Title: The Perfect Words

  Authors: Sarah ([email protected]) and Alex ([email protected])

  Rating: PG-13

  Category: Romance

  Status: Work in progress (part 1/3)

  Sequel info: First story in a series of vignettes.

  Notes: Takes part after the ending of the first Mummy movie

  Disclaimer: Yep, Stephen Sommers has finally seen the light and decided to give these characters to us! Nah, only joking! :)

 

*********************************************************************

 

  She looked around the library and placed her hands on her hips, furrowing her brow as she tried to pluck up the courage to deal with the fallen bookshelves and the books that were strewn all over the library as if a hurricane had passed through. "Hurricane Evelyn," she muttered, shaking her head.

 

  She had put this off for the one week since they had returned from Hamunaptra, but she couldn't ignore it anymore. Sighing again, she made her way to the first bookshelf.

 

  Rick had asked Johnathan that morning of the whereabouts of Evelyn and upon receiving the information, he crossed over to the library in which she worked. He pushed open the door to one of the most horrifc sights he'd ever seen; piles and piles of scattered books, not to mention numerous toppled shelves. In the middle of the mess, he saw Evelyn standing there. She was frowning at one of said bookshelves as if she could magically righten it with a harsh enough expression.

 

  "Need a hand?" he asked wryly, making her jump.

 

  She placed a hand over her heart, catching her breath. She'd been so focused on the mess that she had been quite startled to hear somebody behind her. Plus, she was still nervous since her encounter with a living three thousand year old mummy. She smiled when she saw who it was though.

 

  "Oh goodness Rick, you gave me quite a fright," she said as he came closer to her. "Shouldn't you know better than to scare a lady?" She dropped her hand to her side.

 

  "My apologies," he said, taking her hand in his to brush a kiss over her knuckles. What he really wanted to do was kiss that full, sensual mouth of hers, but somehow he didn't think she would really appreciate that right now. Riding off into the sunset had been one thing, but now they were back in Cairo, he wasn't really sure where he stood with her. He knew he loved this woman without a doubt, but damned if her knew how to tell her. Every time he tried, he went dumb, even worse than when he had given her that tool kit back at Hamunaptra. For some reason whenever he was around her, she managed to turn him from a mature adult into a stammering schoolboy every time she turned that smile his way.

 

  She smiled and let him hold her hand. The contact caused a slight blush to rise within her cheeks and she stood staring at him, the bookshelves momentarily forgotten. Her heart was racing and she wondered how on earth he had the power to do that to her. She had always thought of herself as a woman all on her own, unneeding of someone to share her life with. Besides, she spent most of her time and effort taking care of her older brother.

 

  "Well, I...I mean..." her voice was lost suddenly as her eyes strayed to his lips. It had been a while since he had last kissed her. 'Evelyn, stop this,' she told herself and after stammering for a few seconds, she finally got the words out. "I mean...it's fine." She smiled, a sweet, lopsided smile at him.

 

  "Oh. That's...good to know," he said absently as he gazed into her eyes, feeling as though he could fall into those hazel depths. He shook his head suddenly as if to clear his mind and he smiled nervously at her. "I was wondering if you want...um, if you'd *like* to go to dinner with me tonight?" he mumbled. "I mean, after you've cleaned up in here and all. I could even help out, if you really want me to."

 

  'Please say yes,' he begged silently. That way he could tell finally tell her that night that he...that he loved her. He'd never said those words to anybody before, but he was determined to let her know, even if he fell into his food trying.

 

  She smiled back and noded her head. "Dinner would be lovely." Then she looked behind her. "Let me just get this mess straightened out and then I'm all yours."

 

  She began walking over toward one of the bookshelves and leaned over in an attempt to pull it up, but only ended up falling onto her bottom, scatterbrained klutz that she was. She sighed.

 

  "Woah, hold on there Evelyn," Rick said, pulling her up from where she had fallen. He grinned a little at the sight of her in her prim little librarian dress in an ungraceful heap on the floor. A *cute* ungraceful heap on the floor, he reminded himself as he helped her stand. "Leave the shelves to me, okay? You just go sort out some of those books."

