Authors: Charlene A. Wilson
One for Kami (4 page)
By now, he will have married to fill his obligation. Would she be an elite?
She let her feet lead the way, only peering a moment to set her course. “Oh, Ian, I miss you,” she breathed.
Rustles came from near the fount and she paused, squinting into the shadows. A man stepped from behind the ivy-covered trellis, his camouflage jacket in hand. His soft voice held hesitation.
“Kami.”
Adrenalin washed through her, sending tingles down her arms to her fingertips and her voice would only come out as a whisper. “Oh, my God. “Ian?”
A smile spread across his magnificent face and a flash of thrill shot to her heart. Ten long strides brought him to her, ten strides that took too long.
Kami lunged for his arms, and in a giant swoop, he lifted her into a strong hold. Her stomach jumped to her chest. Burying his face in the tender skin at her neck, his kisses trailed to the hollow beneath her ear as he slowly lowered her to her to stand on her toes.
Ian peered at her through hooded hazel eyes. His gaze held so much love that her body pulsed. Her lips ached to meet his as his heavy breath heated them like balm.
“Kami,” he whispered. “I hoped I’d catch you before you hailed them to return home.”
“It was you all along. It was you who exchanged coins every day.” She flung the knitted cap from his head and tangled her fingers in his onyx hair. “Ian, it was
you
!”
Thrill charged across her nerves and she threw her arms around his neck. “Why didn’t you come to me? You had to know I worked at the bank.”
He shook his head. “I was forbidden to contact you during your stay. They would have sent me to another plane.”
Kami blinked at the odd response. “What?” Loosening her hold, her heels pressed into the cobblestone. “What’s going on?”
Ian stroked her arms as if afraid to let her out of his grasp. “Everyone told me to just pick someone, to start my family without you. Just
pick
someone. They even lined me up with strangers who wanted an elite status to push me to do it. But the thought made me ill.
Ill
, Kami. I couldn’t.”
He wouldn’t choose another? Then how will he fill the quota before the allotted time runs out?
Dawning came to her and she searched his face for a sign that it wasn’t true. “Ian, your birthday was last month.”
A nod confirmed her words. “I’m twenty-five, Kami. A summon to appear before the counsel came within a week.”
“No, Ian. You lost everything because of me.”
He feathered his fingers through her long hair, watching the locks as they fell past her shoulders. “I couldn’t let you go. You were everywhere, in the flames of my hearth, the wind that whispered through the trees, the rain that pooled around my feet,” an odd grin pressed his lips into a crooked frown, “even that scruffy dog at the park.”
A lump formed in Kami’s throat and she swallowed to relieve the tension. Awed by the proof of his love, she barely heard as he continued to explain.
“I knew someone who worked in the courts and called in a favor. He fixed it to have Three-Two-Three show up as my exile sentence. As soon as I arrived, I asked the attendants if they remembered you. The guy spoke right up. But the woman was upset about it. She said exiles weren’t to contact transportees and they’d take measures to ensure it if I tried.”
A small smile arched his eyes. “But when I told them what happened, the old doll slipped me your information and made me promise not to make contact until today. They agreed not to show up until you hailed them so I had a chance to talk with you.”
“Conrad and Coral.” Humor puffed from her lips as she recalled the young man’s mirth and the woman’s grandmotherly advice.
He caressed her cheek with his thumb. “Please tell me there’s no other. Please tell me you haven’t met a man that fills your dreams and you’re only returning to request another leave for him. The thought of another man touching you… I’d…”
The plea in his voice sank her heart and his hazel gaze burned her soul. She rested her head in his large palm. “Oh, Ian, there is no other.”
Ian closed his eyes and his heavy sigh drifted between them as he pressed his forehead to hers. The months of emptiness fled with him in her arms. They were together, just as they had been in their little grove on Two-Eight-Five. Only now, she knew he wanted her alone. No other. Period.
A whimper pinched in Kami’s throat as he framed her face and guided her into a kiss. His tongue met hers in a silky caress.
He tasted like the innocence of Juicy Fruit and the heat of a starved man. Memories flooded her of their walks along the river, the security of his strong arms, and his kindness to the smallest creature. Tears welled in her eyes and she basked in the pleasures of having the only man she would ever love.
He gently released her and rested his brow back on hers. “Marry me, Kami. Please be my wife. Go back only for permission to return.”
“I love you, Ian,” she breathed. “And I will come back. Yes, yes, I’ll marry you.”
“God, you make me the happiest man.” His joyful gaze turned solemn and he and brushed the hair from the side of her face as if he couldn’t see enough of her. “But, Kami… I’m poor now. I have nothing to offer but myself.”
She traced his lush lips with her fingertips, the flush on his cheeks, and then the curve of his strong jaw. Trickles from the three-tier fountain ebbed to a distant lullaby.
Ober’s
silver aura faded from her periphery. Those wonderful hazel eyes focused solely on her, making the moment so much sweeter.
What more could there be?
“Just as I dreamed you were the day I fell in love with you.”
A breath of laughter puffed from his lungs. “Maybe I can find a scruffy little dog in the park to make it complete.”
Oh, how I love you!
“Ian, I am complete.”
He slowly shook his head, tenderness softening his regard. “My one and only. I love you.”
As his soft lips met hers, the universe of dimensions disappeared from Kami’s mind. Life became the breath they shared, the heat from their embrace. Joy pulsed from her heart, every beat affirming the trueness of the love she held.
Ian’s.
The End
About the Author
Charlene A. Wilson
Creating worlds where dreams become reality.
Charlene
is an author of paranormal tales that take you away to other dimensions. She weaves magic, lasting love, and intrigue to immerse you into the lives of her characters.
She began writing in her early teens when her vivid dreams stayed with her long after she had them. The characters and worlds were so amazing that she brought them to life through her books.
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