“They fell in love. Indian society is not so different from the English. The nobility does not go around marrying the lower class.”
Ridge nodded his understanding.
“Udaya’s family was outraged. They disowned her. She was to be put to death outside her village. Kavi saved her. I saved them.”
She shrugged.
“Surely there is more to it than that,” he said, raising his eyebrow. “How did you save them?”
“My father and I were camped outside the village. When we heard the commotion, I investigated. My father didn’t want to interfere. He was a stickler for not interrupting local customs. Even if said traditions were barbaric and antiquated.”
Her lip curled as if she did not agree. Interesting. Until now, he thought her always in complete agreement with her father.
“When I realized what they were going to do, I could not stand idly by and let them kill Udaya. Kavi stepped in front of her, determined to die for her, to protect her. Noble, but needless. I wasn’t about to let either of them die.”
He leaned forward, his interest piqued.
“I rode in on horseback leading my father’s horse behind me. I stopped in front of the assembled crowd and leveled my father’s pistol at them. They all carried sticks. They planned to bludgeon her to death!” She shook her head. “All because she dared to fall in love with someone her family deemed unsuitable.”
“It was courageous of you to intervene.”
She continued on as if she hadn’t heard.
“Her father was at the front of the crowd, and he protested my interference. Herfather. So I pointed the pistol at him. I told him that if that anyone stepped toward Udaya I would put a bullet through his heart. Needless to say, he was quick to instruct the others to stand down.
“While I held him at gunpoint, Kavi untied Udaya and they got on my father’s horse at my instruction. They rode out of the village with me and have been with me ever since.”
“They seem to care a great deal about you beyond mere gratitude,” Ridge said.
“They became my family. At first my father grumbled about the additions, but he grew to love them as much as I did. I think he knew how much I missed having a mother, and Udaya fit the role.”
Ridge stood up and stretched, feeling for dampness in his clothing. “It was a fascinating story, though I still feel you left much of it out for brevity’s sake.”
She smiled and looked up at him. “And perhaps my life is not as exciting as you think it.”
He bent down to collect his boots which were slightly drier than before. As he pulled them on, he directed a question at India. “Would you care to see what there is to eat downstairs before we depart?”
She reached for her own shoes and began putting them on. She nodded and said, “Yes, I am quite hungry actually.”
“Then let’s eat while we wait for the carriage.”
He offered his hand to help her up, and when she stood up, their eyes locked for the briefest of moments. A lock of her hair rested damply on her cheek, and unable to resist, he thumbed it behind her ear.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile.
His hand lingered at her cheek, and with only the slightest hesitation, he bent his head forward, pausing just before he met her lips.
She wet her lips nervously, and he brushed his mouth across hers. A warm buzz began in his ears and traveled straight down his spine to his loins.
“You’re beautiful,” he rasped as he tore his mouth from hers.
Her eyes darkened, and she leaned forward unsteadily. He slid his hand to the back of her neck to anchor her, and he met her halfway.
He groaned softly as she sucked his bottom lip between her teeth. She was a temptress, a vixen. She nibbled at his lip then ran her tongue over the surface.
Her hands slid from his abdomen up his chest and over his shoulders, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. He gathered her in his arms, crushing her as tightly to him as she could go.
God, she fit perfectly. Like she was made for him. Her soft belly cradled his aching groin, fanning the embers into full fledged flames.
