The Dangerous Hero (31 page)

"That's what living together usually involves. There'll be a few other requirements too, don't forget, such as cooking an occasional meal. You can cook, can't you, darling?"

"Not as well as you," she said wryly.

"It'll be easy during the summer, but for the fall I guess we'll have to keep both houses. Or give up your rental and buy a second place in Whittacre. I can be there with you during the week, while on the weekends we can escape to the seaside."

"That sounds perfect."

"So that's a yes?"

"Yes, Stephen, of course it's a yes!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck.

"I should warn you that when you're there I'll keep you imprisoned in my dungeon. There's this cage I'm thinking of having constructed. Very cruel and restrictive. I want you naked in chains."

She giggled and punched his shoulder playfully. "You are so full of shit, Master. No cages. Jeez. Next it'll be a rack. I keep expecting you to build one."

"I'm not that handy. But I suppose I could hire someone. If you really, really want one, that is."

She couldn't stop laughing. "I love you so much. Sometimes it still seems like a dream that you love me, too."

"Idiot," he teased, the warmth in his eyes flooding her with love. "I knew as soon as I met you all those years ago that someday you were going to be my partner in life."

"Oh, sure."

"Really. I loved your ass even when you were too young for me to fuck."

"Your ass is pretty cute, too," she laughed.

"You know what I think we should do this summer?" he said after a while. "Rent a wind surfing rig for a few days in honor of the afternoon we fell in love."

"I'll bet you still can't keep your balance."

"You'd lose. I want you to know I now have mad wind surfing skills."

"You probably wiped out that day because you wanted to kiss me and chose that as an excuse to take me in your arms and—"

He stopped her mouth with a kiss. "I've never needed an excuse for that."

Viola closed her eyes, luxuriating in the feel of him, the warmth of him. She had never felt so at one with any human being before, and he was to be hers, forever.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. We're having a guest for dinner tomorrow night at my place," he said a little later when they were curled up together in her brass bed.

"Hmm? We are? Who?" She was nearly asleep.

"I've invited your father. He said yes. He's bringing the wine."

Her eyes opened wide. "My father is coming to dinner?"

"Yeah. He and I have been talking. We're kinda getting to be friends again."

She was dumbfounded. "I thought you hated each other?"

"Oh well, you know. Water under the bridge and all that. Deep down, I always liked the guy. And I think he liked me. Deep down I think maybe I wanted him for my own father."

"Wow. Are you, like, at peace with the whole world now?"

"Yup. I'm at peace with the world," he said lightly. "How about you? You happy? You feel safe and secure and loved?"

"So much," she agreed, kissing him gently and holding him close until they both fell asleep.

The End

Author's Note:
Stephen Silkwood, the hero of
The Dangerous Hero,
has previously appeared in two other stories of mine—
Blazing Nights
and
A Kiss is Just a Kiss
. He was mentioned briefly in my romantic suspense novel,
Uncover Me.
Stephen is a friend of Kate, Jeff, Max, and Nick, who are all main characters in my novels. However,
The Dangerous Hero
is a standalone novel. You do not have to read the other books before reading this one.

Max's story and Jeff's story will be coming in 2015.

For more information about these novels and all my other books, please check out my website at
http://www.lindabarlow.com

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LINDA'S BIO

Linda Barlow is the author of 25 novels, with more on the way. She lives in New England with her kinky spouse (who sleeps during the day, which has often made her wonder if he's a vampire) and their equally enigmatic and nocturnal cat.

Linda is a
USA Today
bestselling author. Her novel
Leaves of Fortune
won the Rita Award and
Fires of Destiny
was a finalist for the same award. She loves reading, writing, computer games, and dark chocolate.