Hunter's Pride

by McKenna, Lindsay

  “I’ve never waited this long to love a woman before,” Dev admitted wryly. He saw the returning laughter in her midnight eyes. “And in a perverse kind of way, it was better to wait. It’s given us a chance to know one another better, without the pressure of a mission hanging over our heads.”

  Somberly, Kulani nodded. She caught his hand and pressed his fingers to her lips. “I’ve had a lot of time to think and feel through a lot of issues, Dev. In the past three months, I’ve been able to let Stephen go…really let him go….” Quietly, she added, “I won’t ever forget him or what we shared. He’s a permanent part of my heart’s memories.” Kulani gazed at him tenderly. “But so are you….”

  “When you love someone, Kulani, it’s a process….” Dev grimaced and recalled the years it took for him to leave his shattered marriage behind him. “Living with you has helped me let go of my past, too. I lived with a lot of guilt about Susan. About not being there for her when she needed me the most. About…losing our baby daughter….”

  Hearing the pain in his voice, Kulani said gently, “What would you say if I told you I wanted to make love with you, here and now, without any protection? What if I told you I wanted to love you and have your baby?” Her heart beat a little harder over the admission. “What if I told you I love you, Devlin Hunter, and I can’t conceive of ever not having you in my life, my heart? That I need you every breathing moment?”

  Her words flowed moltenly across his expanding heart. Dev understood her courage to speak those truths now. They’d both circumspectly avoided such talk for months, although it was never far from his thoughts or heart at any given hour of the day. He skimmed his hand across her hip and followed the graceful line of her torso. “My love for you is forever, Kulani,” he rasped. He saw her eyes instantly grow soft and glimmer with tears. “I’ve been waiting to say this to you, but you beat me to it.” He grinned recklessly. “You’re such a brave, brave woman, darling. When the chips were down on that mission, you pulled it off. You saved my worthless hide, to boot. And you’ve led the way to make it easy for me to shed my past, so I can have a present—and a future—with you.” He caressed Kulani’s flaming cheek with his roughened hand. “I want everything in that dream of yours. I’ve lain awake nights, dreaming of loving you…being with you when you had our baby and helping you when it was time to birth it.” He looked away self-consciously for a moment and then gazed deeply into her tear-filled eyes. “Loving you here, today, is a commitment, Kulani. It’s forever, if that’s what you want it to be. And yes, I need and want you for my wife, I want you as the mother of our children, and I want you to be my partner to grow old with here on this magical island of yours. How about it?”

  His words were galvanizing. Kulani answered in a choked voice, “Yes, Dev. Yes to all of it, to you….”

  Gently moving his hand across her abdomen, he whispered, “And if you happen to get pregnant today, well, I won’t be surprised, and frankly, I like the idea. We’re old enough to know what we want and don’t want. I think we’d make good parents, don’t you?”

  Wordlessly, she nodded, his hand feeling like a brand against her abdomen. Moving her fingers to the waistband of his cutoffs, she slowly eased the button from the hole. “You’re my mate for life,” she whispered. “I want you, Dev. In all ways. Love me?” Then she slid her fingers beneath the waistband.

  Dev clenched his teeth, unprepared for her molten assault upon him. The cutoffs were removed and he felt her hand gliding provocatively across his upper thighs, the fire exploding up through his body. Groaning, he guided Kulani beside him. She settled next to him and smiled, a reckless and playful look in her eyes as he moved first one thin crimson strap of her bikini top and then the other across her shoulders. It was so easy to disrobe Kulani. In moments, she lay naked, her golden body a sensual contrast to the dark red blanket she lay upon. Her damp hair spread in a dark halo about her head emphasizing the beauty of her large eyes, which clung to his. When she parted her lips and raised her arms toward him, Hunter smiled the smile of a man taking his woman.

  Kulani waited, her breath hitching when she saw the glitter in his eyes as he leaned down…down to take her. As her fingers slid across his massive shoulders in welcome, she felt his lips capture the hardening peak of her nipple. Sweet, rippling heat caught her and she moaned, pressing her naked body against his. As he began to suckle her gently, insistently, his callused hands moved around her breasts and cupped them in adoration. At the same time, he ground his hips insistently against hers. There was no doubt he was ready to take her, and she arched against him, moaning again, as he lavished her other breast with the same attention.

