Colby groaned, enduring the sweet torture for as long as possible. But in the next moment he was lifting her and pushing her onto her back. He rose, looming over her for a long moment as he studied her nude body in the weak gleam of the flashlight. His hand moved along her thigh until he reached the flowing liquid warmth that marked her own desire.
Gently he stroked with his fingers until Diana thought she would fly apart into a thousand pieces. A moment later, when he touched her with his tongue, she knew she was lost.
The world spun around her. Her body was an exotic instrument that only Colby knew how to play. She clutched at him, writhed against him, sobbed out her feminine demands.
And finally he came to her, burying himself deep within her until she was filled with him and he was surrounded by her. The white-hot heat of their mutual passion exploded around them, enveloping them. They clung together, whirling about in an endless universe that knew no beginning and no end.
Diana gave herself completely, bestowing herself as only a woman in love can when she knows she has found the right mate. It was a total capitulation to her own passion and to her lover’s. It was the kind of surrender that forever chains the conqueror.
This time it was right. This time they were meant to be together. This time she was free to give that which he
could never take from her by force. And she gave it to him willingly, with all her heart, knowing the time had come
at last.
Past, present and future were now linked.
Diana cried out, and Colby drank the sound from her lips.
When it was over, neither spoke. They fell into an exhausted sleep in each others’ arms.
He dressed slowly, watching her come awake in the glow of the remaining flashlight. He wondered what she would say about the violent passion that had taken them both by storm in the middle of the night.
Would she be angry at his carelessness? Or would she retreat into that self-contained, fiercely independent part of herself and act as if nothing had happened?
It hadn’t been a dream, he was honest enough with himself to admit that, but there had been an odd, dreamlike quality to the whole thing. Should he say something first?
No, he decided. Let her bring up the subject if she wants to. Let her decide to say something about it, if something needs to be said. What had happened had been an unplanned accident. Neither of them was to blame. Both of them were responsible.
Colby knew he was searching for excuses, and there were none. Neither of them had any excuse except the age-old one of ungovernable passion. That passion had descended swiftly, taking them by surprise while they were both half-drugged with sleep. It had swept them both into a shattering conflagration of the senses and then cast them adrift, allowing them to lose themselves once more in sleep.
The passion had dominated him so completely that he hadn’t remembered to use the contents of the little foil packet in his wallet. And she hadn’t thought about it, either.
All of which added up to the fact that Diana might even now be pregnant.
Colby wondered why he wasn’t more alarmed at the thought. By rights, he should be chewing his fingernails to the quick this morning. He hadn’t had this kind of reason to worry since he’d been nineteen.
She would be upset, he knew. A little scared, perhaps. Even at her age she was bound to be nervous about this.
Maybe he should say something first.
But what could he say? Sorry, I forgot? I woke up in the middle of the night in a cave and you were in my arms and I had to have you, and nothing in this world could have stopped me from taking you?
Because that’s the way it had been for him. At his age, that excuse wasn’t worth the breath it took to say it.
Diana stirred and opened her eyes. She focused on the dull glow of the flashlight for a moment, obviously trying to get her bearings.
“Colby?“
“Right here, honey.“ He leaned over and kissed her bare shoulder. “You as stiff and sore as I am?“
“I may not be able to sit up, let alone walk again.“
He smiled, telling himself he was relieved that she wasn’t going to start out the morning by berating him, even though he deserved it. But part of him was irritated by her calm attitude. Was she going to ignore the whole thing?
Diana could be so strong-minded. A regular amazon.
He eased himself to a sitting position and helped her to sit up beside him. Then he began massaging her shoulders with an easy familiarity. She sighed and leaned into the brisk rubdown.
“Better?“ he asked. She looked good in the morning, he thought – even after having spent the night on a stone floor – sweet, vulnerable, relaxed and sexy.
“Much better. Colby, we’re in the grotto room. How on earth did we get in here? I don’t remember moving.“ She stared around with a small frown. Then she seemed to notice the clothes that were scattered around them.
