*****
Silk
Living with Nathan was so easy, so right. For the first time in her life, Silk felt honestly happy. It was good to wake to the long, lean warmth of his body in her bed. Silk snuggled closer to Nathan's back, rubbing her face in the hollow between his shoulder blades. She took a deep breath. She loved the smell of him. Oh, why stop there? She was in love with Nathan, all of him. She loved everything about him.
But she was worried. He still hadn't found work in the city. And the war was going badly for Ushan. There were rumors of enemy troop movements within sight of the city garrison. He could be conscripted into the army. It wouldn't matter to them that Nathan was a foreigner with no stake in this war. It would just mean that he was a solitary with no clan to protect him.
But if they married, if they had children and their children had children, eventually they'd form a new family. Their family would be small, but it only took three generations of the same line to be eligible to register as a clan. Once that happened . . . . Silk was momentarily lost in a vision of herself as the matriarch of a small clan with growing power. She'd finally be able to put her brains and will to good use. No more wasting her efforts trying to teach dunces who just happened to be born to the right parents.
Nathan gave a small snore and rolled over onto his stomach, leaving Silk staring at the vulnerable skin at the nape of his neck. Was that what she wanted? Truly wanted?
Gods and Demons in Love Page 14
