As they ate, Tarik started to tell the whole story, from the beginning, and Kady marveled that he remembered every word she had told him. And, to give him credit, he didn’t leave anything out about her relationship with Cole. Gamal ground coffee beans and brewed coffee with the grounds in it. Very strong. Very delicious.
As Gamal’s capacity for listening seemed to be limitless, Tarik’s story continued after the coffee was finished. When Kady yawned, Tarik pulled her down so her head was on his lap, Gamal spread an old blanket over her and she slept.
As she dozed by firelight, hearing two deep voices of men, so alike, made her feel good. At one point Tarik was asking Gamal all about his relatives and his ancestors, as they were also Tarik’s relatives. Smiling, she turned over, her face away from the fire, fitting snugly against Tarik’s hard warm belly while he stroked her hair behind her ear and ran his hands over her back.
Once again she had that feeling of being where she should be, and she realized with a smile that the date and the place didn’t matter. If you were with the right person, you were in the right place.
“I love you,” she whispered, so softly she almost couldn’t hear herself. But Tarik heard, because he paused for just a second in caressing her hair, and under her cheek she could feel the muscles of his stomach tense then release. But he gave no sign that Gamal could have seen, and she smiled at that. Discipline, she thought and closed her eyes. Over the years he had disciplined himself to keep his true feelings hidden. Smiling, she let herself drift into sleep.
Chapter 29
WHILE KADY SLEPT, TARIK AND GAMAL TALKED ALL NIGHT, and only when it was dawn did Kady awaken, sit up and stretch. And when she finished yawning, she turned to see Tarik looking at her with eyes so hot that her clothes suddenly felt too tight.
Perhaps Gamal saw it, too, for he quietly excused himself, and the minute they were alone, Tarik pulled Kady into his arms and kissed her.
When he pulled away, he looked into her eyes with such love that Kady wondered at it. No man had ever looked at her like this before, but then, maybe his eyes were a reflection of her own.
“You risked your life to protect me,” she whispered.
“Of course. What else could I have done?”
“Gone back to work and left me on my own.”
“And lose a woman like you? One who’d give up millions because she didn’t believe it was rightfully hers?”
“Speaking of all that money of yours, let’s get married in a community property state.”
He laughed. “Oh? So you do want to marry me?”
She just kissed his neck in answer.
But he pulled her away to look at her, his face serious. “Kady, are you sure? What about your Cole? What about Gregory?”
“I’m sure,” she said. “I don’t think I ever loved Gregory. I was just afraid I’d never get anyone else. As for Cole . . .”
His hands tightened on her shoulders. “What about him?”
She started to make a smart remark, but his eyes were too intense. “Cole could have loved any of a hundred women and they would have loved him in return. But you make me feel as though I’m the only person you could love. I think you might share things with me that you share with no other person on earth.”
Slowly, he began to smile. “Yes, you make me feel like that, as though I have known you forever and that you are part of me.” Still smiling, he pulled back to look at her. “I’m not the easiest person in the world to live with.”
“Really? And here I thought you were. You’re so even-tempered, so easy to get to know, so—”
“Okay, so I have a few rough edges.”
“I’ll whittle them down, sort of like carving something beautiful out of an onion.”
Laughing, he kissed her again, then broke off with a great yawn. “I think I must go to bed. You wouldn’t like to join me, would you?”
“Mmmm,” she said as though she were considering the matter “I might—”
“What the hell is that?” he asked, lifting his head and listening.
“I don’t hear anything.”
“It sounds like a motor. A two-cylinder motor actually.”
Kady glanced around them at the Jordan house in the distance, the outbuildings and barn. They were new, since they were in 1873. “We haven’t been transported again, have we?” she asked, half in jest; then suddenly, her eyes grew wide. “Wendell,” she whispered.