 

  She nodded, staying in his arms for a couple of minutes before she began to grow nervous about their close proximity.

 

  "Yes, I'll do just that," she smiled and headed of toward the books, starting to gather everything into neat piles. The work was long and exhausting and by the time nine o' clock  came along, she was just about ready to quit. Her hair was falling out of its perfect bun and, too tired to care about it anymore, she yanked out the pins, letting her hair cascade down her shoulders. Then without thinking, she undid the top button of her blouse to let some air in. She was rather hot from all the hard work. She watched as Rick pushed the last book into place and she grinned.

 

  "All done," he announced proudly, turning round to look at her. His jaw dropped at the sight of her with her hair long and loose around her shoulders and her cheeks flushed. God, she was beautiful. Involuntarily, his gaze moved lower from her face to her chest and his eyes widened at the flesh that was revealed. He felt his face grow hot when his eyes darted back up to meet hers and he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

 

  "I wasn't staring at your chest you know."

 

  And then he wished for a rewind button or better yet, a hole to appear suddenly in the ground so that he could jump through it, anything to avoid standing under her intense scrutiny of him.

 

  Evelyn blushed profusely when she heard that. No-one had ever spoken about or dared look at her chest before. She hadn't even unfastened all the buttons, just the top one and she looked down, realising that indeed, her blouse had allowed the upper curve of her breast to peek through. She reddened further, covering herself with one hand.

 

  She glanced up at him and felt a pang of guilt. He looked so worried that it was all she could do to walk over to him and take one of his hands between hers.

 

  "I know it's late, but would you still like to take me to dinner?" she asked softly, her heart praying that he would and she looked deep into his eyes, realising that she was falling more in love with him by the second.

 

   "There is nothing I would like more," he replied shakily, feeling his embarrassment fading as she held his hand with two of her own. Not only did she hold his hand, but his heart as well...

 

  'Good God O'Connell, you're becoming a seething mass of mush!' he thought, but he couldn't seem to make himself care about it.

 

  "Um, you wanna get changed or something before we go?"

 

  She looked down at her clothes and she suddenly realised that she must look an awful mess in front of him. Now she felt her own embarrassment rise as she moved her mouth, stumbling to do something about it. She finally managed to nod.

 

  "Yes, I do suppose I should. I look rather awful, don't I?" She offered a soft chuckle to hide her feelings of worry that he might find her unnattractive...

 

  'Oh Evelyn, look at yourself. You are a proper woman, you should not worry about a man finding you attractive.' But she did.

 

  "No, no, no!" he said hastily, realising that she had misunderstood him. "I just meant that you might wanna change into something more comfortable is all. It's dark out and it'll be cold too. I was just worried, y'know?"

 

  Rick glanced down at the floor as he mumbled, "you don't look awful at all. In fact, I think you look...beautiful." He whispered out that last word, hoping she wouldn't slap him.

 

  She smiled widely as she looked back up at him, finding her own hazel eyes caught in the gaze of his lighter blue ones. Using all her nerve, she stepped closer to him and leaned up on her toes in order to place a gentle kiss to his cheek before hurrying out of the room and up the stairs to get changed into something more appropriate for the evening's events.

 

  He watched as she scurried up the stairs and he held a palm to his cheek where she had kissed him. Well, that had gone better than he'd expected. A small smile tugged at his lips until it grew into a goofy grin and he fought the urge to dance around the library like a mad man.

 

  He glanced down at himself. His white shirt was a little crinkled and he attempted to smooth out the creases. At least he'd had the presence of mind to bring along his jacket earlier so that he would look half-way decent.

 

  About fifteen minutes later, Evelyn came back downstairs. She was wearing a black dress adorned with white flower prints that held her shoulders with thin straps and a moderately low neckline. She had left her hair loose but clipped on both sides with small white shell clips. Her shoulders were draped in a black silk shawl that covered the bare skin and she walked up to him, waiting expectantly for any word on how she looked.

 

  "Better?" she asked calmly.