  Her breath coming in gasps, Kulani felt his hand range down from her breast to her hip and move tantalizingly between her thighs. A startled cry of pleasure erupted from her as his fingers glided silkenly across her. She felt him growl. It was a sound of primal satisfaction, a growl of the male taking the female and knowing she was ready to receive him. The sunlight warmed her flesh; the breeze danced between them. The ocean pounded along the golden beach, its mighty roar registered by her flaring senses. As Dev laid her fully on her back and eased his long, hard body over hers, Kulani smiled softly. Nature was a part of them. They were nature.

  Opening her thighs to receive him was the most natural thing in the world for her in those shining moments out of time, on this sacred beach where lovers sealed their trust with one another. She opened her eyes and clung to his glittering, dark green gaze. He placed his hands on either side of her head and slowly lowered himself upon her. The instant his steel-like thighs met her soft, firm ones, she moaned and her lashes drifted shut in anticipation. Moving her arms around his thickly corded neck, she felt the dampness upon his flesh, felt his hips grinding hotly against hers. An ache centered in her and she opened her thighs and curled her lower legs around his. It was so easy to raise her hips in invitation to him. So easy, so natural, and she waited anxiously for him to enter her.

  The moment he plunged into her slick depths, Kulani cried out in pleasure and arched deeply against his thrusting hips. Her arms tightened convulsively around his shoulders. Breath rushed out of her as he took her hard, took her deeply. He tangled strands of her dark hair in his fists and thrust deeply into her again, taking her, making her his. The crashing ocean waves, the shrill, mournful cry of gulls overhead, the warmth of the sun bathing them and the breeze cooling their heated flesh all melded into one delicious sensation for her. As he rocked forward, she moaned with raw, unfettered pleasure. Her legs tightened around his. She rocked with him, rocked to the tidelike rhythm that bound them, heightened their pleasure and created a lavalike heat building between them.

  Leaning down, Dev took her parted lips with a wild urgency. He could taste the sweet papaya on Kulani’s mouth, and as he moved his tongue boldly into her warm depths, he smiled to himself. She was sensuous beneath him, her body moving in an ancient rhythm as old as time itself. She was soft and giving, he, hard and demanding. She absorbed each of his deepening thrusts, taking the blunt force of his aggressive urge to mate with her. There was such beauty in drowning in the sweet, hot depths of her mouth, of tasting her smiling lips beneath his. She was bold, giving and taking. As he rocked in unison with her, as their breaths mingled and became one, he felt a massive explosion of fire erupt through his lower body.

  In that moment, his breath jammed deep in his lungs. He tore his mouth from hers. His lips drew away from his clenched teeth as he felt the primal power shatter like splintering light through him to her. In that instant, he felt Kulani’s legs hold him tightly captive, felt her arch fully against him like a deeply drawn bow. The rush of air from her lungs, her cry of joy, her fingers digging convulsively against his damp shoulders, all combined to make him feel strong and infinitely powerful in that instant. Dev gloried in Kulani’s response as he arched fully into her in that molten moment. Somehow, deep in his heart, he knew that a baby would be born out of this incredibly beautiful union on this beac
h, where the waves lapped against the golden, sandy shore.

  Seconds spun beneath hot sun as Kulani felt a volcanic response to his gift to her. Powerful tidal waves of intense pleasure exploded within her, and she gave the gift of herself to Dev. The lightninglike ripples that continued—pleasurable contractions of heat—made her moan and cry out. She felt Dev’s arms go around her and he held her as tightly as he could, their bodies melting into one another in that moment of beauty.

  Tears streamed from the corners of her eyes as Kulani realized the depth of her love for him. Dev held her length against him, his hand moving in gentle ministrations down her naked back and hips, and she had never felt so loved, so cherished or protected, as now. Clinging to him, she buried her face against the dampened curve of his neck. She could feel his heart thundering in his chest, against her breasts. Their heartbeats galloped wildly together and their breath was coming in gasps.

