Lawman
Page 32
“Terribly disappointed,” she whispered, tilting her face upward. “I was hoping for another kiss.”
“I meant—”
“I know what you meant.” Blast it! She’d just have to take action herself. Opening her eyes long enough to make sure of his position, Megan lurched toward him and kissed him full on the mouth. Why ever had Gabriel insisted on talking, when kissing felt so much better?
His arms tightened around her. His seeking, hot mouth proved that he found their kiss every bit as desirable as she did. Reveling in the feel of him, the taste of him, Megan kissed him back with all the love and enthusiasm she could.
Afterward he leaned back, still holding her close. An inexplicable expression crossed his face—her reward for having briefly opened her eyes to see it, Megan supposed. Then Gabriel grinned.
“Cheeky lass,” he teased.
“Flattery, Mr. Winter?” Megan quirked her eyebrow. “I might was well warn you right now. Talk like that earns every roguish Irish confectioner of my acquaintance a lengthy bout of kissing.”
She tipped her head back and puckered up.
“Every Irishman?”
Megan opened one eye. “Well…just the handsome ones.”
Both eyes drifted closed again. The breeze caressed her face and swirled her skirts around her ankles. The new morning’s sunlight warmed her back. The man she loved just stood there.
“A lengthy bout, you say?”
Was that deliberation she heard in his voice? “Quite lengthy,” Megan replied. Hurry up and kiss me.
His shadow fell over her, lending her a renewed sense of anticipation. Gabriel’s lips touched her jaw. Perhaps he was working his way toward her mouth, she thought dazedly. Megan turned her head…and felt his knuckles nudge her chin.
“Open your eyes,” he demanded. “I’ll not have you sleeping through this.”
Sleeping? Affronted, she blinked up at him. “Sleeping through what?”
“Through this.” He clasped her hand in his two oversized fists, cradling her to his chest. He cleared his throat. He gazed down at her, his throat working as though to force out the words. Then something akin to panic whitened his face, and Gabriel loosened his grasp on her hand, ever so slightly. “Damnation, Meg! It was easier, I think, when your eyes were closed.”
The man she loved was as contrary as she was. Baffled, Megan peered into his face. Why, beneath all that stammering and paleness, Gabriel looked almost….
“Close my eyes?” she asked. “Then I’d miss that spoony expression I love on your face so much.”
“It’s only a reflection of the spoony expression you’re wearing right now.”
“I guess we’re done for,” Megan supposed aloud. “More alike than different, and with a whole future spread before us. What do you make of those facts, I wonder?”
“I believe they’re exactly what I want.” With a heartfelt smile, Gabriel drew her closer again in his clasped hands. “And so are you. Meg, I love you more than life itself. I love you body and soul. Mind and heart and everything in between. I know you’ll torture me for revealing it, but I was only half alive before being with you. Please stay with me forever.”
“Oh, Gabriel….” Through a sudden blur of tears Megan saw his sun-bright smile, and knew that if she looked only half so happy as Gabriel did, they were a lucky pair, indeed. “Forever won’t be nearly long enough. But I’m sure I can wrangle something to make it work.”
His laughter filled the plaza, doubtless startling her papa awake. Well, he’d have the news sooner or later. Perhaps sooner was best.
“Leave it to you to challenge the length of forever,” Gabriel said. “Does that mean yes?”
Happily, Megan hurled herself closer against him. “Yes, yes, yes!” she whispered, kissing him between each word. She tucked her head into the curve of his shoulder, and spoke from the bottom of her heart. “Yes, Gabriel. I love you too much to do anything but agree.”
His head crooked at just enough of an angle that she glimpsed the white slash of his smile against his dark beard stubble. “You’re feeling agreeable, hmmmm? This is an interesting turn of events.”
She gave him an exaggerated, teasing glare. “You sound as though my being agreeable is an event akin to—to—well, to something uncommonly rare.”
“Oh, no.” With a wicked widening to his grin, Gabriel slung his arm over her shoulders and helped her step from the porch onto the street. “I intend to see that it’s quite common. For the rest of our lives.” He winked. “Especially during those lengthy bouts of kissing you promised.”
She might have known he’d claim those kisses, Megan thought. But she didn’t mind a bit—it was what she’d intended, after all. And as they walked toward the sunrise, off to claim both their future and those bouts of kissing, there was at least one thing she could claim for certain.
She had definitely achieved her dreams.
And that, with love to spare.
From the Author
Thank you for reading this book! If you enjoyed it, I hope you’ll share your enthusiasm by writing a review online, posting about this story on your blog, Facebook page, or Twitter account, or just telling your friends.
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Lisa Plumley