'Tis the Season: A Collection of Mimi's Christmas Books (42 page)

He wavered toward his chair, and she followed. Once seated, he wouldn’t let her go and, instead, imprisoned her hands in his and forced her to kneel in front of him. “How can you not be my sister? You heard my mother. She told us her guilty secret, and she doesn’t lie. At least I don’t think she does.”

“She didn’t lie, Marcus. We just didn’t listen. You see, she never did say she was my mother; she only alluded to her guilt. But her guilt came from encouraging my real mother to give me up to the nuns.”

“You’re not my half-sister?” The idea seemed to have been branded in his brain, and trying to dislodge it took some doing.

“Precisely! We’re not related in any way whatsoever.” She shook her head for emphasis.

“Then you can be my wife. I need one, you know. Desperately.” From the way he spoke, Abbie still wasn’t sure if he knew what had been said. But she decided to go along.

“Yes, I can be your wife, Marcus, if you really want me.”

“Well, you see, I have no choice. I want the baby, and I can’t have him unless I’m married.” Pain hit hard once she’d filtered his words. He didn’t want her; all he wanted was a—a baby. She bowed her head onto their entwined hands to let the desolation recede. If she looked up now, she’d either slap him or kiss him, and neither one was a good option. Before she could do anything, he started to speak.

“All I know is Abbie loves Nicholas, and I love Abbie. I can’t let anyone else take him away from her, now, can I? But they won’t let me have him without a wife, so if I marry you, then Nicholas will be ours. Do you see?”

She had no idea what he was talking about, but she trusted that in some strange, befuddled way he had only her and Nicholas’ concerns in mind. He’d said he loved her, and her heart lifted out of its nest and flipped over a few times, creating a whole new rhythm. Reaching up, she placed her hands on both sides of his face and kissed him once again. Before she knew it, he had her in his lap, his arms snug around her body.

Their lips met again, and the sweet kiss changed in an instant. Heat flooded her rioting senses, while passion—beautiful, unrivalled passion—invaded her limbs. How could a kiss be so sweet and so sexy at the same time? As his mouth devoured hers, it felt as if every sensitive nerve inside her had woken up and was paying strict attention.
I knew being with him would be wonderful, but not once did I ever expect wonderful to be so…so beautiful.
The notion surfaced for only a second before delight overwhelmed her thought processes. Of their own accord, her arms tightened around his body in order for her tingling breasts to find relief by snuggling in closer to his hard chest.

Whimpering, an instinctive sound of arousal, emerged unexpectedly, but she could no more stop the noise than to stop breathing. His moans harmonized, and their lovemaking included more than just touch, taste and feel. To actually hear their passion added another dimension for her and made everything more intense. Knowing she excited a man such as Marcus added to her security and overrode her timidity.

Meanwhile, his physical reactions were obvious. Sitting on his lap, feeling the rigid part of his body over which he had no control, let her know how much she affected him. Wriggling, she pushed downward and heard him groan in response.

More. She wanted more. She angled her neck so he could roam her throat with lips that knew exactly how to tease and nip in the right places. He shuddered and scooped her even closer, which made breathing difficult, but who cared? Her heaving breasts craved his touch. In fact, the skin everywhere on her body yearned to feel his hands. His thumbs tweaked her nipples all the while he feverishly worked his lips from her ears to under her throat and then lower, pushing aside the cowl neck of her fuzzy sweater.

The sneeze caught both of them unaware. So did the second one. Marcus, obliged to stop his petting, leaned back from her tight hold and rubbed at his itchy nose. Forced to return to earth, they finally became aware of the disturbance happening at the porch window.

A big black dog stood there, growling and barking, the noise reaching crescendo proportions. By the time they paid him some attention, he’d begun to lunge at the glass, throwing himself at the window as if in a desperate attempt to get into the room.

“I’m sorry, Marcus. That’s the dog that helped pull me through the large snowdrifts to get here. He’s still a pup, I think, and he must be homeless. I believe he’s under the impression that you’re hurting me. I’ll go and deal with him.”

