The Longing (26 page)

“What’s that mean?”

Despite his smile, Amelia sensed sincerity in
his question and she lowered her guard. “You’re relaxed and easy to
talk to.”

A length of hair blew across her face and
Kyle tucked it behind her ear, then drew her into his arms. He felt
like a rock and smelled like the forest. No wonder he was at home
here. The thrumming pulse in his neck beat softly against her
forehead. He was strong and vibrantly alive, his body warm and
vital against hers. Touching him ignited her senses and she yearned
to discover his secrets, to know the real man inside.

They sat in silence for a long time,
listening to the birds, the splashing water, the breeze, as he
stroked his fingers through her hair.

Finally, he tilted her head up and looked at
her. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. Then he kissed her so
tenderly it made Amelia’s chest flutter. A voice inside her told
her she wasn’t worthy of Kyle or his affection, but she clung to
him anyhow, giving him what she could, taking what she desperately
needed.

Kyle finally eased her away and stood up. He
took her hand and guided her across the boulder, then they stepped
down into a cave. Amelia stopped and pressed her hands to her chest
in astonishment. “I thought you were jesting about a cave. This is
incredible,” she exclaimed in breathless wonder, staring at two
rows of lanterns burning softly and forming a glowing walkway that
illuminated both walls. “How did you manage all this?”

“I brought them up this morning.”

The stone walls shimmered in the lantern
light. “This is magnificent. I had no idea all this beauty was
hidden in the dark.”

She explored the jagged ceiling, but when she
made it to the other end, Kyle asked her to wait. Before she could
turn back, he reached down and lifted her into his arms.

“What are you doing?” she asked with a
surprised laugh.

“Carrying my bride to her future.” He stepped
out of the cave and turned Amelia to face the sparkling majesty of
the falls.

“Oh, Kyle,” she whispered, staring at a
blanket of falling water.

He stepped into a wide shaft of sparkling
sunlight and lowered her to her feet. “We’re behind the falls.”

Amelia glimpsed daylight and trees through
the funnels of cascading water that dropped into a frothing pool
far below them. “How did you know this was here?” she asked, awed
by the beauty of the deep green pool below and the slick gray shale
that glistened in the afternoon sun.

“My father cut timber for the man who owns
this land back when I was ten or so. Boyd and I found this place by
accident. I was going to pound him for smacking me with a stick,
but when I chased him in here, we found a secret world.”

“It’s beautiful,” Amelia said, overcome by an
urge to thrust her hands beneath the crystal water. “It’s so
peaceful.” She noted the shelf they were standing on was a good six
or seven feet wide and stretched twice as far to either side before
disappearing into the cave they’d just exited. “What a magical
place.”

“It made a good hideout for two restless
boys.”

“I’ll bet.” Amelia lifted her face and felt
the light mist from the falls kiss her cheeks. “It’s so mystical, I
can almost see water fairies with glittering wings and long golden
hair.”

Kyle chuckled and stepped behind her, drawing
her against his chest. “You’re more likely to see a bat with beady
eyes.”

He circled her waist with his arms and Amelia
realized she needed his touch, his love. For this one precious
moment, she was going to pretend that her father was alive and her
parents were happy and that she was a wholesome girl worthy of
Kyle’s love.

“Boyd and I were pirates that day,” Kyle
said, a smile in his voice. “We captured enemy ships, stole their
women, and robbed them of priceless jewels.” He laughed softly then
grew quiet. “It seems like a thousand years ago now.”

Amelia envisioned Kyle as a carefree boy with
a vivid imagination and she liked the mental picture of a young,
adventurous Kyle. “Did you play here often?”

“No. I haven’t been back since.”

Amelia tipped her head back to see his face.
“Why not?”

“I guess I got busy and forgot it was
here.”

Sunlight danced over the writhing water,
sparking like brilliant fireflies. “I could never forget something
this magnificent,” Amelia said reverently. “It feels so safe
here.”

“It is, Amy.” Kyle’s arms tightened around
her waist and they stood quietly, watching the sparkling water rush
past, listening to it pour into the churning pool below.

Amelia turned to face Kyle, knowing they’d
earned this moment of closeness, of wonder and joy. “Thank you,”
she whispered.

