page_316

< previous page | page_316 | next page >

Page 316

| ered with cherries. He reached for her fork and stabbed a cherry and lifted it to her mouth. "Open wide, sweet darlin'," he said, his eyes twinkling. "We must get you fed, mustn't we?" |

| Sasha blushed and took the fork from him. "Ashton, please stop this foolishness," she scolded softly. "You are embarrassing me." |

| Realizing how hungry he was himself, Ashton began eating along with Sasha, yet never taking his eyes off her. This was a moment in time that he wanted to cherish. Once they left the paddlewheeler, who could say what might await them? There was much talk of a drought. Along with droughts came fires. The thought of what a fire would mean to him and Sasha made his gut ache. |

| And suddenly there was entertainment. Their plates emptied, they sipped on champagne again as moonlight flooded through the small windows along the top of the dining room wall, and Sasha and Ashton enjoyed the music of a tall, thin Aborigine dressed in only a brief loincloth. Using a long gum leaf which gave a resonant music when held taut at his lips, the dark-skinned native worked his way around the room, serenading everyone so simply, yet so beautifully. |

| The candle's glow, the moonlight, the music, the champagneand Sasha's innocent lovelinesswas more than Ashton could bear. He set his glass aside and took Sasha's from her, then took her hands and urged her up from the chair. Taking a wide turn around the end of the table, Ashton went to Sasha and swept an arm around her waist. |

| He leaned down close to her ear as he walked her from the room. "We've waited long enough," he |

< previous page | page_316 | next page >