“I love you, Julia,” he said gently. “I know you. You’re too honorable a person not to have told me. You wouldn’t have let me walk into that warehouse without telling me about Bobby.”
“You have more faith in me than I have in myself,” she said, looking at him with wonder.
“I have no doubts at all, Julia. You would have told me.”
“I love you, Luke.”
“I know,” he whispered. “And I love you, too.”
He bent to kiss her. What started as a gentle caress was a match that lit the dry wood in both of their hearts. She wasn’t sure who moved first, but with a groan of desire he swept her into his arms and fell back onto the red leather couch.
Suddenly they couldn’t get enough of each other. As she tugged at his shirttails with trembling hands, he unbuttoned the jacket of her suit. When he brushed open the lapels, he froze for a moment, then slowly looked up at her.
“Julia!” he managed to say in a strangled voice. “How could you walk down the street like this?”
She glanced down at the sheer teddy she’d worn beneath the suit jacket, then back up at him. “No one could see me.” Slowly she bent down so the lace-and-chiffon concoction brushed over his chest and kissed his mouth. “I wanted you, Luke. I was prepared to fight dirty if I got the chance.”
Bringing one hand to trace the pattern of lace across her chest, he murmured, “Maybe we’re going to have to fight more often. I think I like this concept.”
“I think I’d prefer to skip the fighting and go straight to the making-up part.”
“There’s a lot to be said for that approach, too,” he agreed as he swept her jacket off her shoulders and tossed it onto the floor. His eyes darkened to the color of midnight as he looked at the teddy once more.
“Julia,” he breathed. Suddenly he bent and took her mouth, and his kiss wasn’t tender or sweet this time. It was wild with desire and possession, and she felt herself responding to the need in him. The yearning started in her heart and spread like wildfire through her soul.
Clothing disappeared, swept away by searching, trembling hands. Their bodies strained together, passion heating her skin and turning his touch into liquid fire. His hands were everywhere, giving her pleasure and stoking the flames higher.
She reached for him, desperately needing to feel his mouth on hers. As he kissed her, he pressed her down into the leather of the couch and she felt his heart booming against her chest. Her own pounded in an answering rhythm, and she gasped his name as he entered her.
His control disappeared as she began moving against him. Cupping her buttocks in his hands, he drove into her, gasping her name over and over. When she shattered in his arms, he let himself go and shuddered into her one more time. As the trembling slowed, he wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled his face into her neck. “I love you, Julia Carleton,” he breathed into her ear.
She tightened her arms around him and pulled him closer, trying to hold the world at bay for another few minutes. If she had a choice, she would never let him go.
After a long time he stirred and rolled over, carrying her on top of him. “I knew this damned couch was here for a reason.”
“Mmm,” she agreed, wriggling against him. “It’s a lot more comfortable than the floor.”
Feeling his response to her movements, she bent down and kissed him. He moaned softly into her mouth, then cupped her face in his hands as he held her away from him and looked in her eyes. “We can’t do this, Julia.”
There was a note of desperation in his voice, and she sat up slowly. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Don’t you realize what we just did? I didn’t use any protection.” Running his hands down her sides, rising up to kiss her, he added, “It’s not the kind of thing I keep around the office.”
Sliding down his body, she kissed him again and said, “Well, then, I guess this is as good a time as any to ask how you feel about children.”
“I want them,” he said promptly. “The thought of you, pregnant with our child…” He paused and, laying his hand over her belly, slowly lifted his head to kiss her abdomen. “It would be more than I ever dreamed of. But it has to be something we both want.”
She covered his hand with hers, feeling his warmth burn into her over the place their children would grow. “I want to have babies with you,” she whispered.
“There’s only one little hitch,” he murmured. “I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy, Carleton. If you want to have babies with me, I’m afraid you’re going to have to marry me first.”
She smiled at him, the love inside her shining out of her eyes. “I thought you’d never ask, McKinley.”
“I got sidetracked a little earlier, but I’m asking now. Will you marry me, Julia?”
“There’s nothing I want more,” she whispered.
Sitting up, he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her again, a promise and a vow. Then, leaning away from her, he said, “Are you sure you want to be married to a cop? You know, more than most, the dark side of the job. You know what it can do to a marriage. I don’t have to go back to the force.”
“I want to marry you.” She took his face in her hands and looked at him. “I would want to marry you no matter what you did.” Her fingers trailed along his cheek. “You were meant to be a cop, Lucas McKinley. You’re one of the good guys. I couldn’t bear it if you gave that up for me. Besides, my love for you doesn’t depend on what you do. I love you for who you are, and part of that is being a cop. Every job puts different kinds of strains on a marriage. We’ll be strong enough, and we love each other enough, to overcome the problems we’ll face.”
“I think we’ll be able to overcome anything, my love.”
“I’m sure of it.” She cuddled closer to him. “I will miss one thing about this office, though.”
“What’s that?”
She looked up at him, grinning. “This leather couch. It’s beginning to hold a lot of memories.” Leaning over, she kissed him again as she laughed softly. “And it may be the place our first child was conceived.”
“We’ll move it to the house,” he answered promptly. Bending down, he kissed her again, a long, leisurely caress. “Traditions are very important for families. This can be our first one.”
Still holding her close, he picked up her clothes from the floor and handed them to her. “But tradition or not, I can think of better places to have this discussion. Like at home, in bed. With you, for the next week or two.”
Sliding the straps of the teddy over her shoulders, she watched as his eyes darkened again and he reached out to trail his fingers over her lips. Brushing a kiss over his mouth as she pulled on her skirt, she said, “You said something about a bed. Are you changing your mind?”
Never taking his eyes off her, he grinned as he threw on his clothes. “I wouldn’t dream of it. I’ve spent the last three days imagining you in my bed.”
Picking up her briefcase, she stood in the doorway and looked around the room. It had been a dusty, ruined office when she walked in, but from now on it would hold a shining place in her memory. Looking over at Luke, she saw the same truth reflected in his eyes. Picking up her hand, he kissed it as he opened the door.
“The old Lucas McKinley was incinerated in the fire in this office. You rescued me from its ashes and created the new one. How can I ever thank you for that?”
“By taking me home,” she whispered.
Silently he held out his hand, and as she took it he pulled the door shut behind them. They walked down the stairs into the sunlight, holding each other tightly.
* * * * *
eISBN 978-14592-7933-9
AN HONORABLE MAN
Copyright © 1996 by Margaret Watson
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage o
r retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books. 300 East 42nd Street. New York. NY 10017 U.S.A.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and 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 incidents are pure invention.
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Table of Contents
Cover Page
Table of Contents
Excerpt
Dear Reader
Books by Margaret Watson
MARGARET WATSON
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Copyright
An Honorable Man Page 26