 

  "Much," he assured her and then kicked himself. "I mean, not that you didn't look okay before, I just meant that you look even prettier now." He stopped his ramblings abruptly to offer her his arm. "Are you ready to go?"

 

  She accepted his arm gratefully and smiled up at him once outside in the cool night air. She guided him to one of the nicer restraunts in the Cairo area and chose a table that was drawn in a white table cloth and lit with candles. She sighed happily, feeling it fit the romantic mood she was in.

 

  Rick sat opposite her, watching her study the menu. She tugged on her lower lip with her teeth as she read, her brow creasing ever so slightly and this just endeared her to him more. He'd never really been much of a gentleman before, but he was going to try and start right now for Evelyn's sake.

 

  He was startled when she looked up at him and he smiled awkwardly, feeling caught. She looked even more beautful in the candle light, if that was even possible and he vowed to himself that he'd tell her. Now.

 

  "Evelyn, I..."

 

  She placed her menu down as she knew what she was going to order anyway and so she focused on him instead. She gazed at him deeply, wondering how this rogue had ever fallen into her life, let alone when he had been so close to death. Oh well, no reason to bother with those details right now, she was too caught up in the sight of him. The mere presence of him made her want to swoon and curl up against him. She wanted to hold him, to kiss him, make love to him...she snapped her mind away from that idea, blushing, that a proper woman such as herself should be having those thoughts.

 

  "Yes Rick?" she asked, watching him carefully.

 

  "I, uh..." Say it, dammit! his mind shouted, but he couldn't make his lips form the words. 'I can't do this!' he thought desperately, unable to tear his gaze away from hers. 'But I will. I am going to tell her. Now.'

 

  He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and he clenched his fists under the table. He started again.

 

  "Evelyn, I just wanted to tell you that I...that I-"

 

  And then he was interrupted by the damn waiter.

 

  "May I take your orders, sir, madam?" he asked in a deep Egyptian accent. "And might I say the two of you look wonderful together this fine evening."

 

  She blushed again as she looked at Rick and then back at the waiter. She may as well order and get this over with so that they could get back to each other.

 

  "Thank you," she told the man and quickly told him what had caught her fancy on the menu.

 

  Rick slumped back in defeat, feeling like he was going to scream. Just when he'd summoned up the nerve to tell her, this had to happen. He sighed dejectedly at his thwarted attempt of letting Evelyn know his true feelings for her and placed his order, staring back at the woman across the table anxiously.

 

  She offered him a warm smile as the waiter left and took a sip of the wine they had ordered. She knew she wasn't the best with alcohol, but that was alright. Surely one glass couldn't hurt her.

 

  "You were saying Rick?" she asked, her curiosity piqued by what he had been about to tell her before being interrupted.

 

  "Never mind," he said, shaking his head. He saw her take a drink of her wine and decided that maybe he should follow her example. Maybe the alcohol would help him loosen up enough in order to tell her. Just as long as he didn't get tanked, obviously. He had a feeling that he should keep his eye on Evelyn though, just in case. He had seen what alcohol did to her and there was no way he was going to have her pass out on him before he got the chance to tell her.

 

*******

 

  Dinner was a rich meal and the conversation was pleasant. Evelyn was feeling a little light-headed from the alcohol, but she was still doing alright, mostly. She had laughed at his jokes and some of the nervousness between them had been thrown out the window. They paid the waiter and headed off for a walk along the riverside. She needed to clear her head from the effect of the wine and she leaned against him as they began walking.

 

  His spirits rose when he felt her lean against him and he gingerly put an arm around her waist. Rick O'Connell, adventurer and former corporal in the French Foreign Legion was officially scared witless. He had been involed in brawls, gunfights and battles with ancient walking talking corpses, but when it came to Evelyn Carnahan, his courage seemed to desert him.

 

  He wanted to impress her with fancy words, but deep down, he knew that wasn't really his style. He didn't think he deserved her to be honest, but he thanked whatever god had sent her his way.

 

  "I never really thanked you, you know," he said slowly.

