by Cait London
Taking her hand, MacGregor scanned the shimmering layers of cold mist beyond the cave. An empty space yawned between the cave entrance and the first rocks of the trail. “Damn it, Violet. You should have stayed put,” he snapped, drawing her into his arms for a quick, hungry kiss.
“I wanted you home for supper,” she whispered, stroking his cheek. “Darling... my love....”
MacGregor crushed her to him, breathing hard. “Violet, you’re a hard woman,” he said, grinning widely. “I love every ornery inch.”
“My own dark knight rescuing his lady in distress,” she returned, holding him tightly.
“Uh-huh. When we’re safe, you’re getting a talking to.” MacGregor tugged her braid. “We’ve got to get out of here fast.”
“What are we going to do?” Regina’s husky voice barely sounded over the crackling flame behind them. He brought her hand to his mouth, then held it firmly.
“See that rock?” He nodded toward a rock ledge skirting the mountain, then to the trail. “Move slow and easy, Mrs. MacGregor.”
In the next moment they were sliding, skidding down the trail, racing to outdistance the avalanche.
They reached the horses just as dust and smoke boiled out of the mine. MacGregor lifted Regina to Je t’aime’s saddle before swinging up on Kansas’s back. Racing back across their trail to the mine, they slowed the horses at a safe distance. The mountain rumbled and shuddered. Boulders, tinted fiery red in the dawn, rolled down the sheer face of the mountain, sweeping trees aside as if they were matchsticks.
Regina and MacGregor halted the horses at a safe distance and watched the mountain settle into peace.
MacGregor dragged Regina from Je t’aime and into his lap, kissing her hungrily. He framed her face in his palms, kissing her nose, her eyes, her cheeks, her lips. “Violet... MacGregor....” he whispered urgently between kisses. “You could have been killed....”
“My heart... my own precious, dear husband. I would follow you into hellfire and back again....” she answered, kissing him as eagerly.
“Violet... Violet... my life... my love....”
~**~
Epilogue
Regina curled on the walnut bed, snuggling to the warm spot MacGregor had just vacated.
When he thought she was asleep, he had slipped from bed for his nightly ritual. The moment was a private one, between father and children... a bonding that MacGregor treasured with infinite respect.
The gold frame with the Mariahs’ portrait lay wrapped in the gauze dancing costume, deep in the traveling chest. Finally at peace, Regina snuggled in her marriage bed, holding the past and the dreams at bay.
MacGregor bent over Mary Rose’s crib to kiss the baby’s cheek. Toying with the infant’s tiny hand, MacGregor’s hard face softened as her fingers curled around his.
The firelight caught his body, tracing it and sending his shadow against the white clay chinks of the cabin logs as he moved to Jack’s small bed. He crouched beside his son and tucked the velvet bear beneath the covers.
The November wind howled outside, the windows lashed by fat snowflakes, as MacGregor smoothed Jack’s rumpled black hair.
MacGregor’s love ran deep, as did the fear that his happiness could be shattered in a moment.
Regina’s hungry gaze traced a muscular thigh beneath the long nightshirt. A thatch of dark hair gleamed in the opening of her husband’s nightshirt, a concession to Mary Rose’s recent birth and a shield concealing his blatant desire.
Moving across the shadows, MacGregor stopped by the bed and stared a full moment at the rumpled garment at his feet. Bending slowly, he lifted Regina’s ruffled nightgown. He studied it, smoothing the cloth with his hands thoughtfully, as though he molded his wife’s soft body, then placed it at the foot of the bed.
Taking care not to disturb her sleep, he slipped into bed. Regina reached for him and snuggled close, capturing him with her soft limbs before he could move away. He tensed, his hand brushing her full breast. His fingers caressed the softness for a brief instant before he muttered a strangled, “Violet!”
“Yes, my love?” she answered innocently, snuggling closer.
“Violet... you’re pushing your luck,” he muttered unevenly. “You’re newly healed from Mary Rose....” he protested as she began kissing his throat. “A lady doesn’t ambush her husband—”
“A lady can ambush her lover, can’t she?” she asked, savoring the hard warmth of his body.
Reaching for her, MacGregor grinned in the shadows. “Reckon so.”
“We’ve mated, Mr. Two Hearts MacGregor. Bound to each other for life.”
“We’ve mated for life,” he drawled arrogantly. “But not lately.”
Regina’s hair spread around them as she lifted an elbow to prop it on his chest. “You’ve been overlong in attending your husbandly duties, Mr. Two Hearts MacGregor.... Oh, how I love you,” she whispered, trailing her finger across his lips.
“You’re playing with fire,” MacGregor warned between his teeth. His large hands trembled, stroking, discovering anew....
Reggie rested her thigh over his, nudging the nightshirt higher on his hard thigh. She toyed with a strand of his hair that crossed his forehead. “It’s been over a year since you swept out of the mists to rescue me....”
“Those purple eyes caught me then and now. Bound me until I couldn’t think straight.” He kissed her palm, then placed it over the heavy beat of his heart. “You’ve taken the heart of me....”
MacGregor’s hand stroked the length of her silken back then slid to fondle her full breast, thrust against his chest. He toyed with a curl, resting on her slender arm. “Every day brings more.... You’ve brought me peace, Lady Violet MacGregor. Soothed the pain and gave me love... a child... a home.”
“Love,” she repeated slowly, savoring the word.
“Love,” he repeated. “You wanted more....”
“Yes, my darling. I’ve found more than I sought,” she whispered as MacGregor turned her boldly beneath his taut, hard body.
~**~
Winter snows swept through the open windows of Mortimer-Hawkes’s deserted hunting lodge, piling against the inner walls. Beneath tons of rock, the legendary Mariah, the ruby, found peace.
Mariah.... a woman’s haunting voice crooned softly in the winter night. The sound slid through the pines, soaring over the rugged mountains.
Mariah....
THE END
~**~
An Invitation from Cait London
FROM CAIT LONDON: I hope you enjoyed Wild Dawn. If you have time, I would appreciate a review? Thank you. You might also enjoy the following:
~Women’s: The Basket Maker’s Wife
~Short Contemporary Romance: The Bride Says No; Donovan’s Second Chance; Midnight Rider; Miracles and Mistletoe; Mr. Easy; The Pendragon Virus
~~*Series: The MacLeans: No.1 The Loving Season: MacLeans ; No.2 Angel vs MacLean; No.3 The Daddy Candidate
~Historicals: Be Mine; Night Fire; The Wedding Gamble; Wild Dawn
~Suspense: Hidden Secrets; Return to Fairy Cove; Season of Truth; Silence the Whispers; Sleepless in Montana; When Night Falls; With Her Last Breath
~Novellas: Lady Desperado (Western)
~~*Death By Series: Death by Coupon; Death by Salsa Dancing
~Classics: Rugged Glory; Gambler’s Lady
~~Caseys Series: No.1 Lady on the Line; No.2 A Lady’s Desire
For more information, please visit my WEBSITE/Blog. My free e-newsletter is available there and Social Media hangouts.
If you’d like to write to me, I’d love to hear from you. Enjoy!
~**~
ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share