She could summon no coherent words.
"You believed I was a hawk and would seize you, eh?" he queried.
"Is that why you continue to shrink? Well, let me tell you
something, if my tongue will frame the thoughts in my mind. My
passion is so deep and so sacred that I would not be content with
less than all of you. Your lips would not satisfy mine unless they
were hot with love, your kisses wet with desire. I must have you
all, and so I wait, trembling. I say this so badly that I doubt if
you understand. Listen, then: to possess you by force would be--
well, as if I sacked a cathedral of its golden images and expected
to gain heaven by clutching the Madonna in my arms. Senora, in you
I see the priceless jewel of my life, which I shall wear to dazzle
the world, and without which I shall destroy myself. Now let me
tell you what I can offer you, what setting I can build for this
treasure. Marriage with Luis Longorio--"
Alaire could not control a start.
As if quickened by his intensity, the man read her thought. "You
did not imagine that I offered you anything less?"
"What was I to think? Your reputation--"
"Mother of God!" breathed the general.
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