Miner's Daughter (36 page)

His hands had been exploring, inch by inch,
until they’d reached a crucial part of her anatomy. Although a
little disconcerted, Mari was yet more interested than shy. She
wondered what he’d do when he got to that thatch of curls between
her legs. Those curls were even darker than her hair, and the
portion of her body they hid was at present creating all sorts of
havoc in the rest of her body.

She didn’t have long to wonder. As his hand
cupped her femininity, Mari bucked involuntarily. That’s where all
the pressure was building. That was the spot, all right. She
whispered, “Oh, Tony!”

“Don’t be afraid, Mari.”

He sounded fairly desperate, and Mari longed
to put his fears to rest, but she didn’t know how to without
sounding like a wanton hussy. Instead, she did what her body wanted
her to do, and lifted her hips so that the nub of her pleasure
pressed against his palm. He responded instantly by probing her
passage with a finger.

She swallowed and let go of an involuntary
“Oh!”

“You’re beautiful, Mari,” he murmured, again
sounding moderately desperate. “So beautiful.”

How nice. She wanted to shriek at him to keep
doing what he’d been doing with his fingers, but again modesty held
her back. That was a laugh. There was absolutely nothing modest
about this situation any longer.

Since that was the case, Mari decided she
couldn’t lose any respect in his eyes, provided he still had any
for her, so she whispered, “Oh, please, Tony, keep doing that.”

Rather than horrifying or repelling him, her
words seemed to give Tony’s hands a new life. He murmured something
she didn’t catch and renewed his ministrations to her most secret
place, leaning over to kiss her at the same time. She threw her
arms around his neck and kissed him back. The kiss progressed as
her passion mounted, until their tongues were thrusting as
furiously as Tony’s fingers.

Then the climax came, and Mari’s few
remaining inhibitions flew out of her body. Waves of pleasure
claimed her, and she cried out with amazement, not having
anticipated the intensity of the joy a man and a woman could
share.

She realized Tony had been watching her only
when her spasms of pleasure subsided and she opened her eyes. He
smiled down at her.

With a hand that felt as heavy as lead, Mari
stroked his lovely hair back from his head. She didn’t know what to
say. Or do.

Fortunately for them both, Tony knew exactly
what to say and do. “That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever
seen, Mari.”

She blinked up at him, thinking how nice he
was, really. Even if he was as rich as Midas. Although she was
vaguely aware that he hadn’t enjoyed himself quite as much as she
had, she was rather surprised when he suddenly stood up.

When he stripped his underwear down his legs,
and his enormous sex popped into clear view, she gasped. Good
heavens. A tiny doubt wriggled, its way into her chest for only a
moment, before Tony spoke once more, again reassuring her.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Mari couldn’t recall the number of times he’d
told her not to be afraid this evening, but so far he’d been
absolutely right. This was nothing to be afraid of. In fact, it was
spectacularly exciting. Glorious, even.

He got back onto the bed, straddling her body
with his powerful legs. “I hope this won’t hurt you, Mari,” he
whispered.

She only shook her head, hoping he’d
understand that she meant the shake to mean it didn’t matter. Tony
Ewing had just given her the greatest physical pleasure of her
life. She wasn’t going to begrudge him a twinge or two when she
lost her virginity.

As it turned out, it didn’t hurt at all.
Perhaps because she’d had to work so hard in her life, her maiden’s
barrier gave up its hold at once and without a trace of pain. The
sensation of fullness she experienced was a novel one, but she
accustomed herself to it quickly. Tony was panting as if he were
running a race. It took Mari a moment to realize his condition was
brought about by the great restraint he was showing in deference to
her recent virginity, and her heart was touched.

“I’m fine, Tony,” she whispered, stroking his
hair and arms and back and everything else she could reach. She
loved him so much. If she hadn’t been concerned with his feelings
on the matter, she might have wept with the overwhelming love
filling her heart and soul. But she didn’t want to scare him.

Which was really rather amusing since he’d
been concerned about her own fears and physical well-being. He was
so sweet.

“Are you sure?”

She heard the strain in his voice and
hastened to assure him. “I’m very sure. You feel good inside me,
Tony. Wonderful.”

