page_135

< previous page | page_135 | next page >

Page 135

| had said about his scarand everything else. |

| "I saw the candlelight," Ashton said, hanging his hat on a peg on the wall. "It seemed inviting." He went to the fireplace and bent to a knee before it. Wood lay on the grate, ready to be lit. Striking a match, he touched it to the bits of kindling. "Somehow this all seems natural, Sasha. I guess it's because we dreamed of it for so long." He waved a hand over the flames that were taking hold. |

| "It's a lovely house, Ashton," Sasha said, nervously fidgeting with the tail of her shirt as she glanced toward the bed. "But, Ashton, I had expected at least two rooms andtwo beds." |

| Ashton rose to his full height and went to the bed and pressed down on the tick of kangaroo skin filled with dry cornhusks and leaves, testing it. "Seems comfortable enough," he said, avoiding Sasha's set stare. "And big enough to hold two without being too crowded." |

| Sasha gasped. "Ashton, it is not my intention to sleep with anyone," she said, squaring her shoulders. Her voice waned in strength as she added, "Not even you." |

| Ashton turned to her, removing his gunbelt and hanging it on a peg on the wall close beside the bed. "Well, then, it looks as though one of us will be sleeping on the floor," he said. "I'm sorry I can't accommodate all of your wishes, sweet darlin'. But this is a new venture and I thought it best to curtail expenses wherever and whenever possible." He nodded toward the bed. "Even when it came to sleeping arrangements." |

| "You know very well that you did this only to be sure that I would sleep with you," Sasha said, her |

< previous page | page_135 | next page >