Guardian Angel - Garwood Julie. Страница 92

She shrugged against him. "I don't like talking about this," she whispered, trying to sound disgruntled

and not terrified. "I love you with all my heart," she added when he squeezed her. "And I know you

love me now, Caine. Yes, I'm sure of that."

Neither said a word for a long while after she'd made that statement. Jade used the time to calm her racing heart. He used the silence to think of a logical way to ease her illogical fears.

"What if we make this a short period?" he suddenly blurted out.

"What?" She pulled away from him so she could see his expression. Surely he was jesting with her.

The look on his face indicated he was quite serious. "You want to make our marriage a short union?

But you just told me you loved me. How can you…"

"No, no," he argued. "If we just make this commitment to each other for six months' time, if you can

just promise me you'll stay with me for that length of time, won't some of your panic ease away?"

He sounded so enthusiastic, looked so arrogantly pleased with himself. She realized then he was quite sincere in this absurdity. "You already said you'd never leave me. Now you're telling me six months…"

"I won't ever leave you," he snapped, obviously irritated she wasn't embracing his plan wholeheartedly. "But you don't believe I mean what I say. Therefore, you have only to promise to give me six months, Jade."

"And what about you, husband? Does this promise hold for you as well?"

"Of course."

She threw herself back into his arms so he couldn't see her smile. She didn't want him to think she was laughing at him. Odd, too, but she suddenly felt as though a weight had been lifted from her chest. She could breathe again. The panic was gone.

"Give me your word, wife."

The command was given in a low growl. "I give it," she replied.

"No," he muttered. "It won't work. It's too short a time," he added. "Hell, if I ever forgot, you'd be gone before I… I want a full year, Jade. We'll start from the day we were married. I won't ever forget our anniversary."

He squeezed her shoulders when she didn't answer him quickly enough. "Well? Do you promise not to leave me for a full year?"

"I promise."

Caine was so relieved, he wanted to shout. He'd finally come up with a way to keep her happy; He'd

just given her the edge he was certain she needed. "Say the words, wife," he ordered, his voice gruff.

"I don't want any misunderstandings."

The man really should have become a barrister, she decided. He was so logical, so clever, too. "I'll stay with you for one year. Now you must promise me, husband."

"I won't leave you for one full year," he announced.

He tilted her chin up with his thumb. "You do believe me, don't you?" he asked.

"Yes, I do."

"And you're relieved, aren't you?"

She didn't answer him for a long minute. The truth wasn't at all slow in coming, either. It hit her like a warm bolt of sunshine, filling her heart and her illogical mind all at once. He would never leave her… and she could never leave him. The vulnerable childlike feelings hidden inside her for so many years of loneliness evaporated.

"Sweetheart? You are relieved, aren't you?"

"I trust you with all my heart," she whispered.

"You aren't in a panic now?"

She shook her head. "Caine, I want to tell…"

"I took the panic away, didn't I?"

Because he looked so supremely pleased with himself, she didn't want to lessen his arrogant satisfaction. A man had to have his pride intact, she remembered. "You have made me sort this all out in my mind," she whispered. "And yes, you have taken my panic away. Thank you, Caine."

They shared a long sweet kiss. Jade was shaking when Caine lifted his head away. He thought his kiss had caused that reaction.

"Do you want to go back upstairs, love?" he asked.

She nodded. "After you've fed me, Caine. I'm starving."

He took hold of her hand and started for the dining room.

"Do you know, husband, I have the oddest feeling now."

"And what is that?" he asked.

"I feel… free. Do you understand, Caine? It's as though I've just been let out of a locked room. That's ridiculous, of course."

Caine held out the chair at the table for her, then took his own. "Why is it ridiculous?"

She immediately looked disgruntled. "Because there isn't a locked room I can't get out of," she explained.

Caine ordered their breakfast, and when Anna, the servant, had left the room, he asked Jade to tell him about some of the adventures she'd had. "I want to know everything there is to know," he announced.

"You'll only get angry," she predicted.

"No, no," he argued. "I promise I won't get angry, no matter what you tell me."

"Well, I don't mean to boast," she began. "But I do seem to have a natural ability for getting in and out

of tight spots. Uncle Harry says I'm a born thief and liar," she added.

"Now, sweetheart, I'm sure he didn't mean to criticize you," Caine replied.

"Well, of course not," she returned in exasperation. "Those were compliments, husband. Uncle's praise meant all the more to me because he doesn't usually give compliments to anyone. He says it isn't in his nature," she added with a smile. "Harry worries that others will find out the truth about him."

"And what might that truth be?" Caine asked. "That he's actually a little civilized after all?" "How did

you guess?"

"From the way you turned out," he explained. "If he was such a barbarian, you wouldn't have become such a lady." She beamed with pleasure. "It is good of you to notice," she whispered. "Uncle is very intelligent." "He's the one who taught you how to read, isn't he?" She nodded. "It proved fortunate, too, for his eyes started failing him. At night I would read to him." "From memory?"

"Only when there weren't any books available. Harry stole as many as he could get his hands on."

"The way he speaks," Caine interjected. "That's all part of his deception, too, isn't it?"

"Yes," she admitted. "Appearances, after all. He doesn't even use proper grammar when we're alone, fearing he'll slip up in front of his men, you see."