Two Brothers by Linda Lael Miller

Author:Linda Lael Miller [Miller, Linda Lael]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance, General, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9780743411547
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2001-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

EPILOGUE

ONE MONTH LATER …

LACE CURTAINS FLUTTERED AT THE WINDOWS of the best room in the hotel, and there was only candlelight to push back the gathering darkness. A bottle of fancy wine jutted from a silver cooler, and petals from the last roses of summer were spread over the bed. Aislinn Lethaby McQuillan, new bride, surveyed the scene from her husband’s arms as he carried her over the threshold.

A tremor went through her. She’d been anticipating this night for weeks, and she wouldn’t have turned back for anything, but all of a sudden she was thoroughly, painfully aware of how very little she knew about the intimate rites of marriage.

Shay kicked the door shut with his heel, and the slam must have resounded throughout the hotel. The message was as clear as any DO NOT DISTURB sign would have been. He tasted Aislinn’s lips teasingly before setting her on her feet.

“Doubts, Mrs. McQuillan?” he asked. His eyes twinkled with a sort of tender mischief.

She shook her head. They had been married for two hours, and the celebration was still going on, over at the house, where Thomas and Mark were happily ensconced in Shay’s old room. Dorrie was probably still presiding over the festivities, as she presided over the general store, though she was teaching Aislinn the business. Cornelia was surely halfway around the world by then, with no intention of returning—Tristan had tracked her all the way to a shipping office in San Francisco, where she had bought passage under her own name—and Mr. Kyle and his consorts had been taken to Sacramento to stand trial. The new jailhouse was under construction, and it would have four cells, as well as space for a couple of deputies.

“No,” she said. “No doubts.”

He laid his hands on her shoulders, drew her to him. “Come here, then,” he said, and bent his head to kiss her.

Again that shock of sensation went through her, stealing her breath, making her sway back onto her heels, so that Shay had to steady her. He chuckled.

“I want you, Mrs. McQuillan,” he said, “but we’re going to take this slow—real slow. I’ll show you the way.”

She moistened her lips and nodded, trusting him with her soul as well as her body. He put his arms around her, but loosely, and began undoing the clasps at the back of the ivory silk wedding gown she’d bought at the general store, with her own money. The fabric fell away gently, seemed almost to melt, like a fog under warm sunshine, and then she was standing before him in her white eyelet camisole, woven through with pink ribbon, her petticoats and drawers, her stockings and soft slippers.

She wanted a garment in trade, and took off his coat, tossing it aside. Then, emboldened, she loosened his string tie, unbuttoned his vest. He reciprocated by undoing the ties of her camisole, baring her breasts, admiring them with his gaze and with the light passage of his hand.

“Lovely,” he breathed.

Her nipples jutted against his palms, eager and hard, as he weighed her.

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