“They’ll wait.” He reached out and took my hand. A shiver went through me, at his touch. “The hunt is over, anyway. They are all heading back to the house. This is more important .”
“What is?” I cursed my voice. It was trembling. Keep it together, I told myself fiercely .
“You.” He stood up, pulling me to my feet. I could just see his face in the light of the lantern. He reached out and stroked my face. I choked back a sob .
“Bianca, I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I haven’t reached out to you, since that night. It was just …”
“You don’t need to explain.” I turned my face away. “It’s obvious, Zane. You are still in love with your ex-wife. What happened between us…well, it was just sex, wasn’t it? I was stupid.” The tears that had been threatening finally fell. “I’m leaving Birrimba, heading back to the States. It’s just too difficult .”
“No!” He grabbed me, pulling me towards him. “That’s not going to happen! I won’t let you go !”
I wrestled in his arms, trying to pull away. “I can’t stay here! Not like this !”
“Like what?” he hissed. His face was so close to mine, I could feel his breath. “Like the nanny? I don’t want you here as the nanny, Bianca. I want you .” He feverishly started kissing my face, as he pulled me closer. “I’m not in love with Jo anymore. I was just finding it hard to let go. It’s you I’m head over heels in love with .”
“You love me?” I gasped. I closed my eyes, not believing what I was hearing .
“I love you,” he whispered. His lips came down on mine, warm and sweet. “My God, how could I not? You are the most amazing woman that I have ever met. You have settled my children back home, which is no mean feat. All the effort you have made, for this night. And you have shown me that you love it, here. You have connected with the place, in a way that Jo never did. Birrimba is my heart, Bianca. It runs in my blood .”
“I know,” I whispered. “I can feel that connection. Oh, Zane, is it possible?” I looked up at him, his eyes glimmering in the soft lamp light. “I’m in love with you, too .”
He let out a whoop, echoing in the night air. He picked me up, twirling me around .
“Let’s go back to the house,” he said. “I need to get rid of the guests, so I can take you to bed.” His eyes narrowed as they looked at me. “You look so beautiful in that dress, I’ve barely been able to take my eyes off you all night.” My body warmed at his words .
He took my hand, then reached for the lantern. I looked back at the candle, flickering on the grave .
* * *
I heard the last car leave, snaking its way down the dirt track. All was silent. There would be a lot to clean up tomorrow, but it could wait .
My bedroom door opened. It was him. I shivered .
“Everybody gone.” He crept into my room. Then he stood looking at me, as if his eyes drinking me in. “What a night.” His voice wavered with tiredness .
“Do you need to sleep?” I whispered. He looked at me as if I was crazy .
“Sleep is the last thing on my mind,” he growled. “Stand up and turn around .”
I stood up. I had managed to get the lace dress off, but the corset was another matter. I hadn’t wanted to ask Mrs. Price to unhook me .
He let out a slow whistle as he looked at me. “That is the sexiest thing I have ever seen,” he said. “A Victorian corset. Wow.” He shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe it .
He put his hands around my waist, feeling the stiff boning. “A six-inch waist?” he murmured, pulling me to him. Then he spun me around, slowly unlacing me. I felt the corset give away, and then his hands snaked around, finding my breasts, kneading them .
“My lady,” he whispered, in my ear. I saw our reflection in the full-length mirror. “May I make love to you ?”
I nodded, weakly, my head falling back against him. He had found my nipples, and was pulling them into peaks. Desire tore through me, as I felt his hardness against me .
Suddenly, he pulled my panties down, and bent me over. He entered me, swiftly. I gasped again at the pleasure of having him inside me. He was watching us in the mirror, as well. I could see him behind me, his eyes closed as he gently thrust. I backed against him, lost in the moment. I could feel it building, and could see by his face that it was close for him, too. Watching ourselves was an added thrill .
He gripped me, straining. My climax shuddered through me, unspooling like a ribbon of light. I couldn’t help it. I groaned, softly. He shouted as he reached his peak, gripping me tighter still .
We collapsed onto the bed, breathing heavily. At that moment, the first rays of the new day suddenly started streaming through the curtains. He turned to me, stroking my face .
“Bianca,” he whispered. “Don’t ever leave me. Will you be my wife ?”
“Yes,” I whispered back, joyfully. “Oh, yes !”
We lay in each other’s arms, softly stroking each other. Birds started twittering; I could hear Harper’s bedroom door open and close, as she went to the bathroom. Another day was starting, at Birrimba .
And I would be here, to greet it. With Zane, and the children. Just as I planned to be here, forever. I couldn’t think of a place I would rather be, than here with this man and this family .
I looked over at the old lace dress, hanging on the back of a chair. Thank you, I silently said. It felt like the spirit of Florence had guided Zane to me. Maybe she wanted one of her family to live happily ever after, content in this beautiful house in the endless, open desert .
* * *
THE END
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Stolen Bride
Chapter 1
“H e’s been ordered to take a mate,” Elder Seraphina’s soft-spoken words punched Jasmine like a gust of gale force wind. She turned and studied the older woman, praying the “he” in question wasn’t the one she feared .
