Upon a Midnight Clear
Page 18
“Ground rules be damned. You were right. I was an idiot. Mind if we dispense with this?” He tossed her sweater onto the floor and proceeded to kiss his way down her breastbone.
“But buying a house together? That sounds serious.” Permanent, she wanted to say, but held her tongue for fear of scaring him off.
“My apartment’s okay,” he murmured between kisses, “but we’ll need more room when the kids put in an appearance.”
“What?” Alex struggled to a sitting position, too shocked to say anything else.
“Good idea.” Dixon flicked the back clasp of her bra and drew the straps down her arms. He took one pink nipple into his mouth.
Alex fought to maintain her concentration, a difficult task with Dixon around. His mouth on her breast was enough to drive her crazy, but when he slid one hand up her thigh, the maneuver sent little flickers of desire zapping through her abdomen. “What kids?” she managed at last.
“Ours, of course.” Dixon transferred his attention to her other nipple.
“Ours?” she echoed weakly.
“Only if you’re agreeable, of course. I wouldn’t want to force anything on you.”
“Like children?”
“Right. Remember that second condition you wouldn’t let me explain?”
“I remember.” Why had she ever thought his eyes sad?
“The second condition was that in the event we fell irrevocably in love with one another—” He paused. “You are irrevocably in love with me, aren’t you, sweetheart?” He paused again, this time to kiss her.
His lips were warm and insistent. Say yes, they seemed to say. Say yes. “Yes,” she whispered against his mouth.
“Good,” said Dixon, “because I am irrevocably in love with you too. Which, as it happens, automatically renders the first condition null and void.” He slid a ring on her finger. “I bought this in Baker City the other day when you were replenishing your wardrobe. I thought your finger looked a little bare. You are planning to make an honest man of me, aren’t you?”
A smile spread across her face. Forever. The word was a song in her heart.
“Aren’t you?” he prompted, nibbling at her earlobe.
“Absolutely.” She gasped as his hand slid between her legs.
“Alexandra?” Dixon’s whisper sent a shiver down her spine.
“What?”
“Merry Christmas.”
THE EDITORS’ CORNER
The new year is once again upon us, and we’re ushering it in with four new LOVESWEPTs to grace your bookshelves. From the mountains of Kentucky and Nevada to the beaches of Florida, we’ll take you to places only your heart can go! So curl up in a comfy chair and hide out from the rest of the world while you plan a christening party with Peggy, catch a killer with Ruth, rescue a pirate with Cynthia, and camp out in the Sierras with Jill.
First is ANGELS ON ZEBRAS, LOVESWEPT #866, by the well-loved Peggy Webb. Attorney Joseph Patrick Beauregard refuses to allow Maxie Corban to include zebras at their godson’s christening party. Inappropriate, he says. And that’s just the beginning! Joe likes his orderly life just fine, and Maxie can’t help but try to shake it up by playing the brazen hussy to Joe’s conservative legal eagle. Suffice it to say, a steamy yet tenuous relationship ensues, as they learn they can’t keep their hands off each other! You may remember Joe and Maxie’s relatives as B. J. Corban and Crash Beauregard from BRINGING UP BAXTER, LOVESWEPT #847. Peggy Webb stuns us with another sensual tale of love and laughter in this enchanting mix of sizzle and whimsy.
Ex-cop Rafe Ramirez has no choice but to become the hero of a little girl determined to save her mom in Ruth Owen’s SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME, LOVESWEPT #867. TV anchorwoman Tory Chandler has been receiving dangerous riddles and rhymes written in bloodred ink. Knowing her past is about to rear its ugly head, she wants nothing more than to ignore the threats that have her on edge. Rafe can’t ignore them, however, since he’s given Tory’s daughter his word. Protecting the beautiful temptress who so openly betrayed him is the hardest assignment he’s ever had to face. Now that he’s back on the road to recovery, can this compassionate warrior keep Tory safe from her worst nightmares? LOVESWEPT favorite Ruth Owen explores the healing of two wounded souls in this story of dark emotions and desperate yearnings.
In YOUR PLACE OR MINE?, LOVESWEPT #868, by Cynthia Powell, Captain Diego Swift wakes to find himself stranded in a time much different from his own, and becomes engaged in an argument with the demure she-devil who has besieged his home. Catalina Steadwell had prayed for help from above, though admittedly this half-drowned, naked sailor was not what she was expecting. Though Cat doesn’t believe this man’s ravings about the nineteenth century, she does need a man around her dilapidated house, and hires Diego as her handyman. After all, the job market for pirates has pretty much dwindled to nothing. When Diego becomes involved in a local gang war, he learns to make use of his second chance at life and love. Here’s a positively scrumptious tale by Cynthia Powell that’s sure to fulfill every woman’s dream of a seafaring, swashbuckling hero!
In SHOW ME THE WAY, LOVESWEPT #869, by Jill Shalvis, Katherine Wilson ventures into the wilds of the high Sierras in a desperate attempt to stay alive. Outfitter Kyle Spencer challenges the pretty prosecutor to accompany his group in conquering the elements, but Katy is a city girl at heart. As danger stalks them through God’s country, suddenly nothing in the woods is as innocent as it seems. Kyle knows that something is terrifying Katy and wants desperately to help her, but how can he when the woman won’t let him near her? Their attraction grows as their time together ebbs, and soon Katy will have to make a choice. Will she entrust Kyle with her life and her heart, or will the maniac who’s after her succeed in destroying her? In this journey of survival and discovery, Jill Shalvis shows us once again how believing in love can save you from yourself.
Happy reading!
With warmest wishes,
Susann Brailey Joy Abella
Senior Editor Administrative Editor
The
Loveswept®
Editors
preempt this spot to welcome
CATHERINE MULVANY
as one of our
New Faces of 1997!
Though writing was always her first love, Catherine Mulvany knew she needed another career to fall hack on while she waited for her big break. She toyed briefly with the notion of becoming a rock singer or an international spy, but eventually discovered all the danger and excitement she craved by becoming a professional educator.
The best advice she ever received came from her writers’ group. Write what you like to read, they told her. What she likes to read are LOVESWEPTs.…
When asked where she gets the inspiration for her heroes, she listed Harrison Ford movies, Magnum, P.I, and five seasons of Highlander: The Series on tape. “Oh yeah,” she added, “and my husband’s pretty cute too.”
Were extremely proud to present Catherine Mulvany as one of our New Faces of 1997!