Maybe she didn’t remember any of it, he thought, jolted. After all, she had been half-asleep. “I carried you in here when the wind started whipping the water into the main chamber. We’d have been drenched by now if we’d stayed out there.“
“Oh. Thanks, I guess. But the sooner we get out of here, the better. No offense, but there’s something about this place that really gives me the creeps.“
“Were you scared last night?“ Colby asked quietly as he got to his feet.
She looked at him in surprise. “No, not really. I don’t like the place, but I have to admit I didn’t suffer any real claustrophobia in here. I slept amazingly well, in fact, all things considered.“ She got to her feet, dressing quickly.
“How about you? Scared to your toes like last time?“
He shook his head. Why wasn’t she saying anything about the unplanned and unprotected lovemaking? She was acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened even as she put on the clothes that he’d removed last night in the heat of passion. “No. It wasn’t the same as last time at all.“ Nothing had ever felt so right, in fact, as making love to Diana on the floor of the grotto. He was chagrined that she wasn’t going to mention it. He felt like asking,
Was it good
for you, too?
just to see what she would say.
“Hope that storm has stopped,“ Diana was saying in a conversational tone.
“Come on, let’s see what’s going on out there. You ready to go?“
“Believe me, I have no desire to hang around here.“ She made to follow him out of the little grotto. “I will say, however, that this is probably the most unusual date I’ve ever been on in my life.“
“As a writer of horror fiction I felt I had a reputation to live up to. A guy like me can’t take his lady on plain, ordinary dates. She might begin to think he was a fraud.“
“You’ve got a point.“
She was going to handle this with her usual self-contained manner, he realized. So be it. If she didn’t want to talk about it, damned if he was going to say anything. But he realized he was now thoroughly irritated. The woman was too independent for her own good. She took on too much responsibility – accepted all the risks. Hell, he was a part of what had happened. She should be talking to him about it, not dealing with it all on her own.
He wondered for the first time if Diana had ever in her life turned to a man in a time of crisis – ever leaned on a male when the going got tough – ever asked one to share responsibility with her.
The more he got to know her, the more he doubted it. He wondered what it would take to get her to turn to him for help and comfort. Probably a full-scale natural disaster – say, an earthquake that registered around eight or nine on the scale.
Colby stepped out into the main cavern and relaxed as he saw the veil of white water roaring past the cave entrance. “We’re in luck. Sun’s out and the wind has stopped. Shouldn’t be any trouble getting down that path now.“
“I hope we haven’t caused Brandon and Robyn any worry.“
“I just hope they haven’t caused me any more worry,“ Colby retorted. “I’ve got enough problems at the moment.“
Diana gave him an odd glance but said nothing as he led her down the ledge path.
Colby dropped Diana off at her cottage, exchanged a few epithets with a disgruntled Specter, who had taken offense at having been left alone all night, and drove back to Aunt Jesse’s place. A glance at his watch showed it was only seven o’clock. Brandon was an early riser like his father, but Colby had a hunch Robyn wouldn’t have gotten out of bed yet. That suited Colby just fine. It would give him an opportunity to talk calmly to Brandon.
Maybe Diana had a point, he thought as he parked the Jeep and took the porch steps two at a time. Maybe the kid was trapped and had come looking for a way out. At nineteen, it was too damned easy for a man to get himself between the devil and the deep blue sea.
Especially when a woman was involved.
He’d back off, Colby decided resolutely. He’d try Diana’s advice. He’d give Brandon a chance to come to him – an opportunity to talk without feeling threatened. He and Brandon had always had a good relationship. Now was the time to fall back on nineteen years of a solid father-son bond.
He walked into the house and heard the door of Robyn’s room closing upstairs. A few seconds later, Brandon came ambling down the stairs toward the kitchen, yawning. He was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of jeans. He was barefoot and still busy fastening the snap of his denims.