When sad, apologetic eyes met her gaze, Jazz gasped harshly, her knees going numb with shock. She folded her arms around her middle and squeezed in an effort to find some comfort. She felt like her heart had been ripped from her chest with a rusty spoon .
Right now all she wanted to do was flee to her special Eden and pour her misery into the bluish-green depths of solitude .
Jazz had virtually grown up under Sera’s tutelage. Her own parents died when she was just a baby, so the Elder’s had decided that since Sera’s own daughter was around the same age, she would take the infant child and raise her as her own. So to Jazz, Sera wasn’t just an Elder, she was also an adopted mother .
They both belonged to faction of Water Elementals and since Sera made her home a reclusive estate at Mayfield Falls in the Parish of Westmoreland Jamaica, it was the perfect locale for a young dragon to harness her element. The warm Caribbean water was like manna to their Faction. But not many inhabited the area. Water Elementals stayed close to their element, but surprisingly few lived near Jamaica .
Aside from the fact that all landowners in the area fought for the tourists’ attention, Sera’s estate was surrounded and guarded heavily as to deter any unwanted visitors. It wasn’t as much a compound as it was a safe haven for dragon-kind. The beautiful lush lawn ended where a small waterfall pooled into a massive collecting pond .
But not even her beautiful home could offer solace for the torment raking her insides .
Her soul mate and long, lost love had been ordered to take a mate. Since Jazz’s father had been the Crown Prince’s advisor, she and Damien had grown up side-by-side, under the same roof. It hadn’t taken long for them to fall deeply in love. They’d found a connection that most people only dreamed of. They knew they belonged to one another, forever .
Of course that fairy-tale life hadn’t lasted long.
It had all fallen apart on the night of Jazz’s sixteenth birthday. Drake had insisted that the court throw Jasmine an elegant birthday celebration .
A few hours into the bash, Jazz and Damien had sneaked away for some private time and not long after, all hell broke loose. Apparently not all of the Faction supported Drake’s rule and rebels were spread throughout not only his court, but also his staff of servants .
Damien had ushered Jazz into a dark corner on the balcony overlooking the lush gardens and guarded her with his own body when the fight spilled out toward them. Drake had killed his attacker and upon hearing Jazz’s gasp of shock, turned angry eyes on them. He’d instantly ordered the guards to apprehend her .
He was convinced Jazz’s father had betrayed him and refused to have his own son swayed by the siren of such a traitor .
They hadn’t parted ways voluntarily; Damien fought fang and claw to keep Jasmine in his arms. Known for his quick temper and even deadlier fighting skills, he’d managed to hold the soldiers off a while .
But in the end, the powerful warriors managed to wrench her away. Her parents had died in the skirmish, so Sera had whisked Jazz away to her family’s personal oasis in exotic Montego Bay and she’d remained here ever since .
She hadn’t dated, hadn’t wanted to. Jazz and Damien hadn’t seen each other since that summer - well over a hundred years ago. She’d never gotten over him and knew deep in her heart that she never would. She wanted Damien and no other would do .
“I think I’ll go swimming,” Jazz murmured sadly and turned toward the path leading down to the small pond .
“Jazz, wait,” Sera called after her. “Draken’s gone now, Damien is the Prince, and it’s his choice .”
Jazz lowered her chin and squeezed her eyes tightly, forcing the tears back into the deep recesses to her soul. She couldn’t allow herself to hope. A small part of her had secretly hated Damien for his abandonment. In all these years, he’d never tried to contact her, not even after Draken had died .
Jazz had broken down and called Damien only to be told he didn’t want to talk to her. She’d never told anyone about that heart-shattering experience. Especially Sera, so even though her words were meant to comfort, they only managed to cut her even deeper .
Instead of saying anything, Jazz merely continued her way to the pool .
* * *
D amien stood at the edge of the secluded pond and watched the water bubble and ripple. From the moment he’d received the Elder’s decree, his only thought had been to get to Jazz as quickly as possible. His hands clenched at the memory of how she’d been ripped from his very grasp .
He hated himself for his inability to protect her. He wished he’d killed every one of the guards; sometimes he wished he’d even killed his own father .
He knew she’d never taken a mate of her own and had chosen to remain at Seraphina’s estate. He hoped she would forgive him for brushing her off after his father’s death. He’d been mourning deeply and feared that he’d break at the mere sound of her voice. He’d meant to contact her well before now, but his father had left the Faction in a bit of a political mess and it had taken all his time to grasp the flailing reins and bring everyone back under command .
Then the High Council had dropped their little bombshell. Damien’s first thought had been total elation. He could finally be with his soul mate - in the most official capacity - and no one would ever separate them again. Then following quickly on the heels of his glee was morbid fear that she wouldn’t have him .
Female numbers among the Four Factions were minimal at best and neither Faction knew complete details of the other. That was where the High Council of Elders came in. They didn’t necessarily govern the groups. They more or less provided mediation in certain matters that required Cross-Factional communication. That’s why their “mate” decree had rocked Dragon-kind on its heels .
He sensed her long before she stepped through the six-feet-tall elephant ear plants providing a natural protection barrier between the small pond and the rest of the lagoon .
