Page 145 of Tiger's Destiny
“I don’t know what to think. You’ve hardly spent more than two consecutive minutes with me since we arrived. If you don’t want me here, just say so.”
My eyes stung, and a fresh tear plopped onto my cheek.
Closing the gap between us, he nudged my jaw, tilting my face to look at him. His cobalt blue eyes were full of emotion. “You think that I don’t want you?” he asked, his face incredulous. “Kelsey, I want you more than I want to breathe. I just wanted to give you space. You loved Kishan. It tore you apart to leave him behind. Anyone could see that.”
My fingers slid over his wrist, and I admitted, “I promised Kishan that a piece of my heart would always be his.”
Ren lowered his eyes and nodded. “I understand.” He stepped away from me as if to leave.
A righteous fury stole through my frame. “Alagan Dhiren Rajaram!” I yelled. “Don’t you dare walk away from me!”
Taking two giant steps forward, I circled him jabbed my finger at his chest. “You don’t understand anything!” I accused. “I have been in love with you for two years. If you haven’t figured that out yet, then I don’t know what else to tell you. I did love Kishan, but evenheknew I wasinlove with you. Besides, you were the one who was willing to stay behind with Durga. If anyone should be feeling hesitant about our relationship, it should be me!”
Ren advanced toward me, and I swallowed, backing up until I hit the railing. Taking hold of my shoulders, he declared, “Let’s get one thing straight, Miss Hayes. I was absolutely unwilling to leave you. I told Phet that I couldn’t care less about protecting history or about Durga or her need for a tiger. All I wanted was to be with you. If that meant staying in the past, then I would stay in the past. If that meant coming home, then I’d come home. I would only serve Durga if you were with me.Kelsey, Ineverwould have let you go.”
“Oh.” My voice cracked.
Ren slid his hands up to my neck, cupping it. “Kelsey, my beautiful, stubborn girl, if you are telling me that you’re ready to be with me, then you should know that I am damn sure ready to be with you.”
He wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb and studied me intently with his mesmerizing eyes, waiting for my answer.
I reached up, brushed his silky hair away from his forehead and said simply, “Ren, you’re all I’ve ever wanted.”
A smile softened his chiseled lips, and he ducked his head to kiss me. The sweet kiss sparked into a blaze that sizzled and devoured. It had been so long since we kissed that I suddenly couldn’t get enough of him.
Running his hands down my back, he drew his palms slowly down my waist and over the curves of my hips, yanking me roughly against his chest. Our bodies were pressed close together but I wanted to be closer still. I wanted to be wrapped in him.
My hands gripped his waist and, growing braver, I slid them up the outside of his silk shirt. My fingers played along the length of his abdomen. Ren whispered my name, and I ran my palms up his broad chest and shoulders, around his neck, and into his hair. I wasn’t sure if the groan was from him or me.
Ren slowly drew his hands up my bare arms, caressing me with his fingertips and tickling the sensitive places along my collarbone and neck. He trailed kisses along my jaw to my ear, causing goose bumps to shoot down my arms.
Moving as one, we leaned back onto the couch, and I cuddled against his chest. My hand had been captured, clutched in his, and pressed against his beating heart. His passionate kisses softened and became sweet and tender, slow, velvety, and incredibly seductive. In each gentle caress, I felt his love for me as clearly as if I could hear his thoughts. When his lips found my ear, he murmured warm endearments and promises, and I was lost in the heady experience until something that he said made me pause.
My breath caught. “What did you say?” I asked.
His expression was full of warmth and love. He smiled hesitantly. “I asked if you would be my wife,” he said simply.
I looked into his cobalt blue eyes and grinned. “What would you do if I said, ‘If you have to ask, then the answer is no?’”
His eyes narrowed playfully. “Then I suppose I would have to seduce a yes from you.”
“In that case, my answer is definitely no.”
With a determined gleam in his eyes, he trailed his lips along my jaw and murmured a few lines from my favorite play. “Now, Kells, I am a husband for your turn. Thou must be married to no man but me. I must and will have Kelsey to my wife.”
Nuzzling his ear, I whispered enticingly, “Do you think me as stubborn as Katherine, Petruchio?”
He squeezed my waist. “I still haven’t heard a yes from you yet. That proves you to be not only stubborn but also uncompromising,” he said with a wry smile.
A few moments and some outstanding smoldering kisses later, he asked again, “Marry me, Kelsey. I want you . . .” I nodded and felt his lips smile against my neck. “. . . to be my bride.”
Mm-hmmwas the only sound I could produce.
“That doesn’t count.” Ren pulled away to take both of my hands in his.
“Kelsey Hayes, I love you. I belong with you. I have been yours, body and soul, for two years. My destiny has always been you. Be my home,priya. Be my wife.”
He gazed at my face earnestly, and my heart stilled. The time for teasing was past. I raised his hands to my lips and kissed each of his palms.
