How Far the World Will Bend

How Far the World Will Bend - Chapter 24

Chapter 24. Waking

Once they were safely inside his office, and the door was shut, Mr. Thornton pulled Meg against him and stared into her face. In the voice of a sleepwalker, he mumbled, as if speaking to himself, "Am I mad, or is she really here? Is she real or a vision? Please God, if she is a dream, I pray that I never wake up!"

She smiled and caressed his cheek, as she softly replied, "I am no dream, my love. It is truly me-I have come back to you." He closed his eyes, relishing the soft touch of her hand, and leaning forward, kissed her hungrily. He refused to let go of her for fear she might disappear as she had before.

"If I let you go," he exclaimed between their frantic kisses, "I might...wake up...to find this ...was all a dream." Meg laughingly objected, and showed him through her enthusiastic response that she was very real and had no intention of going anywhere. She clung to him, nonetheless, as he continued to kiss and caress her.

At length, he held her away from him for a brief moment, and gazed earnestly into her eyes. "You will marry me, Meg? I hope you realize that if you accept my proposal, I will possess you body and soul-I will never give you another chance to leave me again."

She trembled from head to foot as she nodded, weak from his kisses and overcome with desire for this man. She felt an urgent need to be possessed by him; to have him put his mark upon her with his lips, his hands, and his body. "I promise you that I am yours and yours alone," she responded in a husky voice, and her body thrilled in response to the passion she saw flare in his eyes. They kissed again and again, hot, wet kisses; and fitted their bodies together so that there was no possibility of denying they were meant for each other. Meg pressed herself against him fervently, as if she were trying to meld her flesh with his.

When they reluctantly parted at last, Mr. Thornton took a deep breath in an effort to control his desire for her, and said quietly, "I believe that the sooner we wed, the better it will be for both of us." He smoothed an errant curl and lowered his lips to her ear to whisper, "I want you too much to wait one moment more than I must." Meg melted against him, her love for him so overpowering she was afraid it might rend her in two. Her legs were wobbly from desire, and she felt light headed with her need for him.

"If we obtain a special license and have the banns read, we could wed in three weeks. Is that soon enough for you?" he asked with a hint of a smile upon his face. He recognized that she felt the same desire that he did, and rejoiced in the revelation.

Meg nodded emphatically. "Yes," she said softly, "I have no desire for a large or ornate wedding, new clothes, or wedding breakfasts." The only thing I desire is you, she thought, and glanced up at him to find him regarding her with such an expression of delight that she realized she had spoken her thought aloud. She attempted to turn her blushing face from his, but he would not let her.

Cupping her face in his hands, he forced her to look at him so that he could admire the flush that suffused her beautiful features. "Please, Meg, I beg you to not hide your feelings from me," he asked gently. "Mine are as transparent as water-I am humbled to know that you feel the same way that I do."

"Very well," she replied in a soft voice. "I am without shame where you are concerned. And I do feel the same as you-John, I want to be your wife as soon as we are able to have the ceremony performed."

He smiled warmly and lowered his head to kiss her again, but she stepped away from him, protesting with a laugh, "No, if we are to discuss this clearly, I should stand here and you should remain over there." She untied the strings of the bonnet that hung down her back, and placed it on the desk, smoothing her hair with one hand.

He shrugged, but there was a disturbing light in his eye as he leaned his hip against the desk and crossed his arms on his chest. She watched him warily as she inquired, "John, what will your mother say of our marriage? She knows that I have returned." Seeing his perplexed expression, she hastened to explain, "I met her earlier and asked her where I might find you." Pausing with her hands on her hips, she asked teasingly, "Are you aware that you are a very difficult man to find?"