Pursuit (19 page)
Authors: Lynda Chance
"Lauren," he began, looking into her eyes. "I love you more than life itself. I've never wanted anything the way that I want you. I need you, as much as I need air to breathe." Lauren sat in stunned silence as he opened the box with one hand. She gasped when she saw the large, emerald-cut diamond and matching wedding band. "Will you marry me?"
She couldn
't speak. She felt her face turn white then flood with color as realization sank in. She began nodding her head, quickly and emphatically.
His muscles relaxed and the tension seemed to leave his body.
"Thank God," he muttered reverently. He finally let her hand loose, and as she held her trembling left hand out to him, he slid the diamond on her finger. He closed her palm around it, and leaned down and kissed her fingers and the ring, and then kissed her on the lips before enclosing her in his arms.
Lauren sighed and her world spun.
She'd just gotten everything she wanted.
Epilogue
Logan lifted the bottle away from his four-month old daughter after she spit the nipple from her mouth. She gurgled with sleepy laughter as he held her in his arms and her cherubic face caused his heart to tighten and splinter.
"Precious. You're precious, aren't you?" he whispered.
He heard light steps enter the room and glanced up to find Lauren in the doorway, holding their son in her arms.
It had taken several years, but the fertility treatments had worked, and the twins were amazingly, adorably perfect.
Logan ran his eyes over Lauren.
His wife
was amazingly, adorably perfect. She hadn't changed, not a damn bit, in the ten years since he'd married her. Of course,
she
thought she had. The ten remaining pounds she'd put on with the twins, that she was so determined to lose, only added a few interesting curves to Logan's way of thinking.
He watched her now as she took a few light steps over to the matching cribs, and carefully laid their sleeping son down. She leaned down and kissed the tufted hair and then stood back up and swirled around and faced Logan once more.
Her hands fell on her hips and her eyes narrowed. "I'm
thirty-five
, Logan!" she wailed in a whisper.
He tried to stifle the laugh that erupted from his lips.
"I know, baby, it's your birthday. Remember that circle of diamonds that I slipped on your finger this morning?" he asked, low in his throat. It was always a difficult task to get both babies down for a nap at the same time, but he was damned determined to accomplish that mission today. He wanted his wife to himself for a while, even if it could only be for five minutes.
At the reminder, Lauren lifted her hand and stared down at the ten-year anniversary ring that sat next to her wedding band, and she tilted it this way and that, making the diamonds sparkle.
"I love it."
"
Hmm," he grunted in quiet satisfaction, knowing that he'd accomplished his goal and surprised his wife with the gift, since technically, their tenth anniversary wouldn't be for some months yet. But why wait?
He
'd gone over every damn gift in his head that he hadn't already given her and for the life of him, the anniversary ring was all he could come up with. It made for a great birthday present, but he knew he was only screwing himself later, because what in the hell could he get her for their anniversary?
Of course, it really didn
't matter, he supposed, because she was always pleading with him to stop buying her stuff. But he didn't want to stop. He liked buying her stuff; it made him happy. He liked seeing the jewelry he picked out for her on her fingers, on her wrists, and wrapped around her neck. He liked seeing her naked in bed, except for the jewelry he'd given her. He liked her driving the car that he supplied, and he liked her decorating the house with the furnishings that his money had purchased.
Damn. It was probably true; he was the Neanderthal that Lauren always accused him of being. He
'd been a happy freakin' man since she'd given up that damn job six years ago.
He stood to his feet, gently lifting their now sleeping daughter. He walked over to her crib, and as carefully as he could, laid her down. He pulled the tiny blanket up and covered her legs with it, and then leaned down and kissed her chubby hand before glancing at his son to make sure that he was sleeping soundly as well.
Seeing that both babies were well and truly settled, Logan walked with a silent tread to where Lauren stood and waited with full lips and bright eyes.
Reaching down, he encapsulated her wrist between his fingers in a steely, determined grip. He glanced down when he heard the soft gasp that escaped her lips. And he couldn
't deny he loved the way she still, to this day, reacted to him.
