"As long as you want me," he said.
"What happened to 'till death us do part'?" Mary asked.
"I don't know, Mary," Lee said quietly. "You tell me."
"Mama," Maddy whined, reaching for the doll Mary still held in her hand.
"She wants her doll," Lee prompted.
"I know what she wants," Mary snapped at him.
"Do you?"
"Yes." Mary had to blink back the sudden sting of tears as she jerked the toy off the bed and handed it to Madeline. Maddy called her doll Mama. She wanted it to comfort her. She wanted it to serve as substitute for the mother she didn't have. But she didn't want a new mother any more than Lee wanted a wife. "She's tired and sleepy. It's time I put her to bed for her nap."
Lee yawned again. "Well, I guess there's nothing more for me to say. I might as well go back to sleep."
Maddy considered Lee's statement for a moment, then rushed to the bed and started to climb on. "Maddy sleep with Poppy," she announced.
"Maddy, no, you shouldn't…"
But it was too late.
Madeline had already crawled onto the bed and settled herself comfortably against Lee's wide chest and curled her little rump against Lee's flat, hard stomach. Mary watched as Maddy grinned at her—a tiny blue-eyed, dark-haired imp who had gotten her way—extended her arm, and motioned for Mary to lean forward. She obeyed and Madeline wrapped her arms around her neck and gave Mary a hug. When Maddy let go of her hold on Mary's neck, she patted the side of the bed with one pudgy little hand and said, "Marwy sleep Maddy, Mama, and Poppy."
Out of the mouths of babes. Madeline must have read her mind. Mary straightened, then smiled down at the pretty little girl and the porcelain-faced doll lying pressed against Lee Kincaid. Maddy's oatmeal-splotched pinafore and the doll's grubby white wedding gown appeared pristine white beside Lee's sun-bronzed flesh. And as she watched, Lee pushed himself higher against the pillows and lifted Maddy away from him. "Mary's right, sweetheart," he told her. "I'm not accustomed to having little girls share my bed."
"Big girl," Maddy interrupted. "Maddy big girl."
Lee frowned.
A tiny smile began at the corners of Mary's mouth. Let him wiggle out of this one, she thought as she waited to see how he would handle the situation.
"Maddy big girl," Madeline insisted again.
"Yes, yes you are," Lee told her. "You're much too big to want to sleep with me."
"Hmmf," Mary snorted, unable to hold her tongue any longer. "I doubt girls come that big."
Lee shot her a sharp look. "You'd be surprised," he answered cryptically.
"Maddy pease sleep Poppy?" Maddy put her arms around Lee's neck and hugged him tight as she planted wet, sloppy kisses on his face.
"No." Lee took a deep breath, then replied firmly, "Papa sleeps in his bed, Mary sleeps in her bed." He thought for a moment. "For the time being, and Maddy sleeps in her bed."
"No!"
"Yes," Lee said as he held Maddy close and kissed her cheek. "Run along with Mary and take your nap. I'll be here when you wake up." He motioned for Mary to take the little girl.
Mary lifted Madeline into her arms. "Don't make promises you may not be able to keep." Mary warned him.
"Mary Two-shot, I never make promises I can't keep," Lee told her.
"You made one yesterday," Mary said.
"So did you," Lee reminded her.
"I know that." She lowered her voice until it was a mere whisper.
"But I intend to keep mine," Lee challenged.
"So do I!" Mary shot back.
"I'm delighted to hear it." Lee grinned.
"I fully intend to keep m-my p-promise," Mary said. "When I'm ready."
"I'll be here." He glanced out the window and gauged the time by the position of the sun in the sky, then rolled onto his back and stretched lazily. "For the rest of the afternoon and on into the night. You're welcome to join me after you tuck Maddy in."
"I'm not sure I'm big enough," she admitted.
"You look big enough to me." Lee sat up in bed.
Mary recognized the look in his eyes. He reminded her of a lion sniffing the air for a scent. "Lee…" she began.
He sat up against the pillows, then reached for Mary. Lee tangled his hand in her hair, pulling her closer to him. "Maddy remembered her manners. She had a welcoming kiss waiting for me when I opened my eyes. You didn't."
