Deeper than the Night - By Amanda Ashley Page 0,59
she was to call home, to let Nana and Gail know where she was, to make sure all was well at home, she knew Alex was right.
They drove to town the following night and put a deposit on a new black leather sofa and a matching chair for the main room. Tomorrow, Kara would rent a truck to carry them up the mountain.
After leaving the furniture store, they wandered through a bookstore, buying whatever piqued their interest, until they had almost enough books to restock the bookshelf. They bought a portable stereo and spent an hour choosing cassettes.
Their last stop was at the grocery store where they bought bread and milk, a variety of canned goods, and some fresh fruits and vegetables. Alex lifted an eyebrow in amusement as Kara dropped a dozen candy bars into the shopping cart.
"Sweets for the sweet?" he murmured.
"Just give me my chocolate and no one gets hurt," she retorted with a saucy grin.
Time passed quickly, the days turning into weeks, the weeks into a month.
In spite of everything, Kara had never been happier. She put her fears for the future behind her, determined to enjoy this time with Alex. She quickly adjusted her lifestyle to his. They stayed up late at night and slept late in the morning. Sometimes they spent the afternoon reading. Alex was a voracious reader with a wide range of interests. He might read Shakespeare one day, and Tom Clancy's latest novel the next. He also enjoyed medieval history and philosophy. Some days they played cards; poker, canasta, pinochle, gin rummy, he was adept at them all. He taught her to play chess.
At other times, when he was feeling melancholy, he told her of his life on ErAdona, of his parents and his daughter. He rarely mentioned his wife. Life on ErAdona sounded very much like life on Earth, only much more peaceful. Kara tried to imagine cities without crime or pollution, tried to imagine being able to walk down the streets of New York or Los Angeles late at night, alone and unafraid.
In the evening, they often went for long walks. Now was one of those times. Kara had grown to love the night. She found beauty in the darkness that she had never seen in the daylight, heard things she had never noticed before. She listened to the wind whisper love songs to the pines, heard the soft scurrying sounds of the small night creatures that came out only after sundown. She saw an owl questing for prey, a doe tiptoeing throughthe forest. She felt a shiver run down her spine the first time she heard the melancholy cry of a coyote.
Sometimes it surprised her, how happy she was, living in a cavern on the top of a mountain, far from the world she had known.
She glanced at Alex, walking beside her, and knew she would be content to spend the rest of her life here, in this place, with this man.
She wasn't surprised when their journey ended at the hot spring. It had become their special place, a magical place.
Heat rose within her, warm, alive, exciting, as Alex reached for her. She craved his touch, burned for his kisses. No longer shy, she let her hands drift over hishard-muscled body, a body she now knew as intimately as she knew her own. She began to undress him with infinite care, wanting to prolong the pleasure. She loved to touch him, to watch his eyes grow hot with desire as she removed his shirt and ran her fingernails over his chest and back, letting her palms slide slowly, seductively, over the unique ridge of flesh on his spine.
His groan of pleasure filled her with joy. Never, she thought, never had she dreamed that love could be so wonderful, so beautiful.
Locked in each other's arms, they sank to the ground. Heart pounding, Kara lay back while Alex undressed her with gentle hands, his dark eyes aglow with love and desire. And then he was kissing her again, his tongue moving over her like a flame of fire.
She drew him deep inside her, wanting to shelter him, to shield him, to absorb him into herself.
"Alex!" She cried his name aloud as his body merged with hers. Her nails raked his back, fueling his desire, until she writhed beneath him. "I love you," she gasped. "Love you!"
The words rose in her throat, repeating themselves over and over again as he carried her higher, higher, until they soared above the earth, bodies