Wildest Hearts

against his own. The urge to feel her melt for him once more was almost overpowering.

    But the sheer strength of the compulsion was reason enough to resist. He was not a man who was at the mercy of his passions. Oliver deliberately overrode the urge to go back to bed, coiling himself instead into another complex posture.

    “Doesn't that hurt?”

    Surprised at the sound of Annie's voice, Oliver glanced over his shoulder. She had turned her head on the pillow and was watching him intently. Her face was soft and flushed from sleep. There were shadows beneath her eyes.

    “No,” he said. “It doesn't hurt.”

    “It looks painful.” Her eyes widened as she took in the size of his erection pressing against the fabric of his briefs. “I'm not sure you should be doing something like that in your, uh, condition.” She blushed furiously. “I mean, you could hurt yourself.”

    “I haven't had any serious accidents so far.” Oliver slid into another stretch, determined to exercise his thundering hormones into submission.

    “What time is it, anyway?”

    “Six o'clock.”

    “It seems earlier,” she muttered.

    “You don't have to get up with me. After I finish this I'm going to spend some time in the greenhouse.”

    “That's all right. I usually get up by six.” Annie pushed back the covers and slid her bare legs over the side of the bed.

    Oliver saw that she was still wearing his shirt. She clutched it tightly closed as she stood. She appeared to be embarrassed.

    “I think I'll take a shower,” she finally said. “I'll use the bathroom in my bedroom.”

    “All right,” he said gently, throttling back the new wave of desire that swept through him. She was his wife. “I'll join you for breakfast in about an hour.”

    In spite of his determination to control his passion, his gaze lingered on the curve of her thigh. He remembered how soft the insides of Annie's legs were. He quickly forced himself into the next stretch as she hurried from the room. He held the rigorous posture until every muscle in his body was straining with the effort.

    Then he straightened slowly and at last allowed himself to walk over to the bed. The scent of last night's lovemaking still hung in the air. For a moment he stood there, recalling the heat and the passion and the shimmering satisfaction.

    Then he turned and forced himself to walk into the bathroom where he quickly turned on the shower.

    Half an hour later, dressed in a pair of jeans and a fresh shirt, he bounded up the stairs to the roof. A sense of exhilaration still gripped him. He checked the array of dials and gages on the environmental control panel and then opened the door of the greenhouse.

    His private rain forest was waiting for him. Oliver picked up a sprayer and a trowel and went to work.

    He was examining a tray of tiny new staghorn hybrids when the greenhouse door opened. He looked up as Annie entered. She was carrying two steaming mugs.

    “I thought you might like some tea.” She offered him one of the mugs.

    Oliver smiled, pleased by the wifely gesture. “Thank you.” He walked down the fern-choked aisle to where Annie stood and took the mug from her hand. He studied her over the rim, enjoying the sight of her freshly scrubbed face and shining hair.

    Annie examined him just as intently. “Oliver, are you upset?”

    He frowned in surprise. “Upset?”

    “As in annoyed. Or angry. Or hurt?”

    “Of course not. Why do you ask?”

    “Well, you've been acting a little weird this morning.”

    “More weird than usual, would you say?” he asked blandly.

    A rush of warm color suffused her cheeks. “I didn't mean to imply you were acting really strange or anything.”

    “That's a relief.”

    She scowled. “This is not funny. I'll admit I haven't ever been married before, but to the best of my knowledge, most new husbands don't bounce straight out of bed in your condition and start doing yoga.”

    “My condition?”

    Her blush deepened. “You know what I mean. You were obviously somewhat, well, somewhat aroused. But you didn't seem interested in sex. And then you charge up here and go to work on your ferns. I just wondered if you were annoyed or something.”

    He smiled and sipped his tea. She looked sexy as hell in the mornings, he thought. “Why should I be annoyed?”

    She watched him closely. “Because of the argument we had last night. I thought you might have been hurt or angry because I told you that things were