Apparently that was the right thing to say,
because the bonds of his constraint snapped at once, and he began
to plunge almost wildly inside her. Merciful heavens, what an
interesting phenomenon.

She’d just begun to understand where this
could lead when Tony, unable to hold himself back any longer, cried
out and with one last thrust, spilled his seed inside her. He
strained for another couple of seconds, as if squeezing the last
ounce of himself into her, and then he collapsed at her side.

Unable to help it, Mari allowed a very few
tears to escape. They trickled down her cheeks, and she was able to
wipe them away before Tony opened his eyes. He still panted, as if
he’d run a marathon.

Sweet Lord, he cherished this woman.
Exhausted and with his soul afire with love, Tony lay beside Mari,
marveling at how much a man’s life could change in so short a
time.

Only a few weeks ago, he’d come out to
California hoping to find something; he didn’t know what. And by
God, he’d found her. He’d been seeking Mari and didn’t even know
it.

He knew it now. The only thing he wasn’t sure
of at this point was how to get her to marry him. She was so damned
independent and stubborn. Maybe if he allowed her to keep her crazy
father’s mine, she’d agree to a permanent alliance with him. What
the hell, he had enough money to keep the mine operating forever
without any hint of profit, if he wanted to. Tony didn’t like
wasting money, but Mari would be worth it.

After he’d regained his breath, he whispered,
“Mari?”

She stirred next to him, and he opened his
eyes to watch her. She turned her head, and he smiled at her
expression. Damned if she didn’t look shy. After what they’d just
shared together! She was so perfectly delightful, Tony wasn’t sure
he could stand it. His heart was so full, it felt near to
overflowing.

“Yes, Tony?” Her voice, whisper soft and
caressing, made him go all mushy inside. It made another part of
him begin to stir to life. How interesting.

He cupped her cheek with his hand then
smoothed the hair back from her face before drawing her into a
closer cuddle. “Are you all right, sweetheart? Did I hurt you?”

Her eye gazed at him with such tenderness,
his insides squeezed and his heart soared. “You didn’t hurt me. I’m
fine. Grand, even.”

“Grand?” His masculine pride took a bow. He
was pretty sure his grin showed how cocky he felt about his
performance. “So am I. Very grand.”

“I’m glad.” She dropped her gaze. “Um, I’d
never done . . . that . . . before, and I’m not sure if I did it
right.”

She hadn’t been able to tell? Good God. On
the other hand, Tony guessed that, as a recently deflowered virgin,
she had nothing with which to compare their recent activities.
Gratitude flooded him and again his heart pitched when he
considered he’d been the first. He’d be the only, if he had
anything to say about it. “You did it perfectly. Better than
perfectly. You’re-you’re perfect.” Shoot, he wished he could think
of a word meaning better than perfect.

“I’m glad.” She kept her eyes lowered. “I
thought you were wonderful, too.”

His masculine pride quit taking smug bows and
started dancing a triumphant jig. “Thank you. That makes me happy.
You make me happy.”

Her gaze darted to his face. She appeared
uncertain. “Do I? Honestly?”

“Honestly.” Absolutely. Phenomenally.

“Good.”

They stayed wrapped up in each other without
speaking for several minutes. Tony savored each one of them as if
they were pure gold. He was bracing himself to pop the question. He
wasn’t nervous. Not exactly. Not precisely. It was only that he’d
never asked a woman to marry him before, and he wasn’t quite sure
how to go about it.

He also feared she might refuse his proposal.
Any other female in the universe would jump at the chance to marry
him or, rather, to marry his money. Which pretty much summed up why
Tony had never proposed to anybody before.

But Mari . . . Well, Mari was different from
the rest of the women in the world. She was special. Unique.
Magnificent.

He cleared his throat. “Mari?”

“Yes?” She smothered a yawn in the
pillow.

Tony thought she was adorable. “I need to ask
you something.”

“Yes?”

This was it. He was going to do it. Right
now. He was going to open his mouth and just blurt it out before he
could get scared. He was going to say it. Right now. Outright. He
was going to get it over with right this very minute. He was—

On the floor a few feet away from them, Tiny
whimpered.

Mari sat bolt upright as if she’d been shot
from a gun. “Tiny!”

