Safari Moon (25 page)

He did touch her and she gasped out loud at
the wonder of it.

“I love the way your eyes darken with
desire, the way your heart pounds frantically when I get close.” He
traced her lips with his thumb then his tongue and she parted for
him. “The way you taste--like honey. I want you more every time I
look at you.”

Poised above her, his body fitted to her, he
slid himself against her, teased her, brought her to a mindless
frenzy. She strained to press herself closer to ease the building
climax but Solo wouldn’t allow her.

Every nerve ending inside her was alive with
a burning need to know fulfillment. He drove her mad with desire,
consumed her body with passion, and still he held back.

“Solo.” she heard his name on some eerie
plane she couldn’t quite reach. Wild and out of control she
struggled with thought, strained with desire, and still she
couldn’t hold back the sounds that emanated from her.

Finally, when she thought the heat and the
passion would consume her, she clutched at him, her nails digging
into his back, her high-pitched cry drowned by his mouth. She was
dizzy and weak and she wanted him desperately. She wanted him to
fill her.

“Solo.” His name was all she could say.

His hands lifted her hips, and with one
calculated move he was inside. Hard, perfect, he completed her.

He hesitated a moment at the slight cry of
pain that whimpered from her despite her effort to control the
sound.

“God, I didn’t want to hurt you.” He paused
a moment then began to move again. Slowly at first and then as her
response became more heated he thrust harder and faster. Deeper.
She gave him all she could, and she held him inside her until they
both were sated with love.

***

His empty stomach growled. When he rolled
over, buck naked, and ran into soft warm female flesh in the form
of Nyssa Harrington, he forgot his hunger.

Nyssa’s bottom was snuggled next to him and
she lay against him spoon fashion, deliciously warm and soft. He
closed his eyes, drawing her tighter and all the while nuzzling her
neck. God, he couldn’t get enough, and he’d like nothing better
than to spend the rest of this day making love to her.

He’d never thought loving Nyssa could leave
him feeling so complete, yet wanting more. He wanted to make love
to her again and again; when he finished, he wanted to try it a
different way and in a new place. Never once in his entire life had
he been affected by a woman this way.

He nipped lightly at her earlobe, torn
between greedy hunger burning inside him to taste her again, and
the heady knowledge he’d kept her awake all night and most of the
morning. She must need her sleep.

But he didn’t. He was wide awake and in need
of her. Mercuric thoughts swept through him, and as he analyzed
each one he came to realize he wanted Nyssa with him every day for
the rest of his life. He wanted to wake up beside her in Africa if
he went there to photograph gorillas or the Himalayas if he was
sent to take picture of the wild uncharted mountains of Tibet.

“I love her,” he said quietly. “I love Nyssa
Harrington.” His voice was a little stronger now but Nyssa didn’t
wake up. She responded with her body, turning in his arms and
throwing one leg across him. “I love you.” He kissed her cheek and
her nose astonished to admit he was married to the perfect woman.
The sensation was fabulous, and the emotion meant more to him than
his wildest dreams which had inexplicably just come true.

If he’d known he could fall in love with
Nyssa, he’d taken her to bed the first week he met her. It amazed
him how many years had passed before he understood what a
wonderful, beautiful, sensational person Nyssa was. He was stunned
by the knowledge he’d wasted ten years of his life on ladies that
meant nothing to him and never would.

Tenderly he studied the woman he held in his
arms. His wife.

Hell, they were supposed to be at the
trading post in a couple of hours. Instinctively, he knew the plane
and his pilot would wait for them. After all, this wouldn’t be the
first time he was late but he didn’t want to go back.

Before they left here, he needed to tell her
how he felt and he had to convince her staying married to him was
the only way. What were the right words? Her fiancé waited in Bend
for her. Robert had been patient and understanding through this
entire episode of goof-ups. She loved Robert.

She didn’t like adventures.

He was an idiot. She had her life mapped out
in front of her and nowhere did it include Solo St. John. He didn’t
fit into the grand scheme of things. He unwrapped her leg from
around his thigh and eased out from beneath her. He had to figure
out what to do and he had to do it quickly.

He pulled the sleeping bag over her, tucking
the edges in so she wouldn’t get cold. After that he pulled on his
jeans and jogged down to the lake where he took a quick cold swim
to clear his mind.

***

Nyssa woke, sleepy eyed and mind blurred
with a slight memory loss. But it didn’t take long before she
remembered the morning, and Solo. The pleasure and love she’d found
in his arms and beneath his fingertips.

And now she had time to return to
reality--to the knowledge she loved a man that didn’t love her. She
reminded herself sternly that one night was enough, and the
memories would warm her dreams forever because she would always
hold them close to her heart and cherish them.

She snuggled deeper into the sleeping bag
where the cold air inside the tent couldn’t penetrate.