Bleary-eyed, Marcus straightened enough to set her free from his arms and made as if to stand. “I’ll go. If we don’t stop the bloody fool, he’ll come crashing through the glass. I’ll shoo him away, then, shall I?”

Abbie pushed down on his shoulder. “No! Let me look after him. It’s terribly cold outside, and he’s freezing. Maybe we can let him in out of the cold, just for a little while.”

“Absolutely not! Send him on his way. And then I’d better have some coffee. We need to talk, Abbie. My head is killing me, and to tell you the truth, I’m still not sure if I’m dreaming.”

“Trust me, Marcus, I’m no dream. Look, luv, I’ll be right back after I take care of the dog, and I’ll make us some coffee. We’ll sort everything out.” Tenderly she added, “And we can carry on where we just left off. All right, then?”

He nodded and sat back in his chair to glare at the nuisance still making a ruckus at the window. “Be quiet, you silly black bugger!” His hollering made her smile.

As soon as she opened the door, the big pup stopped his nonsense and came to stand in front of her, his tail wagging ferociously. Watchful, assessing her reactions, he left some space between them. But when she went down on her knees to wrap her arms around his neck, he cried deep in his throat and moved in as close to her as he could get, his begging demeanour too much for her soft heart.

“Poor baby, you’re frozen. And scared.” His trembling could have been from either condition, but somehow she sensed his fear and soothed him as best she could. “Come on, then, we’ll hide you in the kitchen until morning. At least you’ll have a warm place to sleep tonight, and some food, if we can scrounge some from their fridge.”

She tiptoed past the doorway to the big room and made her way around the breakfast parlour to the kitchen beyond. The swinging door opened without a sound, and she led the big animal to a corner next to the stove, which she turned on in his honour. “You stay here.” She waited until he’d circled and then settled where her finger pointed. “You’ll be warm in no time.”

At once, she turned on the flame under the coffee pot, organized the essentials, and then found a drawer with towels. Grabbing one in each hand, she bent over the sighing dog and cleaned as much of the snow off as she could, leaving his shiny black fur still damp but without the white crunchy stuff attached. His immense size somewhat disguised the fact that he was actually scrawny and underfed. The poor fellow hadn’t had a square meal for quite some time, she’d wager.

Within minutes, she’d gotten everything under control. The fridge yielded a plateful of cooked roast beef and gravy, which she made into sandwiches, chopping up the unused remainder for the shiny-eyed, smiling dog. He seemed to inhale the lot rather than chewing each mouthful. Seeing his hunger prompted her to warm him some milk, and he soon devoured that, also. The biscuits in the cookie jar became his dessert, and he happily crunched away while she found a tray and filled it with hot drinks and food. Getting ready to return to Marcus, who was being very patient, she admonished her newfound friend.

“You must stay in here. Lie down there by the stove.” She’d left the oven on warm, to make the room more comfortable. Stubbornly he tried to follow her, and that wouldn’t do at all.

“Stay!” He looked away and ignored her.

“Go on, lie down.” She pointed to his corner and waited until he reluctantly obeyed her order. “You must stay here until I come back.” Her glare seemed to work, as he grudgingly put his snout on his paws, raised his big brown eyes, and looked up at her submissively. “Good boy!”

She used her shoulder to open the door and carried her loaded tray into the bright room where Marcus waited for her, only to find he wasn’t waiting at all. The silly man was fast asleep in his easy chair. “Well, for heaven’s sake.” She dumped the tray on the table in front of the sofa and went to glare down at him. In no time, though, her grumps disappeared, and she found herself smiling, instead. He looked so peaceful, as if he’d gotten the best news in the world and had gone to sleep thinking about how wonderful life is. She groaned and went to sit on the sofa.

Alone, she sipped her coffee, ate half her sandwich, and watched him sleep. What a wonderfully handsome man. In his relaxed state, the muscles in his lean body were noticeable through the thin silk of his shirt. And she knew to her delight that when he held her in his arms they were gentle. His face in repose looked younger, especially with his normally controlled hair tousled with curls. How he’d ever managed to remain single, she’d never know.

