“I’m so afraid, Colt,” Abbie whispered unsteadily, her scalp tingling deliciously at his touch.
“I know you are. And I think I know why….”
She could barely hold Colt’s gaze as he quickly wiped her tears away with his thumbs. When he placed his hand on her shoulder, she sniffed. “I’m such a coward, Colt. I—I lost one man…and I’m afraid to lose you, too. You’re a merc….”
“I understand,” he told her in a deep, quiet tone. Sliding his other hand over hers, which was clenched in her lap, he whispered, “Abbie, I’ve made some decisions. And you need to hear them.” He bowed his head for a moment, worked his mouth and then looked up at her shining blue eyes, which were soft with invitation. He felt her love, her need of him in every fiber of his being. How badly he wanted to return that love, but some things had to be said first. And depending upon how Abbie received the news, Colt knew they’d either move forward with their relationship or it would dissolve. Never in his whole life had he felt as frightened as he did now, because he realized that he loved her with a burning fierceness that would never die.
Abbie sat very still as she watched Colt wrestle with unspoken emotions. His hand curling protectively around her shoulders made her feel a bit better. “W-what do you want to say?”
“That I’m scared to death, Abbie. Scared of how you might take what I say…what I feel….” He shook his craggy head. “Well, here goes. Life’s a risk, anyway. Right now, I’m putting my heart in your hands….” He took a deep breath. “Five days ago, when you crashed into my life, I never thought it possible to fall in love with someone so quickly. You just kind of walked in with your sunshine smile and that wide-open heart of yours, Abbie, and took me by storm.”
Colt grazed her hair and forced a lopsided smile. Her expression was tender and it gave him the courage to go on. “That’s what I feel for you—love. And respect. And I want to keep exploring what I’ve discovered about us. I know we need time to continue to get to know one another, and I’m more than willing to give us that if you are. This morning, I went over and talked to Morgan. I told him I wanted a desk job here, at the main headquarters of Perseus. I want off the merc mission list for good.”
“I—I see….” Abbie gulped. She clung to Colt’s gaze, absorbed his hesitant, grazing touches. Hope warred with fear in his eyes. “You wouldn’t miss being on missions?” Abbie knew that Ted had lived for that kind of life and would never have left it even if she’d begged him to. Searching Colt’s serious expression, she waited.
“Abbie, no matter what you say, what you decide, I’m not going back in the field. I’m done with that part of my life.” His mouth quirked. “My last missions over in Kosovo showed me that.” Shaking his head, Colt murmured, “No, I want to settle down. You’ve shown me what I’ve been longing for deep inside, but it was something I was afraid to even dream about.”
“What was that?” Her voice was off-key.
“A family.” He shrugged heavily. “Kids…Just being a part of the last five days, celebrating Christmas, has made me want to settle down and have a family. I think I can be a good father, or at least I’ll try to be.” Lifting his head, Colt smiled gently at Abbie. “And I know I’ve found the woman I want as my life partner, who will be the best mother to our children I could ever find.”
Shaken, Abbie closed her eyes. She pressed her hand against her eyes, tears spilling down her face. “Oh, Colt…”
“Come here,” he urged in a husky voice, and he pulled her chair out and took her in his arms. “I love you, Abbie. Will you give me a chance to prove to you my love is real?”
Slipping into his embrace, Abbie whispered, “Yes…yes, I will, Colt…” After embracing him fervently, she eased away, took his hand in hers and said, “Follow me?”
Wordlessly, he followed her though the living room, past the snapping, crackling fire that warmed the cabin, to her bedroom. Christmas music played softly in the background. The room featured old Victorian lace, a brass bed, a plum-colored velvet quilt that looked very old and well-loved, and dainty white curtains framing the window.
