Sorry it's taken me forever to update but life's been really hectic recently, not that I complain... well yes a little coz I can't write or update...
Enough useless writting, let's get to this new chapter, I hope you'll like it and if you do or don't, just let me know.
Richard couldn't tell how long he's been waiting in the hallway in front of the door of the Mother Confessor's room, receiving looks of sympathy from maids or guards. Cara had joined him from time to time, updating him about Zedd's condition. Even though his grandfather was feeling better, he needed to rest and he wasn't strong enough to heal Kahlan's wound on her arm or Richard's fractured wrist. The wrist could wait but Richard wanted Kahlan's wound to disappear.
"Do you want me to go in and knock some senses into her?" The Mord'Sith asked.
"Cara…" Richard replied, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"When you couldn't be together you couldn't get your hands off each other and now that you can, you're not even in the same room. It makes no sense." Cara explained.
"It's complicated." Richard sighed.
"Let me see… No, not really. You want her, take her." The blond replied.
"Leave me alone Cara." The Seeker ordered. Even if he understood that Cara was trying to make him feel better, she wasn't really helping.
"Fine, but she's wasting time alone when she could use that time for so much fun and pleasure." Cara teased, running her finger along Richard's jaw before giving him a smile and adding: "I know I wouldn't waste that time."
She winked at him and left him alone in the hallway.
Richard ran his hand in his hair and decided to enter in the room. He just needed to see her, to make sure she was okay.
"Kahlan?" He called softly as he entered her room without knocking.
The big white bed in the middle of the room was empty, looking around, he spotted her on the balcony. Making his way toward her, he noticed that she was staring at the view in front of her, her arms tightly crossed over her.
She barely turned her head to him, acknowledging his presence. He stood quietly beside her, enjoying the view of the sun setting down on the city of Aydindrill.
After a long moment of silence, without looking at him, Kahlan finally asked: "Do they know what I did?"
"Who?" Richard asked back in a soft voice.
"My people." She simply replied.
"No, the only persons knowing what happened are Cara, Zedd, Sylvia and well… Tim." He told her.
She simply nodded and went quiet again, still staring at the city.
"You should get back inside, it's freezing cold out here." He told her after another long silence.
"You don't have to be here." She replied in a cold tone, still not daring to look at him.
"I don't have to, but I want to, I need to." He said in a whisper.
She turned to face him and undid the laces of her dress, looking straight in his eyes. Richard swallowed hard when her dress hit the floor, leaving her only with her corset and underthings.
"Kahlan…" He whispered.
"Here, take me." She said.
He shook his head no and she added: "Isn't it why you're here? To claim what's yours to take?"
"I'm here to help you to go through whatever you're going through Kahlan." He told her.
"You don't want me then." She said, grabbing her dress and putting it back on herself.
"I want you… Kahlan… Spirits know how much I want you, but not like this." He explained as tears filled his eyes.
"Then what do you want from me Richard?" She abruptly asked.
"Nothing." He told her as he made a step towards her but she made a step back.
"After everything I've put you through, after I betrayed you, why are you here?" She asked with the same cold tone.
"Because I love you Kahlan!" He shouted, making her jump and closed her eyes. "I may not be confessed but I have this intense need to be next to you, to make sure that you are alright, to hold you in my arms…" He continued with a warmer tone.
She finally closed the gap between them and ran a hand through his hair, she looked in his eyes as her vision became blurry because of her own tears and she said: "I don't need you pity Richard. I don't want you to wait for me to feel better and then tell me that we are over because of what I did to you. I love you with all my being and leaving me now or in a few days will break my heart just the same."
"I don't want to leave you Kahlan. I want to be with you forever." He told her as he pressed his forehead against hers.
"You were angry at me for taking a mate, in the garden, when we spoke, you were so angry..." She whispered.
"I was…" He admitted as he dared to rest his hand on her neck and caress her jaw with his thumb.
"I'm sorry to be so unworthy of your love." She cried as she pushed herself away from him.
"Don't do this Kahlan, don't you dare say that you are worthless. You are the most important thing in my life, the best thing that ever happened to me." He sternly told her.
"I chose him, I let him kiss me and let his hands touch me. I may be the Mother Confessor but I'm just a whore. I will never forgive myself for betraying you. What happened in that room will forever be marked in my mind as the day that I was less of a woman, the day I disappointed you to the point of no return." She explained with a sad smile.
He growled in anger and grabbed by the shoulders pushing her against the wall. He locked his gaze with hers for a second and he kissed her hard, almost bruising her lips, forcing his tongue inside her mouth. His hips buckled against her as his lips left her mouth to kiss her neck, biting the skin here and there, sucking to leave his mark as he reached her collarbone. He wanted her to understand that he loved her, that he wanted her, that she wasn't worthless. She wouldn't hear his words so maybe she would understand his actions even if his passion for her was taking the best of him, driving him mad.
