Reflections in the Nile by J. Suzanne Frank

Author:J. Suzanne Frank [Frank, J. Suzanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC002000
ISBN: 9780446520898
Publisher: Warner Books
Published: 1996-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

When Chloe woke up she felt like an earthquake victim the morning after. The boundaries, the walls and floor, had shifted. Nothing was what she thought it was. She was glad to be alone, to ponder the changes. Cheftu was French. Francois. A shudder rushed through her … pleasure and fear. What would happen now? Wincing with an assortment of strained muscles and already developing bruises, she limped to the chamber pot.

He was not there.

She hobbled to the window, taking care not to be seen naked. Just the normal courtyard scene, people rushing to and fro … no graceful, strong, misplaced Frenchman. Surely he wouldn't have left her? No, she might not know five things about him, but she knew he was honorable and that he wanted her. He would return. Was he sad that she wasn't RaEm? Chloe wandered back to the couch and fell onto it, luxuriating in the cool linen against her skin.

The quiet opening of the door woke her. Cheftu came in, solemn as a funeral. He knelt and took her hand. Without looking at her, he spoke in his heavily accented English. “My behavior last night was unforgivable. To use you as a whipping post for my anger is horrible. I don't even know who you are, yet I treated you like a whore.” He raised his amber gaze to hers. “Worse than a whore.” He swallowed. “All I have done since I have met you is berate you for the past, a past you do not even know.”

Chloe sat stunned. He was far removed from the remote but beautiful man she had come to know. He focused on some point beyond her. “This is not the way I would have behaved normally.” He licked his lips, which were swollen. “Last night was a series of shocks.” She was silent. “Although that is no excuse for my behavior.” He looked up into her face, his breath catching as she trailed her fingers through his hair.

“What shocks?” she asked, then flushed as he arched an eyebrow. “Besides the obvious.”

He bit his lips. “There is nothing that matters anymore about my former life. It is gone. My vocation, my dreams, my family—” His voice cracked. “Deceased, for hundreds of years.” He looked up at her. “Now is the only thing that matters. Keeping you safe, riding out this political storm.” He rose to his feet, his eyes blazing as he faced her.

“The most shocking thing last night was—I realized I love you.” He continued without missing a beat, “You were a maiden and I took you like an animal.” He groaned, rubbing his face with his hand. “I cannot believe I actually did that. I have never before lost control.”

Chloe pulled his hand away, staring into his golden eyes. “What did you say?”

“I love you. Those vows I made came from my heart.”

“For me, or RaEmhetepet?”

“You. From the twentieth century. Who asks ‘what if’ questions and paints in the night.” He paled as he spoke. “I still cannot believe this,” he muttered.

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