“Fine.” She paused, moved her graceful shoulders, corrected herself. “No, not really,” she admitted. Then, in a little flurry, “David, do you know your eyes actually seem to burn like ice?”
“They’ve missed looking at you.” He sounded almost curt in his intensity.
Even so, her eyes grew misty, jewel-bright between their thick, feathery lashes. “It’s worth the agony to hear you say that.”
“Was it that bad?” Loving her, wanting her, he still couldn’t seem to lower his entrenched defences.
“It was agony for me,” she said simply, allowing his sardonic tone to slip by her. “Aren’t I allowed to say that?”
“Certainly, if you mean it.”
“I do.” She rose in her poised fashion, perhaps stalling for time. “Would you like something. Coffee? I was about to make some.”
“I’d rather you sat beside me.” He held her gaze when he wanted to hold out his arms. Hell, what was the matter with him? Was he terrified of revealing his own capacity for caring? “I want to talk to you,” he said finally.
“And I want to listen.”
“So sit down. Why are you so nervous?”
“I always am with you around.” A wry smile fanned her mouth. “In fact I go weak at the knees.”
“Then sit here.” He patted the other cushion on the sofa. “I can see I’ll have to cultivate more charm.”
“What you’ve got is more than enough for me.” She took her place beside him, an innocent enough action yet powerfully seductive. “What did you want to talk about?”
He obeyed an uncontrollable impulse. He reached out and drew one finger along her cheek. The skin felt like rose petals.
“Important things, Roishin,” he said. “I thought you should know, since you’re the one who set me free.” He paused. “I spent several hours with my mother yesterday.”
Her eyes held surprise, joy, a trace of apprehension. “So what happened? Tell me!”
He captured her hand, held it loosely and found it wondrous, the closeness. “It went well. More than well. It was total reconciliation. We parted at peace. For most of my life I’ve been conducting some sort of war with my own mother. I regret it now. You forced me to face the situation. Face myself. Thanks to you, it’s over.”
The tears that shimmered now brimmed over. “David, I’m glad. So glad! Now the old wounds can heal.”
“And you can take credit for being the physician.” His voice vibrated with deep feeling. “The extraordinary thing is that after the first few minutes we felt little sense of estrangement. I had my mother back as I’d known her when I was a child. She told me so many things I knew nothing about. Things my father had deliberately kept from me. No one should do that to a child. But I could see how it had all happened. My mother told me she felt that if she’d stayed on at Southern Cross she’d have gone under or even died. She spoke with complete honesty, no bitterness toward my father. She’s still very beautiful. She’s obviously found happiness with Vandenberg but our reconciliation had real meaning—for both of us. Not that it wasn’t painful. At one stage I thought the pain would kill me, but certain things had to be said. Because of my father, my mother was made an outcast. I was supposed to be the center of his world, yet he allowed me to become…twisted.”
“David, no!” She leaned for him swiftly, put two fingers to his lips, sealed them. “I won’t let you say that. It’s not true. When it comes to the things that matter, you have heart. Of course, you’re rather good at slamming down the barriers, as well,” she added, her eyes dancing wickedly.
“I’m sorry, it’s become almost a way of life.”
“You have to let someone else in,” she suggested. So gently. “I do love you.” She gave a shaky little laugh and exultation filled him.
“How will you prove that?” he demanded.
“I could kiss you for a start.”
Her whole being seemed to radiate light and love, flooding him with desire that was not without anguish. “Come here to me,” he begged, drawing her across him so her head rested back within his encircling arm. “Now, go ahead. Show me how much you love me, because I’m certain I love you even more!”
They were fine words, beautiful words, and they gushed up from some wellspring deep in his heart.
She arched her back, then lifted an arm and locked it around his neck. “This is one of those moments I’ll remember all my life. David, I love you. It’s like I—”
“Hush!” His control was shot to pieces. What he felt for her was so elemental, so inexorable in its fierce passion, he cut her off abruptly, trying to put everything he felt for her into one single, all-consuming kiss. There was pain in it, and old grief, which miraculously unknotted as her sweet, open mouth flowered and she matched him in ardor.
“I love you,” he muttered, feeling that something priceless and beautiful had been gien to him. “Life without you would be unimaginable!”
He could feel her body trembling in his arms. Both of them had slid down on the sofa where they lay locked together, limbs entwined. He felt pounded by emotions so great, it was like being caught up on the crest of a great wave. His hands sought her breasts through the soft, sinuous cloth. He could feel her heart pounding. Oh God, how he wanted her! Madly…badly—yet he wanted the exquisite anticipation of their wedding night.
“David!” She sighed, a little lost cry.
He gentled his embrace, forcing himself back to control. They had all the time in the world. He could wait. “I’m here,” he murmured tenderly. “No armor. No defenses.”
She opened her eyes with their lovely, liquid shimmer. “You need none with me.”
“No.” He brought his mouth softly back to hers. “Marry me, Roishin. I promise I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy.”
Her gaze was steadfast. “David, I’m honored. My answer is yes.”
This time, the kiss they shared was deep and reverent, promising a lifelong devotion. He cradled her to him. “You’re sure you can adapt to station life?”
“I already feel a sense of belonging, David. I think that’s crucial. And I’ll have you as my perfect companion through life.”
“Then I’ll have to live forever!” He smiled and dropped a kiss on her dark, fragrant hair. “No need to forgo your career, either. Southern Cross will always need a good lawyer. If it’s my wife, so much the better.”
“You’re serious?” She half lifted her head, staring at him with widened eyes.
“Of course I am! You worked hard to acquire your skills. I want you to use them. I want you to have a rich, multilayered life. Southern Cross is a big enterprise—you might be surprised how big. In fact, there’s quite a large investment portfolio for you to explore. With your background you’re definitely going to be an asset.”
“I hope that’s not why you’re marrying me,” she teased.
“What do you think?” he asked quietly. It was a wonderful feeling to be able to show the full extent of his love, in his eyes and in his voice.
“I think I love you with all my heart,” she answered emotionally. “I think I want us to be married under the desert stars. A vast dome of glittering, floating stars, and the Southern Cross looking down on us. I want our wedding to be so memorable it will endure in our minds forever. Is it possible, David?”
His heart soared. He was filled with a wonderful joy and pride in her. “Not only possible, my darling,” he said and his voice rang with promise. “It’s going to happen.”
All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, a have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.
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First published in Great Britain 2008
by Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited,
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
© Margaret Way 1997
ISBN: 9781408904329
The Man From Southern Cross Page 9