Turning, Abbie looked up at him, her hands resting on his massive chest. “I don’t know how it happened either, darling. I love you….” There, the words were out. The truth hung suspended between them as she saw his green eyes flare with surprise, and then burn with joy. Abbie saw all the tension bleed out of Colt with her softly spoken vow. She began to unsnap each pearl button on his cowboy shirt, one by one. “Like you, I was scared at how powerfully I was drawn to you. And over the last five days I knew…I knew in my heart, Colt, that you were the man I wanted in my life….” Her hands stilled as she met and held his burning gaze. “I know we haven’t had the time to really be together…and I want that with you.”
Abbie eased the shirt off his massive shoulders, revealing his darkly haired chest. He helped her by placing the shirt over a chair near the wall. As his fingers brushed the hem of her sweater, she whispered, “Now that you’re not going to be out in the field anymore, I know we’ll have that time….” She smiled tremulously up at him. “Love me? I want to lie with you, love you and be a part of you….”
Her words cascaded like molten heat over Colt. Nodding wordlessly, he eased the sweater off Abbie. She wore an ivory silk camisole beneath it, but no bra. Colt removed the spray of orchids from her hair and unclipped her unruly hair. It fell in silky abandon around her shoulders like a living waterfall.
“Come here….” he rasped as he pulled her onto the bed.
Time slowed until each moment was a thing of beauty to Abbie. As they continued to undress one another, then lay naked and warm on the velvet coverlet, she saw a predatory look come to Colt’s eyes. Moving into his arms, her slender form pressed against his hard masculine body, she closed her eyes and lifted her head. Colt’s mouth closed over hers with such hunger that a bolt of jagged heat flashed through her. Abbie’s lower body exploded with need of him.
She inhaled the sweet pine scent that clung to Colt, and tasted the strength and cajoling power of his mouth as he rocked her lips open. Sliding her hands up his muscled arms to his bunched shoulders, Abbie felt herself being eased onto her back. His fingers trailing fire, he cupped her breast with a gentle but possessive grip. A sigh, a moan of need, escaped her parted, well-kissed lips. As she arched upward, so that her hips met his, his lips settled on one hardened peak. Abbie gave a little cry as he began to suckle strongly.
Her world exploded. Behind her closed eyes, fireworks shimmered in vivid color, sending sparks through her being. Never had Abbie felt so cherished as in this moment. Every touch of Colt’s hand as he slid it down her rib cage, across her hip to her thighs, told her how much he loved her. A fierce ache sprang to life as he stroked her moistness, a ragged sigh escaped her. She tried to please Colt in return, but he seemed bent on pleasuring her completely, instead. Abbie felt like a prisoner, captured within his arms, surrounded by his massive body. All she could do was surrender to the white-hot pleasure now throbbing up through her as he continued to stroke her in slow, delicious exploration. How badly she wanted him!
As if sensing that, Colt moved carefully on top of her. Abbie opened her eyes as she felt his knee settle heavily between her thighs. The glint of a hunter who had captured his quarry burned in his eyes as he held her gaze. She smiled tremulously and eased her arms around his damp neck. Without speaking, she moved her hips upward and drew him deeply into herself, and the action freed her soul to fly on wings of joy.
Colt’s world shattered. A groan ripped from him as her slender legs wrapped strongly around his and brought him fully into her hot, liquid depths. His mind exploded. No longer did he think; he could only feel. The spicy fragrance of Abbie reached his flared nostrils, her little cries of pleasure rippling through him like fiery caresses. He gripped her hard in his arms, never wanting to let her go. As she arched provocatively, her hips melding with his, he thrust into her. Somewhere in the haze and fire of his being, he knew they were mak
ing love without any protection. Yet his heart whispered that even if Abbie became pregnant from their coupling, it was something they both wanted. Above all, Colt wanted to give Abbie the child she’d always wanted, but had been denied.
Time throbbed to a halt as he brought her into heated rhythm with himself. They fit together like two lost puzzle pieces. Each brush of her lips upon his, each movement of her hands, ranging teasingly across his damp, tense body, told him of her love for him. Their primal need for one another culminated rapidly, and within seconds, Colt felt her tense in his arms. He could feel the fiery liquid of her body surround him, and he surged forward, hoping to prolong her pleasure. And then he felt a massive explosion occur, and all he could do was cling to her, their heads resting against one another.
