“Two. Three. I can’t remember.”
“I’m not sorry there were others.”
“Why?”
“Because they would remind you only of how much you wanted me.” She was silent a moment, then, “Cloud?”
She murmured his name against his shoulder, tickling his skin lightly with her breath.
“Hmm?” he answered, eyes still closed.
“If I told you Travers did not matter anymore…that I am tired of the pursuit…that I don’t care if I find him any longer…would you believe me?”
“No.”
“Good.” A brief pause settled between them, then, “Cloud?”
She said his name wonderingly, as if she had just discovered she liked the sound of it. Her fingers traced lazy circles on the surface of his abdomen.
“Hmm?” he answered, peering into the darkness afforded by his shuttered eyes.
“On the cliff, the day I became Alex Danty again, I swore two things to myself.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know I’ve broken the second promise?”
“I know.”
“I love you.” The only sound she was conscious of came from the increased beating of his heart, then, “Cloud?”
She breathed his name gently, the slightest catch in the single word. She caught his nipple between her teeth.
“Hmm?” he answered, still closing her off to his vision.
“They would have picked you for me. George and Francine and Pauley, I mean. They would have wanted me to choose you.”
“Why?”
“Francine would have picked you because you are so fine looking. You are, you know. She would have told me the qualities that make you beautiful come from your character. George would have chosen you because you’re intelligent, honest, and quietly arrogant. He would have said your pride was refreshing because it came from a man who believed in himself. And Pauley…Pauley would have singled you out because you would have never backed down from him. He would have said that it meant you knew what you wanted. That was a quality he valued highly. They all would have been right about you.”
“And why did you choose me?” His eyebrows lifted almost imperceptibly.
“For all those reasons—and one more.”
“And?”
“You wanted me for the same reasons.” She was quiet until she could stand it no longer. Finally, “Cloud?”
She said his name anxiously, frustrated. Her palms slid up his chest while her knee moved to his naked thigh and rested there.
“Hmm?” he answered, his heavily lashed lids still hiding green eyes.
“What do I have to do to get you to make love to me?”
“Is that what you want?”
“Yes.”
