When Eleta woke, she was surprised to see that it was dark outside the windows. The stars shone brightly in the sky, and the light of a full moon sent silver rays through the glass panes.
She snuggled deeper beneath the covers and closed her eyes as she took inventory of her body. She was deliciously sore in some very delicate areas. As she stretched cautiously, she winced from a multitude of tiny abrasions and bruises across her breasts and between her thighs. The memory of how her wounds had been acquired made her smile rather smugly. She debated reaching for Rafe to rekindle their mutual fires, but decided she didn't quite have the energy right at that moment.
The thought of fires made her open her eyes once again. She glanced at the fireplace and saw that Rafe had added logs recently, for the flames were leaping merrily in the grate. She smiled again, this time with mischief. She would have to reward him somehow.
Her stomach gave a loud growl, and she sighed. As much as she didn't want to leave the cozy confines of the bed, she really did need sustenance, and Rafe was likely hungry too. She turned over to wake him and frowned at the empty place beside her in bed. She sat up in confusion. She couldn't see him anywhere in the room.
"Rafe?" she called, thinking he might be making use of the chamber pot behind the screen. "Rafe!"
There was no response. Her eyes opened wide with shock, and she scrambled to the end of the bed and looked down at the chain. The attached shackle should have been wrapped around Rafe's ankle, but instead, it lay open on the floor. The iron lock lay open too, and there was a fork with a bent tine and several of her hairpins nearby. Obviously he had picked the lock to gain his freedom.
Despair struck her like a heavy weight in her chest. She felt forlorn and abandoned. She had given him everything, and he had left her. She was devastated by his desertion! She gave a keening cry. Tears ran down her cheeks in rivulets, and she curled into a miserable ball on the bed. She sobbed loudly as she clutched the quilts to her face. His scent clung to the bedding, and she buried her face, gulping in huge breaths of air as she wept.
Suddenly, Rafe was there, lifting her across his lap and cradling her like a child. "There now, love. What's the matter?" he crooned. He shook her gently, when it looked like she hadn't heard him. "Eleta, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"
She gaped up at him with huge, tearful eyes and then flung her arms around his neck. "I thought you had gone," she cried. She continued bawling as she clung to him. "I thought you had left me. I thought I would never see you again."
"Hush now," he ordered gently, brushing her hair back from her face and kissing her brow. He lifted her chin and gave her a teasing smile. "You can't get rid of me that easily, love."
She tried to smile in response, but the best she could manage was a trembling sniffle. However, she did begin to calm. Her sobs subsided into hiccupping whimpers, and her breathing gradually settled. The whole time, he rocked her on his lap, stroking her hair and lavishing kisses on the top of her head. He murmured endearments in a soothing voice, and she cuddled contentedly against his chest. In the dim recesses of her mind, she realized that she had not even been worried that the prophecy would not have come true, she had only been concerned that Rafe had left her. Knowing she had forgotten about her mission even temporarily was disturbing, but she refused to think about it at that moment. Her emotions were too raw to be examined too closely.
When the storm had finally passed, he wiped her face with the edge of the sheet. He made no move to oust her from her comfy perch, and instead tucked her head beneath his chin. Rafe had found his clothes in the wardrobe and gotten dressed. Now, the entire front of his shirt was wet from her tears. She nibbled her bottom lip and ran her palm across his chest self-consciously.
"I'm sorry for getting you all wet," she whispered.
Rafe clasped her hand against him, squeezing her fingers gently. "Don't give it a thought, Eleta." He lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. "You didn't really think I would leave you, did you?" he asked softly.
She nodded and tucked her head beneath his chin once more. "I caught you trying to escape once before, from the inn. I had no reason to think you would not escape now if you found a chance. You told me yesterday that you wanted to leave."
Rafe lifted her chin, insisting that she look at him. He gave her a puzzled frown, as if her reasoning was obviously flawed. "That was before," he murmured.
"Before what?" she asked with wide eyes. Her eyes were huge and full of confusion and uncertainty.
He cupped her jaw and ran a thumb across her lower lip. "Don't you understand, Eleta? When I wanted to escape, that was before you gave yourself to me. Now, you are mine," he said softly. "I don't walk away from what's mine. You are mine, and I will never leave you. I simply refused to be chained like some beast any longer."
She shivered with pleasure. Hearing him say she belonged to him filled her with deep satisfaction. She reached to kiss him, and their lips melded in the gentlest of caresses. It was clear that they both approved of his claim. She finally drew back with a sigh and her eyes were glowing when she met his gaze.
"So now that you are free, you won't leave me?" she asked.
He gave a self-deprecating chuckle and squeezed her lightly. " My God, do you honestly not know how desirable you are?" When she shook her head, he continued. "I could sooner cut off my right arm than to walk away from you, Eleta. You are like the most intoxicating elixir. I can't seem to get enough of you." As if to prove the truth of his words, he caressed her breast, gently pinching and twisting her nipple until it stood stiffly erect. "Your body calls to me constantly. There is no way I could walk away now."
Eleta blushed prettily, greatly pleased by his words. "Where did you go then?"
Rafe kissed her forehead briefly and then lifted her from his lap and sat her in the middle of the huge bed. He rose and brought a plate of food that he had set aside when he saw her weeping. He lit several candles around the bed. Then, he plopped down beside her, fed her a piece of roasted chicken, and took another bite for himself.
"I was starving," he said as he chewed. He winked at her. "I thought you might be too."
He shared another bite with her, and they ate for a few moments in companionable silence. He brought over a bottle of wine from the table, and they took turns drinking directly from the bottle. When the plate was nearly empty, he gave her a look from beneath his brows as he dredged a piece of bread through some sauce.
"I noticed there is a lot of food in the cold storage off the kitchen." He fed her the bread and met her eye. "Looks like meals have been prepared in advance to last us for several days."
Even though he had phrased it as a statement, Eleta knew what he was asking. She chewed carefully and took a sip of wine to swallow the bite before she answered him. When she did, her voice was soft with dread. She didn't want to anger him.
"Yes, I had the cook prepare meals for us to last at least a week if not more. I had hoped you wouldn't mind if we stayed here that long."
