The Welcoming

accept how good they were together. And how much better they would become in all the years to follow. Then there would be time for promises and families and futures.
    I’m not letting you go, she told him silently. You don’t realize it yet, but I’ve got a hold on you, and it’s going to be mighty hard to break it.
    He had such a capacity for giving, she thought. Not just physically, though she wasn’t ashamed to admit that his skill there had dazed and delighted her. He was a man full of emotions, too many of them strapped down. What had happened to him, she wondered, that had made him so wary of love, and so afraid to give it?
    She loved him too much to demand an answer. It was a question he had to answer on his own . . . a question she knew he would answer as soon as he trusted her enough. When he did, all she had to do was show him that none of it mattered. All that counted, from this moment on, was what they felt for each other.
    Inching over, she brushed a light kiss on his mouth. His eyes opened instantly. It took only a heartbeat longer for them to clear. Fascinated, Charity watched their expression change from one of suspicion to one of desire.
    “You’re a light sleeper,” she began. “I just—”
    Before she could complete the thought, his mouth, hungry and insistent, was on hers. She managed a quiet moan as she melted into his kiss.
    It was the only way he knew to tell her what it meant to him to wake and find her close and warm and willing. Too many mornings he had woken alone in strange beds in empty rooms.
    That was what he expected. For years he had deliberately separated himself from anyone who had tried to get close. The job. He’d told himself it was because of the job. But that was a lie, one of many. He’d chosen to remain alone because he hadn’t wanted to risk losing again. Grieving again. Now, overnight, everything had changed.
    He would remember it all, the pale fingers of light creeping into the room, the high echoing sound of the first birds calling to the rising sun, the scent of her skin as it heated against his. And her mouth . . . he would remember the taste of her mouth as it opened eagerly under his.
    There were such deep, dark needs in him. She felt them, understood them, and met them unquestioningly. As dawn swept the night aside, he stirred her own until their needs mirrored each other’s.
    Slowly, easily, while his lips cruised over her face, he slipped inside her. With a sigh and a murmur, she welcomed him.
    ***
    She felt as strong as an ox and as content as a cat with cream on its whiskers. With her eyes closed, Charity stretched her arms to the ceiling.
    “And to think I used to consider jogging the best way to start the day.” Laughing, she curled over against him again. “I have to thank you for showing me how very wrong I was.”
    “My pleasure.” He could still feel his own heart thudding like a jackhammer against his ribs. “Give me a minute and I’ll show you the best reason for staying in bed in the morning.”
    Lord, it was tempting. Before her blood could begin to heat she shook her head. She took a quick nip at his chin before she sat up. “Maybe if you’ve got some time when I get back.”
    He took her wrist but kept his fingers light. “From where?”
    “From taking Ludwig for his run.”
    “No.”
    The hand that had lifted to push back her hair paused. Deliberately she continued to lift it to finger-comb the hair away from her face. “No, what?”
    He recognized that tone. She was the boss again, despite the fact that her face was still glowing from love-making and she was naked to where the sheets pooled at her waist. This was the woman who didn’t take orders. Roman decided he would have to show her again that she was wrong.
    “No, you’re not taking the dog out for a run.”
    Because she wanted to be reasonable, she added a smile. “Of course I am. I kept my promise and stayed in bed all day yesterday. And all night, for that matter. Now I’m going to get back to work.”
    Around the inn, that was fine. In fact, the sooner everything got back to normal the better it would be. But there was no way he was having her walking down a deserted road by herself. “You’re in no shape to go for a mile hike.”
    “Three miles, and yes, I am.”
    “Three?” Lifting a brow, he stroked a hand over her thigh. “No wonder you’ve got such great muscle tone.”
    “That’s not the point.” She shifted away before his touch could