 

  She smiled up at him and swayed a little from the alcohol, but it helped to have his arm around her waist holding her steady lest she faint, fall over or just take off flying. She watched him carefully and ever so adoringly and she felt this gentle nature of the moment with him. She placed a hand on his chest to steady himself.

 

  "For what?" she asked him sweetly, her tone warm and inviting.

 

  "Back in the prison for saving my neck," he told her. "And I feel like I owe you an apology for being so rude to you when we first met. It's just that-" he sighed- "all my life, I've never really been close to anybody until I met you Evelyn. It's like you made my life complete, that you were the one thing I'd been missing and it scared me at first. That's why I was so rude, I didn't want to get too close. I was afraid to...to fall in love."

 

  There, he had said it. Now he watched her nervously, waiting for her reaction.

 

  She felt her heart swim in the knowledge that he was feeling exactly the same way that she saw. She suddenly felt that her emotions were not so bad, or wrong, or evil. She threw her arms around his neck and held him close to her, still swaying against him slightly. Tears lined her face as she nuzzled her cheek with his, whispering into his ear.

 

  "Rick, I...I've always been a proper girl, trying to follow a path that just wasn't for me. You took me away from that and I want to thank you for everything you showed me and just for how you make me feel. I love you as I never thought possible."

 

  His arms were wrapped tightly around her, loving the feel of her soft warm body so close to his and he swayed gently with her. His cheek was pressed against her own so that he couldn't see her face when he finally stammered out, "I-I love you Evelyn."

 

  He pulled back from her suddenly, amazed that he had finally spoken the words, those words that now meant so much to him. "God, I love you." And suddenly, he laughed with the weight that had been lifted from his shoulders and his fingers tangled in her hair.

 

   "I love you too. I love you so very much." She giggled herself at the release this brought her and she just wrapped her arms tighter around him, practically lifting off the ground as she stood on her tip-toes. She smiled widely and placed a few kisses right along his cheek and ear, thrilled to be so close to him and finally able to admit that she, Evelyn Carnahan needed someone.

 

  He cupped her face in his hands, smiling with her. "You know, I've been trying to tell you that all week," he admitted. "And every time, I lost my nerve. It was like whenever I opened my mouth to tell you, I was struck dumb. Forget the stuff we brought back from Hamunaptra, you're the greatest treasure of them all." His smile widened. They were so close now. Close enough to kiss... He stared at her mouth hungrily.

 

  She swallowed hard, feeling the same pining urge to kiss him, but she wasn't quite sure how to go about it, even though they had shared that one passionate kiss a week ago. He had called her treasure, most men saw her as something to get rid of and that was certainly not something to swoon at. Most men felt threatened by her spirit, but Rick...he was different.

 

  She eyed him closely. Sure, she had had a little to drink, but she was not going to allow herself to pass out this time as she tilted her chin up a bit and let her eyes close.

 

  He felt his own eyes flutter shut and he leaned down to her at the same time she reached up for him...and their lips met, gently pressing against each others. Her mouth was so soft and he felt like he could stay like this forever, but he pulled back in order to gauge her reaction, to see if she had liked it as much as he had. He wanted this and she promised so much more, but he also wanted to take things slow. The last thing he wanted to do was to scare her or hurt her.

 

   She opened her eyes very slowly and just stared at him, wondering what to say, what to do next. Her whole face was aglow with the love and warmth she felt for this man and the simple nature of nature of his lips against hers had her wanting more, to which she responded by blushing deeper. She'd never thought about things like that before.

 

  "Rick...promise me you won't ever leave," she said softly as she wrapped her arms around him and resting her head upon his chest.

 

  "Never Evelyn, never," he swore, holding her tightly. "Besides," he added jokily. "Don't think you'll be able to get rid of me easily." He smiled into her hair, revelling in the sweet, feminine smell of her. This felt right. This was where he belonged, in her arms. And that brought a new question to mind.

 

  "Evelyn, I would never leave you," he said softly. "I love you. We were meant to be together and the only way this evening could get any better would be..."

