Virgin taken on her maiden voyage

CHAPTER THREE

‘What!’ she cried out feeling suffocated, as if he had taken the wind out of her sails.

‘I’m marrying you, Kimberly.’

‘What!’ she exclaimed again.

‘Marry me, Kimberly,’ his eyes were deadly serious, yet filled with unmistakable tenderness.

‘Are you mad? We hardly know each other!’

‘How much more do we need to know about each other Kimberly?’ He challenged. ‘Do you need to know the brand of tooth paste I use? Or which side of the bed I arise from each morning, or perhaps my view on how to curb global poverty?’

‘There’s no need for your bigotry comments,’ she threw at him. ‘We have lunch and dinner for two weeks, and you think that is sufficient foundation to enter into a marriage?’

‘Kimberly!’ he groaned pulling her into his arms. He just stood there holding her tightly.

She could feel his heart beat erratically against her breast. She could feel the nervous tension radiate from his body as she stood embraced in his arms.

Kimberly raised her head slowly, her eyes locking with his.

‘Kimberly,’ he murmured, ‘I love you.’

She arched her eyebrows unbelievingly, this was Rick Buchanan. He was telling her, that he loved her! That he wanted to marry her!
But surely he would choose a lady of higher social status than her, and also one who was beautiful!

‘Kimberly you being in my life, makes me so much happier every day. You’re intelligent, yet so innocent, unscathed by the effects of this world. You demand honesty and integrity. You have a wonderful sense of humour. I don’t want a life without you in it. I don’t know how much more I need to know, to add to what I feel for you.’ He buried his face into her neck, kissing her throat, her ear, making her shiver and tremble with excitement and confusion simultaneously.

‘Don’t you love me Kimberly?’ he demanded to know, looking intently into her eyes.

She breathed heavily, ‘I do love you.’ she admitted.

‘Then marry me,’ he urged.

‘When do you plan for this wedding to take place Rick?’

‘Tonight,’ he responded, without hesitation.

‘What!’ She pulled away from him turning her back on him.

‘I wish your vocabulary would progress beyond that four letter word,’ he quipped.

‘Riccardo, what is the urgency?’

‘What do you want to wait for?’ he countered.

‘I have contractual obligations for the next two years.’

‘I am not waiting two years for you to say yes!’ he instructed.

‘Once my next book is published, I am compelled to do promotional tours outside the country!’ she looked away uncomfortably, ‘also marrying you is going to skew things unfavourably for me. And you have also on more than one occasion, alluded to your strong desire to have children. I ___ can’t give you children right away,’ she answered him.

‘How will marrying me skew things for you? He questioned.

‘Rick, you’re an influential businessman,’ she started, ‘you’re also rather instrumentally involved in the Literary Project with the same Publishing House that I’m contracted to,’ she reminded him. ‘I want to be successful in my career, but it has to be based on my goodwill, not any undue influence from your direction. Being Mrs. Buchanan, wonderful as that sounds, is going to just tilt things the way I would not want it to.’