He kissed her. His tongue stroked hers in
slow, deep sweeps. She swayed in his arms and he lightened the
kiss, until finally he simply eased away and looked into her eyes.
“It’s dryer over there.” He nodded toward the far side of the falls
where the ledge was deeper.

Amelia followed him then glanced at a large
cloth sack leaning against the wall. “What’s in the bag?”

He tensed, his expression uneasy as his gaze
locked with hers. “It’s our wedding bed, if you want it to be.”

Amelia’s eyes widened. “Here?”

“Only if you want to.” He glanced from the
bag to Amelia. “This morning it seemed like a great idea. Maybe
it’s not?”

Amelia looked at the bag, then at the falls,
then finally at Kyle who stood before her waiting for her answer.
She knew he wanted this day to be special for her, and somehow it
made sense that they should share their first intimate experience
in this magical, private world. “All right,” she said quietly.
“What do you want me to do?”

Kyle released his breath. “Whatever you feel
like doing. You lead. I’ll follow.”

She nodded because she didn’t know what else
to do. How could she lead when she was filled with nerves and
memories? How was a woman supposed to make love to her husband if
he just stood in front of her waiting for her direction? “I think I
want you to lead.”

He reached for the bag at his feet. “Let’s
open this first.” He knelt beside it and pulled out a thick roll of
bedding that he laid on the warm slate. June sunlight slipped
through the crevices in the rocks above Kyle’s head, splashing
across his shoulders and the blankets as he opened them to make
their bed. He pressed his hand into the springy thickness and
turned to Amelia. “I hope it’s soft enough for you.”

For her. He’d done this for her. The
lanterns, the falls, the bed he would love her on, everything was
for her. Amelia moved forward then knelt beside her husband,
wanting to love him. She kissed his cheek, then turned the top
cover back to open the bed. “I’m ready to become your wife.”

His eyes grew dark and his hands shook as he
reached for the buttons at her neck. “Would you rather do this?” he
asked when his fingers kept slipping and bumping her chin.

“It might be faster.”

She reached up to help him, but he trapped
her hands in his. “I don’t need fast.” He brushed his thumbs across
her fingers. “Your pace, Amy, not mine.”

Touched by his consideration, Amelia nodded,
then released the buttons down the front of her dress. Kyle would
want her to remove it, but she knew he wouldn’t ask it of her
today. Amelia slipped the soft fabric over her shoulders and let it
fall to her waist.

“Will you be cold?” he asked with concern and
she shook her head. She couldn’t feel anything but heat pushing
through her veins. She’d never undressed for Richard.

“Your turn,” she said, then watched Kyle
shrug off his tan shirt and toss it onto the cloth bag that had
contained their bedding.

“The undershirt, too?” he asked and Amelia
nodded.

She admired the flex of his broad shoulders
as he pulled his arms from the sleeves then stretched to lay it
aside. A swath of dark hair covered his chest and contrasted with
the intriguing shadows of rib and muscle tapering across his flat
stomach.

“I can put it back on,” he said, a question
in his voice.

“No.” She met his eyes, embarrassed for
staring at him. “I mean, it’s not necessary. Is it?”

He eyed her suspiciously for a moment then
said, “I prefer it off.”

Amelia nodded and waited, then realized he
was waiting for her. “Oh! Sorry.” She reached up to untie the
ribbons on her chemise, glad that she’d forgone a corset and spared
Kyle’s trembling fingers the task.

“Amy?”

She stopped plucking her ribbons and looked
up.

“It doesn’t need to be this awkward.”

She let her hands fall to her lap. “I thought
I was the only one who felt this way.”

“We’re both nervous.”

Apprehensive
and
excited
seemed the more appropriate words, but when Amelia thought of the
final act of lovemaking, it
was
nerves that tightened her
stomach. It had hurt the first time with Richard. And she’d felt
violated and dirty the last time they’d been together. It wouldn’t
be that way with Kyle. She knew that. What she didn’t know was if
she could keep her mind anchored in the present instead of the past
when Kyle consummated their union. “I think we should just do it,”
she blurted, then nearly swooned from the heat of embarrassment
that hit her face.