 

  "Nothing could make this better, I'm so happy," she told him. she couldn't imagine what would make her even happier. "I'm so happy to be with you. I just want you by my side always, to never let me go."

 

  She pressed her head closer, listening to his heart beating in time with her own and she sighed softly, filled with joy.

 

  "Well, I have to let you go so that I can do this."

 

  Rick released his hold on her reluctantly to get down on one knee. "Now I know this is all a bit sudden and I don't even have a ring on me or anything, but..." his voice cracked. "Evelyn, will you marry me?"

 

  She placed a hand to her lips and smiled through her teary eyes. She nodded, not even having to think about it. She just knew deep within her heart that she was meant to be with this man and she found her voice again.

 

  "Yes...yes, oh Rick, yes!"

 

  She dropped onto her own knees and tackled him happily, her shawl falling from her shoulders as she ended up knocking both of them to the ground.  All she could think about was the wonderful life that lay ahead of her. The days that they would spend together, the children they would have, the way they would be together as only a husband and wife could be.

 

  Suddenly, she realised that she was lying on top of him and she got a little nervous, not knowing what to do about it, but certainly not willing to move.

 

  He lay perfectly still beneath her, not daring to move. He was lost in the feel of her body pressed against his and he was so tempted to kiss her again, enchanted by her beautiful smile. Figuring what the hell, they were engaged now, he moved a hand to the back of her neck and gently pulled her head down to meet her lips.

 

  He had surprised her, but she wouldn't dare refuse a kiss from this man and she kissed him back with every ounce of love that she held for him deep within her heart. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him to her as their mouths mingled in silent need. Her hair made a curtain of dark waves around her head and she didn't even bother brushing it aside.

 

  Encouraged by her response, his arms found their way around her, holding her protectively within his embrace. He smiled at her reassuringly, touching her nose with his before diving back into another kiss. This time, he gently nipped at her lower lip before letting his tongue slip into her mouth and explore.

 

  She gasped a bit and pulled back away from him, feeling slightly overwhelmed by her own desire. She wasn't sure what was going on or what was going to happen next, or even if she was doing things right.

 

  "Are you okay?" he asked, sensing her nervousness. He released her, knowing that she needed the space right now. "We don't have to do this yet if you don't want to. I don't want to push you into anything Evelyn, I just want to make sure you're okay with this."

 

  He got to his feet and helped her up, smiling gently to let her know that this was alright.

 

  She smiled back at him, staring deep into his eyes as she thought about what he had just said.

 

  "We should wait until our wedding night. It wouldn't be proper otherwise." More so, she was terrified of what it would be like when she made love to him. It scared her so and she shivered a little with her shawl no longer on her shoulders.

 

   "Sure," he agreed. When he saw her shiver, he was tempted to put an arm around her, but he wasn't sure if she would be spooked after what had just happened so he bent to pick her shawl up from its place on the ground and carefully draped it around her shoulders. "Better?" he asked, taking her hand in his and brushing his thumb over her soft skin.

 

  She nodded. "Yes, much," she said as she leaned into him. Her life felt so complete, she was going to marry the man she was so in love with. Her eyes flickered over his face as they began to walk back towards home.

 

  "Rick? When are we going to get married?" she asked softly, knowing that she wanted this as soon as possible in order to start their lives together.

 

  "I don't know," he admitted. "Whenever you want. It's not like I have any pressing plans." He smiled at her. "It's your call Evelyn. I'd marry you tomorrow, but I want to go at your pace. If you think we should wait a while then fine. All I want to do is be with you."

 

  They were almost at her house.

 

  It might have been the alcohol talking, but she found herself blurting out, "how about Friday?" She curled closer in his arms, not wanting their walk to end, not wanting to leave his side. She was thinking about asking him in to sleep with her, but she shook that idea off.

 

  "Friday?" he asked. "Are you sure?" His arms slipped around her waist as he held her, smiling when she snuggled closer to him. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were getting attached to me Evelyn," he teased, brushing a lock of hair away from her face.

 

  She smiled and rested her head on his chest. It felt so right to have him holding her like this and she let him bury his face in her hair.