All Colby’s good resolutions went out the window.
“If you haven’t got brains enough to keep your pants zipped around her, I hope you’ve at least got enough brains to be taking precautions.“
Brandon halted halfway down the stairs, startled.
“Dad…
I didn’t hear the Jeep. When did you get back? Where were you last night? We wondered what had happened.“
“Doesn’t look like you spent too much time worrying about my whereabouts.“ Colby slammed into the kitchen and filled Aunt Jesse’s old dented kettle. He set it on the stove and started to shovel instant coffee into a large mug. He was aware of Brandon standing uneasily in the doorway.
“I sort of figured you were at Diana’s,“ Brandon muttered.
Colby tried to get control of his frustrated anger. “I was with her. We got caught in the cave behind Chained Lady Falls. Had to spend the night there.“ He swung around. “Damn it, Brandon, have you got any idea of the risks you’re taking?“
“I’m probably not taking any more risks than you and Diana are taking,“ Brandon shot back.
Colby winced as memories of the night swamped him. “Are you using something?“ he asked roughly. “Or are you relying on Robyn?“
Brandon flushed. “Gees, Dad…“
“Just answer me, okay?“
“I’ve got protection. Don’t worry, we’re not taking any chances. For crying out loud, after all those books you had me read, and after all those talks you gave me on the subject, how could I forget to use something?“
“Sometimes it’s too damn easy to forget. Believe me, I know.“ The kettle began to shriek. Colby swiped it off the stove and poured boiling water into the mug. Too damn easy.
“You’re so afraid I’m going to make the same mistake you made – you can’t get past that, can you?“ Brandon asked moodily. He trooped over to the table and flung himself down in a chair.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what scares me.“
“What’s so bad about getting married at my age?“ Brandon asked.
Colby started to lose his temper all over again. Then it occurred to him that if Diana’s theory was right, his son’s question might be a legitimate opening for rational discussion, not a challenge. With great effort, he got control of his anger. “You want some coffee?“
Brandon gave him a surprised glance. “Sure.“
Colby fixed another mug of instant and carried it over to the table. He sat down across from Brandon and stared out at the bright, sunny morning for a moment. “You really want to know what’s so bad about getting married at your age?“
Brandon toyed with his mug, giving the impression he was already regretting the question. “I know it might be a little rough trying to finish school while being married, but…“
“Rough?“ Colby leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “You want to know what rough is? I’ll tell you. Rough is wondering how you’re going to pay the rent when you’ve just lost your job and you can’t get another because you don’t have any experience or fancy degrees. Rough is having to worry about a young wife who gets bored and restless after the novelty of being married wears off and she has to sit home while her girlfriends are out on dates.“
“Dad…“
“Rough is wishing you could be going windsurfing with the other guys instead of having to hunt for another job and entertain a wife who by now wishes she’d never married you because marriage isn’t nearly as much fun as she had thought it would be. Rough is worrying about diaper rash, fevers in the middle of the night, crying that sometimes goes on and on until you think you’re going to go out of your mind.“
“But, Dad…“
“But do you know what the roughest thing of all is? It’s realizing that you married before you really understood what you needed from a woman. It’s realizing that sex isn’t everything, even though, at nineteen, it seems like the most important thing in the world. It’s realizing you made a mistake and that there’s no going back.“
Brandon looked at him. “Is that the way it was for you?“
Colby took a swallow of coffee. “Yeah, that’s the way it was for me.“
“And you think that’s the way it’s going to be for me?“
“I think that’s the way it would be for anyone who gets married too young.“
There was silence for a moment. “Robyn thinks it will work out.“
“Does she? How does she know?“
“I don’t know.“ Brandon hunched over his coffee. “She really wants to get married.“
“Do you?“ Colby asked bluntly.
Brandon’s shoulders moved restlessly. “Sometimes I think it would be all right, you know? I really like her, Dad.“