Mystic Mountains

with baited breath for her answer. Sweet heaven, how he loved her. "Do you think I 'll ever win your love again?"
    Her shoulders lifted in a small shrug. "I 'm not sure if this thing between us isn't more a sort of obsession that has naught to do with love, Tiger."
    She was wrong, and each and every day he would prove it to her. What he felt for his land was an obsession overriding most other passions. But he'd come to learn he wanted love, needed the love of this woman more than anything else on earth; more than his land, because land was something that could always be sought, farmed, developed. But he now understood that wherever Bella and his children lived was where his heart and soul would always be, where his home would lie.
    "Tim wants to call me Papa." He gnawed on the inside of his mouth. "You told him."
    "I thought he had the right." Her eyes roved over his face.
    "Thank you." Tiger touched a finger to her chin, then dragged her into his arms, kissing her until they were both having trouble drawing breath. She gave what he demanded. Oh, how sweet she was. And what a fool he'd been. But never again. He would show her she meant everything in life to him, if it took him until his last breath.
    Lifting his head a fraction he cupped her dainty chin in a palm. "You 're an obstinate woman," he muttered, touching one of her cheeks then running his thumb across her kiss swollen lips. "But I missed you more than you'll ever know. I missed your sharp tongue." He traced her mouth with a fingertip, his eyes growing molten as her lips parted. "Missed your beauty and your stubborn ways." His mouth met hers again, fevered. Sucking in a deep breath he groaned, "Ye Gods, I feel as if I haven't held you in a year. Next time I go to Sydney I think I'll take you with me." Bending his head he whispered at her ear, "I want you so badly I think I'm about to burst."
    Isabella 's insides melted like butter in the heat as he made gentle sweeps up and down her back with his hands until she was shivering with pleasure. While nibbling her ear until she sighed her delight he said softly, "I have one more surprise for you."
    With him nuzzling at her ear and pressing tiny kisses below it on her neck he made it difficult to think. With her face pressed into his shirtfront she shivered as she inhaled the fresh clean scent that was Tiger 's alone. Shaking her head, she whispered huskily, "You've done so much for me already. Just seeing Jeremy and Gracie again means everything to me. I still can't believe they're here."
    Tiger cupped her chin in a palm to lift it and gazed down at her, his eyes gone serious to match his tone as he said, "The Reverend is staying at the commissariat, Bella. You can get our Annie baptized tomorrow."
    She rested her hands on his lean hips as she returned his gaze, sure he had more to declare. "That 's grand, Tiger, I've made her a new gown especially for the occasion."
    "Good." He nodded, then sucked his top lip in, before asking, "And do you also have a suitable gown for yourself, for I told him he 'd have a marriage ceremony to perform."
    Isabella gasped as she drew back her head to peer up at him. "Marriage eh?" A glow began to fill her insides, starting from the region of her heart and slowly filling every part of her until even her toes started to tingle.
    "Aye, marriage. I told you I wouldn’t take no for an answer when Annie was born. You have no excuse not to wed me now." He seemed to be holding his breath as he narrowed his eyes, his stance clearly stating he dared her to argue with him.
    "No excuses eh?" Isabella touched a finger to his brow, then ran it down his straight proud nose until it reached his bottom lip. When it rested there he bit it gently, making her feel faint with her love for him.
    "Then I suppose I must marry you. I can't disappoint the reverend, can I?" A small smile played about her mouth.
    "No, my sweetheart, I 'll not hear your excuses any more." He shook his head, his voice growing intense as he assured her gravely, "You won't marry me because you feel 'tis what you must do out of duty, or because it pleases the reverend. You'll marry me, dear love, because you crave it as much as I. You'll wed me because of the love you hold in your heart for me." His hands on her waist tightened as if to enforce his will on her. "A love that can never surpass what I feel for you, for I love you with a depth you cannot imagine.
    "You 'll marry me, Bella my girl, because you want to bring more