 

  "I got attached to you long ago, Mr O'Connell," she teased back sweetly. They were still not adjusted to each other's nicknames yet. She held him closer as they hit her house, not really wanting to leave his side.

 

  He laughed softly into her hair at that remark and gently kissed the top of her head. "Well, we're here," he said as they stopped outside her house. He didn't want to let her go in the slightest, but he said, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

 

  "I hate it when you have to go away at night," she mumbled softly, not quite sure how he would respond to that, but feeling like she needed to say it anyway. "I never want you going away from me. I wish...I wish..." you could stay and sleep with me, her mind finished what her lips would not. 

 

  His heart almost leaped out of his chest with hope. He hated saying goodbye to her every night too. He remembered that time a couple of days ago when he couldn't sleep, so he had crept into her bedroom to watch her sleep for a few moments before going back to his hotel room with a huge smile on his face. She had looked so sweet and peaceful, it almost broke his heart.

 

  "What do you wish Evelyn?" he asked gently.

 

  "Perhaps we could..." she tested the water with those words, trying them out in the best way possible so that she wouldn't sound like she was inviting him into bed for...you know.

 

  "Is it a problem if..." she stared at him, her eyes caught in his and she sighed deeply in an attempt to sooth her nerves. They would be married soon, come on. "Stay with me Rick," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

 

  "Yes," he replied softly, his face full of hope. He would be more than happy to just it by her bedside and watch her sleep and he smiled at her, offering his arm for the second time that night and saying, "shall we?" He felt a little silly for that, but he was so thrilled that he didn't care. 'She wants to be with me!' he thought happily as he ecorted her to her room.

 

  She nodded, taking his arm in relief. Once in her bedroom, she grabbed her nightgown and went into the bathroom to change. She came out wearing the soft white garment and she walked over to the bed, turning down the covers and climbing in under them. She looked over at him.

 

  "Stay with me," she whispered and reached her fingers out to him invitingly.

 

  Now, this had been more than he'd been expecting, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He draped his jacket over a nearby chair and began unfastening the buttons on his shirt, feeling slightly self-conscious as she watched him. He had never felt this nervous about undressing in front of another person before.

 

  The shirt joined his jacket and he kicked off his boots along with his socks as he stood before her half-naked. He decided to leave his pants on which would make for uncomfortable sleeping, but he conceded it was a small price to pay for being able to sleep by her side.

 

  She swallowed hard at the sight of him, but she couldn't turn back now. Leaning over to click off the light, she welcomed him into her bed. Perhaps this would make things easier when it came to making love in less than a weeks time.

 

  She brushed out the folds in her nightgown as he settled into bed and then ran her hand over his chest a bit, then pulling back, afraid to do even that.

 

  "It's okay," he assured her, bringing her hand back to rest on his bare chest. "I want to be close to you Evelyn." Just that slight contact of her hand on the skin of his chest had sent his mind reeling. God, if it was like this when she touched his chest, imagine what it would be like when they finally made love. He was sure it would be well worth the wait.

 

  She placed her hand back on his chest nervously. Her head was resting against the pillow, so close to his ear. Her heart was racing, her breathing had become heavy as she breathed in his scent. She wanted him, she wanted him close too, to be a part of her. She trailed her hand over his chest and shoulders.

 

  "I promise I won't bite," he teased as she moved her hand uncertainly over his chest. He wasn't sure how far she was going with this, but he was more than willing to let her explore. He just lay there quietly, one hand stroking her hair occaisionally, but other than that he made no move toward her. He wanted to take this at her pace, wanted to take away her feelings of nervousness and uncertainty.

 

  "I don't quite understand this feeling Rick," she admitted as she ran her hands over him, loving the way his muscles flexed beneath her curious fingers. She closed her eyes, breathing growing heavier as she imagined things that she'd never allowed herself to think about before.

 

  "I don't think anybody does Evelyn, there's not much about my hormones that I understand," he joked, but then became serious once more. "If it helps at all, I'm kinda nervous too," he told her. "When I was stood there undressing in front of you, I kept thinking what if she doesn't like what she sees? What if she throws me out?"

