Rebecca Winters - Manhattan Merger

“Amen to that.”

He drew her to him in a possessive move that thrilled her to the tips of her toes. “You’ve never been with a man before have you.”

“No. I’ve been waiting for the right one to come along.”

“Oh, Rainey-” He rocked her back and forth for a minute. “Since I don’t know how I can wait much longer to make you mine, we need to get married as soon as possible. Out of respect for Diane and her family’s feelings, I want to keep it low profile.”

“So do I. I’ve always planned to be married in our family’s church. The timing is perfect. Craig will be through here the day after tomorrow.”

“That will give my family time to fly out. Catherine will be overjoyed.”

“She adores you, Payne, but then who doesn’t.” Emotion made her throat swell. “Payne? Tell me about Diane.”

She heard the deep sigh that came out of him before he turned so they were lying side by side and he could look at her. He traced the arch of her brow with his finger.

“Would you believe she took Manhattan Merger with her? When I got back to the apartment on Tuesday afternoon, she’d read it and was waiting for me.”

“Oh, darling.” Hot tears trickled out of the corners of her eyes. “I was afraid if she ever broke down to find out what was inside, she could be hurt by it.”

“Hurt isn’t quite the word. She was shaken with guilt.”

For the next little while Rainey lay there in wonder while he told her how Diane had given him his freedom and asked for forgiveness.

She kissed his lips. “I’ll pray she can walk again.”

“We both will.”

“I owe Diane my life. She let you go so we could have one,” Rainey cried before breaking down in tears.

He held her tight against his heart. “She said the same thing about you. Your paintings put certain forces to work with the result that she wants to walk again and fall in love.”

“One day I’ll have to call Bonnie Wrigley and tell her everything. She’ll be so thrilled to think one of her stories had such a life-changing effect on Diane.”

“It changed all our lives, Rainey. I’ll never underestimate the power of a romance novel again. Who knows? By the time you’ve become Mrs. Sterling, my sister Phyllis might be the next highbrow to crack.”

Rainey flashed him a mysterious smile. “If she does, can I tell Grace Carlow?”

He gave her a passionate kiss. “Why is that so important?”

“Do you remember the question she asked right at the end of the hearing about how you found out your picture was on the cover in the first place?”

“I remember everything. That was the day Rainey Bennett entered my life.”

She nestled closer to him, still unable to believe the man of her dreams held her in his arms.

“After court was over, Grace told Bonnie and me it would make Mr. Finauer’s day to know Senator Sterling-Boyce’s daughter and maid read Red Rose Romances.”

Payne chuckled. “You’re welcome to tell Ms. Carlow whatever you like.”

“That reminds me I better get up and let Craig know we’re not leaving with him in the morning.”

“He already knows.”

“How?”

“I had a little powwow with him before I climbed in your tent. He’s already welcomed me to the family.”

“I’m so happy I think I’m going to burst.”

“Don’t do that,” he growled against her neck playfully. “I’ve got plans for us in the morning. The pilot’s going to pick us up at eight. When we reach Las Vegas, we’ll take the plane to Grand Junction. I’ve been anxious to meet my rival.”

She frowned. “What do you mean? There’s no other man in my life.”

“Oh, yes, there is. According to your mother, you and this guy have been inseparable since you flew home from New York. I understand he sleeps in your bed.”

“Winston?” she half-squealed in delight.

“Who else?” He chuckled. “If he’s going to live with us at Crag’s Head, I want to start making friends with him now. If we can reach the point where he tolerates me, then we’ll be doing well.”

“Tolerates you-”

Rainey wrapped her arms around him. “He’ll love you. He won’t be able to help himself anymore than I can. Diane spoke the truth. I’m the proverbial putty in your hands.”

“Such heavenly putty.” The kiss he gave her set her on fire. When he finally tore his lips from hers, she wasn’t ready to let him go.

“Come on.” His breathing had grown shallow. “I don’t trust myself in here with you any longer. Let’s take a walk to the river and make plans while we wait for the sun to come up.”

It already has, darling. Don’t you know the whole universe filled with light the moment you set foot in my tent?

The continuous clank of the buoy which marked the channel beyond Phantom Point brought Payne back to a cognizance of his surroundings.

He reached blindly for his bride of twenty-four hours, needing her like he needed air to breathe.

Instead of her warm luscious body gravitating to his, as it had done so many times throughout the night, he found a cool sheet. In place of the avid mouth he yearned to plunder all over again his lips met the pillows redolent of her fragrance.

Coming fully awake, he jackknifed to a sitting position. The semi-dark room below deck revealed he was alone. Maybe she was in the main salon off the galley.

“Rainey?”

No answer.

Though his thirty-five foot sloop was anchored in the bay, it still listed. The swells were bigger than usual.

Payne leaped to his feet and threw on a robe.

He called to her again. Still no response.

That sent him racing for the stairs. By the time he’d reached the deck, his heart was thudding at a sickening rate.

With whitecaps surrounding him, and no sign of his wife in the aft cockpit, a blackness started to engulf him as real as if he’d just been knocked overboard by the boom.

He dashed toward the foredeck on a run. “Rainey?” he shouted at the top of his lungs.

“I’m right here, darling!”

Her answering voice had to be the sweetest sound he’d ever heard in his life.

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.”

“I’m afraid it’s going to be the other way around,” she admitted in a tremulous whisper.

“Then we’re the luckiest man and woman alive.”

“We are.” Her voice caught before rapture consumed them for the rest of the night.

Payne drew her sleeping body close against him one more time. Then he laid her down and moved off the bed, compelled to see what she’d been drawing.

He found her backpack and pulled out the sketch pad. After studying the little engineer one more time, he turned to the next drawing and came face to face with himself.

It was the picture on the cover of Manhattan Merger. But there was a different woman in Payne’s arms, a different look in his eyes. This time he held his adoring wife in his embrace. They both wore their wedding clothes. The gold band she’d given him was on his finger.

She wore his diamond ring and wedding band. The picture on his office wall had been changed to depict Crag’s Head and the sailboat. There was another little picture propped on the desk next to Winston. It was Bruno.

The eager, tremulous look of joy on their faces brought tears to his eyes. She’d dated and titled it, The Look of Love.

Emotion made his throat close up.

“I wanted to capture our wedding night so we’d have it forever.” Rainey had come up behind him and slid her arms around his chest. She pressed her cheek against his back. “I love you so much I never want to do anything to take that look away.”

He put the sketchbook on the end of the bed. Turning in her arms, he cupped her precious face in his hands. “We’ll hang this in our bedroom. It’ll be our guiding star as we navigate through life together.”

“Yes-” she cried as her eyes filled.

Payne lowered his head to taste those salty tears before he swept them away to the place destiny had reserved for them.

“RAINEY?”

“Yes, Betty?”

“There’s someone here to see you.”