Looking up at Michael, seeing his profile as he rowed them forward home, she felt a catch in her throat. It had been a wonderful day, yes, but now it was over. Would she still feel such dreamlike contentment when Michael said his goodbyes and left them? Or would she just feel alone?
It was dark when they reached the cabin. The children, worn-out from the day, required little conversation that it was time for bed. Just this once, they allowed, they wouldn’t mind being tucked in.
Making great ceremony of settling Excalibur down for a rest, Michael did the nighttime ritual with the boys, while Gwen said good night to Jude.
“We did, didn’t we?” The girl said as Gwen leaned down to cover her. “We made it the best birthday party ever.”
Gwen smiled, knowing what she meant. Risking a kiss on Jude’s forehead, pleased when the girl did not jerk away, she answered honestly. “Yes, I think we made it very hard for him to leave now.”
She went to the door, pausing there as Jude called out to her. “Gwen, when is your birthday?”
“Not until December, so don’t you start worrying about it. It’s time now for you to go to sleep.”
Walking back to the main room, Gwen knew she’d invaded the girl’s true question, one she should avoid forever. It was not her birthday that concern Jude; it was whether or not Gwen meant to leave them.
Gliding about the room, touching the books, the discarded potato sacks, the little evidence of the children stuff everywhere, she felt the physical pain at the thought of not being included in their day-to-day lives. Who would teach them to read when she left? How would they learned their manners?
She rested a hand on the kitchen table, the scene of so many conversations, good and bad, as they slowly came to know and understand each other. If she left here, who would remind her what truly mannered in this world? All along, her heart had known it, and her body, too, but now, standing in the cabin, feeling his presence with each breath she drew, Gwen committed with every inch of her being how deeply she loved Michael.
She looked over to find him entering the room, so tall and handsome and happy, and her heart swelled to twice its size. The future might remain vague, but whatever else happened, this man was her life. Wherever he went, her heart was destined to follow.
All at once, his grin faded. Crossing the room and six strides, he swept her into his arms, kissing her as if he never thought to see her again. He was kissing her goodbye, she thought, aching already. In a few short minutes he would have to go.
Too soon, he pulled away, and she couldn’t stop the sigh. “Oh, Michael, do you have to leave so soon?”
“Leave? You and me, my lady, have some unfinished business to attend to.” Low and husky, his voice sent a thrill up her spine, as did the warmer hands sliding down her hips. “I have been waiting all day to be alone with you. An army of alligators cannot chase me away.”
He kissed her again, this time more tenderly, leaving her aching all the more when he pulled away. “But in the interest of avoiding awkward interruptions,” he said, nodding back toward the bedrooms. “I have told the boys we will be taking a walk.”
“A walk? Where?”
“Where we can be alone.” Sweeping her up into his arms, he carried her through the door.
The moon has rising, full and bright, as it planted in the dark sky to light their way. He slight breeze stirred the air, giving a hint of the cooler weather to calm, but the night retained the slow day warmth of summer.
As Michael carried her down to the bank and set her in his boat, she asked again aware he was taking her.
“Not far.”
“I’m not good with surprises,” she confessed, as he settled himself in an opposite to her. “I would just keep at you until you tell me where.”
He grinned. “Sorry, my lady, but you crown me King. Now you will have to play by my rules.”
As they pushed off, she returned the grin, realizing how much she enjoyed this-the bantering, the easiness between them, the anticipating of what was to come. “You should know, my dear King Arthur, I positively hate it when someone repeats back my words.”
He chuckled. “then be grateful I am not making you where a blindfold. You can know how much patients and trust is required, sitting here blind and helpless, while those two boys argued about which way to go. Never get into a bow with Peter, I’ve decided. He has many talents, but I fear navigation will never be one of them.”
The image made her laugh, a clear and joyful sound that revealed his inner emotions.
Until she caught Michael staring at her, his pole motionless in his hand. “God, you are beautiful.”
Men had said those words before, but never had she felt such intense pleasure. As he looked away, clearly an easy at revealing so much of his feelings, Gwen found herself blurting out. “So are you.”
Steering the boat suddenly seem to command his attention, but he couldn’t hide his quick grin. Gwen smiled, knowing it was a step in the right direction. Hadn’t she already decided it would take time to gentle this man, to earn his trust? Answer night, gliding down this adducing by you, time seemed to stretch out like a precious gift before them.
And no longer seem so awful, or even frightening, to be here. Being with Michael, she realized, made her feel safe, protected. I trust this man, she thought and wonder as she watched him steer the craft. Whatever he meant to show her would be surely be magical.
As if to strengthen the notion, Michael turned into a forest of cypress.
Silvery wisps of Spanish mosh brushed their heads as they slip between the gnarled trunks, standing like silent, ancient guardians of the golden cove they now glided into. Bathed in moonlight, the hidden load balloon was a secret well worth guarding.
A wide bank stretch out were around the circular inlet, cypress giving way to the live oaks standing back further inland, leaving the water free and open to the nights magic. Dancing with moonbeams, lapping gently at the shoreline, it invited them in, graciously welcoming them to explore the mysteries of this secluded, moonlit cove.