“Nyssa?”

“Hmm."

“Pumpkin?”

With that, she sat up, clutching the
sleeping bag to her bare breasts. They were sensitive, tender from
this morning and grazing them with the soft down filled cover made
her tremble with desire.

“Solo.” She tried to put enough derision in
the sound of his name to make her point, but she doubted if he’d
heed the warning. He hadn’t listened to her so far when she’d asked
him not to call her pumpkin.

He stood inside the tent flap then lowered
himself so he was eye level with her. His hair was wet and wild and
tiny droplets of water clung to his chest. A serious frown creased
his forehead.

She didn’t like the sense of doom that swept
through her. As she watched him, the frown grew and he became more
serious than ever. Panic-struck Nyssa reached for her shirt and
slipped it on, fingers trembling as she did the buttons
one-by-one.

The news he was about to impart could wait
as far as she was concerned. She didn’t want to hear what he had to
say. God, he’d run to the lake for a swim, couldn’t wait to rid
himself of any reminder of their morning of pleasure. Hot, horrible
tears welled in her eyes and she fought to push them back.

She wanted to look anywhere but at him, and
she didn’t want to listen to him but he insisted. He lifted her
chin with one finger until she knew if she opened her eyes she’d
stare into his.

“We have to talk.”

“Haven’t I heard that line before?” She kept
her eyes squeezed shut and tried to make the sound of her voice
casual. “Well, say it.”

He dropped his hand and the sudden sensation
made her open her eyes. His back was to her as if he couldn’t stand
to look at her. “I found a letter. Two actually.”

She reached for her jeans and under the
covers she tried to put them on gracefully, but knew she looked
ridiculous. “I don’t understand.”

He handed her the envelope. The seal was
broken so she pulled the letters free. One was addressed to her,
the other to Solo.

“They’re from grandfather. An apology of
sorts. They were in my bag.”

She looked up feeling very confused, her
hand trembling. Nyssa couldn’t say a word and Solo, Solo kept
frowning and he looked sick to his stomach.

“Go ahead, read them.”

She wasn’t sure she wanted to. He nodded
encouragement.

Dear
Nyssa
,

Now that Sarah knows all that has happened
over the last few weeks, she made me promise to write. Sarah was
never sick and she is angry that I used her but I saw no other
way.

I know you think I dislike you but I don’t.
I’ve seen the way Solo looks at you and I know he loves you. I set
this entire thing up. I knew Solo would never realize how much he
loves you unless I found a way to throw the two of you together.
After you left New York and gave up that lifestyle for a different
type of atmosphere, I knew you and Solo would suit. But then Robert
came into the picture and I had to act fast. The two of you, if
left to your own devices, would have never figured out how much you
loved each other. I couldn’t sit by and...

Nyssa let the letter fall to her lap. She
stared at Solo for the longest time. Then, “I can’t believe.”

Solo took her hands in his. “The Colonel was
right. I would have never realized how much I love you.”

“Robert.”

“Can you forget him?”

She blinked several times and when he looked
at her closely a solitary tear ran down her cheek. He brushed the
moisture away with his thumb, all the while thinking he’d blown
it.

“What did you say?”

He should have known she couldn’t forget
Robert. Perhaps she didn’t believe him. What difference did the
truth make anyway? “You’re the best friend I ever had. I told you
things I’d never told anyone. When we’re together I’m happy, and I
imagine how I’d feel if you went with me on all my trips.” He
watched her frown, knew she was thinking about Robert. “God, Nyssa
I don’t want to hurt you. I want you to stay married to me. I love
you.”

A few more tears joined the path of the
first one and his heart wrenched inside him. Hell, what did he say
wrong?

“Tell me again.” Her whisper and the slight
smile curving her lips gave him the needed courage. Framing her
face in both his hands he made sure she was looking at him.

“I love you. Only you.”

“Promise?”

What was he supposed to say to that? Only a
few weeks ago he’d made promises right and left, and all of them
were broken in the same amount of time but what the heck. He nodded
and knew he ought to show her so he grabbed her and kissed her.
“Don’t deny me, Nyssa. I know you feel the same.”

Solo lowered his mouth to hers again, and
she responded to him as if he’d never kissed her before. He thought
he could die and go to heaven if she would only admit she loved
him, too.

He could feel her surrender, hot and
sweet--passionate.

“Nyssa, will you come with me on an
adventure of a lifetime? Make love with me under every safari moon
we can find?”

“Solo?”

“Will you marry me?”

“Yes.” She pulled away from him long enough
to smile and nod her head before returning the kiss with all the
love and happiness she held in her heart. "I love you Solo St. John
and I want to be a part of all your adventures. I am willing, eager
and able."

And then he heard the low plaintive howl of
the leader of the wolf pack, sealing their promise to each other
and all the love in their hearts forever.

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