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  Dan took the ring, placing it on her left hand. The fit was perfect. “I know, you never do. That’s another thing I love about you, Libby. You’re one hell of a woman, but you’re also a child at heart—just like I am.” He held her hand, both of them looking down at the emerald. “I was never one for conventional things, Druidess. I figured I’d come to San Francisco and get down on my knees and beg you to come live with me. I was going to give you the ring even if you didn’t come back with me.”

  “Why?” she asked slowly, touched by his admission.

  “Because I wanted you to remember those wonderful three weeks here. I’ve always held them here,” he said, pointing to his heart. “I wanted a green emerald to remind you of the forest that we both loved being a part of. Green is the color of growth, and you forced me out of my old attitudes and into a better way of looking at things.” He gazed down at her, tenderness written in his blue eyes. “Green, according to the Celts, is also the color of healing. And, Libby, you healed my heart”

  She reached upward, caressing his sandpapery cheek. “And you’ve done equally as much for me,” she whispered. His mouth softly molded her lips, caressing them with reverence, with love. His eyes grew dark as he studied her with new intensity. “It’s going to be my pleasure to inform Doug Adams that he’s lost a biologist but gained another forester.”

  A smile pulled at her lips. “Do you know something? I felt like a cooped-up animal when I went back to my office, Dan. I would pace, just like you did when we first met each other. Now I understand what real freedom means.” Sadness filled her tear-stained eyes. “Except now so much of our lovely forest has been destroyed.”

  He nodded grimly. “Just under two hundred thousand acres, Lib. It was a hell of a chunk of real estate that went up in flames. And all because of a damned lightning storm,” he said sadly. He forced a smile he didn’t feel. “Well, look at it this way, my beautiful druidess—we’ll be planting seedlings early next spring to reforest this area.’’

  Libby leaned against him, content as never before. “It will give me great pleasure to plant those babies,” she said. “The forest gave me so much in just three weeks that if it takes a year to replant, I’ll do it.”

  Dan smiled tenderly. “That’s just like you,” he murmured. “But don’t worry, we’ll have over a hundred men up here in late May, working in crews of twenty to do that job. It won’t take as long as you think. Remember, I’m an old pro at putting back what we’ve taken from this land.” He slid his hand across her hip. “And speaking of babies...” he hinted broadly.

  Libby couldn’t suppress a chuckle, her eyes lighting up with happiness. “Do we have to wait until next May?” she baited, a blush staining her cheeks.

  Dan grinned. “No,” he said seductively, gathering her up in his arms. “As a matter of fact,” he continued, lifting her upward and walking toward the bedroom, “we can start on that project right now. Are you game?”

  She threw her arms around his neck, laughing with him. “I should hope so, Dan Wagner!”

  “Good,” he said, leaning over and kissing her soundly. He placed her on the bed and then lay down beside her. “I wasn’t going to wait anyway,” he growled.

  Her golden hair was nearly dry, tumbling across her shoulders as she rested against his body. Her brown eyes danced with mirth as she leaned her chin on his chest “You won’t get any argument from me,” she declared, pressing her hips against him, delighting in his male response.

  Their playful attitude suddenly changed. Dan stared down at her, realizing that, only hours before, Libby could have died. She would not be in his arms now—alive, warm, vital and loving. His blue eyes darkened and he leaned down, inhaling her wonderful female fragrance, brushing her cheek with his. “I love you,” he whispered hoarsely, on the brink of tears. “I love you more than life, Libby.” He embraced her tightly, forgetting how strong he was, wanting to make her a part of him forever.

  Tears streaked down her cheeks as she met and matched his feverish kiss, hungrily pressing her lips to his conquering mouth. “Love me,” she whispered achingly, “love me, Dan. Oh, God, I almost lost you....”

  “Shh,” he whispered against her lips. “We’re alive and we’re safe, beautiful druidess.”

