Mountain Man (18 page)
Authors: Diana Palmer
Tears ran down her face. She didn’t imagine he’d ever said that in his life, and she felt the faint shudder that ran through his body when she arched hers to search blindly for his mouth.
“I love you, too,” she breathed. “Deathlessly. Hopelessly. With all my heart!”
“Yes, I know, you say it quite often,” he murmured, nuzzling her nose with his. “After a while, I began to enjoy hearing it. You got under my skin from the very first time I saw you, so busy at your desk. I convinced Gerald that he needed to bring
you out with him,” he confessed lazily, shocking her. “I didn’t realize why, of course, until I had you in my arms. Then it all fell into place, and I did my best to run. But I was caught, even then. God, I’ve been miserable without you!”
He kissed her hungrily and she felt his hands at her hips, lifting her up into an embrace that made her shudder and gasp and go scarlet.
“This is part of loving,” he whispered into her mouth. “Part of marriage. It’s beautiful. Don’t be afraid of it.”
“I’m … not.” She looked straight into his dark eyes and imagined how beautiful it would be joining with him in loving union, softness to hardness, tender rhythm on cool sheets in the darkness. And she gasped again. “Oh, my,” she whispered shakily.
“Oh, my, indeed,” he whispered. “Yes, sweet, just that way. Intimate and ardent … your body and mine. For all the long, achingly sweet nights of our lives. I’ll be your fulfillment, and you’ll be mine. And there’ll never be another secret between us.”
She cradled his head in her hands and pulled it gently toward her. “I’ll give you children.”
He smiled softly. “Yes.” His head bent. “Merry Christmas, sugarplum.”
She smiled back as she gave him her mouth. “You delicious Christmas present, you …”
Outside the door, two people with a bottle of champagne and four glasses were congratulating themselves on their little surprise.
“Should we knock?” Carol asked.
Dominic White pursed his lips. “Sounds a little premature.” He grinned at the muffled laughter behind the door. He lifted an eyebrow. “Suppose we sample the champagne? Just to make sure it’s not corked?”
“A brilliant idea,” Carol agreed, linking her hand through his arm.
“I have another. How do you feel about a double wedding?”
Carol reached up and kissed his cheek. “Ecstatic,” she sighed. “Can we get a blood test and a license in time?”
“Honey, I ain’t a millionaire for nothin’,” he drawled.
“As long as you know I’m only marrying you for your money,” she reminded him with a mischievous smile.
“Mercenary hussy,” he accused. And he grinned. They went into the office and closed the door. And after a minute, laughter was coming from that room, as well. Outside, the first flakes of snow began to fall. A white Christmas was well under way.
* * * * *
NEW YORK TIMES
and
USA TODAY
bestselling author
DIANA PALMER
is back in Wyoming with tales of love born in Big Sky Country!
Don't miss these epic reads from the
Wyoming Men
series:
“Palmer is the queen of desperado quests for justice and true love.”
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Dangerous
Don't forget these other thrilling tales from
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“This is an action-packed, joyous return to Palmer's fictional Jacobsville, Texas...
Invincible
is quite suspenseful and infused with plenty of delightful, sparkling dialogue.”
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Read on for an exciting excerpt from
New York Times
bestselling author Diana Palmer's latest
Wyoming Men
series,
WYOMING RUGGED
â¦
S
HE'D BOUGHT PRESENTS
online for her father and Edna and Blair. She was careful to get Blair something impersonal. She didn't want his wife to think she was chasing him or anything. She picked out a tie tac, a
fleur de lis
made of solid gold. She couldn't understand why she'd chosen such a thing. He had Greek ancestry, as far as she knew, not French. It had been an impulse.
Her father had gone to answer the phone, a call from a business associate who wanted to wish him happy holidays, leaving Blair and Niki alone in the living room by the tree. She felt like an idiot for making the purchase.
Now Blair was opening the gift, and she ground her teeth together when he took the lid off the box and stared at it with wide, stunned eyes.
“I'm sorry,” she began self-consciously. “The sales slip is in there,” she added. “You can exchange it if⦔
He looked at her. His expression stopped her tirade midsentence. “My mother was French,” he said quietly. “How did you know?”
She faltered. She couldn't manage words. “I didn't. It was an impulse.”
His big fingers smoothed over the tie tac. “In fact, I had one just like it that she bought me when I graduated from college.” He swallowed. Hard. “Thanks.”
“You're very welcome.”
His dark eyes pinned hers. “Open yours now.”
She fumbled with the small box he'd had hidden in his suitcase until this morning. She tore off the ribbons and opened it. Inside was the most beautiful brooch she'd ever seen. It was a golden orchid on an ivory background. The orchid was purple with a yellow center, made of delicate amethyst and topaz and gold.
She looked at him with wide, soft eyes. “It's so beautiful⦔
He smiled with real affection. “It reminded me of you, when I saw it in the jewelry store,” he lied, because he'd had it commissioned by a noted jewelry craftsman, just for her. “Little hothouse orchid,” he teased.
She flushed. She took the delicate brooch out of its box and pinned it to the bodice of her black velvet dress. “I've never had anything so lovely,” she faltered. “Thank you.”
He stood up and drew her close to him. “Thank you, Niki.” He bent and started to brush her mouth with his, but forced himself to deflect the kiss to her soft cheek. “Merry Christmas.”
She felt the embrace to the nails of her toes. He smelled of expensive cologne and soap, and the feel of that powerful body so close to hers made her vibrate inside. She was flustered by the contact, and uneasy because he was married.
She laughed, moving away. “I'll wear it to church every Sunday,” she promised without really looking at him.
He cleared his throat. The contact had affected him, too. “I'll wear mine to board meetings, for a lucky charm,” he teased gently. “To ward off hostile takeovers.”
“I promise it will do the job,” she replied, and grinned.
Her father came back to the living room, and the sudden, tense silence was broken. Conversation turned to politics and the weather, and Niki joined in with forced cheerfulness.
But she couldn't stop touching the orchid brooch she'd pinned to her dress.
Copyright © 2015 by Diana Palmer
ISBN: 9781459294752
Mountain Man
Copyright © 2016 Diana Palmer
First published as Woman Hater in Great Britain 1987 by Mills & Boon, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited
This edition published 2016
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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