Passionate Choice

Chapter 9.11

For a brief and painfully tantalizing moment, Selena thought Keith wasn't going to respond to her commitment, her absolute surrender, because he didn't move. He didn't sweep her into his arms and kiss her. He just stood still and silent. Then he said with a touch of mockery, "You know, I don't really go for all this romantic tropical darkness, thus standing about on terraces in the moonlight. I'd like to take you to a place where I can see you and make love to you properly. Let's go to bed."

"But your brother and Sora? Won't they be back soon? Won't they wonder where we are?" she asked as taking her hand, he began to rush her across the big room where they had first met.

"They've gone aboard Jellyfish. They decided to set off on their cruise tonight. We have the whole house to ourselves. You know I'm beginning to think Sora set us up, showing you into my Tom. I wonder how she knew I wanted you to stay the night with me?"

"She must have guessed when I told her that I once believed you and she were going to be married the first time I saw her," she said as he opened the door of the big bedroom. Light already glowed softly from the bedside lamps and the bedclothes had been turned down. "Oh, what a fool I was not to say anything to you about her then," she whispered, turning to him.

"We were both fools," he murmured generously, closing in on her. He raised a hand and stroked her hair back from her face. "But you are the most beautiful fool I know," he added, "and I'm glad you're going to marry me."

There was a sultry darkness in his glance that made her nerves tingle. Against her throat, his fingers stroked and slid down the V of the bodice of her dress coming to rest provocatively at the cleft between her breasts.

"All that time apart from each other. All that time I believed you were married to Sora. Time wasted," she whispered, swaying towards him.

"It wasn't wasted. Could be, we both that time apart to find out that we love each other and need to be together. Could be, we both had to learn that commitment is not such a bad thing after all, that love isn't love unless there is commitment," he said, serious for a few moments.

"But suppose you hadn't come to Sanada instead of John Claes? Supposing we hadn't met again? Oh, Keith, it doesn't bear thinking about."

"Then don't think about it, honey," he suggested, his voice soft and deep. "Think about how I did come when I knew you would be there. I was working on how to find you again. I had a few other leads." He paused then said roughly, "Is there no easy way of taking this dress off you? Am I going to have to rip it off?"

She laughed and danced away from him towards the bed where she lifted the dress over her head and tossed it aside. He came up behind her, arms reaching around her to gather her back against his bareness.

On the wide bed, they made love, not desperately as if they were short of time, not furtively as if they wished to keep their passion for each other a secret, but openly and joyously, holding nothing back, exulting in each other's physical attractions and finding new ways to reach the fulfillment of desire.

"It's better this way," Keith murmured later when they lay close in drowsy contentment.

"Much better," she agreed.

All negative thoughts had gone. Feeling secure in his embrace, she thought about the future, the days and nights she would be with him, living freely and openly with him, no longer having to steal time from her own ambition to be with him, no longer feeling guilty because she had let passion overrule reason. She had made a choice, a passionate choice. She had chosen to love and be loved in return. The future looked bright. As bright as the sun at noon. As bright as the dazzle on the sea.