Then he was kissing her and Mary couldn't bring herself to think of any protest. She felt her knees give way. She sat down on the edge of the bed, allowing Lee to pull her even closer.
* * *
Chapter Thirteen
Mary lost herself in Lee's kiss.
She hadn't thought it was possible for a man's kiss to steal her heart and her soul, but she learned it was more than possible… it had just happened. She felt like the princess in the fairy tale, sleeping for years, waiting for her handsome prince to come along and awaken her. Lee Kincaid kissed her as if she were the most desirable woman in the world. He reawakened all the dreams and desires Mary had put aside when she realized Pelham Cosgrove III would never be able to fulfill them. Lee teased, he coaxed, he promised. He held her as if she belonged in his arms. And that was exactly where Mary wanted to be.
Within the protective circle of Lee's arms, Mary suddenly realized that the dreams she thought would never come true had. She could have the same things Faith and Tessa had. She could have a home of her own with a husband and children and family to love. She already had the house, and in Madeline, she had her first child—a daughter—to teach and to love. She had Judah to learn from, to protect, and care for, and, for the moment, she had Lee as her husband. His desire was an emotion she could build on, and with time, Mary knew she could persuade Lee to build a real marriage with her. And maybe, one day, he would learn to love her.
Mary tasted him, feeling the roughness of his tongue against hers as Lee deepened the kiss. She pressed closer, willing the kiss to go on forever.
But Madeline had suffered enough neglect. "Let go me!" she ordered, pushing against the two of them, twisting and squirming in Mary's arms. "No!" She put her hand on Lee's chin and tried to push him away from Mary and when that maneuver failed to separate her papa from Mary, Madeline reached out and pulled at the short blond hairs on one corner of Lee's mustache.
Lee ended the kiss abruptly and yelped in pain. "Yeow!"
Maddy giggled at his reaction.
And Mary opened her eyes to find Lee rubbing the corner of his mouth, and Madeline smiling triumphantly. "What happened?" she asked. "What did we do?"
"We forgot about Maddy," Lee explained, "We had her sandwiched between us and when she tired of us squashing her, she got my attention by grabbing my mustache."
Mary moved back, away from Lee, and turned her attention to Maddy. "Did you pull Papa's mustache?"
Maddy nodded enthusiastically, pleased with herself for accomplishing her goal.
"That wasn't very nice," Mary scolded. "You should apologize."
Maddy frowned, then stuck out her lower lip, threatening tears.
"Oh, no, you don't," Mary warned. "You were wrong to pull Papa's mustache. Now, tell him you're sorry for hurting him."
But Madeline ignored her. She looked at Lee instead, squeezing a couple of tears from her big blue eyes for his benefit.
"Don't worry about it." Lee rushed to console her. He pointed to the corner of his mustache, made a funny face, and said, "See, Maddy, it doesn't hurt anymore."
Maddy's smile was bright enough to light up a room.
"You're going to spoil her," Mary warned.
"So?" Lee grinned. "Little girls are meant to be spoiled."
"That's what you say now," Mary told him. "But what are you going to say when Madeline learns to cry in order to get her way?"
"She wouldn't do that."
"Are you sure?" Mary asked, convinced that Lee couldn't be unaware of Maddy's manipulations.
"She's a little girl," Lee said. "She
doesn't know about ulterior motives or using tears to get her way." He winked at Maddy. "Do you, sweetheart?"
Maddy shook her head, winked both her eyes in reply, then giggled again.
"See?"
Madeline put on her prettiest smile, then reached for Lee.
He leaned closer so she could hug him, and then Maddy moved in for the kill. "Maddy sleep Poppy. 'Kay?"
Mary looked at Lee knowingly as she raised one elegantly curved eyebrow. "You were saying?"
"I was saying that I defer to your superior knowledge of children," Lee improvised. "And that you were right about it being time for our little girl to take a nap. In her own room," he added hastily when Maddy's blue eyes brightened. "In her own bed. Alone."
