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Her forehead wrinkled, and her eyes clouded with confusion. “You plan to return me to St. Louis?” she whispered, the hurt loud and clear in her voice. A slight shiver passed through her.
Alex chuckled, and smiled slowly. He caressed her cheek, while his other hand gripped her waist. “No,” he said in a low voice. “That’s not the part I’m talking about.” He inhaled deeply, then stared into her eyes. “I . . . I don’t want you as my wife for appearances only. I want to touch you, and hold you, and make love to you.”
“Alex,” Evie sobbed. She gripped his shoulders and pressed closer. “How many nights have I waited for you to hold me, and . . . and come to me as my husband,” she whispered. “I was starting to believe you didn’t like me.”
Alex’s chest exploded with such raw emotion, he couldn’t put a name to it. All he knew was that he loved Evie, and she just told him that she wanted to be his. Another shiver passed through her, and he quickly scooped her in his arms, just as he’d done the night before. Water poured off her body, and he waded back to shore. Evelyn wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
“Time to warm you up,” he said, and grinned. “No interruptions.”
Alex’s heart pounded fiercely in his chest. The cold early morning air felt good against his heated skin, but Evelyn shivered in his arms. She clung to his neck, and he hurried to their pile of furs and blankets. Laying her on top of a thick buffalo robe, he knelt beside her and reached for a blanket.
Evie’s gaze of unmistakable love and trust took his breath away. She lifted her arms up to him. His eyes roamed first her face, then traveled lower. The white cotton of her undergarment hid none of her feminine beauty. Alex forced air into his lungs. He lowered himself next to her, and Evie rolled to the side and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“You won’t warm up in your wet underclothes,” he whispered as he nuzzled her ear. His hand slid along the curves of her hips until he met with the end of the fabric, then back up, sliding the damp material upward. He pulled it over her head, and once she was free of the garment, wrapped her in his arms.
“Come here,” he said huskily. “I want to feel you next to me, all of you.”
“I love you, Alex,” Evie murmured, and pressed her lips to his. Alex moaned, and rolled her to her back. He claimed her mouth unhurriedly, wanting to make every exquisite first moment with her last. His hands explored her curves, loving the feel of her soft breasts against his chest.
“No more misunderstandings,” Alex mumbled as his lips grazed along her neck. “I’ll never lay a hand on you, Evie. I swear it.” He wanted to make sure she understood that she had nothing to fear from him.
Evie’s hands gripped his shoulders. A wide smile formed on her face. Then she started to giggle. “Then what do you call what you’re doing right now, Alex Walker?” She leaned her head forward, glancing to where one of his hands rested on her hip. Slowly, she raised her leg and ran her foot along his thigh. “I like having your hands on me,” she whispered huskily.
Alex groaned. Heat coursed through him, and his stomach tightened almost painfully.
“I love you, Evelyn.” He brought his mouth down on hers, and crushed her to him. She breathed heavily against his lips, and her hands ran up and down his back, scorching his skin wherever she touched him.
He kissed her long and slow, until Evelyn began to squirm beneath him.
“Alex,” she gasped.
He knew what she was asking, and that there was no easy way the first time.
“Evie, I might hurt you,” he whispered against her neck. Apprehension filled him.
“You’ll never hurt me, Alex,” she panted. “Haven’t you realized that by now?” She held her hand to his cheek, a trusting smile on her face. Her eyes smoldered with passion, and Alex swallowed. It was too late to turn back. He couldn’t wait any longer. Slowly, he eased her legs apart. He settled between her thighs, and slowly pushed past the barrier that told him she was his, and only his. His heart raced in his chest, and warmth rushed through him. She gasped when he entered her fully, and he waited until her body relaxed beneath him.
“This is the last time I’ll ever hurt you, Evie, I swear it,” he breathed against her neck.
Evie’s gasps and moans of pleasure when he moved inside her drove him onward. She wrapped her legs around his back, and cried his name when her body began to convulse. He shuddered against her in his own release, and their bodies, slick with sweat, melted together in a heap of dangling limbs and blankets.
Alex rolled to his back and drew her up close to him. He wrapped her in his arms, waiting for his breathing to slow. Holding her tightly to him, he would always remember the feeling of her heart beating against his chest. He gazed down at her, and caught her staring up at him, a soft smile on her face. She touched her hand to his damp chest, and a warm sense of peace and contentment flowed through him. Words eluded him. He tucked some strands of her tousled hair behind her ear, and kissed her forehead.
