The Samurai That I Loved

第54章

There was a stillness inside the rain: a special kind of silence that seemed to not only quiet the world, but also the heart.

And when the heart is allowed a brief moment of rest, therein absolution can be found.

This was how Eliza felt as she lay in Yoru's guarding embrace. His raven hair was damp from the rain, pelted to his temples and forehead, his almond eyes were closed beneath black lashes and his fingers never faltered in caressing down her back in gentle strokes of reassurance. The rain poured all around, yet they remained blessedly dry underneath the gazebo near the lake.

The time for words had come to an end and they simply found their contentment within one another's keeping. Eliza kept her head pressed against his chest while he cradled the back of her hair, holding her there safe and secure like a precious treasure.

She listened and marveled at the soft repetitive thrum of his heartbeat. Her fingers smoothed over the cream material of his shirt left parted open at the neckline revealing his smooth tanned skin underneath like wind-kissed sand.

When at last the rain began to subside, Yoru's voice tickled her ear as he murmured softly, "We should return soon."

Eliza squeezed her eyes close and turned her face into the soft linen of his shirt.

"I know." She replied quietly.

Slowly, she took a deep breath before easing back and smoothing her skirt. Refusing to face Yoru, she turned away to hide the pain riddled across her face at the prospect of having to return to the house with which she only knew as a prison.

His hand found hers atop her skirts and he gripped it firmly. Eliza lifted her eyes to him and her heart warmed at the sight of him gazing down at her as if they were still in the wild mountains of Japan, far from the rest of the world and the treacherous hands of time. His arms came around her, holding her close and smoothing down the curves of her waist.

"You don't have to be strong for me." He murmured gently as he rested his head atop her curls, "I can see you are not ready."

Eliza basked in his touch while her eyes once again settled closed and she breathed in the wondrous scent of him: all cedar, jasmine, fresh rain and something definitively male. It was intoxicating. Everything about him was beautifully dangerous like a relaxed cobra. She marveled at his tenderness, when at other times she had recalled with fear his fiery eyes and blood-covered hands swinging a deadly blade with the elegant grace of the wind.

Time had truly gone by in the blink of an eye.

"I have missed you...so very much." She confessed with a hoarse voice filled with raw honesty.

She suddenly felt Yoru's lips curve up against her hair and he breathed out a light, soft chuckle. Running his hand down the front bodice of her petticoat, he answered dryly, "Not nearly as much as I've missed you. But look, we survived."

"I suppose we did." Eliza sighed as her eyes drifted towards the dark lake in thought, "Do you miss Japan?" Turning to look up at him, she squinted her face in emberassment, "Of course you do, I'm sure, what a ridiculous question. I'm sor--"

"Eliza-chan." Yoru spoke gently over her, cutting off her words. She closed her mouth as he settled her closer and began to caress and squeeze her shoulder, "When I was a boy growing up in my village, I would wait until the fresh rains would fall over the valley, then I would run. I would run blindingly until I couldn't see my life behind me, only the world in front of me. The storms would hide me from others' eyes, and in those moments I found my peace....much like you coming here, little hana. Then I grew up, followed my father's footsteps, fell into the order of life, found honor and pride by which it was given, therefore my peace was newly found in a way...in a way that I was not happy. I was never happy. Only numb. But then there was you. When our journeys came to an end, I grieved the loss of you, the loss of all things familiar, but that was all. My parents had passed, I had no kin, I only had duty. You became...like home to me. I never felt the need to smile or laugh or to even make love...not until you. So to answer your question, no. I do not."