Manhattan Merger

They met midship and fell into each other’s arms. He crushed her to him, lifejacket, backpack and all.

“Dear God, I thought I’d lost you—” He was trembling so hard from fear he could hardly stand up. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”

“I won’t— I promise—” Her voice shook. “I’m so sorry I frightened you, Payne. Forgive me.”

He couldn’t stop kissing her face and hair. “If anything had happened to you—”

She burrowed closer. “I swear I’ll never knowingly do anything to alarm you like that again.” She lifted wet green eyes to his. “After last night you know I love you more than life itself.”

Last night…

He hadn’t known what living was all about until last night. Her loving had made him feel reborn.

“You are my life, Rainey. When I reached for you a few minutes ago, and you weren’t there—”

“It’s because I love you so much. I wanted you to catch up on some sleep. While I waited for you to wake up I reached for my sketchbook. All these images were running through my head, but I needed more light so I came up on deck.

“The wind turned fierce a few minutes ago, so I put my things away and planned to bring you lunch in bed. I was just coming back when I heard your frantic voice. I thought maybe something horrible had happened to you and I couldn’t get to you fast enough.”

He felt the tremor that rocked her body and clung to her. “Something horrible did happen. You weren’t there when I wanted you.”

“That’s exactly how I felt when the helicopter flew me away from Crag’s Head and I knew I’d never see you again.” Tears ran down her cheeks already wet from salt spray.

“That’s all in the past,” he whispered, kissing her with a hunger even greater than before. “You’re my wife now, and I love your plan for lunch in bed. But the next time you feel an irresistible urge to sketch, tell me first. My heart won’t be able to withstand this kind of punishment a second time.”

“Neither will mine. I adore you, Payne. I couldn’t live without you now.”

“Then we understand each other,” he whispered against her lips. “Come on. Let’s get out of this wind and take a nice warm shower.”

Her cheeks filled with color. “If we do that first, you’re going to be starving later.”

He drew in a deep breath. “I’m starving now. For you.”

Obeying a need that had grown out of control, he picked her up and carried her back down to their bedroom.

It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that they surfaced to fix a meal together and take it back to bed. Once they’d eaten, his gorgeous wife curled up against him with her adorable blond head nestled between his neck and shoulder. He heard a sigh of contentment. Before he knew it, she’d fallen into a sound sleep.

And no wonder.

After their ten-thirty a.m. ceremony at Rainey’s family church, followed by a meal at her parents’ home, the pilot of his company jet had flown them and his family and bodyguards back to New York.

At that point he and Rainey had taken the helicopter to Crag’s Head, where they’d immediately boarded the sloop so their honeymoon could begin.

Once out on the ocean, to give Rainey a view of their home from the water, he weighed anchor in the bay so he could give his bride his full attention.

Until the last few hours there’d been no sleep for either of them. Worried that he might have worn her out with his insatiable appetite for her, it thrilled him to realize her desire for him was every bit as boundless.

He’d married a talented, generous, deeply emotional woman whose passion for life thrilled him to his very soul. Marrying Rainey had set him on the adventure of a lifetime.

She wanted his baby right away. Secretly he’d wanted that too, but he’d told her he didn’t want her to feel rushed. That’s when she’d asked him to close his eyes while she handed him her sketchbook.

When she gave him permission to look, he looked. She’d entitled the drawing Our First Little Engineer. She’d drawn a six-month-old boy wearing boots and a hard hat. He was riding on top of Payne’s shoulders. The likeness of father to son was unmistakable. It touched a place in his heart he hadn’t known was there.

Rainey’s green eyes blazed with light. “I did this the first night you stayed at my parents’ house. Since I couldn’t creep into bed with you, I did the next best thing to feel close to you.”

He’d already been given proof his wife had second sight. Like pure revelation he knew that baby boy was destined to make an appearance at some point.

Putting the sketchbook aside, he’d reached for her. “No more ‘next best thing’. I plan to give you so much closeness you’ll cry for mercy.”