Hope in Love Read Online Free PDF Page A

mess.
    The strings were the ties that bound lives together.
    “You may separate the threads of your life whenever you are
ready.”
    He took the twined strings and absently shoved them in his
pocket.
    “So when may I ask another question?”
    “That is a question. But I will answer it. You may ask
another when you can answer the one I have asked you.”
    Having learned nothing, he left for home.
    “Ramiel?”
    He turned to look at Nona whose face held the look of the
Oracle of Delphi. He was doomed if she kept company with the Pythia. Themis
still had a bone to pick with him. Or at least he had a bone she wanted to
pick.
    “Take care. Do not lose her to yourself.”
    As he disappeared from her room, he wondered what the Fate
meant. Had everyone gone crazy?
    Do not lose her to yourself?

Chapter Four
     
    Yael found the closet in the room she was to share with Ram
full of lovely dresses. They would all be a perfect fit. She dressed in one
made of a soft, summery muslin material. The low-cut, fitted, cream-colored
gown hugged her curves down to her knees, where it flared out like a tulip.
Unlike the shapeless outfits she wore at Deborah’s, this one made her
feel…sexy. Like a woman.
    Most of the clothes were feminine and pretty. Gowns of
lustrous silk with shoes that matched, and a couple of outfits with pants. She
never wore pants, considered them men’s garb. But now she wanted to see if they
felt as comfortable as they appeared.
    Things were changing too fast in her life now. The quiet
days with her friend would cease to exist. There was so much to learn. Torn
from her reverie, she heard a scraping across the patio.
    She went through the doors in the bedroom and down the
winding stairs to see what caused the noise. When Ram appeared at the foot of
them, she was so shocked, she missed a step and went sailing through the air.
Her body clenched, arms outstretched, she waited to slam into the stone, but
instead, he caught her and held her tightly in his grasp.
    “You must be careful, darling. I would hate to lose you
without a chance to taste your considerable charms.”
    She recoiled from him.
    “Thank you for breaking my fall.” She pulled from his arms
and turned to go back up the steps. She intended to hide out in the room until
he came for her.
    “I’m sorry, don’t go. I only meant— Listen, there will be no
secrets between us. I want you. I want to hold you, and be inside you. I need
to taste you.” He rambled like a youth about to bed his first woman. “Never
mind.”
    “Please, there is no need to apologize. You’re right. I know
why I’m here. I imagine you could be with anyone—”
    Her voice trailed off. It surprised her that she became
angry at the thought of him with someone else. She didn’t want to think about
Ram in anyone’s arms. Her skin grew flushed and her body was tight with need.
This affair needed to be consummated now. The beat of her heart pounded out a
harsh rhythm that reached her ears, cutting off every other sound.
    The sooner she conceived, the quicker it would be over.
    “I don’t want anyone else right now. I want you.”
    Right now meant she was the only one available. What would
happen to her after the babe’s birth and he no longer wanted her? She didn’t
have time to think about it further. The smell of desire floated through the
air like a heavy cloud and hung over her head. God, she wanted this angel so
much. It was long ago, almost forever, since she’d been with a man.
    “Ramiel?” She didn’t want to want him, but Yael’s body
betrayed her as always in his presence. She should fight him, not be so easy.
There was no way to make her body understand what her mind and heart knew. He
would soon tire of her as he had all the others. But that was not why she was
here. I only have to carry his seed, his child inside of me.
    His eyes gleamed with lust. He’d made up his mind to come
for her and she had nowhere to run. The air felt thick and she concentrated