Leaning back while reflecting on her luck, soothed by the warmth of the fire, she gazed across at him, filling her mind with a list of his wonderful qualities. At last, sighing, she pulled the afghan from the back of the couch, covered herself, and drifted off.

Abbie didn’t know whether it was the ferocious growling or the fierce swearing that woke her sometime later.

Chapter Twenty-one

What in the world?
She pushed at the furry body blocking her view, but because of that body’s solid stance she’d have had more luck moving a Mack truck.

“Stop it, puppy.” She swung her legs over the side of the sofa so she could sit up and deal with Marcus. An angry Marcus, whose hair stood on end and whose temper had apparently been ignited. That Marcus.

“Puppy!?” he raged. “Have you seen the size of the ruddy monster?” Marcus stepped to the side so he could look into her face, then stopped immediately when “the puppy” growled warningly, revealing razor-sharp teeth in a menacing grin. The fur around his massive neck stood bristling and his front paws were braced to leap. “Where did he come from? More importantly, how the hell did he get into my house?”

“Don’t you remember? Earlier, when I arrived, I told you about him saving my life. The blizzard made walking almost impossible, and if it hadn’t been for my mate here, I could have gotten lost in the storm, or at least in a snowdrift. Certainly, I’d have frozen to death.” As she spoke, her tone purposefully conciliatory, she petted the dog, whose demeanour instantly changed. His panting grin hid the sharp teeth, and his tail wagged, slapping at the side of the table and rattling the surprisingly now empty dishes on the tray.

Thinking it safe, Marcus moved forward, only to be warned once again by a sideways but still vicious growl. “Did you see that?” He pointed at the animal once again standing guard.

“Don’t be silly! You’re scaring him with your loud voice. He’s really a sweetheart.”

Marcus lowered his voice. “A hungry sweetheart, and he’s staring at me like I’m breakfast.”

Abbie giggled. Once she draped her arms around the mutt’s neck and caressed him behind his ears, his killer role disappeared, to be replaced by a goofy puppy grin. He licked her hands with adoration plainly stamped all over his intelligent face. “I’ve no doubt he’ll need to use the outside facilities,” she told Marcus, who looked relieved. I’ll let him out, shall I, and be right back.”

“Fine. You come back. Not him!”

Ignoring the man, she swiftly rose and urged the dog to follow as she made her way to the front door. Once she opened it and heard the storm’s ongoing blast, she knew she’d be in trouble. Because there was no way in hell she could leave the animal to fend for himself. Not in the cold darkness and bitter weather.

As soon as she opened the door, the pup had gone out, done his duty, and retuned to her side like a gentleman who didn’t want to keep his lady waiting. She whispered to him, “No noise, now. We’ll hide you in the kitchen again, but this time you must stay there, you hear me?”

His low growling agreement made her smile. Turning sneakily, she saw Marcus leaning against the doorway, arms and legs crossed. Her smiles turned to giggles.

“My mate here saved my life, Marcus. I can’t turn my back on him and put him out in this storm. You wouldn’t ask that of me, would you?”

He grinned back and without a word, he cocked his eyebrow.

“If he goes, I’ll have to go with him.”

His sigh of acceptance had her stepping up to pat his cheek. “I’ll put him in the kitchen.”

“I don’t believe the swinging door barricaded him the last time you hid him in there. I have a better idea. We need to talk, and I don’t want this big lug interrupting.” So saying, he quickly grabbed up the half-empty bottle of Drambuie and a couple of glasses in one hand and linked her fingers with his other. He led her up the curving staircase, and she meekly followed, the black furry shadow at their heels.

When they got to his room, he opened the door just enough to steer her inside and then stepped in himself, closing the door quickly and leaving the distraught dog in the hallway. Satisfaction glowed in his eyes until he heard the animal complain.