we’re men again, complete and whole, I can’t risk anything happening to you.”
I remarked dryly, “It’s not like Mr. Kadam killed his wife, Ren.”
“No. But he wasn’t a tiger, either.”
“Afraid we’d have kittens?” I teased.
“Don’t even joke about that,” Ren said stone-faced.
“Well then, what are you afraid of? Do you want to take a class?” I couldn’t help it. Mom’s sarcastic humor made an appearance.
“No!” he said with great consternation. I laughed. “Kelsey! You aren’t taking this seriously.”
“Sure I am. I just happen to be talking about something that makes me nervous, and I usually respond to nerves with humor and sarcasm. Seriously, Ren, you’re talking about years when I am almost to the point of attacking your rather attractive self now.” I sighed. “Do you really think it would be dangerous?”
“The truth is I don’t know. I don’t know how the curse will affect us. And, I won’t put you at risk. So can we delay having this conversation . . . at least for a while?”
I grumbled, “Yes. But you should know that I have a . . . difficult time thinking straight around you.”
“Hmm,” he pressed his lips against my neck.
“That doesn’t help by the way.” I sighed. “I guess a lot of very cold showers loom in my future.”
Ren mumbled against my throat, “You and me both. Did you have difficulty thinking straight around your other boyfriends?”
“What boyfriends?”
“Jason or Li?”
“I don’t really think of Jason as more than a friend. Li was a good friend with potential. Mmm . . . that feels nice. They were people who were interesting and who I wanted to know better. But, not boyfriends. I didn’t love them like I love you, and they didn’t make me feel this way.” I groaned softly. “Not like this.”
He trailed kisses along the line of my jaw. “What about before them?”
“No. There was no one. You are my first . . . everything.”
He lifted his head and smiled his devastating smile. “I am exceptionally delighted and deliriously happy to hear you say that.” He gathered my hair over my shoulder and pressed kisses along the arch of my neck. “Just for the record, Kells, you’re my first everything too.”
I shivered. Sighing, he kissed me sweetly and snuggled me against his chest.
I played with the buttons on his shirt and spoke quietly, “You know, my mother talked with me about this right before she died. She and Dad really hoped that I would wait until marriage like they did.”
“For me, it was assumed. In my time, in my country, casual relationships didn’t exist.”
“Ah,” I teased, “so you think our relationship is casual?”
“No. Not for me, it isn’t.” He tilted his head and watched my expression carefully, “What about you?”
“Me neither.”
“That’s good to know.” He reached over, grabbed my blanket, and tucked it around us.
“Ren?”
“Hmm?”
“What would you say if I said I wanted to wait, you know, until.”
A smile lit his handsome face. “Until . . . what?”
I bit my lip nervously. “Until . . . you know.”
He grinned even wider. “Is this a proposal? Do you want Mr. Kadam’s phone number so you can ask for his approval?”
I snorted, “You wish, Romeo! But seriously, Ren, if I wanted to wait, would it . . . bother you?”
He put his hands on both sides of my face, looked into my eyes, and said simply, “I would wait for you forever, Kelsey.”
I sighed. “You always say the right thing.”
I was enjoying snuggling with him when a dormant thought popped in my head that made me sit up. “Wait a minute! Your first everything, huh? That’s not exactly true, is it? Mr. Kadam once told me that he broke into the Queen’s Bath in Hampi, which was a rite of passage for young men. Didn’t you accompany him to Hampi on several occasions?”
Ren froze. “Well, technically speaking—”
I smiled and raised an eyebrow mockingly. “Yes, Ren? My love? You were saying?”
“I was saying that, technically speaking, yes, Kadam, Kishan, and I broke in. But, we only made it to the front door, and everyone was sleeping. We didn’t see a thing.”
I poked him in the chest. “Are you telling me the truth, Lancelot?”
“I am absolutely, 100 percent, telling you the truth.”
“So, if I ask Kishan tomorrow, he will corroborate your story?”
“Of course he will.” He mumbled quietly, “And if he doesn’t, I’ll punch him in the face.”
“I heard that. You better be telling me the truth, Ren, and you will not punch Kishan in the face.”