She might have known she wouldn't be allowed to reach the door, and found herself jerked into Kade's arms with a force that knocked the breath out of her. 'Leading with your chin, as usual,' he said grimly, as he put a hard hand under her chin making her look up at him.
The bliss of finding herself in those strong arms of his once more was marred by what had gone before, and her interpretation of the news in Connie's letter. Was
this a last fling of his before he committed himself to one woman? Whoever she was, she would never hear of it; she was miles away and Kade was safe from onlookers.
Why must he always pick on her? she thought wildly, as she struggled to free herself. Why couldn't he pick on someone else for a change? 'Taking a last bite at forbidden fruit?' she asked him bitterly, when she realised that he was not going to let her go.
'Who said it was forbidden?' Kade asked softly, his eyes on her soft lips.
'You did,' said Tanya breathlessly, making another futile bid for freedom because she knew that he was going to kiss her.
There was a hint of mockery in his blue eyes as his lips neared hers. 'Seeing how scratched I got in collecting that fruit I think I deserve it,' he murmured, before his lips met hers.
Kade had kissed her before, but not like this. At first it was gentle and reassuring,
feather light
and teasing to the senses, then it took on an entirely different meaning. It was possessive, yet persuasive, and it melted Tanya's bones to jelly.
When his lips left hers, she was completely drained of all opposition to his wishes. She knew a deep fear, a helplessness that she had never known before. Her wide pleading eyes gazed into his hooded ones. 'Give me a chance, Kade,' she whispered, in an agonised voice. If he kissed her like that again then she would be lost, and she was asking him not to and to leave her alone to try and make the best out of what little happiness she would have left when he had gone.
'I gave you a chance,' he said gruffly, 'and it cost me too much. I can't afford to give you another one. You're
coming back with me, my girl, and this time we'll do things right.'
Tanya's muddled senses could make no headway of this at all. What did he mean? Was he talking about the cheque he had given her? 'You can have it back, Kade,' she said, taking the opportunity of slipping out of range of his arms. 'I've still got it.'
Kade's lips thinned at this. 'I guess we're still at cross-purposes,' he said quietly, and before Tanya could move, he had her back in his arms again. 'I said you're coming back with me. You can keep the cheque as a wedding present. Buy yourself one of those white trailing dresses with orange blossom on it, or whatever you fancy wearing at our wedding. Just as long as you say the right words at the right time for a change, I don't much care,' he ordered autocratically, 'but I ought to warn you, it's going to be a big occasion.'
Tanya could only stare at him. 'Our wedding,' he had said. She still couldn't believe it. He hadn't asked her to marry him, and surely he ought to have done? Her heart skipped a beat as the thought occurred to her that he might just have wanted her to be present at his wedding. She swallowed. 'Would you mind being a little more explicit?' she asked in a small voice.
Kade's answer was given in a typically Kade-like way, and she was left in no doubt of what he had in mind.
As he told her in a slightly gruff voice a little later, 'At this rate you won't be wearing white. I don't think we're going to have time to wait to hear the banns read!'
A little while later they strolled in Lloyd's flower-scented gardens, and Tanya felt as if she were dreaming, only the hard reassuring pressure of Kade's hand
in hers told her that it wasn't a dream and was actually happening. 'Did you miss me very much?' she asked, in a low half-teasing voice, wanting yet again to hear that he loved her. 'Why didn't you come sooner? I've had eight weeks of misery,' she accused him gently.
'Because I promised Lloyd,' was Kade's quiet reply.
Tanya glanced up at him; she could just discern his strong features in the gathering dusk. 'Promised Lloyd?' she repeated. 'What did you promise Lloyd?' she asked curiously.
'That I'd leave you alone for a couple of months,' Kade answered. 'He knew I was crazy about you, and he didn't want you pushed into anything until you were sure of your own mind.'
He was silent for a few moments before he added, 'There was the question of age, too. I guess he felt much as I did about that. I'd intended to let you go anyway. Remember what you said about not making the mistake of falling for an older man?' he reminded her, rather cruelly Tanya thought, but she forgave him. 'Then you declared an interest in the antiquated species, due, you said, to my enlightenment,' he added teasingly. 'It didn't leave me much of an excuse for not going ahead and claiming what I felt was mine.'
His arm crept round her waist and he pulled her close to him. 'I warned Lloyd then that he might be travelling alone.' His grip on her tightened, but Tanya didn't mind the discomfort. 'But his objections were so near my previous thoughts on the matter that I knew he was right. In a sense I wasn't giving you a chance. I knew that you were as attracted to me as I was to you, but I was old enough to know the real thing when it happened. You weren't, and it would have been my bad
luck if it had only been a passing attraction on your part. Either way, I had to give you that chance.'
'Is that why you didn't come to my farewell dinner?' Tanya asked, caressing his strong jaw with a loving finger, and remembering the desolation she had felt at his absence.
Kade caught her hand and kissed it. 'It was hard enough letting you go,' he said softly, 'but sitting opposite you at the dinner table and realising that I was probably going to lose you for good was more than I could take. Besides,' his lips touched the golden crown of her head, 'I couldn't trust myself to adhere to my good intentions. I tried to rile you into a tantrum in the study, if you remember. I wanted a chance to hold you in my arms again, and if that had happened—' he gave a casual shrug, 'you wouldn't have left with Lloyd the following day.'
He kissed her gently. 'If you've been miserable these past few weeks, imagine what I felt like, knowing that my golden girl was dancing the night hours away in someone else's arms.' His arms tightened around her, enclosing her in an action that was both protective and possessive. 'Don't grow up too fast, my darling,' he whispered against her hair. 'I love you just the way you are.'
You didn't grow old, Tanya thought mistily, not deep inside you when you had everything to live for as she had, and as her lips met his she thought of Orchard House and the extensions he had had put in hand. He had not intended to accept a refusal from her, and she ought to have been slightly shocked at his ruthless determination to achieve his goal. Instead, she felt immensely proud that such a man should love her.