Meredith’s heart went wild. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“We have to shower, don’t we?” he said softly. His hands went to her blouse. “Don’t panic,” he whispered, bending to touch his mouth gently to hers. “We’ve seen each other before.”

“Yes, but…”

“Hush, sweetheart,” he breathed into her open mouth.

She was hungry for him. It had been so long. Too long. She gave a harsh moan, and the blood went to his head when he heard it.

“Do that again,” he whispered roughly.

“Do…what?”

“Moan like that,” he bit off against her mouth. “It drives me crazy!”

She felt his hands on her breasts when he pushed the blouse out of his way, and she did moan, not because he’d said to, but because the pleasure was so exquisite.

He reached out to turn on the shower and adjust the water, and then, his jaw set, his eyes glittering with desire, he stripped her and then himself and lifted her into the shower.

In between kisses, he soaped her and himself, and it was an adventure in exploration for Meredith, who’d never dreamed of touching and being touched so intimately. The soap made her skin like silk and the feel of his hands against her most secret places was unbearable delight.

He rinsed Meredith off, and himself, then turned off the water and reached for a towel. But he didn’t dry them with it. Holding her eyes, he spread the towel on the tiles of the big bathroom floor, and catching her waist, he lifted her against him and kissed her with probing intimacy.

“We’re going to make love. Here,” he whispered, “on the floor.”

She shuddered at the images that flashed through her mind. “Yes,” she groaned, pressing hard against him so that her soft breasts flattened against the thick pelt of hair on his muscular chest.

He spread her trembling body on the thick towel and himself over her, his mouth demanding and slow, his body making the sweetest kind of contacts as he moved sensually over her.

She felt his hands on her and she shivered, but he kept on, evoking sensations she hadn’t dreamed existed. She opened her eyes and looked at him and cried out, her nails digging into his shoulders as she lifted against his hand.

“I’ve never wanted you this badly,” he whispered as he poised above her. “I don’t want to hold back anything this time.”

“Neither do I.” She lifted her hands to his face. “I love you,” she said, parting her lips as they brushed his with open sensuality. “I love you, Blake.”

His hands contracted on her hips as he moved down, very slowly, his eyes holding hers so that he could see them while his body began to merge with hers. “I love you, too, honey,” he whispered shakenly, jerking a little with each deepening movement. She started to lift up, but his hands held her still. “No,” he murmured breathlessly, his eyes still on hers. “No, don’t…move. Don’t rush it… God!” His eyes closed suddenly and he shuddered.

She felt him, breathed him, tasted him. Her body shook with what he was doing to it, with the exquisite slowness of his movements, the depth… She clenched her teeth and cried out in protest, her hips twisting helplessly.

“Blake…if you don’t…hurry!” she wailed in anguish.

“Ride it out,” he whispered at her ear. His body flowed against hers like the tide, lazy and deliberate, despite the sudden hot urgency that was burning them both. “It’s going to be good,” he groaned. “Good…so good… Meredith!” His body clenched. “Merry, now!”

She felt his control slip and she let go of her own, yielding totally, trusting him. And the tension all but tore her to pieces before she felt the heat blinding her, burning her, and she fell into it headfirst with tears streaming down her cheeks.

His hands were in her hair, soothing her, smoothing the wet strands away from her rosy cheeks. He was kissing her, sipping the tears from her eyes, kissing away the faint sorrow, the fatigue, the trembling muscles.

She opened her eyes and his face came into focus. She couldn’t breathe properly. Her body felt as if it had fallen from a great height. His eyes held hers, and there was adoration in them now, openly.

“The bed would have been better,” he said, brushing her mouth lazily with his. “But this was safer.”

“She’s making cookies,” she told him wearily.

“She’s unpredictable.” He nuzzled her nose with his. “I love you,” he breathed, his eyes mirroring the statement. “I couldn’t admit it until today, but, oh, God, I feel it, Meredith,” he said huskily, his face taut with emotion that made her heart jump with excitement. “I feel it when I look at you, when I’m with you. I didn’t know what it was to love, but now I do.”

“I’ve always felt that way about you,” she whispered, smiling adoringly. “Since I was eighteen. Maybe even longer. You were the moon, and I wanted you so much.”

“I wanted you, too. But I didn’t understand why I wanted you so badly.” He kissed her again. “You complete me,” he breathed. “You make me whole.”

Her arms linked around his neck, she buried her face in his throat. “I feel like that, too. Was it necessary to torture me to death?” She laughed shyly.

“It was good, though, wasn’t it?” he said. “So intense that I thought I might pass out just at the last. I like losing control with you. I fly up into the sun and explode.”

“Yes, so do I.” She cuddled closer. “The floor is hard.”

“The bed is unprotected.”

She sighed. “Well, there’s always tonight.” She drew back a little. “Are you going to sleep with me?”

“No, I thought I’d sack out with one of the horses—oof!”

She withdrew her fist from his stomach. “Sarah Jane wants a brother or sister.”

“At the rate we’re going, that won’t take long. There’s nothing wrong with you,” he added, emphasizing it. “And meanwhile, Sarah’s going to have time to adjust to us and feel secure. Okay?”

“Okay. I’ll stop worrying,” she promised.

“Good. Now let’s go get some ice cream,” he said, moving away to get to his feet and pull her up with him. “I’m starving!”

She wanted to make a comment about men and their strange appetites, but she was too hungry to argue. Her eyes adored him. So much had come out of such a stormy, terrible night, she thought as he wrapped a towel around his lean hips and tossed an extra one to her. He loved her. He actually loved her. She smiled, tingling all over with the newness of hearing the words, of having the freedom to say them. It was like a dream come true. Or it would be, she thought, if she could ever give him a child. She had to force herself not to think about it. Anyway, Blake had said there was plenty of time.

Epilogue

Eight months later, little Carson Anthony Blake Donavan was born in Jack’s Corner Hospital. Looking down at the small head with its thick crown of black hair, Meredith could have jumped for joy. A son, she thought, and so much like his father.

Sitting by her bed, Blake was quiet and fascinated as his first son gripped his thumb. He smiled down at the tiny child. “He’s a miracle,” he said softly. “Part of us. The best of us.”

She smiled up at him tiredly and her hand touched the finger that was caught in the baby’s grasp. “He’s going to look like you,” she said.

“I hope so, considering that he’s a boy,” he replied dryly.

She laughed. Her eyes made soft, slow love to his. “I’m so happy, Blake,” she whispered. “He’s the end of the rainbow. And I was so afraid that I couldn’t give you a child.”

“I knew you could,” he said simply. “We love each other too much not to have a child together.” He bent and kissed her soft mouth. “Sarah wanted to come, too. I explained that they wouldn’t let her in here, but you’re getting out tomorrow and she can see her brother all she wants to. She’s coloring a pretty picture for him.”