But he lifted his finger to her lips and held it there while her silken skin went to his head.
"Shh," he admonished, before pulling her from the room and leading her to the master bedroom.
The monitor was already on and ready to amplify any sound the babies might make, and he was more than ready. His guts clenched, and his shaft pulsed and throbbed from being so close to his goal.
"Your clothes need to come off, Mrs. Crenshaw," he said, advancing on her.
She smiled wickedly and began pulling them off, one by one. He watched her as he did the same. Their eyes clashed and held as she moved backwards to the bed, and he followed her down, coming on top of her on all fours.
"We can't risk the time for too much foreplay right now, little birthday girl. Will that be okay with you?" His hand landed on the coveted prize between her thighs and electric need flared between them as he found her wet and ready for him. "Ahh, I can feel that it is," he continued to tease in a low, determined voice.
He leaned down to kiss her, and as Lauren slid her arms around his neck and opened her body to him, he pulled back his hips and thrust inside of her, attaining his ultimate goal.
He nipped her lips and then leaned his forehead against hers as peace inundated his soul.
Thank you, God.
His life was perfect.
The End
****
Still want more of Logan and Lauren? Have you read their short story yet? It's a sexy interlude that takes place five years after they get married.
When Logan Crenshaw comes home from work and discovers his wife is keeping a secret from him, he goes a little crazy. He steals her off to the Caribbean until she confesses what's wrong; but not before he loses it and goes completely territorial.
Temptation in Texas: Logan and Lauren
A Short Story
****
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****
Coming in Mid-December 2013, Marco's Redemption will be
available in
Deutscher Sprache.
Marco's Erlösung
****
Coming Soon by Lynda Chance:
Copyright 2013 Lynda Chance 'All Rights Reserved'
Zachary ran his eyes over the girl in front of him. She wasn’t as young as his sister, and the two years difference in age was a very important two years. It was the difference between girl and almost-woman. He saw the hint of that in Katie's eyes. She was already,
undeniably
beautiful. With her dark hair and slanted green eyes, she was beautiful in a sultry, exotic way.
Even though she was a decade younger than he was, he'd always been aware of her existence; he even had a vague memory of picking her up and taking her home when she'd hurt herself as a child. She'd been a pretty little girl even then.
But he'd first noticed Katie sexually only a few months before, when she began hanging around his little sister, about the same time that his wife began fucking Chris Turner. The cheating hadn't been much of a secret around town, and he knew that this girl had known about the affair.
Zach admitted to himself that he had fucked up feelings about Katie, even back then. Every time he'd seen Katie at his
parents’ ranch house, he'd wanted to steal her away. All he could think about at the time was the fact that Chris Turner had stolen his wife, so didn't it seem fair that Zach should have Katie? An eye for an eye, that was the way he looked at it.
But there was one thing that stood in Zach's way from doing something stupid, something crazily impetuous. He hadn't had a choice at the time; it
had
to stand in his way. Katie Turner was too young. And Zach had still been too angry. Livid with it. Even now, long months later, he still couldn't give Katie the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she was a nice, decent person, but he refused to consider it. All he could think about was the fact that she was a Turner. A
female
Turner, and one he wanted so badly it made thinking of anything else almost impossible.
Yeah, the
feelings he had for Katie were
borderline insane and he knew it. She should be his. She should belong to him, because she was
owed
to him. And even though it was imperative that he let her grow up some first, someday it would happen. He'd bide his time because he'd have to, but one day, he'd feel her underneath him . . . at his mercy.
****
Other Works by
Lynda Chance
:
The Louisiana Liaisons Series Box Set
Three Complete novellas by
Lynda Chance
:
Seduced by the American Millionaire
Blackmailed Into Bed
Bedded by the Boss
Don't miss them !!
****
Historical Westerns:
The Sheriff and the Innocent Housekeeper
The Rancher's Virgin Acquisition
Temptation in Texas:
Ranchers of Chatum County Series:
The Louisiana Liaisons Series:
Seduced by the American Millionaire
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The fifth book in the Diamondback Ranch Series
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