She’d been watching her feet as she walked the small path so she stopped suddenly, her lush lips parted in complete shock when she finally looked up and saw him .
“Hi,” he said shyly. Now he understood the meaning of the word “speechless.” Of all the things he’d wanted to say to her, they’d all abandoned him when he saw her. He scolded himself for a coward and merely waited for her to respond. He just hoped she didn’t attack him .
“What are you doing here?” she demanded harshly. It wasn’t exactly the welcome he’d hoped for, but he’d take what he could get. At least she hadn’t unsheathed her talons and tried to rend his flesh from his bones .
“I was gathering my nerve,” he explained, sweeping his hand toward the clear water and pulled the liquid toward him in small tow waves. He brushed his hand back and allowed the ripples to resettle. “I was afraid to call first. After the way I refused your call, I figured you would tell me not to come,” he admitted softly and turned back to her .
She was still beautiful, even more breath-taking after all these years. She wore her auburn curls short with a colorful bandanna wrapped snugly around her head, taming the few wayward wisps. Her dark brown eyes curved upward in the most exotic, cat-like arch. She blinked thick eyelashes as she merely studied him as if he owed her one hell of an apology .
She wore a body-forming, white sleeveless tank-top, matching shorts and white canvas sneakers. The contrast of white material against her sun-tanned skin made him drool with lust. She’d developed into a woman in the time they’d spent apart and it pleased him to see that she wasn’t as skinny as most women tended to be .
Her breasts were that plump roundness every man dreamed of fondling and her hips flared wider too. Just the way he liked. She was lush and gorgeous .
The extra flesh was just icing on the cake. He never like bony women to begin with. The mere sight of them turned his stomach. He never understood why men went for skeletons .
Given the way his body reacted to the mere sight of her, he knew his adolescent feelings were real after all. They weren’t “riddled hormones of a horny boy” as his father had explained .
They were real. She was real - flesh, bone and blood. And he would have her, no matter the cost .
“You’re right,” she conceded. “You shouldn’t have come.” With that she turned on her heel and marched back through the greenery, slapping the vibrant green leaves out of her way .
“Jazz, wait!” he called and rushed after her. He lurched forward, his arm stretched and his hand curled around her bicep. He caught her before she’d gone too far. True to his memories of her sassy nature, he wasn’t shocked when she wrenched from his grasp and whirled on him, drilling her finger into his chest like a jackhammer in concrete .
“Don’t tell me what to do,” she warned through gritted teeth, punctuating each word with a forceful jab at his solar plexus. “I may be one of your subjects, but I am not your slave .”
Throwing his hands up in defense, Damien took a retreating step backwards. Apparently her temper hadn’t improved either. His own rose to the challenge. His Dragon was her Alpha and his inner leader demanded that he show here - right then and there - that his word, his will and his wants were absolute. They were law as far as his subjects were concerned .
“I just want to talk,” he said softly, deciding at the last moment that treading lightly would more likely get him one step closer to his goal. He could order her and she would have no choice but to obey. But in doing that, she would never forgive him and he couldn’t - wouldn’t - take that chance. Not when he’d come so far for her .
“Will you please just come, sit and talk with me?” He gestured back to the little knoll by the pond. “We can talk like we used to?” He reigned the majority of his temper back into place. What happened between them all those years ago hadn’t been entirely his fault. It angered him that she blamed him .
She glared at him, a mixtur
e of anger and disbelief warring for dominance in her gaze .
“Please?” he added a bit more softly even though he nearly choked on the single word. He was a Prince for Elemental’s sake, begging, much less asking was so very far beneath him. But during their separation, he’d learned that he’d crawl, naked, across broken glass for her .
“Fine,” Jazz relented and brushed past him, making sure to stomp hard on his foot as she went .
Damien winced at the small show of rebellion. This was going to be a lot harder than he’d first thought .
Chapter 2
J azz sat on a small ledge, her bare feet dangling in the cool, crisp water. Damien’s mouth pooled with saliva over the extreme sexiness of the scene. For the longest time, he’d thought he’d gotten over her. That the passing years apart had cured him of his insane obsession of this girl, but he’d been wrong. If anything, he wanted her now more than ever .
In all the time they’d dated, they’d never had sex. Jazz had claimed she wanted to be pure on her wedding night, of course that’s when she dreamed of the two of them being together forever .
Damien had similar fantasies, but they’d all died the night she’d been violently ripped from his arms. He remembered the events so clearly it was almost as if it had happened yesterday .
After his father’s guards seized Jazz and dragged her away from Damien, he’d turned on his father with murder on his mind. He’d gotten a few good blows in on the old man before the guards subdued him, but his father’s bloody lip and bruised jaw managed to calm him some .
He’d then gone in search of Jazz, only to learn she’d quickly been whisked away. He’d seen the corpses of her parents and he’d hurt for her. His father had made it abundantly clear that the Prince Heir would never see the betrayers’ daughter again. And the ruthless Dragon had been true to his word .
Which was why Damien couldn’t grasp the reality of seeing her in person again .
His Christmas Baby: A Friends to Lovers Romance Page 61