  Her lips parted and she smiled weakly as she caressed his neck and moved her fingers through his short, dark hair. “I love you, Dev Hunter.” Her voice trembled with emotion.

  Dev eased them apart just enough so that he could look down at her upturned features. Kulani’s face glowed with joy, with satiation. Taking his hand, he wiped the tears from her cheeks. “And I love you, my beautiful Hawaiian princess.” Her eyes dropped shut as he grazed her full, parted lips with his thumb. Never had anything felt so right. Dev remained within her, their bodies molded into oneness. Only dimly was he aware of the emerald-and-sapphire ocean less than a hundred feet away from them, or the lonely cry of gulls skimming the azure sky above. The warmth of the trade winds cooled his heated flesh as he continued to lovingly stroke Kulani’s smooth, golden cheek. He understood the tears she’d shed were tears of joy this time, not of sorrow. Tears celebrating their union. Their love for one another.

  Whether he wanted to or not, Dev knew it was time to ease out of her loving body. She gave a whimper of desertion, and he smiled a little as he sat up and brought her back into the circle of his embrace. Kulani snuggled against him, her arms moving around his torso. Kissing her drying hair, he whispered against her ear, “Something tells me you’re very pregnant. Don’t you think we should make the baby legal?”

  Kulani gazed up at him. There was such tenderness burning in his eyes that she felt her heart open even more widely, if that was possible. Sliding her hand up the expanse of Dev’s darkly haired chest, she whispered, “Yes. Any day. Any hour. You just name it.”

  He met her bold smile with one of his own. “How about today? After we leave this beach where babies are made?”

  Kulani saw hope burning in Dev’s eyes. It was a hope she’d never seen before, and as she lay there in his embrace, their bodies quickly drying from the trade winds that blew off the ocean, she began to understand the depth of Dev’s needs, how he longed for a baby. “I’d like to be married by Cappy. He’s a revered kahuna here on the island, and like a grandfather to me. That would honor my mother, and my ancestors. How do you feel about that?”

  Dev nodded. He looked across the deserted beach. The colors of the sky, of the water, the white, foamy waves, were like an artist’s palette. No one could capture the brightness of all these colors, or how his heart and soul were responding to them right now. Tightening his embrace around her long, sinuous form, he rasped, “That’s fine with me. I don’t care who marries us. I need you, Kulani. Forever.”

  She understood. Looking up at the palms above them, their delicate fronds moving with each playful breeze, she said, “Let’s call your family first? Let them know? They might want to come over for the wedding on a last-minute flight?”

  Dev thought about it. “Do you want to wait a few weeks and have a wedding with family?”

  Kulani shook her head. “No, but that’s the right thing to do.” She caressed his square jaw. Even though Dev had shaved this morning, the dark shadow of his beard was returning, giving him a dangerous and predatory look that made him even more intensely handsome than before.

  Chuckling, Dev said, “Listen, my parents would be just as happy to get a phone call from us telling them we’re married.” He moved his hand across her abdomen. “But whatever you think is best is what we’ll do. All I want is to give you—and our child—my name.”

  Understanding, she eased from his arms. “And you’re sure I’m pregnant?”

  “Yes.”

  Shivering with need of him all over again, Kulani reached into the beach bag and drew out her sarong. Standing up, she quickly slipped it around her body and tied the ends behind her neck. Dev loved to see her in sarongs, for obvious reasons. Today she’d chosen a hot pink one with orange-and-purple bird-of-paradise all over it. Kneeling down, she retrieved his cutoffs and handed them to him.

  He caught her hand. “I want to promise you something,” he told her in a low voice, his gaze locked with hers. “I’m going to quit being a mercenary. My ex-wife was right about one thing—globe-trotting and not being home when she needed me, I’m sure, forced her to rely a lot more than she would have on her family for help. I’ve got a second chance now, not that I deserve one, and I’ve been talking to Morgan about taking on a nice, safe nine-to-five desk job so I can be home when it counts. I don’t ever want to leave my wife in the lurch again like I did Susan. Deal?”