Golden seconds spun between them in the aftermath. Abbie was breathing in gasps as Colt continued to hold her. Slowly, very slowly, she felt him ease out of her, then gather up the velvet quilt and pull it over them. Sighing happily, she lay her head in the crook of his shoulder, her arm around his rib cage. Her breasts were pressed against his heart, which was pounding in unison with hers. Smiling softly, she nuzzled against him and felt his lips caress her temple and then her hair.
“I love you,” she whispered unsteadily.
“I know you do,” Colt rasped. Leaning down, he watched her open lustrous blue eyes that glowed with gold in their depths. Abbie was happy.
His heart soared. Colt had desperately wanted to please her, to give her joy to replace the tragedy and loss of the last two years of her life. “I love you, sweetheart. And I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me.”
Abbie closed her eyes as Colt caressed her cheek, her neck and shoulder beneath the coverlet. “You’re such a gift to me, darling.”
He chuckled indulgently. “I hope I’ll be like that orchid of yours out there on the table—around for a long, long time.”
Laughing softly, Abbie opened her eyes and drowned in his forest-green ones. How young Colt looked now, with the stress of the days before erased. In some part of her fluttering, joyful heart, she sensed it was because he was no longer going out on missions that could rip him apart inwardly. Everyone had a limit to the amount of trauma they could endure. She knew Colt had reached his. And because he had, he was looking for a new life—a better one…with her.
“And like that orchid, my beloved, you are strong, enduring, and so easy on my eyes….” she whispered.
Colt ran his hand across her slender yet strong, womanly body. “Can you put up with me? Or when I get irritable and cranky, are you going to put me in your greenhouse to cool my heels?”
Giving him a wicked, teasing look, Abbie teethed his earlobe gently. “Not a chance! We’ll talk it out. Communication is the key.”
Laughing freely, Colt dodged her lips, his ear tingling. “You’re going to teach me how to talk to you, Abbie. I admit I’m not good at it….” His smile slipped as he leaned down and captured her soft mouth in a kiss. Eventually, he eased back and whispered, “And I want to learn, because I want to make you happy…forever….”
A Heavenly Christmas
By Carole Mortimer
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
EPILOGUE
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
‘YOU wanted me?’
Mrs Heavenly was aware of the soft, fluttering sensation behind her that told her she was no longer alone. But her attention was so intent upon the vision that she didn’t want to leave it, even for a second!
At last! She had waited a long time for this particular plea for help to come. Almost too long, she acknowledged ruefully. But at last it had come.
She looked up to smile warmly at the young angel who stood before her. Faith. Yes, she would be perfect for this particular assignment. Warm, compassionate, and with a mischievous sense of humour that had almost been her undoing a couple of times in the past. But in this particular case Faith’s qualities were more suited to the problem than the equally admirable ones of Hope or Charity.
‘Come and look at this, my dear.’ Mrs Heavenly encouraged the angel to step forward and share the vision with her. ‘It will help you to understand the problem that has—thankfully!—been presented to us.’
Faith stepped into Mrs Heavenly’s vision, eager to learn what her assignment was to be. Christmas was only two days away—always a fraught time of year for humans, when the inadequacies in their normally busy lives often became glaringly obvious. It was also a time when they often cried out for help to cope with those difficulties.
‘This incident happened a short time ago,’ Mrs Heavenly told her softly, a smile on her cherubic face.
Faith gazed down interestedly at the scene being enacted below them.
A tiny woman of about thirty—startlingly beautiful, her fine-boned body clothed in a black trouser suit and cream blouse, and with golden-blonde hair cropped close to her head—was stepping lithely out of a lift, her expression one of determination as she marched down the carpeted corridor to rap sharply on an oak door at the end of the hallway.
