Page 44 of The Guardian's Promise

She bowed her head as a tear fell to the rocky ledge beneath her feet. A kiss should be an intimacy reserved only for her betrothed, her future husband. A husband Ari could never be.

The torment was too much. The wanting. The knowing they could never be. It tore her apart little by little, shattering her into fragments like the pottery she’d broken only days before.

She needed air. Space. Away from him. Unable to remain in his presence any longer, she tried to move from the circle of his arms, breaking their bond. She stumbled backward. Rocks tumbled over the ledge, crashing into the sea. He grabbed her arm just as her foot slid.

“Mira,” he breathed her name. He yanked her against him, banding his arms around her waist. Their chests rose and fell. Hers was a little faster than his. He dropped his head to her shoulder. The weight heavy, firm, yet comforting. Ari sighed and spun her around. “You could have fallen.”

She gazed out across the horizon, this time noticing the more intricate details. The highs and lows of the mountain peaks were unlike anything she had ever seen.

“It is breathtaking,” she said once again.

The cavern of his chest expanded and released. “Yes. It is here, in this place that I first felt the calling God had for my life.”

She bowed her head. This place was sacred to Ari. Shame crept into her toes, rose to her limbs and up to her cheeks. She had just defiled this beautiful, sacred place with her longing for a man she thought she might love but could never have.

“God is faithful, Mira. All you have to do is trust Him,” he whispered near the cup of her ear. Severe pressure built within her chest, until it seemed as if it could expand no further, forcing tears to her eyes. It was as if her heart had been tied in knots like her mother’s challah bread.

She looked up at him, words clung to her lips but she could not say them, for she didn’t quite understand what Ari meant, although his caress and tone had been tender.

The Lord had been a part of her life for as long as she could remember, but she’d never had the same sort of intimacy with Him as Ari.

She turned in his arms and pressed the tips of her fingers to his mouth. The closest she dared to granting his request. “Lydia’s balm worked. They are improved.”

“Is that so?” He smiled and brushed the pad of his thumb across her brow. He showed her his digit, revealing a smudge of purple. She inhaled a sharp breath. “Do not worry yourself, Mira. There was only the one smudge.”

The corner of his mouth curved upward, and something in her chest fought to break free and soar with the griffon. How was it that Ari’s smile threatened to severe the bounds of her resolve to keep her distance? Every part of her being wanted him to kiss her once again, to feel as if she was cared for by someone other than her parents. To feel as if Ari cared for her, mayhap even loved her. But it was not to be, even if he did care for her—could love her—she could not allow it.

She relaxed against him and he leaned his head to hers, his lips hovering mere inches...

She twisted from his embrace and left him leaning against the rock fortress, along with her heart.

* * *

Ari clenched his fists. Were all women as hard to convince of affection as Mira was proving to be?

That was an answer he could not give since he’d never had a desire to woo a woman before. He’d never been free to do so. And now that he wanted to, she seemed to be running in the other direction, which left him confused. Their friendship and previous camaraderie should have made it easier. He raked a hand through his hair. She cared for him. He had no doubt in that matter. Perhaps even loved him. Why was she determined to ignore the affection growing between them? Mayhap because she didn’t love him and he was only being fanciful that she might.

“All did not go well, then?” His father exited from the cave.

Ari did his best to school his emotions, but it was no use. His father had ever been perceptive. Besides he would never tell a lie beyond the life he had lived protecting Joash.

“I do not know where I have gone wrong, Abba.” He pushed away from where he leaned and crossed his arms over his chest. He released a heavy sigh as he looked out across the sea. “I know she has great affection for me.” He paused. “I can see it.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“She has had a shock, my son.”

“I know, and the blame can be laid at my feet, but...”

“You think she should accept the fact that you have hid from her who you are. She should accept the fact that you lied to her? That she’s been dragged from her home, away from her family?”

Ari twisted his lips in thought. He had deceived her and her family, but she seemed to understand the reasoning. “I cannot help but feel there is more to her hesitation.”

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