Joan Pickart – A Ring For Christmas: A Bride by Christmas / Christmas Lullaby / Mistletoe Manoeuvres (страница 21)
“You’re so beautiful,” he said, his voice husky. “I’ve actually daydreamed about this, about seeing you here in my home, right here in front of these windows with the world spread out before us as though it belongs only to us. Ah, Maggie, I…”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He kissed her, then they parted long enough to shed their clothes and reached for each other once again. An urgency engulfed them, a need so great it was indescribable.
With hands never still, they caressed.
With lips seeking more, they kissed.
With passion soaring to unbelievable heights, they waited until they could bear it no longer.
Then they joined, meshed into one entity that made it impossible to decipher where the body soft and feminine and the one so very masculine ended and began.
The music had stopped, but they could hear their special waltz as they rocked in gentle rhythm to the exquisite song that belonged to them alone. The tension built within them, tightening, spiraling, taking them higher, up and away, until they burst into the heavens with the lights of their world beyond the windows showing them the way.
It was ecstasy. It was nearly shattering in its splendor, an explosion of sensations like none before. They drifted, savoring, murmuring the name of the other, until they returned to rest on the lush carpet that cradled them.
Luke moved off Maggie, then shifted her so her back was to his front and they could gaze out at the lights. He buried his face in her fragrant hair for a long moment, then tucked her head beneath his chin.
Maggie drew a shuddering breath, then smothered a sob that threatened to escape from her throat.
Dear God, she thought, she loved him. She was in love with Luke St. John. There was no denying it, nowhere to hide from the truth of it, nowhere to run. She loved him. He was all, everything and more that she’d fantasized about finding in a man, the one who would steal her heart for all time if things were different. If she was a normal woman, not plagued by the Jenkins Jinx. She loved him, but she couldn’t have him, and it was just so incredibly sad.
But for now? she thought, blinking back unwelcomed tears. He was hers. Until Precious and Clyde’s wedding, Luke was hers. She would cherish every moment she had with him and ignore the ticking of the clock that would signal their goodbye.
“What we just shared was…” Luke said, then stopped speaking for a second. “No, I don’t have the words.”
“I don’t either,” Maggie said softly, “but I know that it was…I’ll never forget this night, Luke.”
“I won’t either.” He paused, then chuckled. “I think our ice cream has melted.”
Maggie smiled. “I think my bones have melted.”
Time lost meaning as they lay together in sated, comfortable silence, then Maggie finally sighed.
“I’m about to fall asleep,” she said. “I’d better get home, Luke.”
“Ah, Maggie, stay. Please,” he said. “We’ll sleep with our heads on the same pillow in my bed and have breakfast together in the morning.”
“I don’t think…”
“Please?”
Why not? Maggie thought. In for a penny, in for a pound, or however that saying went. She was hopelessly, irrevocably in love with this man. The damage was done, the heartbreak guaranteed when all of this ended. Why not share everything she could with Luke while it was possible?
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, I’ll stay.”
“Thank you,” Luke said, then shifted away from her, rolled to his feet and extended one hand to her. “Come on. I promise my bed is softer than this floor.”
Maggie placed her hand in his and allowed him to draw her up into an embrace where his mouth melted over hers in a searing kiss. On legs that weren’t quite steady she walked by his side to the large master bedroom that was decorated in gray and burgundy. Luke turned on a lamp on the nightstand, then flipped back the blankets to reveal burgundy sheets.
“Oh, wait,” he said. “Make note of which side of the bed you get in on because you have to leave on the same side in the morning or you’ll have bad luck.”
“Here we go again,” Maggie said, rolling her eyes. “Another St. John superstition.”
“Well,” he said, shrugging, “at least I have a variety to offer. You’re zoned in on the Jenkins Jinx and that’s it.”
Maggie looked up at him and frowned. “Which has generations of proof that validates it.”
“That may be true, but you’ve managed to punch holes in all the superstitions I’ve presented so far, shown me that there’s room for doubt. The same may hold true for your jinx.”
