Mail-order Bridegroom Part 10

There was a momentary confused silence and then the guests lifted their gla.s.ses in tribute, murmuring, "Hear, hear."

Slowly Leah stood, well aware of the double edge to Hunter's toast. Lifting her own gla.s.s in salute, she said, "And to my husband. The answer to all my dreams." And let him make what he wished of that, she thought,drinking deeply.

The party broke up not long after. Rose had arranged to stay with friendsfor the weekend and all the staff had been given the days off as a paidvacation. Only Patrick would remain, to care for the animals. But, knowingher foreman's sensitivity, he'd make himself scarce. They wouldn't see anysign of him until Monday morning.

Sending the last few guests on their way, Leah stood with Hunter in the fronthall. The tension between them threatened to overwhelm her and she twisted her hands together, feeling again the unexpected weight of her wedding-ring.

She glanced at it and asked the question that had troubled her during the ceremony.

"Did you choose it or...?"

"I chose it. Did you really think I'd leave it to my secretary to take careof?"

"I didn't even know you had a secretary," she confessed. "What do... did youdo?"

He hesitated.

"Mostly I worked as a sort of troubleshooter for a large consortium, taking care of problem situations no one else could handle."

She drifted toward the great room, snuffing candles as she went.

"I.

imagine you'd be good at that sort of thing. What made you decide to give it up and return to ranching? "

"What makes you think I've quit?" he asked from directly behind.Startled, she spun around, her gown flaring out around her."Haven't you?""They know to call if something urgent comes up. I'll find a way to fit it in." He drew her away from a low bracket of candles."Be careful. I'd hate to see this go up in flames.""It was my mother's," she admitted self-consciously."I wasn't sure whether you'd like it."His voice deepened."I like it."She caught her breath, finally managed to say,"You still haven't answered my' question"What question?" A lazy gleam sparked in his eyes and she knew his thoughts were elsewhere. Precisely where, she didn't care to contemplate.

"Why," she persisted, 'if you had such a good job, did you decide to come back? "

"Let's just call it unfinished business and leave it at that. Do you really

want to start an argument tonight?"She glanced at him in alarm."Would it? Start an argument, I mean?""Without a doubt." He pinched out the remaining few candles, leaving them in semi-darkness, the night enclosing them in a cloak of intimacy.

"I have a wedding-gift for you." He picked up a small package tucked among a basket of flowers and handed it to her.

She took it, staring in wonder.

"A wedding-gift?"

"Open it."

Carefully, she ripped the paper from the jewelry box and removed the lid.Beneath a layer of cotton lay an odd blue stone with a thin gold band wrappedaround it, securing it to a delicate herringbone chain.

"It's just like yours!" she exclaimed, tears starting to her eyes.

The only identifying article left with Hunter at the orphanage had been thestrange gold-encased stone identical to the one he'd duplicated for awedding-present. He'd worn it like a talisman all the time she'd known him,though he'd never been able to trace its origin successfully.

"I thought a gold chain a better choice than the leather thong I use."

"Thank you. It's beautiful." She handed him the box and turned her back to him.

"Will you put it on?" She lifted her hair and veil out of the way while hefastened the chain around her neck. The stone nestled between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s,cool and heavy against her skin.

Before she realized what he intended. Hunter turned her around and swung herinto his arms. She clutched at his shoulders, her heart beating frantically,knowing that she couldn't delay the inevitable any longer. He strode across the entrance hall and climbed the stairs, booting open the door to the masterbedroom.

She started to protest, but stopped when she saw the candles and flowers thatfestooned the room. At a guess, it was more of her grandmother's finehandiwork. This time, though, Lean approved.

Giving them the master bedroom was Rose's tacit acknowledgement of Hunter'sposition in the household.

"Where's Rose's room?" he asked, as though reading her mind.

"Downstairs. She had a private wing built when my father and Mother married.

She said the only smart way for an extended family to cohabit was to live apart."

A reluctant smile touched his mouth.

"There may be hope for our relationship yet."

He set her down, his smile fading, a dark, intense expression growing in his

eyes. He removed the circlet from her brow and swept the veil from her hair.

It floated to the floor, a gauzy slip of silver against the burgundy carpet.

He stepped back.

"Take off the dress. I don't want to rip it."

Fumbling awkwardly with the belt links, she unfastened the chain at her waist

and placed it among the flowers on the walnut bureau. She slipped off her

heels, wondering why removing her shoes always made her feel small and

vulnerable. Finally she gathered the hem of her gown and slowly lifted it to

her waist.

The next instant she felt Hunter's hands beside her own, easing the dress

over her head. He laid it across a chair and turned back to her. She stood

in the center of the room, horribly self-conscious in the sheer wisps of silk

and lace that were her only covering.

"Hunter," she whispered.

"I don't think I'm ready for this."

"Relax," he murmured.

"There's no rush. We have all the time in the world." He approached,

wrapping her in his embrace.

"Remember how good it was between us?"

She clung to his jacket lapel.

"But we're not the same people any more. Our... our feelings have changed."

"Some things never change. And this is one of them." His eyes were so

black, full of heat and hunger, his face, tight and drawn, reflecting his

desire. He lifted her against him, tracing the length of her jaw with the

edge of his thumb.

She shuddered beneath the delicate caress. He'd always been incredibly tender with her, a lover who combined a sensitive awareness of a woman's needs with a forceful pa.s.sion that had made loving him an experience she'd never forgotten. It would be so easy to succ.u.mb, to be swept into believing he loved her still--a fantasy she found all too appealing.

"I can make it so good for you," he said, his mouth drifting from her earlobe to the tiny pulse throbbing in her neck. "Let me show you."