Richard entered the room as quietly as possible, without dropping the tray of food he was carrying. He closed the door shut with his foot and walked to the bed. Kahlan was sleeping in the middle, a pillow clutched to her with the covers almost covering her head. He put the tray over the blanket and walked around the bed to lay behind her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed the back of her head.
"Morning beautiful." He whispered.
She smiled but kept her eyes closed, letting an arm out of the warmth of the covers, she rested her hand on top of Richard's and laced their fingers together.
"Breakfast is served." He whispered in her ear, making her shiver from head to toes.
She moved to lie on her back, her eyes still closed and he bent down to give her a quick kiss.
"Morning." She whispered, rubbing her eyes with her free hand. Her eyes finally opened to find his staring at her. She laughed slightly and pulled the blanket over her head.
"What?" He asked, returning her laugh.
"You're staring." She told him.
Lifting the blanket, he rested his head next to hers and said: "There's hot tea and bread."
"Thank you. It's very kind of you." She said, finally sitting up and resting her back against the headboard. He pulled the tray closer to them and gave her a cup of tea before taking one himself.
They drank in a comfortable silence but she suddenly stated: "You're leaving, aren't you?"
"No." He simply replied.
"But you are the Lord Rahl… you belong to the People's Palace." She said.
"If you want me to leave then I'll go." He told her.
"I don't want you to leave." She said, tightening her hold on her cup as she looked down, ashamed of her own thoughts.
He turned his body to face her, he wanted her to see the truth of his words. It pained him that she was associating the fact that he was being nice to her with an imminent departure.
"I'm not going anywhere Kahlan." He said.
She nodded at him and he continued: "I… I thought about it over and over again."
"About what?" She asked.
"Our future." He replied, running a hand through his hair before adding: "As our lands are united, I was thinking that maybe we could live here in Aydindrill during the first half of the year and then move to D'Hara during the rest of the time. We could stay in touch with people with journey books."
"It's a long walk to D'Hara." She told him.
"I know… but I thought that it would bring back some good memories, sleeping in the woods, building a fire… I could teach Cassie things about nature and stuffs like that." He explained with a large smile on his face.
"I like that idea." She said with a smile, more than the idea, she loved that he was thinking about their future.
She drank more tea and asked: "What if you have to go to war?"
"I'll take you with me. Even if I don't like this idea one bit, that I'd rather see you safe in your room in the Palace, I know you would want to fight by my side." He explained.
"I would." She told him with a smile.
"Only, Kahlan, I hope you would stay here safe taking care of our daughter instead of risking your life on the field. I won't force you to stay in the Palace, but I won't be pleased with the idea of you being injured or worst." He said.
"The Seeker needs his Confessor." She reminded him.
"Alive. The Seeker needs his Confessor alive and I, Kahlan, I need you and our daughter to be safe." He almost pleaded.
"I'll think about it." She told him with a smile.
"Thank you." He said before giving her a kiss on the cheek and adding: "I have to go."
"Wh-What? Where?" She asked with a panicked voice.
"Not far away, just in my office, I have a lot to do, you might not see me too often during the next few days." He explained.
"Oh." She exclaimed with a disappointed frown on her face.
"I'll be with you for the next hearings though. I've already asked some Mord'Sith to protect you, we'll search the people at the entrance of the Palace. No harm will be done to you. And once our people will see how good you are, everything will be back as it was before." He said proudly.
"Alright." She said.
"Now finish your breakfast, Cara will be here soon, she'll watch over you two while I deal with the riots. I'll see you later." He said, getting up from the bed and leaving the room before she had the chance to say anything else.
*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*
She sighed heavily. She couldn't rest, no matter how hard she was squeezing her eyes shut or how she tried to control her breathing, it was all useless. She could hear Cassie playing in her bed, though the moon was already high in the sky neither of them seemed to be able to find sleep.
Kahlan's mind was spinning with thoughts of Richard. She wondered what he was doing, if he was sleeping or not. It was the second night he was sleeping in his own room, just next to Kahlan's room and she didn't like it. She wanted to be next to him, to find sleep in his arms. He had decided that it would be best to sleep in separate rooms since he was working late and he didn't want to wake them when he was going to bed. She hadn't had much sleep last night either but at least Cassie had.
"Mama." Cassie called softly. Her mother chose not to answer in hope that she would finally fall asleep on her own.
She signed one more time, pulling the covers away from her body, it was too hot and that was the reason she couldn't sleep. She turned to rest on her stomach, pulling away the hair that had fallen to her face. She missed him. He stood by her side during the hearings of the day with the people of Aydindrill but it wasn't enough. He was too far away from her to her taste and they were supposed to act like leaders not like some teenagers blinded by love. She knew he was taking things slow between them but the woman in her hated it. She missed him, his kisses, his touch… She missed their naked bodies tightly pressed against each other, kissing his chest until he panted her name, looking into his eyes as her powers claimed him and left nothing but absolute bliss on his face. Images of him making love to her were running through her mind, driving her crazy.
"Damn you Richard." She murmured before releasing one more sigh and sitting up.
"Mama!" Cassie's voice was more insistent. Kahlan knew that soon she would be crying.
