by West, Cara
"Yes. Dad's heart attack just speeded up the process. Nate..."
"What?"
"I was scared for a while that we wouldn't get together. We never seemed to be at the same place at the same time."
"Didn't you know? We were meant for each other. It was written in the stars. Once and for always."
"Oh, Nate. What a beautifully romantic thing to say."
"Mmm, I'm feeling romantic at the moment." He reached to take her into his arms.
She resisted his maneuver. "I don't want to hurt you."
"When will you realize I'm practically healed?" He pointed to the scar. "This isn't going away. But I'm not in danger of breaking, either. I'm just a little sore in places."
"Those are the places I'm worried about."
Nate sighed. "I'm getting mighty tired of convalescence."
"A spot of celibacy never hurt anyone."
"I've never been suited for the celibate life." His look narrowed. "I'm not in the mood for sainthood, either. The recounting of my exploits is getting very old."
Megan smiled tenderly. "You've appeared in almost as many papers as Betty has. Nate, face it. Courage is newsworthy."
"Well, I'm ready to sink back into obscurity. Megan—" his tone turned serious "—you are going to have to sit down with your family and explain to them that I'm the same old Nate. I haven't suddenly sprouted wings and a halo. Your sisters are treating me reverentially, and your nieces and nephews stare at me wide-eyed when they don't think I'm looking."
"You're a hero to them, too, Nate. You'll have to get used to it."
"I am not heroic. I fell the right way."
Megan snorted.
Nate continued doggedly. "I'm just a cynical, jaded, thirty-nine-year-old male who's gotten by on his charm too often to mention and managed to avoid disaster by the narrowest of margins. I'm the lucky bastard who got himself hooked up with a beautiful, vibrant, accomplished young woman."
"No, Nate. You see, that's where you're wrong. You've always been wrong about your own value."
She put her finger over his lips when he would have contradicted her.
"You still think of yourself as the frog, instead of the prince."
"Grrrribit, " Nate croaked in a fair imitation.
But Megan refused to be swayed by his attempt at humor. "You think you take after your dad—and you do. He's good-looking and charming, and he's used that in the past. But once he found someone to believe in, he started believing in himself. I'm very impressed with him, Nate, now that we've had a chance to know each other."
"I admit, my father's impressive."
"You sold him short like you did yourself and your mother."
"I've come to realize how much she taught me about management."
"And loyalty. Do you realize how loyal you've been? When the family was behaving their worst, you never said a thing to me. Never ranted or raved or took your hurt out on me."
"Megan, they're your family. You love them. I never would've caused you that kind of pain. I felt bad enough that you were caught in the middle."
"You love them, too. And you were ready to forgive them. Jenny told me Sam had threatened to sell the company. That would've made me madder than hell."
"I was," Nate admitted.
"Yet you don't harbor bitterness."
"Why should I, when I've been given everything I've ever wanted?"
She started to speak, but this time he interrupted, "You've given me love, Megan. No, I don't mean that the way it sounds. You taught me how to love. I've been finding out these months what love is all about. It's giving and needing and letting go, and joy and pain and understanding."
"Oh, Nate. Listen to yourself. Can't you see how caring and generous you are?"
"And I help old ladies cross the street."
"But you do. I saw you just the other day—"
"That's enough!" He hit the bed with his fist.
Megan started with surprise.
"I've had it up to here," he announced. He made a rude gesture at an interesting section of his anatomy. "I'm through with convalescence and I've got no use for sainthood. What I have is a craving for carnal pleasure."
He grabbed her, pushed her gently down and rolled on top of her.
"Nate, don't hurt—"
"Don't say it," he warned her, covering her mouth with his hand. He gazed down into her eyes, his own expression smoldering. "The only thing you're permitted to say is yes."
He lifted his hand just a little.
She asked, "What's the question?"
"How about an orgy?"
"Nate, are you sure you're able?"
He barked a laugh. "What do you think?"
Rubbing his hips against hers, he demonstrated an obvious ability.
When he began nibbling at her lips she felt herself melting. It had been too long, much too long, since they'd made love.
"We'll need to be careful," she whispered as she put her arms around him. "I guess—" she wiggled closer "—we can find a way to handle it.''
"I'm sure we'll find a way to handle everything," he murmured.
And they did.
This book made available by the Internet Archive.