“Oh, Michael, it is incredible.”
How like Jude was, thinking a shrug could hide his obvious pleasure. “My sister and I came here has children.”
“So far away? How did you ever find this place?”
Landing on the bank, he stepped out and took her hand to help her. “Thanks to Jeff I was a little swamp rat even then. Jeanette stayed squeamish about my other ventures, but she always back to tag along when I came here. It was our favorite place.”
His voice trailed off as he sat Gwen on her feet. She knew he was thinking about a sister, revealing the loss. Knowing what this place meant to him, realizing that he was opening up and sharing his past, made it more the special that he brought her here tonight.”
Turning back to the boat, he grabbed a blanket and his rifle. “But I can show you many spots, equally unique. There is a beauty in the bayou they cannot find anywhere else in the world. Hear that quiet? a man can find his soul in these gentle waters.”
“So can a woman,” she said strongly, “with the right guide.”
Smiling, he reached for her hand. “Come on then. Let me show you my world.”
He led her up to dry ground, spreading the blanket before them. “It’s not what you’re used to, my lady, but I hope it will suffice?”
Stepped up, standing before him. “It far surpasses what I’m used to. The music of the night, the golden shower of mood light, these are combinations fit for a queen. I hope I can encourage this gallant knight to join me.”
His hands slid around her waist. “I warn you, I am not a gallant hero. Just a simple knight in tarnished armor.”
She shook her head.” Oh no, sir, you are a king. My only regret is that it taken me so long to tell you so.”
Sliding his hands down to her hips, he pulled her against him. “Show me now, and make it well worth my wait.”
She melted against them, her arms reaching up to encircle his neck. She even waiting all
day for this moment. Opening her lips, welcoming him in, she knew she’d been waiting all her life to give herself to this man.
Offering both body and soul she kissed him deeply, hungrily, losing herself in the magic of his touch. He undressed her slowly, deliciously, his warm hands caressing each inch of flesh he bared. Kissing her shoulder, nibbling her neck, he and did her hair, letting its bill in a cloud around them. “Beautiful,” he whispered, pulling back to stare at her of like a sculptor admiring his work. “You are so damn beautiful.”
Shyly, she reached for his shirt bottoms. She wanted him naked, too, wanting nothing between them. As the shirt slipped from his shoulders, she followed his example and let her hand slide over his ruff muscles, revealing in the difference between this smooth and hair covered flesh. Her fingers trembled as she undid the bottoms of his trousers, but no longer from trepidation. She was eager to see all of them, to feel all of him, to have him pressed tightly against her bearskin.
When the last button pop free, she slipped her hands inside, hooking her thumbs over the waistline, letting her palm slide down his hips then his thighs. She felt wicked and naughty, but oh, so excited as she slowly revealed him and explored him.
She let the trousers fall, and what they soft groan, Michael kicked free of them. Sliding his hands down through her hair, he kissed her as he lowered them both to the blanket.
She could feel his heart pounded against hers, reminding her of the hoof beats in her dream, but tonight, she found no need for fantasy. Wanting him, loving him as she did, merely being near this man was all she dreamed of and more.
He took his time with her, stroking her, coaxing her, helping her lose all inhibition. He made her hot and wild and eager, from his tongue on her swelling breasts, to his magical fingers caressing her secret, inner core. And all through it all, he kept kissing her, everywhere at once it seemed, until she cried out that she wanted him inside her, needing him there, or she’d slowly go insane.
Once more, he obliged her, sliding himself inside as if he’d always belong there, as if he were the key to bring her to shivering, shimmering life. With exquisite care, he eased up, then slid deeper yet, stroking and kissing her as he moved within her. Gwen could feel him filling her, making her hole, and found it sheer torture each time he withdrew.
Half mad with need, she began to whimper. Taking her cue, he drove deeper, harder, his rhythm gaining speed and urgency. She clung to him, wrapping her legs around his thighs to hold tight for the dizzying ride. Michael and his magic took her up every of work, on a tight, coil spiral to the stars. She could feel herself reaching, stretching, until with a burst of emotion, she tumbled through the air, a thousand lights blinking around her, a pure, incredible joy gripping her in a shuddering release.
“Oh God, Gwen,” Michael cried out, holding her tight against him as he showered his love inside her.
Nor did he let go as they slowly return to the here and now, but rather rolled them over so they lay side by side, facing each other on the blanket. He looked so serious, staring at her face, Gwen felt suddenly unsure. “Was it…was I…”
A slow grin came to his lips. “Well worth waiting for indeed.”
“I never knew I could feel like this,” she sighed, “so alive and happy.”
He touched her face. “Yes, it was pretty special, wasn’t it? Magical, almost.”
She smiled up at him. “I know. If this place. I have expected to wake up and find that I’ve been dreaming. Oh, Michael, don’t you wish it could be like this always?”
“Always?” He pulled away, rolling onto his back, wariness creeping into his tone. “That is a pretty tall order, my lady. Life has this tendency to get in the way.”
She had pushed too fast, she thought miserably. Seeing his eyes close, she realized he wasn’t ready to think of the future, not when it was hard enough to cope with the here and now. “Maybe,” she offered in attempt to regroup, “but I can at least hope tomorrow will be like this.”