Mary nodded in agreement. "Maddy's on her way to bed right now." She turned toward the door, then stopped. She hadn't seen anything that even resembled a little girl's room across the hall. Mary looked back at Lee. "Any ideas where her bed is?"
"There." He pointed to a door on the opposite side of the bedroom. "Through the dressing room. It connects Maddy's bedroom to this one."
"Thanks." Mary headed toward the dressing room door with Maddy in her arms.
"Mary?"
"Yes?"
"Are you coming back to join me?"
"I don't know," she teased. "What did you have in mind?"
"A few more kisses," Lee replied.
"Is that all?" Mary asked.
"We'll start with kisses."
"And then?" she prompted.
"And then, I'm open for suggestions," Lee replied as he stretched his arms over his head, then yawned, and lay back against the pillows. "Hurry back," he urged. "And we'll discuss our options."
Mary tried to follow Lee's suggestion and hurry back to his bedroom, but Madeline wasn't cooperating. She fought sleep and balked at Mary's authority. Maddy whined when Mary removed her dress and pinafore, cried when Mary took her to the pretty pink-and-white-papered water closet adjoining her bedroom, and refused to close her eyes and go to sleep until after Mary tucked her into bed and read two stories.
By the time Maddy fell asleep, Mary was tired, cranky, and close to tears herself. Although she wasn't normally given to tantrums and tears, Mary knew she was in danger of succumbing. A half hour battle of wills with a determined two-and-a-half-year-old girl left her feeling more like the evil witch in the fairy tales than the beautiful princess. But Mary knew the remedy for what ailed her. A few private hours with Lee and a few more of his magical kisses would restore her good humor before she knew it and make her feel like a princess once again.
Mary pulled the covers up to Madeline's chin and tucked the ends beneath the mattress. She bent and pressed her lips against Maddy's flushed cheek, then smoothed the tangle of curls off the child's brow.
"Mama," Madeline murmured.
Mary leaned over and retrieved the doll from the foot of the bed, where Maddy had thrown her in a fit of temper, then lifted the layers of sheets and blankets to place the doll beside Madeline. "Mama's here," Mary said softly as she nestled the doll in the curve of Maddy's arm.
Maddy sighed in her sleep, turned onto her side, pressed her face against the feather pillow, and felt her way across the cool sheets until she touched Mary's hand. "Mama?" Maddy tightened her grip on Mary's fingers.
"Mama's here, little one," Mary whispered again. "Right beside you for as long as you want me." She didn't move from the bed, but sat quietly until Madeline let go of her hand.
"I'm sorry," Mary announced from the doorway of Lee's room some thirty minutes later. "I didn't mean to be so long, but Maddy took longer to fall asleep than I thought." She crossed the room and sat down on the side of the big brass bed. "Lee?"
He answered her with a snore.
"Lee?" Mary touched his shoulder.
But he didn't wake up.
She felt like crying once again—this time from disappointment. Lee Kincaid had fallen asleep on her. Mary considered her options. She thought about removing her dress, stripping down to her chemise, slipping into bed beside him, and pressing herself against him. But she rejected the idea as an act of a desperate woman, and she wasn't desperate. At least, not yet. Besides, she wanted her first time to be special. She wanted Lee Kincaid to make love to her because he wanted to—because he desired her—not just because he awoke to find a warm, willing body in his bed. Mary stood up. She grabbed hold of the covers and pulled them up around Lee, tucking him in bed the same way, she'd tucked in Judah and Maddy, then quietly left the room. She still had her unpacking to do, supper to fix, and other chores to see about. And she might as well take advantage of the solitude while everyone else slept.
* * *
Unpacking proved to be more of a job than Mary thought, Her trunks were too heavy for her to carry. She had to make numerous trips up and down the stairs from the entrance hall, where Lee had left the bulk of their luggage, to the bedroom she selected for her use in the back turret above the kitchen and down the hall from Judah's room.
Mary loved the turret room, with its many windows, window seat, and bookshelves built into the niches. It was decorated in the Queen Anne style, the furniture made of a light cherry wood. The half-tester bed had white crocheted net hangings, and the matching armoire, desk, and highboy dresser were similar to the furnishings in the bedroom of her cabin on the Trail T.
