Quietly, Nicole followed him through more passages in the house to the outside. To her amazement, they came out close to the edge of the woods. She could hear the river not far away.
They walked through the lush darkness of the trees to where a bend in the river made a lovely pool. Clay put the soap and towels on the bank, undressed, retrieved the soap, and walked into the river. Nicole watched as the moonlight played on the muscles of his back. He parted the water cleanly, his long legs making very little sound as he swam to the center of the pool. He turned onto his back and looked at her. “Are you going to stay there all night?”
She hastily untied her robe and dropped it to her feet, then hurried after him. She dove under the water.
“Nicole!” Clay called when she didn’t resurface. His voice held fear in it.
She surfaced behind him, nipped him on the back before she went under again. He growled at her, then grabbed her about the waist. “Come here, you little imp,” he said, kissing her forehead.
She put her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. Her skin felt good against his. The water was warm and luxurious.
Clay set her away from him, then began to lather the soap in his hands. He rubbed his hands all over her, very slowly. When he finished, she took the soap and washed him. They laughed together, enjoying the water and each other. Before Nicole could rinse herself, Clay began washing her hair. She dipped under the water to rinse. Her hair flowed out behind her in a long mass of black silver.
Clay watched her, then slowly drew her close to him. He kissed her gently, pulling her body close. He pulled back from her and looked into her eyes. He seemed to be asking her a question, and whatever answer he wanted he saw there. He kissed her again, then lifted her in his arms and carried her ashore.
He laid her gently on the grass and began to kiss her body. He kissed her wherever his soapy hands had touched. Nicole smiled, her eyes closed. She bent her head and pulled his mouth to hers. She ran her hands over his body, liking the feel of it, the strength of it.
He moved on top of her, and she was ready for him. “Sweet Nicole,” he whispered, but she didn’t hear him. Her senses had changed from reality to the pure passion that Clay made her feel. She lifted her hips to meet him.
It was some time later when Clay lay beside her and pulled her close to him. He kept one thigh thrown across her. His mouth was close to her ear, and his breath was sweet and warm.
“Will you marry me?” he whispered.
She wasn’t sure she heard him correctly.
“Don’t I get an answer?”
Nicole could feel her body tense. “I am married to you.”
He bent over her, his head propped on one arm. “I want you to marry me again, in front of the whole county. This time, I want to be there when we’re married.”
She was silent as he ran one finger over her upper lip. “One time you told me you loved me,” he said. “Of course, you were drunk at the time, but you did say it. Did you mean it?”
She could scarcely breathe. “Yes,” she whispered, staring into his eyes.
“Then why won’t you marry me?”
“Are you laughing at me? Are you teasing me?”
He smiled and nuzzled her neck. “Do you find it so hard to believe that I could have any sense at all? How can you love a man you think is stupid?”
“Clay, talk to me. I don’t understand what you’re saying. I’ve never thought you were stupid.”
He looked at her again. “You should have. Everyone on the plantation gave their love to you except me. Even my horses are smarter than I am. Remember when I first kissed you on the ship? I was so angry because of what I’d lost—you. I never wanted to let you go, yet there you stood telling me that you weren’t really mine. I was furious when I saw that note and frantic when I couldn’t find you. I think Janie knew then that I’d fallen in love with you.”
“But Bianca—” Nicole began, but Clay put a finger to her lips.
“She’s in the past now, and I’d like for us to go on from here. Ellen knows we were married by proxy on the ship, and she will understand if we ask to be remarried here.”
“Remarried? Here?”
Clay kissed her nose and smiled, his eyes twinkling brightly in the moonlight. “Is it such an impossible idea? Then we’d have about a hundred witnesses who’d swear we weren’t forced into a marriage. I don’t want the idea of an annulment to come up later.” He grinned. “Even if I beat you.”
Her tenseness left her. “You would be sorry.”
“Oh?” he laughed. “What would you do?”
“Get Maggie to stop cooking, tell the twins what you’d done so they could hate you, too, and—”