A Woman's Touch (23 page)

Their clothing was discarded in slow, lingering movements and then dropped casually over the side of the sofa.

When the last of it was gone, Kyle ran his hands down Rebecca’s bare back. When he reached her buttocks, he gripped her tightly. Then he lifted his thighs against hers, letting her feel the hard, aroused male flesh.

„I’ve been wondering,“ he rasped as he kissed her throat, „how you felt about kids.“

Rebecca stroked the black hair back off his forehead. „I’ve heard Stockbridges always have sons.“

„That’s a fact.“ He kissed the hollow of her shoulder and probed gently into the warmth between her legs.

„Just like Ballards.“

„The thing is,“ Kyle said, kissing her shoulder, „Ballard has already got a head start. But I figure if we get moving on the project, we could catch up.“

Rebecca laughed softly. „I refuse to let you get me pregnant just so you can compete with Glen Ballard.“

Kyle’s eyes glowed with green fire. „Then how about if I get you pregnant so I can watch you get soft and round with my baby?“

Rebecca caught her breath. „You think you’d like that?“

„Lady, I’d be willing to kill for the privilege of getting you pregnant.“ He began to ease her legs apart.

„Kyle.“

„Is that a yes vote?“

„I… Oh,
yes.“

„Let me inside,“ he whispered urgently, his hands guiding her until she was positioned directly above his waiting manhood. „All the way inside. I want to be a part of you again. I’ve been so lonely at night without you.“

„Yes,“ Rebecca breathed again. She was trembling with the passion that flowed over her in hot waves. She touched him wonderingly, her fingers gliding through the rough hair on his chest.

„Now, baby. That’s it.“ Kyle thrust slowly into her, at the same time pulling her down so that she took the full length of him.
„Becky.“

She moaned softly as her body instinctively tightened around him. „I love you, Kyle.“

„I know,“ he said thickly. „Don’t ever stop, honey. I’d go off the deep end if you did. I need you so much. I love you so much.“

Rebecca felt the warmth of the fire on her skin, and it seemed as though it were a caress. It supplemented the heat of Kyle’s body and the flames of his passion. Her head whirled with the
dizzying
sensation and she lost track of everything around her, except for the strength of the man who held her.

Then she felt herself growing so tight she thought she would shatter.

„All the way, baby,“ Kyle urged, his own body as taut as a bowstring. „Let it go all the way. Take me with you.“

She clung to him breathlessly as the glittering shards of release spun outward in a glowing spiral. Kyle was with her every step of the way, calling her name as he followed her into the mist.

And when it was over and they lay quietly together, Kyle was silent for a long while. His eyes were narrowed with contemplation as he gazed into the fire. His fingers moved lovingly in Rebecca’s hair.

„It’s nice to know I won’t have to depend too much on the Stockbridge luck in the future,“ he said at last.

„What are you going to depend on?“

„You.“ He turned his head to look at her.

Rebecca thought she would melt all over again under the intensity of his gaze. „I’ll always be here for you, Kyle.“

She smiled. „Even if you do slip back into your dragon ways once in a while.“

„No chance of that,“ he assured her cheerfully. „I’m a reformed dragon.“

„Sure you are. That’s why you kidnapped me from the office this afternoon, right?“

He grinned. „You should have seen the expression on your face when I showed up at the door and you knew your time had run out.“

Rebecca propped herself on his chest, her chin resting on her folded hands. „Actually, I thought it was kind of romantic.“

„Not bad for a guy who has trouble relating to women, huh?“

„Not bad at all,“ Rebecca agreed. She slid her palm down Kyle’s stomach to the rough thicket of hair below. When she found what she was seeking, she squeezed gently.

„Now that,“ said Kyle as he rolled her onto her back and came down on top of her, „is my idea of romance. Just like everyone at work always says, you have a knack for handling me.“

The wedding reception was held at the Stockbridge home. In spite of Kyle’s reassurances that he had taken care of everything, Rebecca found herself running around like mad during the few days available before the big event. It was hard for a born manager to let someone else manage something this important.

„Are you sure the caterers understand about the champagne?“ she asked at one point.

„I’ll make sure they get the word,“ Kyle promised easily.

„We don’t want the cheap stuff. Not for all your neighbors and friends.“

„Stop worrying about the Stockbridge image. It’s already shot to hell, thanks to you.“

„Kyle, the quality of the champagne is important.“

„You have my personal guarantee we’ll get the expensive stuff.“

Rebecca grinned suddenly. „Something’s not right here. I don’t hear you screaming about the price of good champagne.“

„Only the best for this wedding,“ Kyle vowed.

„This one’s special?“ she teased.

„This marriage is going to last the rest of our lives. Might as well do it right.“

And so it went. But at long last she stood on the patio, surrounded by everyone who happened to live within a radius of a hundred miles. The gown Kyle had chosen was simple and elegant in design. She felt like a queen in it. A country-western band that had a surprisingly sophisticated sound was providing plenty of lively dance music. A catering service from the nearest fair-size town had outdone itself. The array of food was staggering. Champagne flowed freely. And at the head stood a huge, tiered wedding cake.

„What do you think?“ Kyle asked smugly when he managed to get close to his bride for a few minutes. „Not bad, huh?“

„I’m overwhelmed,“ Rebecca said honestly. „I couldn’t have done any better myself. How did you manage all this on such short notice?“

„I’ve discovered I have a natural talent for being able to delegate,“ Kyle confessed.

„Aha! The truth at last. To whom did you delegate the responsibility for this wedding?“

„Never mind that now,“ Kyle said smoothly. He smiled possessively down at her. „Enjoying yourself, Mrs.

Stockbridge?“

„I certainly am, Mr. Stockbridge.“ Her eyes were glowing as she looked up at him. „What about you?“

„This part’s okay, I guess. But I’m looking forward to enjoying myself a lot more later on tonight. In the meantime, we’d better dance.“ He caught hold of her hand and led her toward the small area that had been set aside for dancing.

„Fine with me,“ Rebecca murmured as she skipped to keep up with him. „But what’s the rush?“

„I need to work off a little excess energy,“ Kyle explained as he swung her into a brisk country waltz. „It’s either dance with you, or carry you inside to the bedroom and get started on the honeymoon.“

Rebecca grinned, feeling the warmth deep in her body. „Think how shocked the guests would be.“

„I’m not so sure about that. People around here always expect a scene from a Stockbridge.“ Kyle broke off, his gaze suddenly fixed on something behind her. „Or a Ballard.“

Rebecca glanced over her shoulder. „Oh, good. Darla and Glen are here. I was wondering what was keeping them.“

The familiar ripple of awareness went through the crowd as Glen Ballard and his wife walked into the reception.

„Don’t worry. If Ballard causes a scene, I’ll break his neck,“ Kyle promised casually, whirling Rebecca into another turn.

„Don’t look so enthusiastic about the prospect. Glen is not going to cause a scene, and if you provoke one I swear I’ll strangle you.“

Kyle gave her an offended look. „I wouldn’t provoke a brawl at my own wedding.“

„Why not?“ Glen said from behind him. „You did at mine. Good evening, Mrs. Stockbridge. Congratulations on finally putting a bridle on this bad-tempered brute.“

„Thank you, Glen.“ Rebecca inclined her head politely as Kyle drew her reluctantly to a halt. „It was hard work, but I feel in the end, it was worth it. Hi, Darla. You wouldn’t by any chance happen to be the one who helped Kyle get this reception organized, would you?“

Darla grinned ruefully. „How did you guess?“

„I sensed a woman’s touch,“ Rebecca admitted.

Kyle groaned. „Thanks for ruining my image, Darla. I almost had her convinced I’d put this whole scene together through brilliant planning and executive ability.“

„How could you have done it? You were running around Denver, trying to talk her into marrying you,“ Darla pointed out.

„I’m amazed he succeeded,“ Glen said. „You struck me as such a smart lady, Becky. How’d you let a guy like Stockbridge here talk you into marriage?“

„Watch your mouth, Ballard,“ Kyle warned equably.

„To tell you the truth,“ Rebecca said, „he didn’t actually ask me to marry him. I had it on the agenda for next week or the week after that, but Kyle sort of took things into his own hands last Friday.“

„Some things,“ Kyle observed with lofty male arrogance, „cannot be entrusted to an executive assistant.

Sometimes the boss has to take charge. I suppose you want some of my expensive champagne, Ballard?“

„I sure as hell didn’t come here to drink water.“

Kyle nodded brusquely. „That’s what I figured.“ He led the way through the crowd to the table where champagne and punch were being dispensed with lavish hands. People stood aside as the two men strode toward the table.

Murmurs of astonishment and speculation could be heard.

„Absolutely incredible,“ Darla said with relieved satisfaction as she watched Kyle and Glen depart. „Before you arrived on the scene, I wouldn’t have bet a penny that those two would ever be civil to each other. Now they’re business partners, thanks to you.“

„They’re just a couple of hard-headed males who needed to have their heads knocked together a couple of times so they could be made to see the light of sweet reason.“

„Too bad some other woman didn’t realize that a couple of generations back. A lot of blood and heartache might have been saved.“

„Who knows?“ Rebecca said thoughtfully. „It’s possible their fathers and grandfathers were every bit as ruthless and intransigent as Alice Cork and everyone else claimed they were. Maybe no one could have changed them. But Glen and Kyle are two intelligent, modern businessmen who, deep inside, know better than to perpetuate a quarrel that started three generations back. The fight wasn’t theirs. It was their ancestors’ battle.“

„You may be right,“ Darla said slowly. „I guess Glen and Kyle just needed a reasonable, face-saving way out of a highly charged situation. Neither of them could back down but neither really wanted to go on battling forever.“

„That’s what Alice Cork said toward the end of her journal. She predicted that maybe with Glen’s and Kyle’s generation, the old warfare could be put to rest. She said Glen changed when he married you. He turned out not to be the womanizer his father and grandfather had been, after all. He just needed an excuse to turn into a home-and-hearth type.“

„And Kyle needed a woman like you,“ Darla murmured. „Someone who could handle him, draw him out of the darkness and not be afraid of his temper. Someone he wouldn’t have to worry about loving and losing. Someone he knew he couldn’t scare half to death.“

„I understand they’ve actually started making concrete plans for Harmony Valley,“ Rebecca said with satisfaction.

Darla laughed. „Would you believe it? They agreed to go with Kyle’s idea of a ski resort. Glen is really excited about it. Says it will do a lot of economic good for this area. People in town are already getting enthusiastic.“

„I wonder how long before they get…“ Rebecca’s sentence died in her throat as the crowd went eerily silent.

Alarmed, she whirled toward the champagne-and-punch table.

„Oh, no,“ Darla groaned. „I knew it was too good to last.“

Kyle’s voice floated over the crowd, loud and clear as he stood glaring at Glen. „Are you crazy? What the hell do you mean, you want to hire Duncan & Crampton for the excavation work? That outfit is fifth-rate. Look at the job they did on that mall last year. I happen to know for a fact that the developer paid an arm and a leg and still had the schedule slipped three times. We’ll go with Rymont’s outfit.“

„We damned well will not. Rymont’s on the edge of bankruptcy. We can’t be sure his operation could even finish the job. Shut up, Stockbridge, and stay out of this end of things. I’ve had a lot more experience with this kind of development than you’ve had.“

„Yeah? When was the last time you put in a ski resort? All you’ve ever done are subdivisions and a couple of Mickey Mouse office buildings. This is a whole different ball game.“

„I’ve got the kind of connections that can pull this off, if you’ll just be reasonable,“ Ballard shot back. He thrust out his chin in open challenge. „But I don’t suppose that’s possible for a Stockbridge, is it?“

„You want a dose of reason? I’ll be glad to give it to you.“ Kyle started to shrug off his formal jacket. He was smiling with grim anticipation.

Ballard started to remove his own jacket.

„Oh, no you don’t,“ Rebecca said, sailing through the crowd with fire in her eyes. „You two are not going to ruin my wedding with a stupid brawl.“

„Glen, I will never forgive you if you don’t stop this nonsense immediately,“ Darla said forcefully. She was one step behind Rebecca.

„Don’t worry, honey. This won’t take long,“ Ballard stated. „Besides, Stockbridge has got this coming. Remember what he did to our wedding.“

„Leave it to you, Ballard, to bring up ancient history,“ Kyle remarked.

„Stop it, both of you.“ Rebecca stepped in front of Kyle.