Page 40 of Tiger's Destiny
The moment seemed to last a lifetime. Then his demeanor became cold. I felt the freezing touch of his eyes caress me one last time and then Ren disappeared. The only reminder of him was the icy jewel sitting heavily on my finger. What felt like an hour of silent communication had happened in just a few seconds.
I took a deep breath and offered Kishan an emotional smile. I leaned over to kiss his cheek while tears filled my eyes. The sun hitting the diamond shot rainbows onto my bare thigh. I touched my leg briefly and flinched at how cold my skin was. A part of me wondered if I’d ever feel truly warm again.
Kishan wrapped his arms around me and asked, “What is it, love? You don’t like the ring?”
I held my hand up and blinked the tears from my eyes so I could clearly see it. It was lovely. A teardrop diamond rested in the center while curved lotus petals cut from the ruby he’d found in the House of Gourds radiated outward. Clusters of diamonds shaped as leaves ran down either side of the white gold ring.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
“It dims in comparison to the woman I love,” he replied.
“I . . . I didn’t think this would happen so fast.”
His face lit in a slow, lazy smile. “When I see something I want, I go after it, remember?”
I shut my eyes for a moment and felt a tear plop onto my lap. “I remember.”
Kishan brushed tears away from my cheeks and said soberly, “For the longest time I didn’t think I deserved to find love again. You were right when you said I blamed myself for everything. I thought I was responsible for it all—the curse, Yesubai’s death, Lokesh—but when I met you, something changed.
“I remembered who I was, who I am—Prince Sohan Kishan Rajaram. I’d always been the younger brother, the second in line to inherit the throne but that time is past and that kingdom is gone. Now I realize that none of those things mattered, that my regrets were preventing me from seeing,” he trailed a finger lightly down my cheek and jaw, “the beauty the world offered.”
Trailing warm, slow kisses over my shoulder and up my neck, he continued, “You made me believe that I still had something to offer to the world, something to offer to a woman.”
Kishan smiled when I swayed unsteadily. Pirate gold eyes looked into mine, and I sucked in a breath as I realized a smoldering passion lay hidden there behind them. It was glossed over by layers of patience and love, but I could still feel the intensity humming between the two of us.
At that moment, I knew that Phet was right, that this handsome prince was an equally good choice and that it would only take a gentle nudge for me to be completely enveloped by him. Stroking his arm, I slid my hand up slowly over his muscular shoulder until I cupped his neck. His pulse thumped wildly, and in a blink, his eyes changed. It was like throwing a match into a barrel of oil.
A rumble sounded in his throat as he pulled me toward him. I placed my hands against his bare chest, warmed by the sun, and his lips found mine. Kishan’s hands gently gripped my arms and pressed me closer. The kiss was wild, aggressive, and demanding, challenging me—not only to meet his ardor, but also to feel as passionate about him as he felt about me.
Soon the kiss changed, and the smolder that had escaped his control was once again hidden just below the surface. I stroked his hair and held him close. The untamed black tiger closed his golden eyes and kissed me again, this time sweetly. Squeezing my waist, he said tenderly, “Kelsey Hayes, I promise that I will always love you, and I will try my best to be a good husband.”
I put my hand on his cheek and touched my forehead to his. “And I’ll try my best to be a good wife.”
Although I was happy to be Kishan’s fiancée, there was one unraveled thread in my otherwise beautiful tapestry. The bittersweet tangle irritated and tickled, and it was all I could do not to grab hold of it and tug, but I knew if I did, I’d destroy this precious new life I was trying to create.
I truly loved Kishan, and I knew that marriage was where we were eventually heading, but a part of me, deep down, grieved. I felt like a shell of a person. On the outside, everything looked fine. I was healthy, happy, and had a great future all planned out. Kishan would love me passionately and be a good husband and flather. We’d have a dozen sons who would all want to grow up to be little warriors like their dad.
On the inside, though, I was empty. I had nothing to give him. My goal in life would be to make him believe I had absolutely no regrets about my choice. To pretend that I was whole. Complete.
Mom? Durga? Mr. Kadam? What do I do? How do I stop loving Ren? Please, please, please, help me give Kishan all the love he deserves.
Oblivious to my thoughts, Kishan pulled me into his strong arms and whispered plans for our future. He stroked my arm and my hair and told me how much he loved me. I remained quiet. I leaned back against his warm chest, and we sat like that, watching the tide come in until it turned dark.
12
guise
The next afternoon I took a long walk by myself, partly to clear my head and partly to find Ren, who had disappeared after my . . . engagement on the beach. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say if I found him, but somehow I knew I needed to.
The breeze drove the clouds across the sky, pushing the gray puffy mounds into one another. The scent of rain was in the air so I hurried out the door.
Winding my way through the jungle, I headed north and walked along a path for fifteen minutes or so. The trees felt cool and once in a while a plop of cold water hit my bare arms. Then I cupped my hands to my mouth and shouted, “Ren?”
I waited, watching for the familiar form of my white tiger, hoping to see him bounding over a fallen log and to my side.
Stepping away from the path and into the trees, I dropped my bag at my feet. “Ren?” I shouted again in a different direction.
Nothing. I sat on a log, my chin on my fists, and thought about my predicament. I’d always dreamed of a big wedding. Of walking down the aisle to the man I loved, the man of my dreams.And Kishan more than adequately fits that description. In fact, as far as Prince Charmings go, he exceeds any girl’s expectations.
