Damn, this was even harder than he'd thought.
He cleared his throat. "I decided I'd rather work on the side of the law so I became a cop." He paused … and took another deep breath.
"Eight years ago I met and married Jillian Noreen Santini. We had a daughter. Three years ago a slimeball whose accomplice was holding up a convenience store accidentally killed Jill. I was off duty at the time and we'd happened to be in the store at the time the robbery began. Whether I was off duty or not, I was a cop. I couldn't walk away from a crime being committed, so I stayed and Jill died."
Greg heard the words—the objective explanation regarding Jill's death—without feeling the acute pain of loss. For the first time since that time, he acknowledged to himself that her death was a tragic accident that he hadn't been able to prevent. He'd responded to the robbery the way he was trained to do. Given the same set of circumstances he knew that he would make the same choices.
"I left the department after that and opened a private investigation firm."
He realized that he still held Fiona's hand. She hadn't taken her eyes off him since he began speaking.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you all of this when you first asked me. At the time I was unaware of what was happening to me."
Fiona tugged her hand free and raised it to his cheek. "What was that?" she asked softly.
"I left my heart with you the morning I left, even though I wouldn't admit it to either of us at the time." He turned his head and kissed her palm. "You see, I didn't realize I'd fallen in love with you until you were no longer a part of my daily life."
He felt certain that his chest was going to burst as he struggled to get air into his lungs while his heart raced at an alarming rate.
"I know we never talked about what was happening between us, so I have no idea how you feel about any of this." He held both of her hands and discovered that her pulse was racing almost as fast as his.
He stopped speaking, wondering if anything he'd said had made any sense. None of it had been what he'd planned to say.
She lifted her hands to his shoulders and smiled. "The first night you were in my home, while your fever was raging, you thought I was Jill. You pulled me onto the bed and held me while you slipped your hand beneath my robe and gown. Until that night I'd never felt desire, never understood how powerful passion could be … even though I knew your words and actions were never meant for me."
Greg stared at her in dismay. He vaguely recalled his fevered imaginings but nothing so— "I'm sorry, Fiona. I didn't know."
She tightened her grip on his shoulders. "Of course you didn't know and I would never have mentioned it if you hadn't returned. You see, you made me aware of you on a level I'd never known existed, much less experienced. I couldn't get you out of my mind after that.
"The last night you were here, I knew that I wanted all that passion to be directed at me, if only for that one night. I needed to experience love-making with you." She paused and with a shy smile, she added, "I wasn't disappointed."
Greg could no longer sit still. Without another word he scooped Fiona into his arms and strode to the hallway. After taking the stairs two at a time he paused in the upper hallway and said, "Your room, Fiona," he said with impatience. "Which one is it?"
She pointed to one of the doors that stood ajar. He continued down the hallway and pushed the slightly open door wider. Without a word he walked to the large bed. With frustrated eagerness, he quickly undressed them both before pulling back the covers and placing her under them.
As soon as he crawled in beside her she reached for him. Greg wrapped his arms around her and kissed her with all the pent-up love and passion that he had restrained downstairs. Without breaking the kiss, he rolled so that she was above him, her legs on either side of his hips. He touched her and knew she was ready for him. Without further hesitation he surged inside of her, taking her with a sense of possession that almost overwhelmed him.
He'd had some idea of taking her slowly, with gentleness, to express his love for her, but neither of them had the patience to prolong the moment. She rode him without pause until they both exploded into a mind-blowing climax.
Before they could slow their breathing, he was kissing her again—this time along her neck, creating a trail down her chest. There was no doubt in his mind who he was making love to and who he intended to love until the day he died.
With the first rush of urgency appeased, Greg took his time kissing and caressing her breasts. With a quick flip he had her on her back where he could love every inch of her body … a kiss at a time.
He lifted his head and looked at her as he slowly entered her.
When he pulled away slightly, they were both breathing hard.
"Marry me, Fiona," he managed to say while he moved in a lazy rhythm inside her. "Marry me or I'll be forced to keep you in bed until I can convince you we belong together."
She moved her hips upward to meet each of his thrusts, her sparkling gaze locked on his, revealing everything she felt for him. "I want to marry you," she managed to say, "but there's so much to consider—where we'll live, how your family will react to the … idea," she said with a moan of pleasure.
"We'll deal with all that. I promise," he replied, picking up the pace until they were too engrossed to speak.
Fiona peaked in a long, pulsating wave, tightening around him until he lost control and followed her.
He collapsed on the bed, his arms securely around Fiona, and drifted off to sleep.
Greg was awakened some time later to find Fiona attempting to move away from him. "Where you goin'?" he mumbled, holding her tighter.
"We need a fire," she said, nodding toward the embers in the fireplace of the bedroom.
"Give me a minute," he said, feeling as if his body had become melted wax.
She pulled away from him. "No. Stay there. I won't be long." True to her word she was soon back in bed with him.
"So," he murmured, nibbling on her ear, "are you going to marry me? My family likes the idea. They hope that marriage will improve my disposition."
She lifted her head to look down at him doubtfully. "You think?"
"Can't hurt. As you so kindly pointed out, there's lots of room for improvement." He stroked her back, edging her closer to him so that she was flush with him. "I'm looking into opening a branch of my office in Edinburgh. What do you think? Would that work for you?"
She caught her breath when he slid his hand around to her breast, toying with the nipple. "What about Tina and her grandparents?" she managed to say.
"I think Minnie had a good idea. She suggested I move all of them over here."
Fiona stiffened and pushed away from him so that she could see his face. "Minnie? Are you talking about my Aunt Minnie? When did she say that to you?"
"The morning after she and I sat up late talking while looking through photograph albums of you growing up."
"You never told me about that!"
"I enjoyed the photographs. I'd told you I wanted to see them. Minnie was kind enough to oblige my curiosity."
"No, I'm talking about her suggestion that you move your family to Scotland."
"Oh. Well, I guess this is my day for confessions." He looked at his watch. "How would you like to return with me to Edinburgh tonight?"
"Tonight? Why?"
She looked so beautiful with the firelight glowing on her hair and body. He still wasn't used to the rush of love that swept over him whenever he looked at her.
Greg sat up and kissed the tip of her nose. "There's someone there I want you to meet."
* * * *
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MAN IN THE MIST Page 16
