An Interrupted Marriage (Silhouette Special Edition) (22 page)

She smiled up at him. Their bodies were almost touching. “Remember when this was almost the only place we could be alone?” she asked him softly. They stood in a tiny half cove, the dry, pale sand near the cliff above overshadowed by a huge old pohutukawa dipping its curved branches low.

“When you used to get nervous about making love in our bedroom in case someone overheard us?” He gave a sharp sigh. “You put up with an awful lot, didn’t you?”

Jade nuzzled her head into his shoulder. “The boys are home again,” she reminded him. Their bedroom was on the same floor.

“So they are,” Magnus said slowly. “You mean you’re likely to go coy on me again?”

Jade raised her head. “I was not
coy!
“

“You were,” he said tenderly, tugging gently at her hair. “But never down here. Here, you felt safe, didn’t you? In the dark, by the sea.”

A smile lit her eyes. “I feel very safe here.”

“Oh, Jade.” He put his arms about her waist, loosely, and touched his forehead to hers. “I didn’t dare ask—expect...”

“So,” she murmured, “are you going to make me ask?”

He drew her nearer. “No,” he said. “No.” And he gathered her to him, his lips meeting hers with desire, and need, and reckless passion.

Minutes later they were together on the cool, cushioning sand in the shadow of the tree, and the leaves moved against the night, making tiny whispering sounds that echoed their incoherent, loving whispers of endearment. Their final cries of fulfilment were lost amid the thunder of the sea roiling about the rocks and falling on the sand.

Afterwards they lay in each other’s arms until the night breeze freshened and intruded on their haven, and then they dressed and wandered back along the beach with their arms about each other, pausing now and then to kiss, and murmur words that hardly made sense, and kiss again.

As they stood looking up at the house, Magnus said, “We’re going to start looking for our own house, very soon. You must hate this place.”

“No.” She shook her head. “It’s beautiful, and we were happy sometimes.”

His hold on her tightened. “We’ll come back for visits,” he said, “holidays with our children. It’s a family place.”

Jade drew a breath. “You’ve guessed?”

“Guessed?” He looked down at her quickly. “Jade! You mean that you’re—”

“Pregnant. Yes, I think so. In a week or two I’ll know for sure.” Hesitantly, she said, “Are you pleased?”

“Pleased? I’m—oh, Jade!” He pulled her fully into his arms again. “No one in the entire history of the world has ever been so pleased as I am at this moment.”

She laughed, and hugged him in return. “I hoped you would be, but I wasn’t sure.”

“Oh, my darling. I have so much to make up to you.” His voice shook, and he kissed her with great tenderness.

“You have the rest of our lives to do it in,” she promised, stroking back his hair from his forehead. “And I have the rest of our lives to prove to you that you’re the only man I will ever love. Starting now.”

* * * * *

ISBN: 978-1-4592-8795-2

An Interrupted Marriage

Copyright © 1994 by Daphne Clair de Jong

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