together, out of control and not caring. It was a magical experience, a melding of heart and body and soul. And just as the sun loosened its full glory on the pair of lovers, they found sweet deliverance within its circle of golden light.
Wynne didn’t know how much time passed or how long they lay entwined in each others arms. But with the sating of their passion, sanity returned. Jake was the first to recover.
“You were a virgin,” he accused, rolling free of her embrace.
Suddenly self-conscious, she tugged the sheet around her. Not that he seemed terribly concerned about modesty. “I didn’t think you’d notice.”
“You didn’t think I’d…” Outrage battled disbelief. “Take my word for it, I noticed!”
“Does it matter that much?”
He came off the bed, snagging his robe from the floor as he did so. “We discussed this last night at the Montagues’,” he said, thrusting his arm into the terry-cloth sleeve. “I told you flat out that I didn’t want to be married to a virgin.”
“Well…you’re not. At least, not anymore.”
His scalding invectives brought a rosy glow to her cheeks. “Don’t split hairs with me, lady. Dammit all, I don’t want to be saddled with a virgin. I wouldn’t know what to do with one.”
She gave him a mischievous grin. “What you just did suits me fine. And as I keep pointing out…It’s no longer an issue.”
“That’s not what I meant!” His anger simmered visibly, like heat roiling in the desert air. “You lied to me. You said you’d been engaged three different times.”
“I didn’t lie. I was engaged three times.”
“And not one of them…They never…?”
“Not one of them,” she confirmed. “Ever.”
“It staggers the imagination,” he muttered, then grimaced. “That doesn’t change the fact that I need an experienced woman. I need someone who’s willing to admit in open court that I…That we…”
She tilted her head to one side. “Yes? That we…what?”
“That we—”
A loud banging sounded at the door. “Aunt Wynne! Aunt Wynne! Wake up.”
Jake stiffened. “Now who the hell is that?” Laser-sharp eyes focused on her. “Something I should know about?”
Wynne swallowed nervously. She really wished she’d had a little more time to prepare him. Because she suspected that his annoyance over her innocence would benothing compared to his annoyance over this next bit of news. Gathering every ounce of self-possession, she offered a tentative smile.
“ That, ” she announced, “is my inheritance.”
CHAPTER FOUR
N OT WAITING TO SEE how Jake would react to the news, Wynne jumped out of bed, dragging the sheet with her. Unlatching the door, she opened it a scant inch. “Hey, brat,” she teased the boy planted squarely in front of the threshold. “You’re up early.”
“It weren’t me,” scorned Buster, hauling a younger boy out from behind him. “It was Chick. He got scared when he woke up and couldn’t find you.”
“What about Laura?” Wynne asked in concern. “She was there, wasn’t she?”
Buster shrugged. “He didn’t want Laura.”
She switched her attention to the smaller of the two, and offered a reassuring smile, not at all surprised to see Chick’s thumb firmly planted in his mouth. “Well, I’m here now. Just give me a minute to dress and I’ll let you in so you can meet your new uncle, okay?”
That sparked some interest. “An uncle?” Buster questioned cautiously, exchanging a quick look with his brother. “How’d we get an uncle?”
“I married him last night. Remember? I told you I might. Now don’t move. I’ll be right back.”
She decided not to introduce the boys to Jake until she’d changed into something more appropriate to a first meeting than a sheet. Leaving the door slightly ajar, she snatched up her overnight bag before shooting Jake a brief, nervous glance. He stood by the window facing her, his arms folded across his chest. His expression did not bode well
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