to be with him, I didn’t feel shy or hesitant at all. I felt . . . liberated. Joyful. I planted dozens of kisses across his cheeks, his forehead, his nose, and finally his chiseled lips. He sat immobile while I traced his face with my fingertips. We looked at each other for a long moment, his beautiful cobalt blue eyes locked with my brown ones. Ren smiled, and my heart leapt, knowing he, in all his perfection, belonged to me.
I slid my hands from his shoulders up into his hair, brushed it away from his brow, and said softly, “Iloveyou, Ren. I always have.”
His smile widened. He snuggled me tighter in his arms and whispered my name. “I loveyou, mykamana. If I had known that you were the prize I’d get after being captive for centuries, I would’ve endured it thankfully.”
“What doeskamanamean?”
“It means ‘the beautiful wish I desire above all others.’”
“Hmm.” I pressed my lips against his neck and inhaled the warm sandalwood scent of him. “Ren?”
“Yes?” He twisted his fingers through my hair.
“I’m sorry I was such an idiot. It’s all my fault. I wasted so much time. Can you forgive me?”
His fingers paused in my hair. “There’s nothing to forgive. I pushed you too fast. I didn’t court you. I didn’t say the right things.”
“No. Believe me. You said all the right things. I just think I wasn’t prepared to hear them or to believe them.”
“I should have known not to rush you. I wasn’t patient enough, and a tiger without patience doesn’t get his dinner.”
I laughed.
“Did you know that I started to have feelings for you before you even knew I was a man? Do you remember when I ran around frantically during a performance at the circus?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you were gone. Matt had been talking with his father and had said that one of the new girls had left. I thought they’d meant you. I had to know if you were still there. You didn’t come by my cage that day, and I became distraught, despondent. I couldn’t settle down until I saw you in the audience.”
“Well, I’m here now, and I won’t leave you, Tiger.”
He growled, squeezed me, and teased, “No, youwon’t. I won’t ever let you out of my sight again. Now, about all those poems you gave me . . . I think some of those deserve to be studied in great depth.”
“I definitely agree.”
He kissed me again. It was lingering and sweet. His hands cupped my face, and I think my heart actually flipped over in my chest. He pulled back, kissed the sides of my mouth, and sighed deeply. We snuggled together until his time was up.
The next night I cooked a special dinner for Ren. When my mom’s famous stuffed shells were ready, Ren scooped a giant portion onto his plate, speared a shell, and chewed happily.
“This is one of the best things I have ever eaten. In fact, it’s only second to peanut butter,chittaharini.”
“I’m glad you like my mom’s recipe. “Hey, you never told me whatchittaharinimeans.”
He kissed my fingers. “It means—‘one who captivates my mind.’”
“And,iadala?”
“‘Dear one.’”
“How do you say, ‘I love you’?”
“Mujhe tumse pyarhai.”
“How do you say, ‘I’minlove’?”
He laughed. “You can either say,anurakta, which means ‘you are becoming fond of or attached to.’ Or you can say you’rekaamaart, which means ‘you’re a young woman intoxicated with love or love-stricken.’ I prefer the second.”
I smirked. “Yes. I’m sure you’d like to advertise that I’m drunk with love for you. How do you say ‘My boyfriend is handsome’?”
