To Claim a Wife
Page 15
Reno’s perception made her breath catch and he released the lock to comb his long fingers into the side of her hair. “But then I thought about everything, and I came to a few conclusions.” He brought his other hand up to her opposite cheek to slide it into her hair as he eased a bit closer.
“Your daddy turned out to be a jealous, hateful SOB. The blood test proved he had no reason to doubt your mother, but even if you’d been someone else’s little girl, he had no cause to treat you the way he did.”
Caitlin’s gaze fell from his to conceal her hurt. “And yet he accepted Beau right away,” she said before her breath caught on a small sob. She bit her lip to hold it back.
His fingers tightened gently against her scalp to bring her gaze back to his. “That doesn’t mean there was anything wrong with you. Just means he wasn’t man enough to live with the fact that he couldn’t sire a son.”
He gave her a sad smile when he saw the tears that welled in her eyes. She tried to move away from him to hide them, but he dropped his hands and slid them around her waist to keep her from evading him.
“That’s it, isn’t it? You think there’s something wrong with you, some reason Jess couldn’t love you. He loved Beau who wasn’t his, but he couldn’t love you whether you were his child or not.”
Reno pulled her gently against him. Caitlin couldn’t help that her arms went around him or that she pressed her hot cheek against his warm chest. She was shaking so hard that she gritted her teeth briefly to keep them from chattering.
She managed to tell him what Lucky had said about her father’s terrible jealousy, and that he’d given Lucky the task of keeping watch on Elaina until he’d come to suspect Lucky, too. When she added that Jess had hinted to Lucky that he’d treated her badly to punish him, Reno swore softly.
“Jess was a twisted fool.” His arms tightened. “Don’t let what he did twist you up inside, too.”
He lowered his head and pressed his lean jaw against the top of her head. “You’re afraid of your feelings, Caitlin, and you’re afraid of me. I can feel it. . .”
Caitlin made a restless move but his arms held her firmly. “Maybe you think there’s some reason I can’t love you either, or that my love for you won’t last.”
He was identifying her deepest fears, and it was as painful as it was a relief. She pressed even closer to him as she sensed that he truly did understand her, that she might truly be safe with him. Something inside her was desperate for those things, desperate to at last be wanted and loved by him.
“But if you think I can’t love you or that my love won’t last, you’d be wrong.”
Reno’s words were soft, but powerful. She clung to him as hope and love swirled higher and higher in her heart. He moved his hands to grip her upper arms. To her dismay, he gently pressed her away from him. Alarmed, she glanced up into his rugged face, but he gazed down at her with a tenderness that eased her fear.
“I want you to be looking at me when I tell you I love you, Caitlin Bodine. What I feel for you goes too deep now to ever die, it’s not frail and it’s not temporary. I love you. I couldn’t stop now, even if I was crazy enough to want to.” A half smile lifted one corner of his handsome mouth.
Joy swirled over her so suddenly and so strongly that she felt herself sway.
“I love you, Caitlin,” he said, then went solemn again. “There’s nothing unlovable about you, nothing in you that I could ever turn my back on, nothing that would ever make me walk away from you and what we have. Not as long as either of us is alive.”
The gruff words sent her joy spinning so high that she was dizzy with it. Her soft “I love you,” was so choked she could barely get the words out.
“Don’t be afraid to trust me, baby, don’t ever be afraid.” In the next second, Reno’s lips crashed down hungrily on hers. Caitlin was equal to the passionate onslaught. Everything she’d ever wanted, everything she could ever hope for was promised and fulfilled in that wild, deep kiss.
It was a long time before Reno’s lips eased away and they both stood breathing raggedly, their arms locked tightly around each other. The safety and security—the love—Caitlin felt in Reno’s hard, strong arms was worlds more than she’d ever hoped to have.
His low, rough “Marry me soon, baby,” was an order she couldn’t refuse, and Caitlin agreed instantly, “Whenever you say.”
When Caitlin lifted her head to look up at Reno, she caught sight of her mother’s face over his shoulder. Elaina’s jewel-blue eyes seemed to be glowing in the soft light and there was a hint of a sweet smile on her lips. The melancholy Caitlin had seen before suddenly wasn’t there. Though she knew right away that the wistful impression might be caused by the angle of the light and the lingering blur of her tears, it gave her peace.
Reno’s arms tightened around her, reclaiming her attention. She watched as his dark head descended and his warm lips settled possessively on hers.
ISBN : 978-1-4592-5270-7
TO CLAIM A WIFE
First North American Publication 1999.
Copyright © 1999 by Susan Fox.
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