Page 29 of The Friendly Fall
“A...a little.”
“Yes. You bled.”
She colored and averted her eyes.
“That, too, is natural,” he told her. “I did not damage you. The wound will heal and it will never be uncomfortable for you again.”
She let out the breath caught in her throat. “It embarrasses me to speak of these things.”
“You are my wife. Come home and live with me.”
She looked at him warily. “Why?”
He smiled. “Because a woman who feels sufficiently confident to pour cream over the head of thecondessais the sort of wife I require to help me save Rancho Escondido.”
She grimaced. “I shouldn’t have done that, not even after what she said to me,” she murmured. “It was horrible to treat a helpless old woman in such a way.”
“Helpless?Abuela?” He put a hand to her forehead. “You must have a fever if you believe that.Abuelawill not be helpless on her deathbed. She, too, has regrets. Come back and let her apologize.” His white teeth glinted. “It will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I assure you. And even as she performs this interesting and profound new exercise, I am certain she will find a way to make herself sound guiltless.”
Bernadette managed to laugh. She searched his face. “And Lupe?”
He brought her hand to his knee and held it there. “Lupe is my cousin. Nothing more. She would never have been anything more. I know she feels a tenderness for me, but I am incapable of returning it,” he said simply. “I want you. Only you, Bernadette.”
And she wanted him. But she was too insecure to say so. She lay breathing softly, her eyelids drooping as the sedative took full effect.
“Will you?” he asked gently.
“Will I stay in a room of my own?”
He drew in a long breath. “Yes. Of course. You will have whatever you wish.”
Whatever she wished. She glanced toward the window, where blue sky and fluffy white clouds were visible through the thin fabric. “I must think about it.”
He hesitated. It was a tricky time. He had to be careful not to upset her any more than he already had. He looked down at her small hand with its neatly rounded fingernails. “It would please me more if you slept with me,” he added quietly. “But I understand how you must feel.”
She was surprised. “You...still want me?”
Her question, as much as her tone, surprised him. He lifted his gaze back to her face. She had more color now, and her green eyes were sparkling. “That never stops,” he said quietly.
“But you just said I’d stay in a separate room...”
“Only because it was what I thought you wanted,” he replied shortly. “Dear God, Bernadette, I took you like you were a woman of the streets! How could I expect you to want me again after that?”
Her eyes widened. “You did?”
Her innocence made him feel ancient. He laughed in spite of the gravity of the situation. “What a shameless question. Do you really expect me to answer it?”
She glanced toward the doorway, but there was no one there, and no approaching footsteps, either. She leaned forward earnestly. “Isthat how a man does it with a...with a bad woman?” she whispered.
“Bernadette!” He laughed helplessly. “My God!”
“Well, if it is,” she continued, unabashed, “how...how is it supposed to be with a girl who isn’t bad?”
He took the question at face value and answered it the same way. “Tender,” he replied. “Without the urgent handling and insistent kisses. Without the violence of penetration and the hard rhythm.”
She colored prettily. “But...”
“But what?”