  Tears shimmered in her eyes. Kulani raised his hand and kissed it tenderly. “Deal.”

  He released her hand and smiled unevenly, tears in his own eyes.

  “Then I think we need to get going, don’t you?” Kulani laughed joyously, the sound caught on the winds.

  A short while after they had returned to the bungalow, and after they made a few calls to tell everyone of their plans, the doorbell rang. Dev had just placed the phone down after they had talked to his ecstatic parents about the marriage. In two weeks, his parents, two of his brothers, and Morgan and his family would fly over and attend their wedding.

  “You expecting anyone?” Dev asked with a frown as she moved toward the door. He’d changed into a white, short-sleeved cotton shirt and a pair of beige Dockers and he held his cane in his left hand. As much as he hated the cane, he knew he’d be forced to use it for at least another month.

  Kulani stood in the middle of the living room. “No. You?”

  “Nope.” Dev opened the door.

  “Shep!”

  Kulani heard the surprise in Dev’s voice. What was Shep doing here? She hurried to the door. Dev had stepped aside to let his oldest brother into the bungalow. Shep was dressed casually in a dark green polo shirt and jeans, which emphasized his powerfully masculine body. His icy blue gaze moved to Kulani.

  “Sorry to bust in on you two unannounced.”

  Kulani smiled. “That’s all right, Shep. Come on in. We have some wonderful news to share with you.”

  Dev closed the door and followed them into the living room. Shep looked tense. Something was going down. It wasn’t like his older brother to appear like this, so Dev knew it was serious. That took the edge off his happiness.

  “First things first,” Dev told Kulani as he walked over and put his arm around her. “Shep, we’re getting married in two weeks. We were in the process of calling all the family to tell them, but you’re going to get it firsthand. You were the only brother I couldn’t reach, so I’m glad to be able to invite you in person.”

  Shep grinned tightly and held out his hand. “Congratulations, little brother. Kulani, you don’t know what you’re in for. This guy is a handful. I ought to know—I grew up with him.”

  Laughing delightedly, Kulani took Shep’s hand and his good wishes. “Thanks, Shep. I feel we’ll get along just fine.”

  “Well,” Shep said genially as he sat down on the couch, “you’re both mountain climbers, so you have that in common.” He gave his younger brother a warm look. “And it’s about damn time you got her to take your name, brother. I was wondering how long it was going to take you to screw up the courage to ask Kulani.”

  Dev had the good grace to bl
ush. “Everything is timing, bro. You know that. It wasn’t time until now.”

  Kulani excused herself and went to the kitchen to make them coffee. Dev slowly sat down in the chair with the help of his cane, opposite Shep.

  Shep gestured to his leg. “How is it? You’re still lookin’ a little gimpy.”

  Grimacing, Dev muttered, “Let’s put it this way—I was on crutches for two months, which I hated. One day I got fed up with them and threw them away. The therapist gave me a cane, instead.” He glared down at the cane propped against his chair. “And I’m going to get rid of this damned thing real soon, too.”

  “So, what’s the final word on your leg? Is it going to stop you from doing merc work?”

  Dev nodded. “Yes. My right leg is about a quarter of an inch shorter than the other one.” He flexed the arm that had been wounded. “And I’ve got some residual nerve damage. I still don’t have feeling in two fingers of this hand. Ty contacted his homeopathic doctor friend, Rachel Donovan-Cunningham, and she sent over a remedy called Hypericum that’s really helped in the healing of those nerves. I used to have no feeling in the hand at all, so there’s been a lot of progress. The docs are surprised that a homeopathic remedy has helped the serious nerve damage, but they say with therapy and time, I’ll probably get full use out of my hand. My leg may always give me trouble, but I’ll be glad to be walking again without a cane soon.”

  “I see,” Shep murmured. “I’ve been away on an assignment until two days ago. Sorry I’ve been out of contact during your convalescence.” He lifted his craggy head and looked toward the entrance to the kitchen. “But I figured you were in the best of hands with Kulani, and you probably didn’t miss me sticking my nose in weekly for progress reports on your wounds.”