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netting dancing. Rachael lay asleep, her black hair spilling across the pillow. The wind tugged and teased
at the silky strands so that her hair moved, beckoning to him. He pulled the door closed and resisted the
temptation of lying down beside her. If he were going into action again so soon, he would have to clean
all his weapons and make certain he had emergency kits stashed along every escape route.
RACHAEL ate very little and stayed quiet, stroking Fritz's fur while she watched Rio work. He had
more guns and more knives than anyone she'd ever met, and she was familiar with weapons. He used the
same care cleaning as he did fixing up wounds, meticulous and steady, not missing a single detail. She
watched as he took several sets of clothes and small medical kits along with some of the guns and put
them in weatherproof packs.
"What are you doing with those?" Curiosity finally got the better of her. Rachael was comfortable with
silences and with being alone, but not like Rio. He seemed perfectly fine going hours without saying a
single word.
Rio glanced up and blinked, as if he'd just noticed her. In truth he'd been aware of her every move. He
was nearly hypnotized by the sight of her fingers stroking the cat's fur. "I stash the packs along my escape
routes in case I'm out of ammo, weapons or need medical supplies. It can be very useful."
"And the clothes?"
"Comes in handy if I need a change," he answered glibly.
"I see. Are you going to tell me why your friend Drake acted so strangely around the cats and why it
didn't bother you? I expected, just for a moment there, for him to suddenly erupt into violence. I think
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you expected it too."
"Drake has lived in the forest for most of his entire life. We're very primitive here. We react to things in
nature; It sounds a little strange, but if you're here a long time, you'll understand." His hands stilled on the
knife he was sharpening. "I want you to stay a long time, Rachael."
His gaze was direct as always. Rachael couldn't have looked away if her life depended on it. His voice
was so low she almost didn't hear him. For a moment she couldn't breathe, her chest so tight from a
mixture of hope and fear. She almost blurted out her first thought. She wanted to stay needed to stay.
Had never wanted a man the way she wanted him. But death was poised over her head and it didn't care
who happened to be in the same vicinity.
"With me, Rachael. I want you to stay here with me."
"You know I can't, Rio. You know why." Her fingers curled so tightly in the clouded leopard's fur, Fritz
lifted his head and looked at her with his lip curled.
"Then at least want to stay with me. If you could, would you want to be with me?" She belonged with
him. He knew it with every breath he took. Knew it with every fiber of his being. How could she not
know? Not feel it? It was so clear to him.
Rachael pulled her hand away from the cat and dragged the cover to her chin. A small protection, but it
made her feel in control. Rio stood up in his lazy, languorous way, the one that always reminded her of a
feline. Without hesitation he lay down beside her, fitting his body around hers, careful to keep from
touching her leg.
The blanket was between them, but Rachael felt his body right through the thin weave. When she took a
breath, she took him into her lungs. "You don't know me any more than I know you. We can't just
pretend we don't have pasts, Rio, as much as we'd like. I'm not the woman you seem to remember in
your dreams, and you can't be the man I remember. Things like that aren't real."
His fingers tangled in her hair. "How do you know they aren't real? How do you know we weren't
together in a past life? Your hair felt just like this, but it was long, to your waist. When you braided it, the
braid was nearly as thick as my forearm. I know the sound of your laughter, Rachael, but more
importantly, I know what makes you laugh. I know what makes you sad. I know that you have an
aversion to monkeys. How would I know that?" He wrapped her curls around his fingers and buried his
face against the silken mass.
"I must have said something, maybe when I had such a high fever. I was probably rambling like crazy."
"Just the opposite. You were so closemouthed most of the time, it scared me. Sometimes you were
barely breathing."
She laughed softly. "I was afraid you were giving me truth serum."
"So I could conduct my interrogation." He lifted his head, his green eyes blazing at her. "Are you afraid of
me, Rachael? Are you afraid I'll betray you for the money?"
She studied his face feature by feature and found she was shaking her head before she could stop herself.
"No, I'm not afraid of that."
"Then talk to me. Tell me who you are."
She lifted her hand to his face, traced the tiny lines around his mouth. "You tell me who you are, Rio. Let
me know you before you ask questions of me. I see suffering in your face. You've seen betrayal, you
know what it is. And you came here for a reason. Tell me what it is. Why do you have to live in this
place?"
"I choose to live here, Rachael, I don't have to live here. There is a difference."
"You've been here for some time. Do Kim and Tama live far away from other people? Does Drake?"
"No, Kim and Tama live in the village. Most of the time if their people move, the entire village moves.
They still have longhouses when they're traveling. Drake lives near a village for our people."
"Who are your people, Rio? Why don't you want to be close to them?"
"I've always been happier on my own. I don't mind a solitary life."
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Rachael smiled and snuggled deeper into her pillow. "You aren't willing to tell me anything at all about
yourself. Even in friendship there has to be give-and-take, trust between two people. We don't have that
between us."
"Then what do we have?" Rio knew she was right, but he didn't want to hear her say it. He wanted things
to be different, but if he told her the things she wanted to know there was no chance for them.
"I'm so tired, Rio," Rachael said softly. "Can we do this tomorrow? I can't seem to stay awake no matter
how hard I try. I think you keep putting something into that drink you're always telling me is so healthy."
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