Eneko will return with a caravan tomorrow. There will be a small reception, and while everyone is out, we will set fire to the barracks.
I pause.
They'll massacre the guardsand give as many people as possible enough time to get out. But Eneko… well, he’s bringing home papers. Plans in writing.
My heart skips a beat.
If the rebellion starts tomorrow, Eneko will come home to chaos. We can hopefully learn what he has brought back with him and then flee.
We will be free of him before I ever have to touch his bed again.
Suddenly, my heart lights on fire. I pull back and look into Ra'Sa's eyes. My chest goes concave, and a mangled sound passes my lips.
He looks down at me, almost... lovingly.
Fuck.
Then he cups my cheek.
Melisa, I know how you hurt. How you tear yourself up over what you believe you must do—but you won't have to touch him. Not ever again.
My mouth parts. For all I have shared with him, all I have given him, I didn't think he would ever say such words to me. He was a plan. He wasn't supposed to be... this.
“Now that we have eliminated that particular problem, there is something I have to ask you.” He brushes his finger over my cheek.
I swallow. “Yes?”
“Would you be my wife, Melisa?”
My hand comes up to brush my fingers against his. “I?—“
A wife. I never expected to be anyone's wife. Who would've wanted me after having two hidden daughters and most of my adulthood spent in Eneko's room?
I want you,Ra'Sa murmurs.
I take a deep breath, swallow, and ask, "You would be my husband?"
A smile spreads over his face. He gives me one of those devastating looks that makes my stomach flip and my heart pound from something very different from fear.
"I would,Ruh’flor."
The tears come faster than I can count. They well up in my eyes and spill over.
"You love me," I say quickly. Not asking a question.
His hand drops to my heart. "I love you."
A tear slides down my cheek. “I?—“
He saves me from having to finish the sentence and kisses me. His taste is husky. When he parts my mouth with his tongue, it makes my core light on fire. I think of him thrusting, of every time he's made me come with a hand over my mouth so we don't get caught. I think of his sweetness, the way he's defended me against my mother, Eneko, Hibsej, and even the other slaves.
The tear is burned away on my hot cheeks, and I throw my arms around his neck, pushing up onto my toes as I meet his ferocity.
I pull back, breaking the kiss.
I fucking love you.
He grins and gently lifts me onto the wall not touching the cabin. My legs wrap around his waist, and I grind against his stomach. Between the friction of my dress and his solid form, I let out a quiet gasp. My neck knocks back into the wall, baring my throat. His chest begins to rumble, and I look back at him just in time to see him shift.