  She shivered beneath his touch. It was as if they were loving one another for the first time. His callused fingers moved upward, nudging away the terry-cloth robe from her shoulders. A soft gasp escaped her lips as he brushed her straining breasts. She trembled as his mouth settled over each hardened peak, white-hot fire coursing through her body. His hand drifted lower, caressing her hips, thighs, parting her legs ever so slightly. A gasp of pleasure broke from her lips as his touch ignited a fiery hunger deep within her yearning body.

  She ran her fingers across his broad chest, down his lean waist and hips, feeling him tense. The urge to show him her fierce love for him was boundless. Their bodies met in a deluge of passion amid the primal beauty of the wilderness that they both loved so fiercely. Libby arched her hips, begging him to become one with her, to celebrate their life together. Inhaling his male scent, she placed several hungry kisses on his mouth, telling him of her starving need for him alone.

  Dan cupped her face, drinking in her golden gaze. He pressed a long, aching kiss upon her parted lips, telling her of his unquenchable love. He felt her quivering with desire for him as he gently entered the moist, welcoming depths of her body. He delighted in the expression of utter love in her widening eyes. This time he wanted their natural emotional outpouring to consume them until every cell in their bodies tingled with pleasure. He brought her into rhythm with himself. The thought that their love could plant the seeds of a child within her increased the sense of tenderness he felt toward Libby in those precious moments. She tensed, clinging to him, a cry of joy on her lips as she experienced the gift of their oneness. Moments later he stiffened, thrusting deeply into her, wanting to give her a child born of their love for one another.

  Dan lay spent, pulling Libby close to him, his arm protectively around her. She nuzzled beneath his chin, a sigh of contentment escaping her well-kissed lips. Her fingers grazed the damp carpet of hair covering his broad chest. She delighted in the strength of his musculature, a smile lingering on her features.

  “If you get any better, I think I’ll die of utter bliss,” she whispered.

  He hugged her fiercely for a long, long time. “You can faint from bliss but not die,” he corrected gently. “We came too close to losing one another.”

  Libby silently agreed. She rose up on one arm, gazing at his peaceful features. The love she felt for him burned fiercely within her body, within her joyous heart. She tucked her lower lip between her teeth, trying to decide how to tell him how she felt.

  Dan reached out, stroking her golden hair. “What?” he inquired huskily.

  She smiled with her brown eyes. “How did you know I wanted to say something?”

  It was his turn to smile. “I can sense it. Or maybe I saw it in your beautiful eyes. What is it, my lovely druidess?’’

  She traced a pattern on his chest with her fingertip, eyes lowered, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. “This is going to sound funny...” She took a deep breath, meeting his tender gaze. “I’ve never wanted children until now, Dan. But I want our children. God, how I want to feel life within me—life that we created together.”

  He murmured her name reverently, holding her fiercely against him. The minutes slid by in silence, both Libby and Dan content in finding peace in each other’s arms.

  Dan framed her face with his hands, gazing up at her adoringly. “Did you know that druids married within their own religious clans?”

  Libby shook her head solomnly. “No. I thought they were celibate.”

  Dan laughed deeply. “Hardly, lady. A druid could only marry a druidess, and as husband and wife, they tended the sacred groves together.”

  “And did they have children?” Libby asked, smiling and enjoying his closeness and warmt
h.

  “Sure did. Only they didn’t call them kids.”

  She tilted her head, mystified. “What on earth would they call them, then?” she demanded.

  Laughter lurked in the recesses of Dan’s eyes. “Sprouts.” And then he broke into laughter, rolling on his side and holding Libby.

  She couldn’t stop giggling, burying her face against his broad shoulder. “You’re crazy!” she muffled out.

  “Mmm, crazy in love with you, my lovely druidess,” he growled, placing a kiss on her parted lips. She tasted of honey, of life itself. Dan raised himself up on one elbow, drinking in the sight of her radiant features. “And I promise you, we won’t have little sprouts that will grow into trees. We’ll have healthy children who will love this land as much as we do,” he whispered huskily, sealing that promise with a kiss.

  * * * * *

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  ISBN-13: 9781460334379

  WILDERNESS PASSION

  Copyright © 1984 by Eileen Nauman

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