June blog hop word is Romance! Come and join us as we explore romance at its best, click on the link under the image...
Dreams and Kisses
He lay near the road, a bright
splotch of red upon the long thick grasses, eyes closed with a smile upon his
face as he basked in the full sunshine of the day. His hands lay clasped,
fingers entwined over his uniformed stomach.
Oh, to know such peace, Lila
thought gazing at him from the coach as he opened his eyes and sat up, quickly,
but not with worry. No, his smile said he knew he could be in trouble and could care
less. Lila’s breath caught in her throat. She recognized him. She leaned
forward toward the window. "Leave him be."
"He’s a soldier and obviously not where he's supposed to be." Madame Fletcher, Lila’s chaperone, didn’t tolerate laziness in
anyone, especially someone beneath her, someone who was paid to work,
even if he was a soldier, even
though she herself lived on the charity of family.
"Everyone deserves a few
moments to enjoy a day such as this, Madame," Lila said, but noticed no one
took heed of her words. The coachmen forced the poor man up onto the back of
the coach. They would lock him up while they checked his leave. Lila almost smiled.
A man arrested for enjoying a beautiful day.
The coach stopped in front of the hotel
Lila used whenever she performed in this town. She rushed from the coach first,
ignoring her chaperone's call to return as she ran to watch the man being taken into the
building across the street.
Inside, she rushed toward the door beginning to close behind the young man.
"I need to see this soldier," she demanded.
"Mademoiselle Lila, you man not—"
started her coachman.
"Yes, I may. Do not stop me
and do not come in. I need to see him alone." Before he could lock the door, she shoved past the coachman, entered and quickly closed it behind her. Madame Fletcher protested
from the other side but Lila didn’t care. Knowing Madame Fletcher would force
her way in if she could, Lila made swift work of the two locks as her chaperone pounded on the door.
Mm Fletcher screeched, "Come
out at once. This is outrageous—"
"I will not. Leave me alone. I
need to speak to this man and there is nothing you can do about it." Sometimes, though rarely, it paid to be a
diva. Lila stared at the locks, hoping they would hold. Their age gave her no
assurance of strength, if sufficiently pressed.
Lila turned. The room was large and
bare with a smaller room attached to the left. The young man looked in askance of her,
as he stood clothed in his red uniform, blondish hair and heavenly blue eyes.
She had not been wrong. She had seen him before, in the one special dream. All she
needed now was to hear him speak and she would know if she were a fool, or the
happiest woman on earth. Even if they tried to keep her from him, to know he
truly existed would help when the time came to reveal, and fight, for her
choice.
"By what honor," he
began. Yes, she thought. His voice matched the one in her dream.
"By mine," she answered
and touched him lightly on his arm. "Please come with me just for a moment.
We have so little time." In the smaller room she faced
him. She stepped to him and threaded her arms round his neck. "Please, hold
me. Kiss me. Please."
She pressed his lips with her own
and felt his resistance. "Please there is no time for politeness, oh
please…" He gazed into her eyes, which beseeched him to listen, to give
her what she asked. Lila leaned her body against the length of his as if to
touch as much of him as possible.
He leaned down and kissed her then,
a real kiss, a full kiss and his arms encircled her. He held her closer, in
answer to her need. She reluctantly broke the kiss as her hands moved to hold
his face. Lila stared into him, memorizing every part of his beauty. His
carefree manner disappeared. His lips enveloped hers
again and again. "I love you,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have said such,
but I mightn’t have another chance." He held her as if life were about to end
and he needed to end it with her.
The door crashed in. They took her
away, but she didn’t scream or cry, only stared back at him, standing there. “I
have dreamed of you,” he said.
“As I have of you,” she replied. His
soft eyes didn’t leave hers until she was gone.
Lila ignored her sputtering
chaperone and ran up the stairs past her rooms, to the roof. She would dress
shortly, but before she performed tonight she needed... She pushed
through the laundered sheets drying on the roof until she could see across the
street. She waited. She hoped he had not been taken away. Then, as she turned to leave, her
time almost up, he ran across the roof opposite hers, coming quickly to the
edge searching, she knew, for her. She ran toward him. “Here, I am here.” Her
eyes met his across the empty space between them.
“As am I,” he said. He bowed and
blew her a kiss, a gentle smile playing upon his beguiling mouth. Nothing more was said. Lila
backed away, her lips and body still tingling from his
touch. She had found her mate this day and tonight she would sing it to the
world. She would sing for him. If her audiences thought she could sing before,
tonight would show them the diva she truly was. She had dreamed a dream, and now it had come true.
word count 780
Image from:
A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux
