Heart Of Gold (43 page)

Lyst
couldn't have known what hit him. He looked up just as Nick tackled him and
laid him out flat with one punch to the face. As Lyst went slack on the ground,
Nick yanked him up by the shirt. He was ready to hit the man again and again
when the officers pulled him off.

In an
instant, the anger left him and he was filled with a desperate need to find
Carter.

He broke
free and raced through the door of the cabin. As his eyes adjusted to the
darkness, he saw a vision that broke his heart.

She was
sitting in a stiff-backed chair, her hands tied behind her at an awkward angle.
Her face was red on one side and he watched as tears started to fall from her
eyes as she looked up at him. Crossing the room in two strides, he fell to his
knees and reached out to her, needing to touch her face, her arms, her body, to
reassure himself she wasn't injured.

“Did
he hurt you? Are you hurt?” He kept repeating the words.

With Nick
actually in front of her, Carter couldn't find her voice. She shook her head,
trying to speak and struggling to free her hands. All she wanted to do was
touch him. He went to work freeing her and, when she was able to put her arms
in front of her, she saw his eyes grow stark with grief. He was looking at her
wrists, the skin torn and bleeding.

“Oh,
God,” he moaned, carefully bringing her hands to his lips. He kissed her
palms and then buried his face in her lap. Wrapping his arms all the way around
her body, he held on to her and she clutched at him in return. She felt him
shaking, or maybe it was her.

“I
was terrified I wouldn't be able to find you,” he said, lifting his head
and staring into her eyes with love. She felt a warm rush replace the cold
numbness in her body. Brushing aside a strand of her hair, he kissed her softly
on the lips, as if he was afraid of hurting her.

As he
pulled her to him, she felt the rough brush of his cheek against hers and
smelled his aftershave. The familiar scent made fresh tears come to her eyes.

The
gratitude and relief she felt to be in his arms was more than she could
express. She'd been saved and he was with her. That made them both more than
lucky.

Blessed
was
the word, she thought.

His
hands, always so sure and steady, were trembling as he pulled back and stroked
her face. “Are you okay?”

“Just
hold me,” she whispered. She didn't want to talk, just wanted to be near
him. She'd had enough distance from him to last her a lifetime.

“Ma'am?”
one of the state police said. “Ah, excuse me?”

They
reluctantly pulled apart. It was only then that she realized Nick was armed.

“Are
you going to need medical assistance?”

She tried
to steady herself with a deep breath. “I think I can take care of my
wrists.”

“Well,
the paramedic is here if you want her to check them out. And, we'll need to
take a statement from you.”

“Can't
it wait?” Nick demanded protectively.

“I'm
afraid not. She'll have to come back to the sheriff's office.”

Carter
shuddered.

Nick got
to his feet, putting himself between her and the officer. “The hell she
is. You can come talk to her later.”

The other
man didn't argue.

When Nick
turned back to her, his eyes were gentle. With the help of his arm, she rose
stiffly to her feet. Together, they walked out into the daylight, holding on to
each other. There were police cars everywhere, and she and Nick watched as the
first of the TV crews arrived.

“How
did you find me?” she asked.

Abruptly,
a man moving fast and low to the ground burst in front of them and blinded Nick
and her with a camera flash. The state police were on him at once, but
the picture had been taken.

“We've
got to get you out of here,” Nick said urgently, shuttling her over to the
Porsche. He slid in next to her and got out his keys. Before he started the
engine, she put her hand on his arm and stopped him.

“Nick?”
Her voice was soft and low. His eyes, alert and worried, met hers. “I need
to tell you something.”

“What
is it?” He seemed to stop breathing.

“I
knew you were coming for me. Deep inside, I knew that you would do everything
in your power to get me out of there.”

Her eyes
drifted over his handsome face, his features snowing the strain he'd been
under. She reached up and ran her forefinger along the length of his solid jaw.

“It
takes courage to love.” Her voice was a mere whisper. “It wasn't
until today that I realized how much I could trust you. How much I should have
trusted you. I'm so sorry I doubted you.”

Nick
leaned in and brushed his lips over hers. “Don't worry about that
now.”

She shook
her head, needing to say her piece.

“I
was looking for excuses to push you away because I felt so out of control. I
was afraid of being hurt. I was looking for us to fail,” Her eyes flashed
up to his and she was touched by his tender expression. “I want to start
over, Nick. Start again.”

When he
shook his head, her heart dropped.

“We
don't have to,” he said. “As long as you're beside me, now and in the
future, that's all that matters. I don't give a damn about the past.”

He
brought his mouth down and captured her lips in a kiss that was both heartfelt
and a promise of passion. Reaching up behind his neck, she pulled him closer to
her until she could get her arms around his big shoulders. When they parted,
she smiled.

And then
yawned widely.

“You
need food and a rest,” he said briskly. “I'll bet Gertie's been
cooking up a storm.”

As he
sped toward home, Nick was thinking how much he loved life. And how much he
loved Carter. His feelings for her were big, noisy ones, like cymbals crashing
in his chest, trumpets blaring in his head. He didn't mind them in the
slightest. He felt no urge to run from them, no panic to get away. They felt
just perfect to him.

A goddam
symphony he could listen to forever.

Nick
grinned.

And
abruptly decided he couldn't wait any longer. Even though he told himself he
should give her some time to recover, he coudn’t hold back what he needed to
say. A defining moment in his life was about to occur and, if the last
twenty-four hours had taught him anything, it was that you didn't wait on the
important things.

As he
went to open his mouth, he became surprisingly nervous. His voice was rough and
he rushed through the words. “Carter, you know I love you.”

He
paused.

“Will
you marry me?”

In the
silence that followed, he felt tension growing in his gut until he couldn't
stand it any longer. He glanced over at the woman he loved.

Carter's
head was back against the seat rest and her expression was one of utter
relaxation. Her mouth was open sweetly, like a child's, and her eyes were
firmly shut. She was out cold.

He
couldn't believe he'd just proposed and she'd slept through it.

Nick
laughed out loud. He never thought he'd love a woman so much that he'd ask her
to marry him. And he sure as hell never figured she'd sleep through it when he
did.

God, he
thought with a smile, had one hell of a sense of humor.

Nick
reached out, taking Carter's hand in his, and she roused briefly. Just long
enough to squeeze back.

He was
still grinning when he pulled up to the mansion. Because Carter was dead to the
world, he opened her door, picked her up, and carried her to the front door.
She only murmured a little, snuggling closer to him.

As they
came inside, Buddy, Ellie, and Cort burst into the hall, looking alarmed.

“Is
she okay?” Buddy's face was showing the worry they had all felt.

Carter
stirred in his arms and opened her eyes.

“Hey,”
she said in a groggy way. “What happened to the strongbox?”

“You're
kidding me.” Buddy laughed in a short burst. “You get kidnapped and
the first thing you think of is some old tin can in a dark cave?”

“Is
it still there?”

“I
guess so.”

“Buddy,
you have to go up and get it.” She lifted her head and spoke with growing
urgency. “Photograph the heck out of it and bring it down to the house. I
don't want it left unattended. Ask Ivan to help you.”

“Listen
to you, barking orders,” Buddy said with obvious relief. “I guess
you're all right, after all.”

“Thank
the Lord, yes,” Nick interrupted. “Now, I'm taking her right
upstairs.”

“Don't
forget about the box,” she called out, waving to the teenagers.

As Nick
started up to the second floor, she looked at him from under her lashes.
“You know, I could have walked up these myself.”

“Where's
the fun in that?” he teased gently as he took her to the bedroom she'd
been using.

Kicking
the door open, he settled her on the bed. As he pulled back, she said,
“Please don't go.”

“I'm
not.” He took off her shoes and then his own, and laid down next to her.
She moved in close and he kissed the top of her head. “I'm never leaving
you.”

A muffled
response was spoken into his shirt.

In the
quiet that followed, Nick took a deep breath. He wanted to savor the moment,
store it in his mind forever, soak in the perfection of her warm body against
his. The incredible gift of having her safe and in his arms overwhelmed him.

So this
is redemption, he thought, stroking her shoulder as he closed his eyes and fell
asleep.

Carter
knew who she was with and where she was before she opened her eyes. She
could feel Nick's arms wrapped around her, his body pressed in close, his heart
beating against her own. She could hear the sounds of water lapping against the
shore and the high-pitched, sweet calls of songbirds. In the soft summer air,
she caught the delicate scent of lilacs._

It was
exactly where she wanted to be.

As she looked
up into Nick's face, she saw that he was staring down at her, those diamond
eyes of his soft and warm. Oh, so warm.

Her lips
found his.

“Make
love to me,” she whispered against his mouth.

She felt
him shudder with need as her words sank in, and then he was on top of her,
pressing her into the bed, his body a weight she couldn't get enough of. She
peeled his shirt from his shoulders and went after his belt while he unbuttoned
her top and released the clasp of her bra. When his mouth found her breast, she
arched up, swept away in the wildness between them.

Clothes
were pushed and pulled away, thrown to the floor, lost in the sheets, wedged
into pillows. She felt his hands traveling across her skin, into places that
made her sweat and moan and sway against him. He was raw with need, rough but
tender, his powerful body swollen and throbbing with a passion she knew only
too well.

“I
have to be inside you,” he groaned.

His
fingers tangled in her hair, pulling her head back for his kiss, and her nails
bit into the smooth skin of his back in response. She felt his rock-hard
muscles straining under her hands, the ridges and valleys testaments to his
strength.

His knee
came up to part hers and he nestled in between her legs. When he settled over
her, suspended by his powerful arms, he hesitated. She reached up, cupping his
face in her hands, stunned by the pain in his expression.

“I
love you,” she whispered.

“Oh God,
I needed to hear you say that."

And then
he slid into her and swallowed her cry of ecstasy. Moving as one, they rose and
rose until the explosion came and they fragmented at the same time; falling to
the earth like snow.

They were
lying together, taking deep breaths, when Nick rolled to the side and braced
himself up on one arm. With his free hand, he stroked hair out of her face. In
his eyes, she saw a solemn light.

“You
seem so serious,” she murmured.

“Carter,”
he began. ”I have something I need to say. I tried on the drive home
but... You know I love you?"

“Yes.”

He
reached over, kissed her slowly and whispered against her lips, “Will you
be—”

“Well,
jeez Gertie, which bedroom are they in?” Buddy's voice drifted in through
the closed door. There was a frantic note in it. “That Wessex guy's been calling all morning, he's gotta have tendonitis from dialing the phone.
There's a knot of reporters on the front lawn that your husband keeps
threatening to pick off like tin cans on a fence, and I need to show Carter
what we brought down from the mountain last night.”

Gertie's
voice, also muffled, was more reasonable. “They're here somewhere.
Hopefully in a bed together.”

Carter
blushed.

Nick
rolled his eyes and got up, pulling a sheet around himself. He opened the door
a crack.

“We're
in here,” he said quietly. “Tell Wessex we'll call him soon and
remind Ivan it's against the law to shoot at people, even if they're
reporters.”

“Here
are some clean clothes for her,” Buddy said with a grin of satisfaction,
as he pushed a duffle bag through the door.

“You
want breakfast?” Gertie asked.

“That
would be great,” Nick replied.

As the
shower came on behind him, he shut the door on their knowing looks.

Squaring
his shoulders, ready to propose marriage to the woman he loved, Nick dropped
the bag and the sheet and marched into the bathroom. He found Carter under the
water, arching her back to wet her hair. Her breasts were taut, her stomach
flat, her hips a gentle curve that made his eyeteeth ache. As soon as
he joined her, his lips went to her mouth.

Carter
picked up a bar of soap, lathered her hands, and began to work over his skin
until he was gripping the glass shower door with such force his arms hurt. With
a punishing attention to detail, she went over every inch of him, teasing and
tantalizing him. With his heart pounding and his lungs screaming for more air,
his muscles strained to the breaking point as he begged for a release she
wouldn't let him have. He'd never felt so out of control, had never loved the
torture of being denied so much. When she finally allowed him relief by
wrapping her legs around his hips and taking him into her, he was wild.