He reach for her hand, bring it to his lips. “You and me both, my lady. You and me both.”
He sighed, and Gwen, lost in thought of how she could surprise them tomorrow, didn’t realize how quiet he was until she glanced over and saw he drifted off. Her first impulse was to wake him, but then she thought of what the poor man had been through today, working the fields, playing with the children, loving her…
He smiled, think and what a difference he had made in her life. Looking back, she knew that she never loved Lance. She had seen him only as a means of her filling her needs, where now it was Michael’s well-being and happiness that concern her most. Love left no room for being pain and shallow and selfish, she’d found out, now that the man was Michael.
Watching him sleep, she felt again the need to do something to ease his burden, and if she could only find him a spot of land, in an area not far from his beloved bayou. With excitement, she thought of the sharecroppers cabins. They were near enough, and according to Lance, no one else wanted them. It wasn’t ideal acreage, but Michael was no stranger to hard work, and she and the children could help him. She would go to the Willows and, if necessary, beg her father. It was the least they could do for Michael, she’d tell him. Her new husband deserves a chance.
Husband. Smiling as she nestled in next to him, she decided Michael had been right. It had been is to hold out for the magic.
***
Early the next morning, Michael watched Gwen at the other end of the boat, uneasy with this sounds between them. He been horrified discovered he slept so long; he hope she wasn’t angry at him for having to spend the night in the cove. In the predawn mists, it had lost its magic, seen little more than a mud hole-chilly and damp and reeking of fish.
So much for charming her, sweeping her off her feet. Too bad reality, like life itself, and a tendency to get in the way.
Always comment she’d asked, as if the future were up to him.
Pulling toward the cabin everything added weight to his shoulders. More than ever, it seemed imperative that he succeed. In the first blush of love and romance, Gwen might want to stay with him forever, but all too soon the reality of daily life he thought would soon become unmanageable for her. If he could offer jewels and dresses and even half the social life she’d known before, he’d have a better chance at keeping her happy, but it was a mere matter of days before foreclosure, and he wasn’t one inch near finding the cash. Chances were, he’d lose his dream-and Gwen-all in one hit.
Thinking of the marriage license in his jacket pocket, he knew he could force her to stay. File the papers and she never get an annulment, not after what happened between them last night.
Yet, because of that magical time, both last night and yesterday, Michael couldn’t trap her. Her tenderness with the children, her melting in his arms, made her for more than a symbol of his yearnings, the lady of his dreams. Gwen was the flesh and blood woman he will love to his grave.
“I will get home soon as possible,” he told her stiffly, as he jumped out and helped her from the boat. “No promises, but I would try to be home for dinner.”
“Don’t hurry on my account. I might not be there anyway.”
He stiffened. “Oh?”
“I was, well, I was thinking of going to the Willows for a visit.” Spoke quickly, and it seemed odd that she wouldn’t look at him. “I, well, I miss my family.”
Her family? He wondered bitterly or Lance? Michael try not to feel the trade, but after last night, he hoped she’d forget about that man forever. “Fine,” he said painfully. “Have a nice time.” Hurt and angry, he turned back to his boat.
I thought you said I can come and go as I wished. Don’t you want me going home for a visit?”
He heard her rising agitation, and regretting it, but dammit, he felt betrayed. Once more, she’d let him believe in the dream, and yet again, she would snatch it away. “What I want has never been an issue. You will do as you please, no matter what I say.”
“Don’t you dare leave, imp
lying that you don’t trust me. Haven’t the last few days meant anything to you?”
Her voice trembled, but he felt pretty shaky himself. “I am just being a realist,” snapped, turning back face her. “Once your home in that big, old house with your dresses and servants and busy socialite, you’ll not want to come back here.” He gestured up at the cabin. “I have a shack and a mountain of debt. I have nothing to offer a lady.”
“Maybe you underestimate yourself. And me.”
“Really? Can you turn down what Lance offers? His name, his society, the Willows? These facts, my lady. When did you ever choose me over him?”
“I married you, did and I?” Her voice and pose betrayed her on growing anger. “For better or for worse?”
“No, you didn’t.” He reached into his pocket and handed the paper to her. “Here, I never filed the license.”
Her hands trembled as she glanced at the paper. “We are not married?”
“Not in the eyes of the law, not until the papers are filed.” He could have hoped for disappointment, even outrage, not her preoccupied frown. Heading for his boat, he cursed himself for a fool. Clearly, he was the only one disappointed.
“Wait. I don’t understand. Why give me this now?”
Stepping into the boat, he could entrust himself to look at her. “Run or stay, my lady, it’s always been your choice,” he said, as he pushed off from the bank. “But I want no part of the running back and forth to Lance, making comparisons, setting us up as arrivals. I’m not about to share you with a man. If you choose me, it is for always.”
“Michael…”
He ignored her, had no wish to hear her decision. Tonight, if she were there waiting, then all the good, and if not, well, he couldn’t hold her against her will. He had to let her go, let her try out her wings, and pray that she would find a way to fly back home.
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