Getting up from the bed, she made her way to her daughter's room lighted by some candles and the moon.
"You have to sleep baby." Kahlan gently told her daughter who responded by pouting and shaking her head no.
Kahlan couldn't help but smiled at the sight of her daughter.
"Cassie eep Wicha" The little girl stated.
Kahlan frowned, trying to understand her daughter, she was learning and adding more and more vocabulary each day but she still had troubles forming sentences. Kahlan somewhat didn't care, she didn't want her only baby to grow up too fast.
"Ohhhh" She finally understood.
Picking up her daughter, Kahlan told her: "Looks like you're becoming Daddy's girl."
She smiled from ear to ear, she loved the bond between Richard and Cassie and she loved seeing them together.
"I'm going to tell you a secret, I miss Daddy too." She said, kissing her on the top of the head.
"Come on, let's go find him." She said as she walked out of the room.
Two Mord'Sith immediately straighten their backs when she walked out of the room, she didn't know them but she saluted them with a small nod.
When she reached Richard's door room, she knocked softly not wanting to alert him if he was sleeping. She hoped he was awake.
The door finally opened to reveal Richard, only wearing night pants. Kahlan swallowed hard as she forced her eyes to look in his eyes instead of running over the sweet curves of his chest and stomach.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, alarmed to see her at his door in the middle of the night.
"Can we sleep with you tonight?" She asked shyly.
Giving her a smile, he opened his door wider, inviting her to come in.
"Cassie asked for you." She said, standing next to the bed while he closed the door.
"I'm glad she did." He replied as the little girl stretched her hands towards her father who gladly picked her up.
"She misses you." Kahlan told him.
"I miss her too." He replied, kissing Cassie soundly on the cheek. He took some time to study Kahlan. She was breathtaking in her pale nightgown, her hair cascading over her shoulders. She was looking down at the ground and fidgeting her nightgown, it bothered him that she seemed uneasy around him.
He cleared his throat and said: "Let's get to bed."
She simply nodded and they both lied under the warm blankets. Kahlan was on her back, staring at the ceiling while Richard was adjusting the covers over Cassie who was resting on his chest and already falling asleep.
Stretching his arm, he took Kahlan's hand in his and said: "Hey, come closer."
She turned her head to look at him and he smiled at her, she scooted closer to him, resting her head in the crock of his neck, as she usually did.
Closing her eyes, she wrapped her arm around his waist and let her thumb softly stroke his skin. He smelled good, his hot skin warming her and comforting her. It seemed sometimes odd the effect he had on her, how he could both calm and make her heart race. She kissed him on the neck without even thinking about what she was doing, like it was the most natural thing in the universe. She let her tongue taste his skin as she tried to get closer to him.
"Kahlan…" She heard him whispering.
"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have… I didn't mean…" She mumbled, surprised by her own actions.
"No… Kahlan… It's just… I want to kiss you so much right now and I can't." He cut her off.
She slowly looked up at him, she wanted to kiss him as well, but she didn't know if it would be appropriate.
"I can't kiss you without waking our daughter." He told her with a smile.
She nodded silently and he added: "But that doesn't mean you can't kiss me, I mean… if you want to."
Without hesitation, she crushed her lips on his, her hair falling down to tickle his face. He brought his free hand into her hair, pulling her impossibly closer to him. She felt his tongue caressing her lips, begging for entrance and she complied happily. She managed to turn a moan into a sigh as their tongues collided. His tongue gently stoked hers in an unhurried and loving pace making her heart beat faster very second and sending shivers all over her body. When he pulled away for much needed air, she kept her eyes closed and her lips slightly parted. She finally realized that he wasn't kissing her anymore and she looked down at his beaming face.
She traced his jaw with one finger before furrowing her brows. He knew her too well to know that she was struggling with what she was about to tell him. He stood still, waiting for her to find the right words. He knew reminding her that she could tell him anything wouldn't help.
"I…" She tried before swallowing hard.
"I would like you to… huh… sleep in my room and… kiss me like that every night." She finally said. It was still hard for her, opening herself to her feelings and emotions, the woman in her had been locked for a long time and she was afraid that if she let her out, she would be aching again. But she knew now that Richard wouldn't let that happen. She wanted to be with him just like they were before he left, careless, in love and free to talk about her feelings and her needs.
"I'd love to kiss you like that every night." He told her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
She nodded softly and smiled at him before laying her head on his shoulder again.
"Would you take some time off tomorrow?" She asked.
"Of course. Why?" He asked.
"I thought that maybe you would want to go on a horse ride with Cassie and I." She explained.
"Cassie knows how to ride a horse?" He asked with surprise.
Kahlan laughed lightly and said: "No… not yet. I'm not even sure she saw a horse once in her life. We never had time to get down to the stables and see the horses, let alone to take some time to ride."
"Horse ride sounds just like perfect." He said with a smile.
"You sound just like perfect." She said, kissing his chest quickly.
"I love you." He replied.
"I love you too." She said, trying to stifle a yawn and closing her eyes.
"Get some sleep and we'll discuss about my being perfect tomorrow." He said with a huge smile on his face.
"Mmmm." She was all she managed to say before falling totally asleep.