to kiss those beads of moisture off her thick lashes haunted him. The need to kiss her was more painful than any physical agony he could recall. 'Tell me what I did,' he said thickly, allowing himself to drown in gold-flecked eyes lustrous with invitation. The thread of hope he clung to grew stronger, and he dared to believe he saw love there.
'My Christmas gift to you is also a set of daffodil bulbs, Kyle.' She dropped her eyelids and her voice grew strained. 'After I got over grieving for Mike, I went back and reread all your letters. It was then that I realized I care very deeply for you… that we've always shared something special.' She licked her lips, tasting the salt on them, forcing herself to look up at him again. Kyle deserved her courage now, not her cowardice.
'You're honorable, Kyle. More than any man I've ever known. In the past year, I've realized that although I loved Mike, there was something you and I shared, too. There was a lot of caring in your letters to me. How many men would have written at all, much less as much as you did? Not many, Kyle.'
Gently, he removed the last of her tears with his thumbs. 'I didn't want to interfere, Gale.' He dragged in a deep breath. 'I knew you loved Mike. What I felt… how I felt about you wasn't important.'
She took a huge risk, sliding her hand across his cheek. 'You did the next best thing, you took care of me in his absence.' Her voice grew tender. 'I gave you daffodil bulbs to tell you in a silent sort of way that I want you back in my life, I want to share it with you in a new, better way. That is… if you want to-'
He stood there thunderstruck, not believing what he was hearing. Gale stood unsurely in his arms, her eyes giving away her anxiety, her fear that he would reject her brave honesty. A tremble passed through him and he closed his eyes. 'My God.'
'Kyle?'
He opened his eyes and met her gaze. She had called his name so softly, a plea to him to answer her admission. Her lips were wet with tears, but they parted, begging him to kiss her. How long had he wanted to? The ache intensified within him, and it felt as if his heart were going to be torn apart. Kyle cradled her face with his hands.
Gale stood there, waiting in the silence. Just to touch his mouth, to feel the power and tenderness of Kyle as a man was nearly too much. A fine trembling flowed through her as the world slowed to a halt. She saw hunger in every line of his face, in the stormy blue of his hooded eyes.
He leaned forward, staring at her lovely mouth, and hesitated. It was a dream, a beautiful dream come true.
Tentatively grazing her lips, he felt her breath catch. The second time, he molded his mouth possessively to hers, feeling her fire, feeling her as the young, vital woman she was in his arms. Drowning in the warmth of her lips, Kyle explored her with aching slowness, tasting her sweet, liquid depths. Gale was yielding and hungry, matching his needs, telling him of her desires. There was a lushness to her, a fertileness that made him feel powerful and protective of her. She conveyed so much to him. Kyle felt her love, her com-mitment to him, unbridled, wild and filled with rich promise. He drowned in a rainbow of emotion.
Kyle gently disengaged from her ripe lips, her half-closed eyes telling him everything. The words, held in abeyance for so long, were torn form him. 'I love you…'
Kyle's admission, the emotion behind it, rocked through her. Gale closed her eyes, a whisper of air escaping her lips. He loved her! The words flowed through her heart, and she moaned as she felt his mouth find hers once again.
Surrendering to him in every way, because they each had been denied so much for so long, Gale drowned in the wonderful celebration of his declaration. Gradually, the kiss ended. Looking into his eyes, she whispered, 'I love you, darling… so much…'
Words were useless for what Kyle felt for Gale; only holding her, pressing small, heated kisses against her cheek, eyes and lips could convey his joy. His senses were acute, registering each soft breath she took. He could taste Gale on his lips and savor all the sweetness of her, loving her.
'If this is a dream,' Gale uttered with a sigh, her head resting on his shoulder, 'I don't ever want to wake up.'
Kyle leaned over, caressing her flushed cheek. 'It's not a dream. It's real… we're real.'
How long they stood there in each other's arms, Gale didn't know. Finally, Kyle led her to the dark green couch. They sat down, never leaving each other's arms. She closed her eyes, content to be held, to feel the beat of his heart beneath her fingertips. The silence was like a warm blanket surrounding them.
'I'm glad you had the courage to tell me you wanted me for more than just a friend,' Kyle whispered against her hair. 'I don't know when I fell in love with you, sweetheart, but it doesn't matter.'
'It was the letters,' Gale replied, content to be held tightly within his embrace. 'This past year, I wondered how we couldn't have fallen in love with one another.'
Kyle leaned down, watching as her lashes lifted to reveal her joyous green eyes. 'I think the first time I was introduced to you, I fell in love with you. I just didn't admit it to myself. I couldn't.'
'Something happened that morning I burned my hand,' Gale agreed quietly, 'but we both denied it. I loved Mike, I was worried for him…'
'A lot was going down.'
'Too much.'
He absently stroked her long, silky hair. 'This past year, I've been fighting a hell of a battle with myself,' he told her, his voice gruff with feeling. 'My love for you was growing out of control, and I knew I had to wait. I wasn't even sure if you loved me, Gale. I was afraid to say anything.'
She sat up, caressing his strong, lean jaw. 'I felt the same way. I took a chance and came here, hoping that you would come home when I sent that telegram.'
He caught her hand and pressed a warm kiss to it. 'You had a lot more courage than I did.' He gave her a smile filled with love. 'Was I ever glad to get that telegram.'
'You had the courage to come. That's all that mattered.'
Her eyes were luminous with tears. Gently, Kyle framed her face and kissed them away. 'Tears of happiness,' he rasped.
'Yes… '
'Marry me, Gale. Now. Today.'
She blinked and held his intense cobalt gaze. 'Today?'
Caressing her lips, he whispered, 'I don't want to spend another night without you. I want to wake up with you in my arms tomorrow morning… for the rest of the mornings of my life. I'll retire from the Air Force so we could be together always and forever.'
She looked up at him. 'You will?'
He grinned. 'Yeah. I'm getting tired of flying a desk when I've got a lot of good years left behind the stick. What would you think of me starting a feeder airline out of Sedona? Me and two other guys have enough money to buy a small commercial-sized plane to start out with.'
'It sounds exciting.'
Kyle tightened his hands around her. He ached to make love to her, but he stilled his hunger, anxious to see her reaction to his plans. 'Exciting, scary and a real adventure.'
'So we'd live in Sedona?'
'Yeah. What do you think of that?'
'I like it.'
'You could be the meteorologist for the airline. We want to call it Red Rock Airlines. What do you think?'
Gale snuggled closer to him. 'I like the whole concept, Kyle.'
'It's a hell of a leap of faith,' he muttered. 'And it's chancy. I've got my life savings, including my stock holdings, tied up in the deal.' He slanted a glance down at her. 'The bank is going to own me for a long time once we get this feeder airline off the ground, sweetheart.'
'So we'll be struggling but happy. It's a wonderful idea and I'd love to live here.'
'You really mean that?' Her happiness was paramount to anything he wanted.
Leaning forward, Gale kissed him gently. 'With my life, Kyle Anderson. So, I'm married to an airline executive instead of an Air Force major. I don't care what you do as long as you're happy doing it. Okay? I just want to share my life with you. That's all I want.'
Closing his eyes, he whispered, 'I love you so much. As long as I have you at my side, I can do anything, Gale.