“No,” Maggie said, taking a step backward. “I’m not going to even entertain the idea that the jinx can be broken. I’ve seen the heartache suffered by those who thought they could do exactly that. No.”
“Okay,” Luke said, raising both hands in a gesture of peace. “Forget I said that. I didn’t mean to upset you on this incredibly perfect night.” He swept one arm in the direction of the bed. “Madam?”
Maggie settled onto the bed with a sigh of pleasure.
“Oh, this is heavenly,” she said.
“I’m going to go turn out the lights in the other rooms and dump the soupy ice cream,” Luke said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“‘Kay,” she said, then yawned.
Luke chuckled, then strode from the room. When he returned, Maggie was sound asleep. He slipped carefully into the bed next to her, then propped up on one forearm to watch her sleep.
So lovely, he thought. Maggie was here with him, where she belonged. If only there was a golden ring on her finger symbolizing her being his wife, his partner in life.
He was winning little victories each time she made it clear that the newest superstition he’d declared was foolish, should be dismissed as nonsense. Each of those incidents gave him ammunition to demolish the Jenkins Jinx. He was definitely making progress. Wasn’t he? Oh, man, he just had to be.
But Maggie was so…so fierce about the jinx, was determined not to fall prey to the belief that she could be the one to prove it untrue, to break the long cycle of disastrous marriages in the Jenkins family. No, she had said. No.
And little victories meant nothing if he didn’t win the final battle. He couldn’t bear that thought. He’d just keep on as he was, chipping away at that wall of Maggie’s. He was going to conquer the demon that held her so tight.
He was going to marry Maggie Jenkins. She loved him, he believed that with every fiber of his being. And heaven knew that he loved her. That love would grow, become stronger, unbeatable, smash the jinx into dust to be blown into oblivion.
Luke nodded decisively, snapped off the lamp, then settled close to Maggie, his head on the same pillow as hers just as he’d promised.
But it was many hours before he finally slept.
Two weeks later Maggie and Luke stood in the honeymoon suite on the top floor of one of Phoenix’s exclusive hotels.
“Luke, this is awful,” Maggie said with a burst of laughter. “A heart-shaped bed? A color scheme of bright red? Velvet spread, upholstery, even the drapes? A shiny red hot tub? It’s so tacky, it’s beyond belief.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Luke said, grinning, “I guess it depends on how you feel about red. This place could sure turn a guy off Valentine’s Day. Man, they went nuts in here.”
“The manager said it’s very popular,” Maggie said, shaking her head. “That’s a scary thought.”
“Yep,” Luke said, glancing around. “It’s even worse than the one that had forty-two stuffed toy cupids. I counted them, you know, and there were actually forty-two of those chubby little guys ready to shoot arrows. That was a nightmare waiting to happen.”
“Well, cross this one off the list of possibilities.” Maggie looked at her watch. “I’ve got to rush. I’m meeting Janet and Patty at the bridal shop for the first fitting of their bridesmaids’ dresses.”
“Have you…um…looked at wedding dresses yet?” Luke said, sliding a glance at her.
“No, not yet. I’m sure the perfect dress for…for Precious is there because the selection is wonderful. That shop is where Ginger got her gown. They’re terribly expensive, though.”
“No problem,” Luke said. “Don’t even think about the money. The sky is the limit…or whatever. In other words, go for it.”
“Right. Let’s get out of here. All this red is giving me a headache.”
“Are you sure you can’t come to my place tonight?” Luke said as they started toward the door.
“No, I’ve got to go see my mother, Luke. You know, have dinner with her, chat, what have you. She’s feeling neglected and I don’t blame her. I haven’t been to her house in far too long. I’ll just go straight home from there.”
“I’ll miss you,” he said. “I’m getting very spoiled having you next to me in my bed at night and seeing you when I open my eyes in the morning. It’s nice. It’s more than nice.”
Maggie gripped the doorknob, then hesitated and smiled up at Luke.
“Yes,” she said, “I agree. It’s very, very nice.” She laughed. “By the way, you know that superstition you laid on me last night? I want you to know that I purposely put on my left shoe before my right one this morning and I have not had one bit of unluck, if there is such a word.”