“Adam was the only one who caused me any heartache,” Stephanie murmured, scooting over to cuddle close to him. “One day I must return for a visit with my father and stepmother. I am all they have left.”
“You are wrong,” Runner said, placing a finger to her chin so that her eyes would be directed into his. “They have more now. They now have a son-in-law and a grandson.”
“Ah, how they will love you and little Jimmy,” Stephanie said, emitting a contented sigh. “And one day soon, there will be another grandchild too.”
Runner raised an eyebrow, then he laughed throatily. “Yes, one day we will have children of our own,” he said, for a moment having misjudged what she had said. He had thought that she was implying that she was pregnant now.
“It might be much sooner than you imagine,” Stephanie said, rising to kneel beside him. She reached for one of his hands and held it against her flat stomach. “Of course, you can’t feel anything. But you can imagine, can’t you, a small child forming within my womb, even now? Our child, Runner. Yours and mine.”
Runner rose quickly onto his knees before her. “You are saying that you are with child?” he said, an anxiousness in his voice and eyes.
“I can’t be absolutely certain,” Stephanie said, laughing softly. “But, yes, I do believe that being late with my monthly flow means that I am pregnant. Never have I been two weeks late before. Not until now, darling.”
Runner grabbed her into his arms. “A child,” he whispered as he ran his hands caressingly down her back. “Our very own child.”
Sudden wails broke through their blissful sharing. They fell apart, laughing softly.
Stephanie pulled on a robe, then went to the crib that sat in a corner far from the fireplace. “Jimmy may not be our very own by birthright,” she murmured as she gathered the baby up into her willing arms, “but inside my heart, he is.”
Runner slipped his fringed breeches on and padded over to stand beside them. “Also mine,” he said, then slipped Jimmy out of Stephanie’s arms. “He cries for milk. I will take him to Velvet Eyes for his feeding.”
Stephanie watched him leave, then hugged herself. “Return to me soon, my White Indian husband,” she whispered, giggling. “I cannot get enough of you tonight. What wild desires you have unleashed within me!”
Don’t miss Wild Thunder
by
New York Times and USA Today
bestselling author
Cassie Edwards,
coming this August.
Hannah Kody came to her brother’s ranch in the
Kansas Territory to be his eyes, as his sight was
failing fast. Yet his misfortune couldn’t dim the joy
she found in the wide vistas of the Western plains.
And the excitement she found in the presence of
Strong Wolf. The future chief of the Patawatomis
stood tall and proud, and Hannah dreamed
she had traveled there to meet him . . .
But for Strong Wolf, Hannah was supposed to be the
enemy, allied not only to the settlers he distrusted,
but to the brutal foreman of her brother’s ranch.
He felt only sorrow could come of their attraction,
until the day Hannah rode to his lodge, fell into
his arms, and launched a journey neither
had the desire to deny . . .
Praise for Cassie Edwards
“A sensitive storyteller
who always touches readers’ hearts.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Cassie Edwards captivates with
white-hot adventure and romance.”
—Karen Harper
“Edwards moves readers with
love and compassion.”
—Bell, Book & Candle
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 1994, 2015 by Cassie Edwards
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
Zebra and the Z logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
First published in May 1994 by Topaz, an imprint of Dutton Signet, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.
First Zebra Books Mass-Market Paperback Printing: April 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4201-3674-6
First Zebra Books Electronic Edition: April 2015
eISBN-13: 978-1-4201-3675-3
eISBN-10: 1-4201-3675-5
Wild Desire Page 32