"Take me. I won't resist." She whispered as she closed her eyes.
Richard froze, he had to stop before he started something he would regret. Their first time would be magical, he promised her that and he intended to keep his word.
He buried his face in her neck and whispered: "No matter if he kissed you or touched you, I'm going to do whatever it takes to show you that you are more than worthy of my love."
He looked at her and took her hand in his, put it over his heart under his shirt and he said: "My heart only beats for you. I want you to feel it."
"Richard…" She whispered as she tried to pull her hand away.
"Do you feel it?" He asked, pressing her hand tighter over his chest.
She nodded slightly and he said: "Now, you're going to get inside and I'll change your bandages, after that we're going to lay in your bed and I'll hold you until you fall asleep."
"You don't…" She started but he silenced her with his finger and said: "You don't have the right to protest. When you're with me, you're not the Mother Confessor, you are the woman that I love and that I intend to take care of. You can blame yourself all you want, but I'm not going anywhere."
With that he took her hand in his and led her inside the room, making her sit on the edge of the bed as he reached for bandages and ointments to take care of her arm. She stood still as he inspected her wound. Zedd had closed it with its magic but it wasn't strong enough to heal it completely, it still needed treatment to prevent from any infections.
"Does it hurt?" Richard asked gently.
She shook slightly her head no and he continued to work on her arm. It amazed her how, with a fractured wrist, he could do so much. Once he was done, she thanked him and reached for some bandages.
"Here, you should keep it steady." She said as she softly reached for his forearm to put bandages around his fractured wrist.
"It's alright, it doesn't hurt, let's get some sleep." He told her.
"Please Richard, let me do this. If not for you than for me. It's the least I can do after what I've done to you." She told him, looking down.
"Okay." He simply replied, letting her wrap his wrist with bandages. Once she was done, he took her hand in his and gave it a small kiss.
"Thank you. Now let's lie down." He said with a smile. She nodded and they both took their boots off.
Kahlan lied in the bed, under the covers, fixing the ceiling. She didn't know if she would be able to sleep, she had too many things on her mind. As a wave of tears filled her eyes, she closed them and took a deep breath. She felt the mattress move under Richard's weight as he lied on his side close to her. She could feel his look on her face for a moment but she didn't want to open her eyes, the shame of her betrayal was still too heavy for her. She felt him kiss her temple and wrap his arm around her waist and finally he rested his head close to hers, so close she could feel his hot breath on her face as he whispered his love for her.
She suddenly turned in his arms and kissed him with passion. Her hands reached his chest and slowly moved down to sneak under his shirt, her hands on his skin made him moan as he ran his hands through her hair. She was so intoxicating that he let himself get lost in their kiss but went back to reality when he felt her hands tugging at the laces of his pants.
He broke their kiss and mumbled: "Kahlan stop."
She captured his lips once again and he grabbed her hands and it was her turn to break their kiss.
"Let me do this for you, I know you want to." She whispered in a sultry voice that made him shiver from head to toes.
"What are you doing?" He asked. "This is not you Kahlan."
"I want to prove my love for you." She replied truthfully.
"I promised you our first time would be special, I won't let it happen that way." He told her.
She asked: "And how am I going to prove my love to you?"
"What do you mean? You don't have to prove anything to me." He told her, shifting to look at her, propping himself on an elbow.
"You are immunized to my powers, that's proving your love for me and I can't show you my love for you in return. I'm scared that you love me too much and that I can't love you back enough." She explained.
Richard chuckled, she wondered what was so funny and he said: "I love you and you love me back enough, I can see it by the look in your eyes. Past, the strength, the Mother Confessor, the determination and all the things making you who you are, I can see your endless love for me."
"But…" She started but he silenced her with a small kiss.
"You were willing to end your life because you wanted to free me from confession, if you really need proof, this is one." He said.
"I did that to save the Seeker and save the Midlands." She replied.
"I believe that you wrote that 'your choices were made out of love, your love from me and your need to protect me' in your goodbye letter." He said with a smile.
She didn't replied and closed her eyes, looking for something to say to him but he was first to speak: "And as you're going to be my wife and give birth to our daughters, I think it pretty much proves your love for me."
Her eyes filled with tears again and he planted her kiss on her forehead before saying: "I know that you love me Kahlan and if you trust me with your powers, it's everything I need."
She nodded and hugged him tightly, burying her face in the crock of his neck. He let himself fall on the bed on his back and pulled to covers on them, never letting go of her.
"I believe you can sleep soundly now." He said, kissing her on the top of the head. She nodded and fell asleep in an instant.