Mine Till Midnight (The Hathaways, #1)

by Lisa Kleypas

In mathematics, one could take a finite figure and divide its content infinitely, with the result that even though the content was unchanged, the magnitude of its bounds went on forever. Potential infinity. It was the first time Cam had ever comprehended the concept in the form of a woman.

Amelia felt the change in Rohan’s hold. His hand came to her arm, and his thumb found the inside curve of her elbow, where her pulse thrummed hard beneath fragile skin. He touched her with the possessive intimacy of a lover.

“Would it help,” he asked gently, “to have a shoulder to cry on?” She fought to conceal how much the question unnerved her. “Thank you, but no.” Carefully she dropped the herbs into the kettle. “Crying is a waste of time.” “‘To weep is to make less the depth of grief.’”

Cam tried to sort through a tangle of emotions. He had never known jealousy before, but when he had seen Amelia and Christopher Frost embracing earlier, Cam had experienced a violent urge to strangle the bastard. Every instinct raged that Amelia was his, his alone to protect and comfort. But he had no rights to her.

“They won’t accept you,” she said desperately. “There’s no place for you in our family.” “Yes there is. Right by your side.”

Cam held her closer. “Marry me, Amelia. You’re what I want. You’re my fate.” One hand slid to the back of her head, gripping the braids and ribbons to keep her mouth upturned. “Say yes.” He nibbled at her lips, licked at them, opened them. He kissed her until she writhed in his arms, her pulse racing. “Say it, Amelia, and save me from ever having to spend a night with another woman. I’ll sleep indoors. I’ll get a haircut. God help me, I think I’d even carry a pocket watch if it pleased you.”

Cam didn’t look sympathetic as much as annoyed. “No wonder you’re ready to faint. You’ve had no food and hardly any sleep. How are you to be of use to anyone when you can’t manage to take care of your own basic needs?” She would have protested, but he gave her no opportunity to explain anything. Fitting a hard arm around her back, he propelled her back to the house, offering caustic advice the entire way. It seemed to take all her strength to ascend the back staircase.

To her astonishment, Cam took the chair beside hers, cut a bite of something on the plate, and speared it with a fork. He held the morsel up to her lips. “Start with this.” She scowled. “I’m perfectly capable of feeding mys—” The fork was pushed into her mouth. Amelia continued to glare at him as she chewed. When she swallowed, she could only manage a few words—“Give me that”—before he shoved another bite in. “If you’re going to do such a poor job taking care of yourself,” Cam informed her, “someone else will do it for you.”

“I’m not impetuous, love. It’s just that I know when something is too important to be decided according to logic.” “And marriage is one of those things?” “Of course.” Cam settled a hand high on her chest, over the wild pounding of her heart. “You have to decide it in here.”

“You’ll have me,” Cam whispered. “You’ll have me, hummingbird. I’m your fate—even if you won’t admit it yet.”

He offered no false hope, no empty promises, only caressed her damp cheek with the backs of his fingers. “Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it together.”

Now, as Cam looked back on it with the understanding of an adult rather than a small boy, he felt a chill of apprehension, followed by searing pity. How impossible it would be to relinquish a woman you loved. How could you stop yourself from wanting her? The seams of your heart would rip open with grief. Of course you would want to keep her with you. Or follow her.

“Shhh … I know that, hummingbird. You’ve done more than enough, keeping all of them together and safe. Now it’s time for you to have some help.” He kissed her gently. “For someone to keep you safe.”

Amelia was at a loss to understand how she could have slept until after luncheon. She could only attribute it to Cam, whose mere presence in the house caused her to relax. It was as if her mind automatically handed over worries and cares to him, allowing her to sleep like an infant. She didn’t like it. She didn’t want to depend on him, and yet she couldn’t seem to stop it from happening.

His slow smile robbed her of breath. “I have yet to refuse you anything. I’m not likely to start now.”

Cam took her shaking hand in his, pressed it between his warm palms. And touched his foot to her rapidly tapping one. “Hummingbird,” he whispered, “you don’t have to be nervous with me.”

I knew what I would think at the very last moment of my life.” His thumb smoothed over the tender surface of her knuckle. “Yes, love?” “I would think,” she continued, “‘Oh, if I could have just one more day with Cam. I would fit a lifetime into those few hours.’”

“Oh, I do love you, you’re—” “I love you, too.” “—my fate. You’re everything I—” She would have said more, if he had not pulled her head to his, kissing her with hard, thrilling pressure.