Eye of the Tiger (19 page)

“Didn’t you hear what I told you while we were making love?” he asked. “I love you. What I have in mind is a lifelong affair, not a hurried roll in the hay. I want children with you, you little idiot!”

“Oh.”

“Legitimate children,” he emphasized. “And don’t think I didn’t see the way you touched your waist and grinned yesterday. You could already be pregnant. I have a feeling I’m not sterile.”

She glanced at him shyly. “I may not fit into your world.”

“I’ll make a new one, just for us,” he replied. He
lifted her to her feet and framed her face with his hands. “I love you,” he said fervently. “Deathlessly, with all my heart. I want to live with you until I die, and I hope we have sixty years and that when the time comes, we go down into the dark locked in each other’s arms. Because I’m afraid of nothing in this world except trying to live in it without you.”

Tears stung her eyes as he bent and drew her lips warmly under his. “I feel the same way,” she whispered shakily. “I never stopped loving you. There could never have been anyone else. I gave you my heart, and I couldn’t get it back.”

“Then let’s get married,” he said.

She smiled. “If you’re sure.”

“Of course I’m sure,” he murmured, smiling. “I’m getting tired of finding excuses to come down here every day. Marry me and we can stay at Flintlock and Mary June will get your breakfast.”

“Who’ll get Dad’s?” she asked suddenly.

“We’ll get him a maid of his very own.” He chuckled. “Someone who’ll make a good nanny as well, when we come visiting.”

“Oh, darling,” she whispered, lifting her arms around his neck.

“Oh, yes,” he murmured, and his strong hands tugged her up against his body in a fierce embrace. “Kiss me once more, and we’ll go up to the house and break the news to all concerned. I’ll even call your friend Wade and tell him.”

“How generous of you,” she teased.

“I can afford to be generous now.” He kissed her softly. “I’ve got the whole world in my arms.”

She sighed. “I’ve just thought of something,” she said, hesitating.

“What?”

“Darling, all our children will have freckles,” she murmured.

He laughed. “Shut up and kiss me.”

She was still smiling when he parted her lips with his. As she returned the kiss, Eleanor reflected that she didn’t really mind the prospect of freckled children with red hair. They’d stand out in a crowd, just like their handsome redheaded father.

She remembered reading somewhere that revenge was like the eye of a tiger, seeing with narrow vision. She’d seen Keegan that way, hating him for what he’d done to her. But now it all seemed worthwhile. Her tiger had blue eyes, and although she’d never get him into a cage, she was perfectly content to run free with him. She closed her eyes, sighing softly as she touched his cheek with her left hand. In her mind, she could already see the thin gold band he would slide on her third finger, a circle of love without end.

* * * * *

New York Times
bestselling author

Serves up one of her most popular Texans – Jason Donavan – in
a thrilling story
destined to enthrall!

“Diana Palmer is a mesmerizing storyteller who captures the essence of what a romance should be.”
—Affaire de Coeur

Connect with us on
Harlequin.com
for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers,
free online reads and much more!

Other ways to keep in touch:
Harlequin.com/Newsletters
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
HarlequinBlog.com

DIANA PALMER

The prolific author of more than one hundred books, Diana Palmer got her start as a newspaper reporter. A multi–
New York Times
bestselling author and one of the top ten romance writers in America, she has a gift for telling the most sensual tales with charm and humor. Diana lives with her family in Cornelia, Georgia.

Visit her website at
www.DianaPalmer.com
.

ISBN-13: 9781460383667

EYE OF THE TIGER

Copyright © 1986 by Diana Palmer

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

For questions and comments about the quality of this book please contact us at
[email protected]
.

® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

www.Harlequin.com