He touched her forehead with his kiss. Then her cheeks, and her throat,
and her lips again.
'And most important, there is this. I love you, Tess. I love you. I want
to marry you. I want to be beside you from this day forth, and I want to
cherish you forever. Of course, I still want to throttle you. But most
of all, I want to love you, and I want to be loved by you. I want to kn
w your strength and even fight it sometimes,.
and I want to know your tenderness and your love and hold tight to them
forever. How is that?'
' Oh, Jamie!' she whispered. Words failed her.
She came up on her toes and kissed him. She teased his lower lip and his
upper lip with her teeth and tongue, and she met his hunger with a fever
of her own. A dizzying fire swept through her limbs, and she thought she
could sleep beside him tonight, and every night, and she could feel his
arms around her.
'Slater. Tess Slater.' She sampled the name, but then tears touched her
eyes and she threw her arms around him and kissed him again.
'Oh, Jamie, I love you! I've loved you for so long now, and I thought
that I didn't dare to believe in forever' -- 'But you believed in
yourself, Tess.
Now you've got to learn to believe in me, too.'
'I've always believed in you!'
'Then believe in this. I love you, and I will do so forever.'
'Jamie ...'
She would have lain down with him then. She would have tasted his flesh
and savored his kiss and given him all and anything he wanted. She would
always lie down with him anywhere, in any wilderness, and love him, and
feel the sun or the moon upon them. It would not matter, as long as they
were together.
But he was clutching her hand again.
'Don't tempt me!' he warned her.
'We've got to get downstairs and do this now. Before Nalte leaves.'
'What?'
'We're getting married now, Tess. The chaplain is here, and Nalte is
here, and my brothers are here, and I just can't think of a better
time.'
'Married? Now? Tonight?'
They were out the door and he was pulling her down the stairs.
She tugged hard upon his hand.
'Jamie!'
'What?'
'Today I promised to do things your way. I really can't promise to do
that every day.'
'Fine. I'll keep you in line,' he said, and tugged her again. They
reached the landing, and he shouted, 'Cole!
Tell the musicians and get the chaplain. She said yes!' A rebel cry went
up from the Slater brothers. The cavalry didn't seem to mind--in fact
they joined right in. There was another sound, and T~ss recognized
Apache war whoops.
