Her eyes are swollen from crying. From tears I caused. Things could have gone so differently today, and if she'd been hurt while running away through the woods, I'd never have forgiven myself.
Her body's safe and sound, though. It's her emotions that have been wounded.
By me.
Reverently, I press apologetic kisses to her forehead. "I'm sorry, Mercy," I whisper against the soft skin between her eyebrows. "I didn't mean to make you cry. Not when you were just starting to give us a chance."
Time slows down as I soak in the warmth and softness of her body and softly beg her forgiveness. A sleepy sigh hits my chin as she stirs, eyes opening in blurred confusion until they focus on me.
"Hello, kitten. Miss me?" My lips tug apart in a sideways smile. "I brought you back a milkshake. Malt, too."
Mercy doesn't say a word, just stares at me with those deep green eyes I could get lost in forever. After a few seconds of silence, her finger reaches up to trace around one of my shirt buttons.
"What flavor?"
"Vanilla and chocolate. They're melted now." I move her hand to my mouth and kiss those fingers, needing her to find comfort from me and not my clothes. "I'm sorry, baby. Sorry for not trusting you more, especially with everything I've been asking from you. Can you forgive me?"
The mattress dips as she pulls away and sits up. "What if I said no?"
"It would devastate me." No lie.
"What if...what if I said I wanted to go home?"
Dread forms a knot in my stomach and travels up to stick in my throat. But I'm not going to lie to her. I could never do that. "I don't think you'd like what my answer would be."
Resolution narrows her eyes. "What if I said I didn't care what you think?"
Kitten grew claws."I—"
"Amos, what I'm struggling to wrap my mind around iswhy. Why did you take me like this?"
"I already told you the first time you asked. You're mine."
"That's not good enough—I need to know more. Why didn't you ask me out like a normal man? Why go to this extreme?"
History lesson time. I need to sit up for this, too. "I'm my father's son, Mercy. A Shay. And it's in our blood to hunt and capture our women."
"Hunt and capture? What the—how many women have you done this to? Or am I the only special one?"
"You're more special than you know." I grip her chin to kiss her, but she jerks away. My eyes narrow.
"Don't sweettalkme. I want to know, and I want to knownow. It's probably no surprise that I don't deal well with conflict, but I can't keep going on like this, Amos."
My hand falls back to the bed. "All right. Every Shay male does this and has for centuries. My father, my uncles, my grandfather...as far back as I can remember. You're the only one I've taken."The only one I ever will."It's likely they didn't teach this when you were in school, or maybe just glossed over it, but have you ever heard of the Romans and the Sabine women?"
Concentration furrows her brow. "Wasn't there a musical based on it...something about seven brothers in the mountains or something like that?"
Good. She knows a little, so it won't be that far of a stretch. "Sure was. Made in the fifties. The actual event had a bit more to it than what happened in the movie, though, and inspired our patriarch to follow in its footsteps to keep the Shay bloodline alive in the world.Find a woman, keep a woman.That's what we've always done, generation after generation. But we'd never hurt a woman. Might love her sooner than she wants, but never would we hurt one."
"Andsoyou do like you did with me? Just pick one and kidnap her?"
"Oh, Mercy." Cautiously, I reach for a lock of her hair, elated when she accepts my touch. "That's not what happened with you. You're worth much more than that. So much more. From the very first time I saw you, you called to something deep inside me. Onelookat you and I could see our entire future together. You and me together with a little girl that takes after her momma and a little boy the spitting image of me. At least two babies, maybe more. Hopefully more."
A wince tightens her features at the mention of kids again.
That's it. I've got to know what that look's all about. "You've made that face too many times now. Tell me what's on your mind, baby. You don't want to make a family, or you just don't want one with me?" I don't know which answer to hope for because I don't like the thought of either of them.
Drawing her knees to her chest, she rests her head there for a moment, gathering strength. "Do you..." she starts before pausing. "Tellme the truth, Amos. Do you want me for who I am as a woman or are you looking for a broodmare so you can fulfill some kind of kink?"
