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"Alec," she began with a certain amount of dread. "Have you forgotten about Faith? I thought she was
your first love."
He sighed in relief. Thank you, God.
With more gentleness than he had used in a decade, he took her hand in his.
How could he tell her that he was not so fickle as to fall in and out of love so easily? He never wanted
her to worry that his love could be swayed by a prettier face or a better offer, as if either could exist in this
world. But he was not prone to flowery words and emotional speeches. He had cultivated neither, once
he'd resigned himself to a marriage of his father's choosing. However, he knew that what he said to
Shaelyn right now would either set her at ease or forever leave her worrying.
"Shaelyn . . ." He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them. "I did love Faith. I do love her."
Shae closed her eyes and miserably shook her head. He kissed her on the tip of her nose, then tilted her
chin until she looked at him again.
"But I love her as a friend. As a man with fond memories of his first love. My love for Faith. . ." He
bowed his head and prayed for adequate words. "My love for Faith was a gentle breeze in my life. My love
for you is a storm. A wild, seething nor'easter that gets into my soul and lets me know I'm alive."
The smile slowly came back to Shaelyn's eyes, then she wrapped her arms around his neck and
thoroughly kissed him, pulling him away from the back of the chair until they tumbled to the floor in a tangle
of limbs.
"You're insane," he laughed while she giggled against his lips. Her response was to cling to him and roll
across the floor until they reached the softness of the carpet. Of course, it was purely coincidental that he
ended up atop her, pinning her to the floor.
He put his weight on his elbows and laughed down at her mischief, until their gazes turned serious. With
infinite care, he lowered his head, brushing her lips once, and then again, and then settling against her willing
mouth with a thrill he thought never to feel. This woman his wife loved him. That knowledge stole into
his heart and started a sweet ache there that he hoped would never end.
Her kisses started an ache in other places.
He pulled her even closer as his tongue sought hers. She sighed in her throat, and that simple noise sent
his heated blood crashing through him. Her hands wandered his back, stoking the fires that already raged.
"Shaelyn," he whispered into her mouth, "I love you." Did she hear the wonder in his voice?
Her fingers dug into his back. "Alec," she sighed.
That one word said it all.
He rose onto his knees, his fingers working at the buttons on her shirt. She tore at his, sending his blood
thundering in his ears. He leaned down on occasion to taste the sweetness of her kiss while their hands
worked in a frenzy at the fastenings. The more stubborn the buttons, the more frantic the kiss. He trailed
his lips down the column of her neck.
"Sweet mercy," he groaned into the hollow of her throat, "to think I nearly lost you."
He continued his lovemaking for several long seconds before he realized Shaelyn had stilled.
He raised up and stared down at her.
"What is it?'' he asked, his voice hoarse with want. He tried to kiss her again but she gently, reluctantly
pushed him away.
"We can't do this, Alec. It isn't right."
He shook his head, trying to grasp the meaning of her words.
"Shae, we are married." He went back to nibbling her throat. "Nothing could be more right. The time
couldn't be more right."
With aching tenderness she pushed him away from her neck and held his face in her hands.
"And what about Faith?"
Faith. He had all but forgotten Faith. He shook his head to clear his mind so muddled by desire, but the
smoldering want still clouded his thoughts. Until Shaelyn's words threw cold water on them.
"Would you do this to Faith? Make me your wife before you settle things with her?"
Shaelyn nudged him away, then got to her feet, buttoning the shirt he had tried so hard to free. He
couldn't help the sound of protest that escaped his throat.
"Alec, she deserves that much." Shaelyn's gaze scanned the open expanse of his shirt, looking just as
disappointed as he felt. "A few weeks ago I wouldn't have given her a second thought in fact, I'd be
feeling darn smug right now. But Faith is everything you said she was. She's a good person, and if our roles [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]