There were other footsteps. “Isn’t anybody coming down for breakfast…?”
Winnie stood in the doorway, absolutely dumbstruck. There were four people in the bed. Two of them were in uniform.
“I’m not bringing trays up here,” she announced. “Anybody who wants breakfast has to come downstairs and get it.” She grinned. “There’s enough for company, too.”
“Are we company?” Hayes asked drowsily.
“Apparently,” Kilraven replied.
“I suppose we all have to get up.” Hayes sighed.
“It is my bed,” Boone pointed out. “And Keely and I were here first.”
Hayes sat up. He frowned. “What are you doing in bed with Keely?”
He produced the revolver from his pocket.
“Gun!” Kilraven exclaimed.
Boone just shook his head and laughed.
* * *
THE GUESTS STAYED for breakfast and then went on their way. Kilraven was giving Winnie an odd look. She was subdued with him now. It was as if all the joy and bubbly fun had gone out of her forever. She knew there was no chance that he’d ever care for her in any permanent way, and she wasn’t the sort for temporary liaisons. It broke her heart.
Kilraven tried to catch her eye as he and Hayes headed out the front door, but she wouldn’t look at him. She said goodbye in a perfectly natural, pleasant tone and went back to the table. Kilraven was frowning when he left.
“Don’t you have a meeting with some visiting cattlemen today?” Winnie asked Boone.
“Yes, for a couple of hours. They want to see our artificial insemination labs.”
“I have to get to work,” Winnie said reluctantly. She glanced at Keely. “Clark’s already gone up to Dallas for a meeting with some investors, and Mrs. Johnston’s gone shopping.”
“Bailey will protect me,” she told them, reaching down to pet the old dog.
“You won’t need protecting now,” Boone said gently. “Your father and Jock are safely behind bars at the detention center in San Antonio. They don’t lose prisoners.”
“So we hear,” Winnie had to agree. “Make sure you keep the doors locked,” she cautioned Keely.
“Of course I will,” she said, smiling. “Don’t worry. I survived a rattlesnake bite.”
“You’re tough all right,” Winnie had to admit. “I’ll be back as soon as I get off work. Take care.”
“You, too,” Keely said gently.
Winnie bent to kiss her and Boone before she left for her job. She managed to hide her heartbreak from them. She didn’t want to spoil their joy in each other.
* * *
THE HOUSE WAS very quiet, with only the two of them in it, both still in their pajamas. Boone looked at Keely with an expression she’d never seen on his face before. He got up slowly, pulled out her chair, swung her up into his arms and started for the staircase.
“Time for dessert,” he whispered, bending to her mouth.
“It was breakfast. You don’t have dessert with breakfast.”
“Yes, we do.”
He kissed her hungrily. After a few seconds, Keely forgot her protests, wrapped her good arm around his neck and kissed him back with enthusiasm. He laughed softly at her innocent eagerness, and proceeded to teach her the proper technique. By the time they got back to his room, she was ready for promotion to the next level.
He put her down long enough to close and lock the door. His high cheekbones were faintly flushed with the force of his desire. “It’s been years,” he bit off, his dark eyes blazing down into hers. “I want you.”
She was breathless, frightened, exhilarated, all at once. But those old scruples were grinding away at her.
“I know,” he said softly. “You want to wait for a ceremony. That’s weeks away.” He pulled her to him, pushed her hips against the hard thrust of his body. “Don’t make me wait,” he whispered huskily.
“Boone…” She was torn, tortured.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the jewelry box. He opened it. Inside were an emerald solitaire and an emerald-and-diamond-studded yellow-gold set of rings. “Everybody in this house knows that I intend to marry you. I’ve had this set of rings for weeks, waiting for Hayes to get enough evidence to put damned Misty and her father out of business! A piece of paper with a seal isn’t going to make that much difference. With this ring,” he said tenderly, sliding the emerald solitaire onto her ring finger, “I thee wed. The rest will come later. I love you, Keely,” he added with reverence. “I’ll love you until I die. Will you marry me?”
She could barely see the ring or him for the blur of tears. “Yes,” she whispered.
He bent and drew his lips over hers, teasing them apart, coaxing them to admit the long, slow thrust of his tongue into her mouth.
She gasped as a charge of passion as powerful as a lightning strike shook her slender body. The shock was in her eyes when she met his.
“We begin here, now, Keely,” he said solemnly. “The first day of the rest of our lives. Let me love you.”
She was already too far gone to think of refusing him. His hands were under the gown, making nonsense of her fears about her scars. She closed her eyes, moaning softly, as his fingers smoothed expertly over the thrust of her breasts, followed in short order by his hungry mouth.
“Yes,” she whispered unsteadily. And for long, passionate minutes, she said nothing more.
He paused just long enough to protect her. “It’s too soon for babies,” he whispered against her damp breasts. “We have a lot of living to do first. Then, when we’re comfortable with each other, they’ll come naturally.”
“I love children,” she said softly.
He smiled. “So do I.”
Her arm protested when she reached up to him, but she ignored the pain. He pleasured her for a long time, until she was shivering all over with desire, pleading for an end to the anguish. At that moment, she felt him lose control. She arched