Kyle grinned and arched a dark brow. “All
right.”

Amelia buried her face in her hands. “I
meant, we should quit being so serious about everything.”

“Good idea,” he said.

The sound of metal clinking made her lift her
head. When she saw what he had in his hands, she gasped in
disbelief. “What are you doing with handcuffs?”

“Easing your fear, I hope.”

“What?”

He closed the cuffs around his wrists. “I
want you to feel safe, to be relaxed with me.” He showed her a
small key dangling from a blue ribbon, then slipped it around her
neck.

Amelia could only stare into Kyle’s gorgeous
eyes. “Tell me you didn’t ask Duke for those cuffs.” Kyle’s
expression grew sheepish and Amelia groaned. “He knows about
this?”

“Not
this
exactly.”

“Oh, Kyle, how am I ever going to face him
again?”

“I was hoping you’d return the cuffs for
me.”

“What?” Kyle burst out laughing and Amelia
lunged at him. He howled with laughter as he fell back onto the
blankets and Amelia couldn’t stop herself from kissing him. She
loved him like this, playful, charming, irresistible. She kissed
the laugh lines by his eyes and bit his arrogant nose, then
smothered his laughter by covering his mouth with her own. She felt
his bound hands trapped between them and knew Kyle was making a
joke of the cuffs to distract her from the real reason he’d chained
himself. He honestly believed she was afraid of him. Her proud,
arrogant, controlling husband was making his final surrender. He
was giving her his power to help her quell her fears.

Shame filled her for misleading him, and her
eyes misted as she sat back. She gazed down at Kyle as she finished
undressing for him.

His eyes devoured her as she knelt beside
him, clad only in the blue ribbon around her neck, but he didn’t
move.
Her
lead, he’d said and he was keeping his promise.
Amelia lifted his bound hands and brought them to her breasts,
loving the feel of his warm palms and the way his nostrils flared
when he stroked her there. Her stomach lifted like a hot-air
balloon, filling her chest with joy.

Seeing the need in Kyle’s eyes, Amelia moved
his hands to the fastenings on his trousers. Obediently, he opened
them, but was unable to pull them off with his wrists chained.
Locking gazes with her dark-eyed husband lying on his back, willing
to do anything for her, brought tears to her eyes.

“I can’t, Kyle. Not like this.” She pulled
the ribbon necklace over her head and reached to release the metal
clasps at his wrists.

He caught her hands before she could unlock
them. “I want you to be sure.”

Amelia turned the key. She slipped them off
his wrists, then tossed the key and Kyle’s bonds onto her pile of
discarded clothing.

She lay down beside him and they turned to
face each other. He cupped her chin and drew her mouth to his, then
kissed her until she slipped her arms around his neck and pulled
him closer. He skimmed her side and her back with his palm, then
lower, over her bare hip and thigh. Gooseflesh rippled across her
skin from the coolness of the air and the heat of his hand.

“You’re chilled,” he said, then sat up and
pulled off his shoes and stockings. He lay back on the blankets,
braced his shoulders and feet on the bedding, and lifted his hips
to slide off his pants and undershorts. Amelia looked away as he
slipped his feet out of his trouser legs, but she knew her husband
had every right to be proud and arrogant. “Climb in,” he said,
drawing the blanket over them.

Amelia lay wrapped in his arms, drawing
warmth from his hard body, praying this act would bring them closer
and bond them for life.

Kyle brought her fingers to his lips and
kissed them, then placed her hand on the crisp hairs of his chest.
“Lead the way,” he whispered then kissed her until her mind reeled
and her heart pounded. She moved her hand over his ribs, and Kyle’s
palm caressed her side. She felt his sleek, hard hip, and he felt
hers. As she grew bolder in her exploration, he returned each of
her caresses with his exquisite, tender touch until Amelia felt
breathless and hot and urgent. Finally, she drew her fingers over
his hardness, and he sought her softness until she arched and
shuddered into his palm, gripped by waves of pleasure that made her
gasp and bury her face in his chest.

The airy roar of the falls mixed with Kyle’s
hot breath on her neck as he rolled on top of her and braced
himself between her thighs. “Now?” he asked, his voice urgent.