pleased for you."
''My destiny came more quietly, but DO less fully than
yours." Cupping Alex's cheek, she smiled and said firmly,
"The time for farewells is over. Go with your Aiden and be
happy. I will see you in a year's time, my Alex."
Yes, all things in their time. And the time had come to
walk away. She stepped back and looked at them all, gave
them each a reassuring smile.
"Ready to go?” Aiden asked softly, his hand slipping
comfortingly to the small of her back.
She smiled up at him and nodded, then let him take her
hand and lead her to the horse.
He swung up and smoothly across and then grinned down
at her. "Would you like me to sweep you off your feet,
princess?"
She laughed, remembering their conversation and suddenly
understanding why he'd ridden a white horse today.
For just this moment, just to make real that young woman's
starry-eyed, impossible dream. ''You did that some time ago,
my handsome prince."
"And I'm not about to drop you. Ever," he promised.
''Thro around, darling, and I'll lift you up."
Aiden settled her sideways across his lap and wrapped his
free arm around her waist to hold her close. She slipped her
arms around him and curled into him, her head nestled into
the crook of his shoulder. His world right, his head and his
heart firmly centered. he pressed a kiss into her hair and
asked. ''Is there anything you need off that ship?"
She snuggled closer and sighed contentedly. "No. What
was crated, I ordered unpacked. I simply locked the door of
the Blue Elephant and left it all behind Even my valise was
empty."
''Why?'' he asked. turning the horse around and letting it
amble away from the docks. .
''In the depths of my heart, I knew you'd come for me,
that I really wasn't going to leave. It was an act of faith."
"You know me better than I know myself."
She laughed softly. "Isn't that the way it should be?".
"Yes, it is."
She sat up a bit, just enough to meet his gaze. "I love you,
Aiden. With all that I am."
"I know," he whispered, pressing a languid kiss to her
forehead.
"You aren't concerned that I told Preeya our children
would be born in India, are you?"
India, huh? He grinned. "I didn't know that you had. No
one translated the conversation for me."
"There's no need to be, darling," he assured her, chuckling
and hugging her. "I heard my name often enough that I
didn't feel the least excluded. And I think the idea of our
children being born in India is an excellent one. They should
know the world that helped make their mother the incredible
woman she is."
"You know," she mused, slowly wiggling deeper and
closer into the space between his thighs. "Marrying a
princess makes you a prince."
"Prince Aiden? For God's sake, don't tell anyone. It
sounds ridiculous."
She drew an arm from around him and trailed a fingertip
down the buttons of his shirtfront. "As an Indian prince," she
said, undoing the button just above the waistband of his
trousers, "you're rather expected to take other wives and
mistresses."
"Well, they're going to be disappointed," he managed to
say, acutely aware that she was opening the button on his
waistband. He hardened instantly and had to shift under her
to accommodate it. "I'm not going to have the time or the
energy for them," he finished raggedly, his heart hammering.
"That's good to know."
He knew what she was going to do and yet she still caught
him by surprise. The rhythm of the horse's gait combined
with the slow friction of her hand against his skin was wildly
provocative, the bold, deliberate caress of his abdomen setting
his blood on fire. He groaned as she slipped her band
lower to create the most exquisite torture he'd ever endured.
"Jesus, Alex," he gasped, smiling down into her upturned
face. "Do you want me to make love to you right here on this
horse?"
Her eyes lit up and her grin went brilliantly bright, deliciously
unholy. His blood sang, his toes curled, and he
stopped breathing. If he could just get them as far as the carriage
house ...
He lifted her up, turning her so that she faced forward,
and then settled her astride and fully, firmly between his
thighs. His arm wrapped tightly around her waist. he pulled
her close.
''We're going home," he promised as he kicked the horse
into a canter, as the sweet temptation in his arms laughed
and claimed every last measure of his heart and soul.