Sweet Silken Bondage (47 page)

"But Dev, it feels so good to be with you this
way," she argued in a love-laden voice.

"That's the point, sweetheart," he began to explain
as he stopped kissing and caressing her, but continued to hold her close. "It feels too damned good."

"I don't understand," she said in confusion.

"I know, and that's part of the trouble, too."

"I don't mean to be troublesome to you."

She sounded so regretful, that he had to laugh.
"You should always be this troublesome to me."

He gave her a quick kiss, then released her and
rolled away. Getting to his feet, he held his hand
out to her to help her up. Molly took it reluctantly
for she was still puzzled by his words. Her thoughts
and feelings were confused by the mesmerizing
power of his passion.

"Your mother and Jimmy are waiting for us at
the house. Think we'd better go back up?" he reminded her.

"Oh," Molly gulped, a little embarrassed at having forgotten everything but the magic of being
near Dev. "I forgot."

"I almost did, too, love," he admitted, chagrined.
"But I bet your mother hasn't."

"We'd better hurry back."

Hand in hand, conspirators in love, they rushed
back up the walk. The night wind carried the
sounds of their private sighs and their soft words of
promise and devotion. They paused by the water
pump to share one last kiss before facing her family.

It was then, lost in the headiness of Molly's
embrace under the canopy of silver moon and twinkling stars, that Dev knew he couldn't wait for
Clay's return. He'd been looking all his life for this
kind of love, and he didn't want to wait any longer
to claim Molly for his very own.

As much as Clay's friendship meant to him, Dev
knew he didn't want to spend the rest of life days
like a tumbleweed, riding aimlessly about the countryside, without roots or binding ties. He wanted a
family, a wife and children. He would marry Molly
just as soon as they could arrange it, and he would
tell Sheriff Macauley that he had hired himself a
new deputy.

Dev felt a twinge of guilt about making plans
without telling Clay, but his need to marry Molly
overshadowed any doubts he might have. He believed in his heart that ultimately, his friend would
understand.

"Molly..."

"Um?" she responded, her eyes still closed as she
relished his nearness.

"Molly, I don't want to wait for Clay."

At this, her eyes flew open as she gazed up at
him, both startled and pleased.

"I've waited too long for you already."

Molly was thrilled. When he moved to kiss her
once more before returning to the house, she met
him hungrily in that torrid exchange.

"Let's go tell your mother," Dev said in a strangled voice as they moved apart.

Breathless, her cheeks flushed with passion, Molly
took Dev's hand and they went to plan their future.

The lamp glowed golden, gilding the lovers in a
soft, gentle light that matched their mood. Lying
together in a loving embrace, Dev and Molly
rested, sated from the wonder of their first joining.

For Dev, making love to Molly had been the most
exciting thing he'd ever done in his life. As he held
her close, cherishing the tenderness of the moment, he stared down at the gold band on her left hand.
He couldn't imagine life getting any better than
this. Molly was his, and they had their entire lives
ahead of them to spend loving each other.

In peaceful contentment, Molly lay fully against
him, her head resting on his shoulder. She had
never known that making love could be so perfect.
She smiled as she remembered the surprise she'd
felt at her initiation to love's ways, and then the joy
that had been hers when she'd become one with
him. Dev was her husband.. .the man she loved.

"What are you smiling about?" he asked in a
love-husky voice as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Molly nestled closer as she replied, "I was just
thinking about you."

"I'm glad I make you smile."

"Oh, you do more than make me smile, Devlin
O'Keefe," she answered as she rose up on one elbow
to gaze down at him. He looked so handsome, that
her heart ached. She was glad this man was hers,
and she knew she would never let him go. Leaning
forward, her breasts crushed sweetly against his
chest, Molly gave him a quick kiss.

"I do?"

There was a twinkle of devilment in her eyes as
she shifted her weight up on top of him and began
pressing little kisses to his jaw, then down his neck
and across his chest. She moved slowly lower until
she had Dev practically squirming with impatience.

"Molly, don't, love," he protested in a guttural
growl.

"Don't?" She raised up, wondering why he wanted
her to stop. When he'd kissed her in that same
fashion earlier, she'd been in heaven. She'd thought
it would affect him the same way, too.

"No, darling, don't tease me like this."

"I'm not teasing," she told him with a slow, dangerous smile.

"You don't understand, love. We can't ...at
least, not any more tonight," Dev said seriously. He
assumed that since he'd just breached her innocence, it might cause her discomfort if he tried to
make love to her again.

"Why not?" Molly was completely naive about
such things and, so, was naturally curious.

"Because, it'll hurt" he explained as best he
could. He'd never talked to a woman openly about
these things before, and he wasn't quite sure he was
expressing it right.

"I'm sorry..." She was suddenly remorseful. "I
had no idea it hurt you...

Dev was overcome by a feeling of deep tenderness
at her innocence, and he laughed gently to himself
as he thought of how wonderful she was. She actually thought that making love again would hurt him,
she wasn't even thinking about herself.

"No, no, no," he teased with infinite affection,
slipping one hand up to tangle in the sleekness of
her hair, then pulling her down for an adoring kiss.
"Not me, darling. Being with you is pure heaven for
me. It's you I'm worried about. You just made love
for the first time, and your body's not accustomed
to it. You'll be sore tomorrow."

Molly blushed a little as she realized how dumb
she must have sounded to him, but he read her
thoughts easily

"Don't be ashamed of your innocence, Molly," he
soothed. "It's something you should be very proud
of. It means a lot to me to know that I'm your first
lover."

