AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Well, are you going to let me in, or do I have to stand here all damned night?’
It was obvious from the harsh note in his voice that he was annoyed, and Beth hesitated, considering the wisdom of letting him into the room. ‘What do you want?’ she asked shortly.
‘To come in there and sort this miserable mess out once and for all!’ He pushed against the door, using his superior strength to open it wide enough so that he could walk into the room. He looked round, disgust crossing his face as he studied the peeling paintwork. ‘My God, what a dump. Looks even worse now than it did the other day.’
‘I’m sure you didn’t come all this way to discuss the décor so would you mind telling me what you want?’ She closed the door to lessen the heavy beat of the music that was starting to make her head ache, glaring coldly at him across the room. ‘I thought we said all there was to say earlier on.’
‘Do you think so? Well, that’s mistake number one, my girl. We never even got started on what should have been said, but I have every intention of rectifying that now!’ He reached out and caught her arms to pull her to him, his eyes glittering into her startled, disbelieving face for one long moment before he bent and took her mouth in a searing kiss.
Beth just had a chance to draw a shuddering breath, then she was lost as the magic that only David could create enfolded her.
Time after time his mouth moved over hers, seeking a response she was powerless to refuse. When she opened her mouth to let his tongue slide inside and tangle with hers in a rhythm of sweet, hot intimacy, she felt a shudder ripple through him, echoing the one which raced through her. Her heart went wild, pounding the blood along her veins, filling her with fire, with need, with the purely primitive desire to kiss him back and make him realise how she felt about him at last.
Slowly, almost reluctantly, he broke off the kiss, his lips skimming over her cheek before he cupped it gently with his hand and tilted her face so that he could look straight into her eyes. ‘I love you, Beth. I should have told you that before, but I’ve fought against the idea for so long now that I was afraid to admit it even then.’
‘You love me?’ There was incredulity in the question and he smiled with a tenderness that made her ache.
‘Yes. I’ve tried so hard to convince myself that I didn’t, but tonight, after you left, I knew there was no way I could continue fooling myself any longer. I love you, Beth, more than I thought it possible to love any woman.’
‘Even…’ She hesitated, afraid to ask the question, but he understood at once.
‘Even Maggie.’ His voice was soft and deep, his eyes filled with warmth as he drew her close and held her tightly against him. ‘I love you, Beth. You, no one else, and all I want is to hear if you can ever love me back.’
She laughed shakily, letting herself sink into the warm strength of his arms. ‘I do love you, David. Surely you must know that?’
He laughed deeply, a very masculine triumph in the sound. ‘I had an idea that you might!’
‘Why, you…!’ Beth drew back, her eyes glittering with a mixture of annoyance and pure joy, but he silenced her with a quick, fiercely possessive kiss that left her reeling. Taking her by the hand, he led her across to the bed and drew her down, sliding his arm around her waist to hold her close as though he couldn’t bear to be apart from her.
‘You love me, Beth, and I love you. That’s all that matters. What’s happened before will be painful to discuss, but cling to that fact and it won’t hurt as much.’
Beth pressed against him, taking his hand between hers to twine her fingers around his in a trusting gesture. ‘I will.’
‘I have never really explained why I wanted to marry you so much and that’s where the real problem lies. I don’t think I fully understood it myself until tonight, after you’d left and I realised what I was losing by letting you go.
‘When I saw you that first day in the restaurant I just wanted to help you. There was something heartbreakingly defenceless about the way you were sitting there with your world crumbling around you. Then I found out that you were pregnant and it felt like a repeat of the past.’ He paused to stare into her face. ‘Maggie and I were never lovers. I want to make sure that you believe that.’