Blast. Tony had forgotten all about the dog.
He considered the relief flooding through him in the light of
cowardice, but he couldn’t stop it. He sat up, too. “We’d better
check on him.”

Mari had already slid out of the narrow bed.
Tony had a splendid view of her naked backside as she reached up to
grab an old flannel bathrobe from a hook beside the bed. She had a
body a man might die for. She rushed to the side of her dog and
knelt beside him

Tony climbed out of the bed more slowly,
savoring the delicious post-coital lassitude infusing him. With a
sigh, he stood and glanced around, trying to find his trousers. Ah,
yes, there they were. He went to them, picked them up off the
floor, shook them out, and pulled them on. He’d as soon live naked
for the rest of his life, as long as Mari did likewise.
Unfortunately, the world was going to sneak in and interrupt this
idyll all too soon.

He padded softly over to the girl and her dog
and he, too, knelt. “How’s he doing?” The slow smack of Tiny’s tail
against the floor as he wagged it seemed encouraging to Tony.

“I’m not sure.” Mari sounded concerned, but
not overly worried, which also seemed like a good sign. “At least
he’s happy to see us.”

“He’s a good dog.” Tony scratched Tiny behind
his massive ears, and the tail sped up a trace. With a grin, he
said, “I think he might make it, Mari.”

“I sure hope he does.” She leaned over and
gave the giant pooch a careful hug. “I love him so much. I’d be
lost without him “

“You wouldn’t be lost, Mari,” Tony said
tenderly. “You’d be sad, but I don’t believe you’ll ever be lost.
You’re too strong for that.” Besides, he’d buy her a dozen Great
Danes if she wanted them. A hundred. A thousand. He could almost
see them in his mind’s eye, spreading across the landscape like a
herd of cows.

He was a little disconcerted when she glanced
at him over the dog’s huge black head. He detected a hint of
bleakness in her eyes, and he didn’t understand it. She should be
gloating. After all, no other woman in the world had ever succeeded
in roping Tony Ewing.

“Yes,” she said slowly. “I guess I’m strong,
all right.”

She didn’t sound awfully thrilled about it.
Tony decided she was merely undergoing a few moments of
maidenly—formerly maidenly—qualms. He smiled at her to make up for
them. After a moment, she smiled back.

Gazing at the dog, he asked, “Do you think we
ought to dose him with another couple of drops of laudanum’?” He
thought it might be nice to get a few hours of sleep, since the
film crew was supposed to arrive bright and early in the morning.
Martin wanted to get the shots of Mari in her mine done in one day
because of the intense heat. He didn’t want anyone dying of
sunstroke, a policy with which Tony agreed wholeheartedly.

She stroked the gigantic black beast
thoughtfully for a second or two. “I think so. I don’t think it
would hurt him, and it might help him rest better. If he gets too
frisky, he might open that wound, so it would probably be better to
keep him sort of sleepy for a while.”

“Probably wouldn’t hurt us, either,” Tony
mentioned.

“We ought to get some sleep, I suppose.”

He wouldn’t mind losing a night’s sleep in
pursuit of a good cause, and he couldn’t think of a better one than
making love to Mari all night. However, she probably shouldn’t do
any more exercise of that nature for a day or so. No matter how
much she professed to having not been hurt, Tony didn’t want to
take any chances.

When he brought his gaze away from Tiny and
directed it at Mari, he was surprised by the expression on her
face. She appeared troubled. Unable to help himself, he reached
across the dog and touched her cheek. “What is it, Mari? What’s the
matter?”

She licked her lips. “Um, does that mean you
want to stay here? All night?”

He stared at her, thunderstruck for a moment.
It hadn’t occurred to him that she might want him to leave her
after that spectacular bout of lovemaking. He wasn’t sure, but he
thought his feelings were hurt “I figured I would. Why? Don’t you
want me to?”

She swallowed. “Um, it’s not exactly that I
don’t want you to. It’s—” She stopped speaking and licked her lips
again.

“It’s what?” His euphoric mood suffered a
puncture. Dammit, she was supposed to be as in love with him as he
was with her. Although Tony was willing to entertain some pretty
novel eventualities with regard to Mari, given her background and
all, the notion that she might not love him hadn’t occurred to him
until this minute.