 

  He smiled at her, his hand moving from her hair to cup her face. "I love you Evelyn."

 

  "Yes," she smiled and nestled her head closer to him, whispering into his ear and holding him close to her. She let her hands play over his skin, light, testing brushes on his body. "But at least you're familiar with this. I'm not," she whispered, almost envious of any woman he had been with before her.

 

  "I know," he told her softly. "And I don't want to hurt you. But this can be as much or as little as you want Evelyn, I'm not going to rush you. I'm just happy to be with you like this, holding you. I've never been so happy before. For the first time in your life baby, don't try and analyse this situation. Just feel."

 

  "Just feel?" she asked, wanting to know exactly what he meant by that. "Feel what Rick?" She wanted him to show her, but she felt like they shouldn't since they were not married yet. She longed to know about this though, to understand just what this was all about.

 

  "Just...let yourself feel," he repeated, trying to come up with an explanation for it. "Where you just stop thinking and let yourself go. Where your mind stops working and your body takes over. It's not a bad thing, it's not wrong and it's not shameful. It's a beautiful thing Evelyn and I'd love to show you what I mean by all this. I want to show you how much I love you and how you make me feel."

 

  He kissed her nose gently. "Does that help or have I just been rmabling for the past couple of minutes?" he asked, smiling.

 

  She merely nodded and stared up into his eyes.

 

  "Me? You want to feel me?"

 

  She still couldn't believe that any man would want to do this with her. She'd always been such a klutz and rather undesirable, or so she had thought, not knowing how many men had find her beautiful.

 

  She'd hit him if she knew how much he wanted to feel her, he thought ruefully.

 

  "Of course I do," he told her. "Listen to me. I find you very attractive, not only for your looks, but also because you're smart, you're funny and you've got spirit. I love you for that Evelyn. If anything, I should be questioning why you'd wanna take a roughneck like me into your life."

 

  She laughed softly at that.

 

  "Oh Rick, you make me brave. You make me feel things that I never dared think about before. You make me feel human and like a woman. You make me complete," she murmured, letting her head settle his chest. She curled up close to him, taking one of his hands in hers. She knew that for such a smart woman, this was going to sound stupid.

 

  "You're going to make love to me?"

 

  "Of course," he told her, kissing her hair. "And I'm going to show you how much I love you, how you affect me. How you make *me* feel." He rubbed her back soothingly as he buried his face into her hair. God, he couldn't get enough of that smell, couldn't get enough of just playing with the soft strands. If he didn't know better, he might say that he was obsessed with it. Silly really that even her hair could have such an effect on him.

 

  She suddenly felt safer in his embrace than anywhere else in the entire world. She curled closer, wanting to feel him around her. She felt tiredness wash over her as she placed a couple of feathery light kisses to his breast, wondering how he would respond.

 

  He sighed softly at the sensation of her lips on his chest.

 

  "That feels good," he said, hugging her tighter. "*You* feel good." He held her close and was silent for a while, the only sound in the room being the noise of the fan on the ceiling. "You tired at all?" he murmured.

 

  "Mmm-hmm," she said, leaning back to rest her head on his chest again. "It feels good though to be together like this. Who would have known that when I first met you in Cairo prison, I was looking at the man I was going to marry." She smiled, wrapping an arm around his chest.

 

  "Well, that's fate for you," he said. "It's amazing how things turn out sometimes." His fingers were back in her hair, stroking, soothing. "When I was a kid, like really young, I remember that my mom would sit beside me when I wasn't tired and stroke my hair just like this until I fell asleep."

 

  He kissed her forehead and smiled.

 

  "Mmmm, I hope you liked it as much as I do." She was feeling very drowsy now and she nestled closer to him, just sharing his warmth. "I love you," she whispered as she felt her mind slipping into a world of sleep. She knew the next few days would fly by as she waited until they were wed, but for now she was asleep and safe in her fiance's arms.

 

  "I love you too," he told her, smiling as she drifted off to sleep, placing one final kiss to her forehead before closing his eyes to join her.