by Diana Palmer
He put a finger over her lips. “He said that the first trimester is tricky,” he replied. He nodded. “We won’t make love again until the baby is at home.” He bent and kissed her with aching tenderness. “But we’ll sleep in each other’s arms, as we should have been doing from the first night, when you were a virgin bride—my beautiful princess bride. If you’re cold, I’ll warm you. If you’re afraid, I’ll cuddle you.” He pushed back her soft hair. His eyes looked deeply, hungrily into hers. “And if you want to be loved, I’ll love you. Like this.” His lips drew softly against her mouth, cherishing, tasting. His cheek rested on hers and he sighed. “I’ll love you with all my heart,” he whispered a little roughly. “For all my life.”
Her caught breath was audible. “You love me?”
“As much as you love me,” he agreed. He lifted his head and searched her eyes. “Didn’t you think I knew?”
She sighed. “No. Not really.”
“That’s the only thing I was ever sure of, with you. And sometimes, I wondered why you loved me. I’ve been a lot of trouble. Still want to keep me, in spite of everything?”
She smiled slowly. “More than ever. Somebody has to teach the baby how to take over corporations when he or she is old enough.”
He chuckled. “Well, you’re stuck with me, whether you want me or not.” He touched her cheek and looked at her with pale eyes that mirrored his awe and delight. “I never dreamed that it would feel like this to belong to someone, to have someone who belonged to me.” He sighed. “I didn’t think I could.”
“I know why,” she replied, tracing his mouth with her fingertip. “But we’re not like your parents, King. We won’t have their problems. We’ll have each other and our child.”
He began to smile. “So we will.”
She drew him down to her lips and kissed him with pure possession. “Now, try to get away,” she challenged under her breath.
He chuckled as he met her lips with his. “That works both ways.”
She thought what a wonderful godmother Lettie would be to the new arrival, and how proud her father would have been. It made her a little sad to think of him.
But then her husband’s warm, strong arms tightened gently around her and reminded her that in life, for each pain, there is a pleasure. She closed her eyes and her thoughts turned to lullabies as the rain beat softly on the roof.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-0876-6
THE PRINCESS BRIDE
Copyright © 1998 by Diana Palmer
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