‘She looks rather angry,’ Faith murmured.
Mrs Heavenly nodded unconcernedly. ‘She invariably is,’ she informed Faith lightly.
‘Why—? Goodness, who is that?’ Faith gasped as the oak door swung open to reveal a man almost as handsome as Gabriel himself.
Or Lucifer, she decided as an afterthought. His hair was so dark it was almost black, his eyes so dark a brown it was difficult to see where the iris stopped and the pupil began. As for his looks—they could only be described as devilishly attractive.
‘Is he her husband?’ Faith prompted breathlessly.
‘Hardly.’ Mrs Heavenly smiled. ‘Listen,’ she encouraged softly.
‘Ms Hardy,’ the man greeted dryly. ‘To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?’
Olivia, despite the obvious derision in his tone, stared back at him unmovingly. Ethan Sherbourne had occupied the apartment directly above hers for over a year now. But apart from an occasional greeting to him—on the rare occasion they happened to get into the lift together—or to one of the constant stream of women that seemed to flow in and out of his apartment, Olivia had remained firmly detached from the man.
The only other exception being when his mail became confused with her own. Which it had already several times this Christmas.
‘Yours, I believe.’ She held up the pink envelope she carried with her.
He raised dark brows as he reached out a lean hand and took the envelope, checking the writing on the front before holding it up in front of his nose and sniffing appreciatively.
‘Gwendoline,’ he announced knowingly.
Olivia repressed a delicate shudder. ‘I didn’t realise women still did that sort of thing,’ she commented scathingly.
Neither did Olivia understand why Mr Pulman, the caretaker of this exclusive apartment building, should think she might be the recipient of a scented Christmas card!
Ethan Sherbourne gave a roguish smile. ‘Only certain women,’ he drawled huskily.
Utterly stupid ones, in Olivia’s opinion. But she was sure Ethan Sherbourne wasn’t in the least interested in her opinion. She wasn’t tall, willowy—or young!—as the majority of women trooping in and out of his apartment seemed to be.
She gave a cool inclination of her head. ‘I’ll leave you to open your card—’ She broke off w
ith a frown as the lift doors opened down the corridor, immediately releasing the ear-splitting wail of a baby. A very young baby, by the sound of it, Olivia realised, wincingly.
She turned slowly in the direction of the cry, just in time to move out of the way of the young woman striding purposefully towards Ethan Sherbourne’s apartment.
The roguish smile had been wiped off Ethan Sherbourne’s face the moment he looked at the approaching virago. ‘Shelley…?’ He betrayed his uncertainty with a frown.
The tall, youthfully leggy blonde, looking not much more than a child herself, gave him a humourless smile, the screaming baby held firmly in her arms. ‘I’m surprised you remember me,’ she snapped. ‘We met so briefly.’
‘Of course I remember you,’ Ethan Sherbourne returned smoothly, sparing a reluctant glance for the shawl-wrapped bundle in the girl’s arms. ‘And this is…?’
Olivia stood to one side of the hallway now, an unwilling but at the same time fascinated eavesdropper on this conversation.
The girl—for, on closer inspection, she most certainly was a girl, probably no older than twenty or so—was gazing down at the screaming baby with a look that somehow managed to combine motherly love and sheer terror at the same time.
‘Here.’ She thrust the child into Ethan Sherbourne’s unsuspecting arms.
The screaming—to its mother’s obvious frustration—instantly ceased, although emotional hiccups quickly followed.
‘She obviously prefers you to me, anyway,’ the young woman choked tearfully—as if this was the final straw as far as she was concerned. ‘Her name is Andrea. Everything she needs is in here.’ She took a holdall off her shoulder and dropped it onto the floor. ‘She will want feeding in about an hour. I just can’t cope any more.’
With a last heart-wrenching glance at the baby she turned on her heel and ran back into the lift, desperately pressing the button to close the doors.
Romancing the Holidays Bundle 2009 Page 26
