Page 164 of The Ghost and the Graveyard (Knight Games 1)
Waking up in a lover's arms is one of the great joys of life. I turned in the circle of Rick's embrace to find him watching me.
"It's unsettling how little you sleep," I said.
"I could pretend for you if you'd like?" he replied in a voice as intoxicating as the body stretched out next to me.
"No, I'd rather know the truth. Speaking of, there are things I need to tell you about myself. Things you should know about my past if we are going to try to make this work."
"You forget, I was part of your past."
"Not my past life. I mean my romantic past."
Rick frowned. "You are only twenty-two, yes?"
"Yes."
"How much history could there be?" He laughed, nervously.
I grimaced. "You represent my foray into the double digits."
His brow wrinkled, and he scooted back as if to get a better look at me. "Are you saying, Grateful, that you have had intercourse with over ten men in your short life?"
"Well, yes. Normally, I wouldn't admit to it, but because you have waited for me, I thought you should know."
"And you did this why?"
"Don't think that I just slept with these people. I'm not a slut or anything. Every single one of them was a meaningful relationship."
Rick jumped a little as if I'd shocked him, and I realized that he might not consider a string of serious relationships any better than anonymous sex.
"I lived with the last one-er, Gary-and I dated the others for over a month each. I just can't seem to stick with someone for more than a year. Technically, I've never made it to a year, but you know what I mean."
"Marry me, Grateful. Put the past behind you."
"Don't you see what I'm saying? I'm terrible at this stuff. My relationships never last. I can't marry you because I don't want to be divorced in a year. Let's face it. We hardly know each other. If this is going to work, we need a firm foundation, something to build a life on. Let's take it slow and get to know each other."
Rick bounded out of bed and paced the floor, running his hands through his hair. "I know you, Grateful. Sometimes, I think, better than you know yourself. You are stalling, waiting for certainty in a life that offers no guarantees. You say to take it slow yet here we are, and what we have just done is anything but taking it slow. What are you afraid of?"
I scrambled for an answer, anything to put him off. The feelings I had for him were too overwhelming. They scared me. I'd already risked too much. "Why don't we just live together?" I suggested, although I knew my father would be upset at me jumping into the arrangement so soon after Gary. "Wait a minute. If we were married in a past life, why do we have two separate houses? Why didn't we live together then?"
Rick's features sagged. He was hiding something from me.
"We were married but didn't live together. Why?" I asked again.
"You needed your space-a space to do your magic."
"You said 'you needed your space' at first. Did we have our problems when we were married?"
"Every couple has problems."
"But ours were enough to keep us living in separate homes?"
He placed his hands on his hips. "You don't understand. There are extenuating circumstances. Each of us has our own seat of magic. Mine comes from the earth. Thus, my home is made of stone and wood. Yours comes from the air, thus the attic arrangement. It is natural for each of us to have our own places."
I thought about that for a while. Truthfully, it wouldn't do to fret over a past life I didn't even remember. But this meant I couldn't rely on some past happiness to confirm if I was supposed to be with Rick for the rest of my life. I needed to find out for myself, in this life. And I needed to change the subject because I was seriously ticking him off.
I lowered my eyes and waited a few heartbeats for the silence to drain the energy from the room. "What do you think we should do about Julius?"
"You're changing the subject, mi cielo."