"You'll be my only lover, too," she declared fiercely, her eyes darkening with passion's intent as
she met his lips again, this time in a slow, arousing
exploration.

"Molly, we shouldn't."

"Dev, we should. What I'm feeling for you now is
more important than anything else. This is our
wedding night. I want it to be perfect."

His every protective argument refuted, Dev gave
up the noble fight and surrendered to the desire
he'd been trying to deny. Crushing her against him,
his mouth sought hers. He began to caress her,
tracing hypnotizing patterns down her silken length
from the soft, swelling sides of her breasts to the
gentle curves of her hips.

Molly moved restlessly against him as his knowing touch sparked her desire to a full flame. She
could feel the heat of his manhood pressing hot and
hard against her thigh, and it pleased her to know
that he was as easily aroused as she was by their
play.

Dev rolled with Molly, bringing her beneath him.
He drew back to stare down at her for a moment,
and then began to trail kisses down her throat to
the curve of her neck. She gasped as he moved even
lower, seeking out the peaks and valleys of her
breasts. She clutched him nearer as his lips moved
over her satiny flesh. His mouth closed over one
taut, sensitive peak just as his hand sought the
juncture of her thighs in an intimate caress.

Molly felt her control drifting away as he massaged her in a thrilling rhythm. She arched against
his hand, enthralled by his practiced touch. Dev
could tell that she was near the peak of ecstasy, and
he moved over her, slipping between her thighs and
positioning himself to claim her for his own.

"Yes, Dev...Please hurry, I want you so," she said in a hushed voice.

Dev slid forward, piercing the center of her love,
making her his. He had been slow and careful the
first time they'd made love, teaching her, taking her
along with him to the heights of satisfaction. This
time, however, her aggressiveness had driven him
wild. It excited him that she wanted him, and he
couldn't hold himself back. Swept on by rapture's
promise, he thrust deep within her, seeking the
glory he knew would be theirs.

Molly had been an avid student of love earlier,
and she remembered his tutelage now, putting into
practice all that he'd shown her. She met his rhythm
without hesitation, welcoming the brand of his body
upon hers. They moved as one, eagerly seeking the
glory of union and the enchantment that came with
desire's crest.

Ecstasy built within them, lifting them higher and
higher until it exploded in a million glowing sparks
of passion. Soul-stirring in its intensity, their mutual
pinnacle took them to the heavens and beyond,
before allowing them to fall softly back to reality.

Sated, enraptured, the lovers lay, locked together,
neither willing to move apart. They nestled close,
captivated by what was happening between them.

Molly lay with her head on his chest, listening to
the steady thunder of his heartbeat as it slowed to a
more normal pace. Dev held her near, cherishing
the softness of her slender body against him. He
marvelled at this thing called holy matrimony that
had made them one in the eyes of God and man. It
was right that it be so...it was perfect. They
were meant to be together for all time, and he
never wanted it to end.

"Shall we go?" Clay invited, offering her his arm
after they'd descended from the train in Panama
City.

"I don't suppose it would do any good to say no,
would it?" Reina shot him a red-hot glare.

"None whatsoever," he replied tersely. It's all but
over now. Why don't you just admit it and give it
up?"

Her expression was grim as she realized that time
was running out. If Clay managed to get them on a
ship to California, and then her doom would be
insured, her fate would be sealed. Until that happened, though, she still held out hope.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"I don't like any of this, Reina. If I'd had my
way, I wouldn't have come after you in the first
place. I'm just glad we're almost through. I will be
one happy man when I deliver you to your father."
Clay was brusque as he answered, the curtness of
his tone hiding his own confusion. He didn't understand what he was feeling right now, and he didn't
want to. He had a job to do. He had to take Reina
home. Period.

Yet, whenever Clay thought about turning her over to her father so she could wed another man,
he grew annoyed. He told himself that she didn't
mean anything to him, that she was a woman just
like his mother and for that very reason he couldn't
let her mean anything to him. But still, the fact
remained that he had only to kiss her or touch her
to lose all semblance of self-control and that bothered him deeply. It was totally uncharacteristic for
him to be so lacking in constraint.

For some reason Reina didn't understand, his
declaration that he couldn't wait to be rid of her
hurt. "Well, if you didn't want to come after me,
why did you?" she challenged. "You could have just
refused."

She hated him, she knew she did, and she despised herself for the weakness she had for him!
Last night had been miserable for her when he'd
proven to her again just how powerless she was
against him. He only had to touch her, and her
resolve to fight him disappeared.

"Your father can be a very persuasive man sometimes," Clay said with a harsh laugh, and he wondered again for what must have been the
thousandth time if Dev was safe as Luis had promised he'd be.

"He is a master at getting people to do exactly
what he wants, one way or the other," she remarked
with her own bitter sadness, thinking of how his
machinations had led to her current predicament.

"And his daughter grew up to be just like him,"
he observed sarcastically.

"That's not true!" she argued. "If I was, I
wouldn't be in this fix right now."

"Oh, it's true, Reina. Just think about it. You
convinced someone to help you disguise yourself as
a nun. You convinced Emilie to lie for you, and you worked your wiles upon Webster so he'd help
you with your grandiose plan of escape. You're your
father's daughter, all right."

The comparison was a cutting one. One she
didn't want to believe. She didn't want to think of
herself as a manipulative, devious person. It wasn't
true! Not at all! She accompanied him the rest of
the way to the hotel in complete silence, troubled
by the fact that he thought of her that way and not
understanding why it bothered her.