Unfortunately, the room reminded her of her bedroom back home in other ways, too. As she unpacked her trunks, Mary discovered the room didn't have anywhere near the amount of storage space she would need for her clothes or her personal items. She had already filled the hanging space of the armoire with dresses and all the dresser drawers with feminine undergarments and accessories and three trunks still remained to be unpacked—including the one that contained most of her trousseau. Mary dropped an armload of dresses on the bed. Where was she going to put them all? She stood in the center of the bedroom, debating for a moment before she decided to inspect the other bedrooms more closely. Maybe one of them would have a larger closet. Mary bit her bottom lip. She hated to give up the turret bedroom, but what else could she do? She had to have a place to put her clothes.
There was no point in moving into another bedroom, she decided after inspecting the storage area in the other rooms. None of the other rooms had any more space than hers. But she could use the armoires and closets in the remaining bedrooms if she separated her clothes by seasons and uses—leaving her winter and spring dresses and everyday dresses in her bedroom, putting her evening gowns and summer and fall clothes in the other rooms. Mary frowned. If only she had a dressing room like the one that connected Maddy's bedroom to Lee's.
A dressing room! Mary smiled. If she had to farm her clothes out to the other bedrooms for storage, why not simply use the dressing room? She hadn't really looked at it when she put Maddy down for her nap, except to notice, in an abstract sort of way, that it was very large and packed with clothes. Why not store those clothes in trunks and use the space for herself? Mary decided to give the dressing room a closer inspection.
She walked down the hall and quietly entered Maddy's room. The little girl was fast asleep, her breathing deep and even. Mary tiptoed across the room, opened the door that connected Maddy's room to Lee's, and stepped into the magnificent dressing room. Maddy's parents had probably shared the dressing room since it connected the two bedrooms of the master suite, but the man of the house hadn't used it as much as his wife.
The room was utterly feminine. A skirted glass-topped vanity table, covered with crystal perfume bottles, decorative hairpin boxes, silver-framed photographs, and an assortment of cosmetics occupied the space to the left of the pass-through hall, and an enormous dressing area took up every available inch on the right side.
Indulging her curiosity, Mary stopped to investigate. Although Mary's family, the Jordan-Alexander clan, was wealthy, they were also conservative. The main house of the Trail T ranch was large and comfortable, but it was a ranch house, not a modern-day replica
of an English castle. Mary was astounded by the extravagance displayed throughout Ettinger House and intrigued by the luxury of having a separate dressing room of this size with cedar-lined walls and one whole wall of floor-to-ceiling shelves for hats, shoes, and accessories. Not to mention the amount and variety of fine ladies' clothing hanging on the rods below the shelves. There were morning gowns, day dresses, walking dresses, afternoon dresses, evening gowns, delicate nightwear, and wraps of every description. Mary moved closer and began to rifle through the hanging clothes. Odd. There wasn't a single article of men's clothing in the entire room.
Apparently Maddy's father hadn't used the room at all. Mary frowned. Where had he slept? In the big brass bed Lee currently occupied? If so, where had he kept his clothes? Lee's room didn't contain a closet or even an armoire. It didn't need, them. Not with a complete dressing room next door. And Mary had already checked all the other bedrooms for closets. The rooms with closets had empty closets and the rooms with armoires and dressers were just as empty. Mary thought back to her tour of the house. The red parlor—with its roulette wheel, lewd painting, billiard table, drinks bar, and stale cigar smoke—and Judah's bedroom were the only two rooms in the house that showed any sign of ever having had a male occupant. And Maddy's bedroom was so thoroughly little girlish—with its pink and white wallpaper, child-sized furniture, pink canopied bed, and toys—that it was impossible to tell if it had once been a man's bedroom.
Mary bit her bottom lip as she fingered the silk fabric of a gray day dress. The pungent aroma of some exotic perfume drifted up to tease her nostrils. She walked over to the skirted vanity and began studying the objects crammed atop the glass surface. She lifted a large silver-framed photograph from behind an etched perfume bottle. Mary couldn't think of any reason why she hadn't come across any of Lee's former partner's belongings. Unless…
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