"What's that?" I asked in surprise.
Her eyes got teary and she touched my finger absent of a ring, "You loved your wife very much didn't you?"
I nodded emotionally.
"And yet you gave up your bond to her in order to be fully committed to me did you not?"
My voice was thick with emotion as I responded truthfully, "You don't deserve to only have half a man."
Keturah's tears landed to splash on my hand as she smiled tremulously and said, "See, how many women can know the proven quality of a man's commitment to them like I do with you?"
I reached my hand up and brushed the wetness of her tears off her cheek with my thumb.
"You are very special Keturah."
With passion she said even as she pressed into the stroking caress of my thumb, "I'm yours whenever you want me!"
I tamped down the allure of her passioned offer to instead grasp her face with both of my hands tenderly, "Patience." I said softly.
I saw frustration in her eyes at my statement of a virtue ever hard to master and so I explained to her the reason for why patience was needed.
"I have a rescue to plan and a war to win. When those two things are accomplished I promise you that I will make you mine. Deal?"
Reluctantly she nodded her head in acceptance of my wishes.
I pushed her over to her back and rolled over on top of her imprisoning her hands with mine beside her head as I did so. I watched her eyes get big even as I captured her lips with mine.
"How about we kiss for an hour or two before everyone starts getting up?" I asked teasingly.
"Do you have to ask?" She breathed out on a shaky breath.
I smiled, as I glanced at her hands that I held imprisoned against the netting even as her body lay beneath me captive, "No, I don't suppose I do."
I kissed her enjoying the innocence of her lips that still didn't know quite what to do. There was another reason that I was holding off from consummating our union together.
In the coming struggle there was very much a real possibility that I might die. If that happened I wanted Keturah innocent virgin that she was to still have a gift to give to the man I prayed that God would bless her with if I wasn't to be around.