His Forever Family(39)

Given their situation, he really should be worried what they would be  faced with if the weather didn't let up in a couple of days with the  little bit of food they had. But for now the thought of being stranded  here with Sienna overrode all his concerns about that. In his heart, he  truly believed they would manage to get through any given situation. Now  he had the task of convincing her of that.

He glanced down at his left hand and studied his wedding band. Two  weeks ago when he had come here for his pity party, he had taken it off  in anger and thrown it in a drawer. It was only when he had returned to  Charlotte that he realized he'd left it here in the cabin. At first he  had shrugged it off as having no significant meaning since he would be a  divorced man in a month's time anyway, but every day he'd felt that a  part of him was missing.

In addition to reminding him of Sienna's absence from his life, to  Dane, his ring signified their love and the vows that they had made, and  a part of him refused to give that up. That's what had driven him back  here this weekend-to reclaim the one element of his marriage that he  refused to part with yet. Something he felt was rightfully his.

It seemed his ring wasn't the only thing that was rightfully his that  he would get the chance to reclaim. More than anything, he wanted his  wife back.





Chapter 14

Dane walked into the living room and stopped in his tracks. Sienna sat  in front of the fireplace, cross-legged, with a tray of cookies and two  glasses of wine. He knew where the cookies had come from, but where the  heck had she gotten the wine?

She must have heard him because she glanced over his way and smiled. At  that moment he thought she was even more breathtaking than a rose in  winter. She licked her lips and immediately he thought she was even more  tempting than any decadent dessert.

He cleared his throat. "Where did the wine come from?"

She licked her lips again and his body responded in an unquestionable  way. He hoped the candlelight was hiding the physical effect she was  having on him. "I found it in one of the kitchen cabinets. I think it's  the bottle that was left when we came here to celebrate our first  anniversary."

His thoughts immediately remembered that weekend. She had packed a  selection of sexy lingerie and he had enjoyed removing each and every  piece. She had also given him, among other things, a beautiful gold  watch with the inscription engraved, The Great Dane. He, in turn, had  given her a lover's bracelet, which was similar to a diamond tennis  bracelet except that each letter of her name was etched in six of the  stones.

He could still remember the single tear that had fallen from her eye  when he had placed it on her wrist. That had been a special time for  them, memories he would always cherish. That knowledge tightened the  love that surrounded his heart. More than anything, he was determined  that they settle things this weekend. He needed to make her see that he  was hers and she was his. For always.

His lips creased into a smile. "I see you've decided to share the cookies, after all," he said, crossing the room to her.

She chuckled as he dropped down on the floor beside her. "Either that  or run the risk of you getting up during the night and eating them all."  The firelight danced through the twists on her head, highlighting the  medium brown coiled strands with golden flecks. He absolutely loved the  natural looking hairstyle on her.

He lifted a dark brow. "Eating them all? Three boxes?"

Her smile grew soft. "Hey, you've been known to overindulge a few times."

He paused as heated memories consumed him, reminding him of those times  he had overindulged, especially when it came to making love to her. He  recalled one weekend they had gone at it almost nonstop. If she hadn't  been on the pill there was no doubt in his mind that that single weekend  would have made him a daddy. A very proud one, at that.                       
       
           



       

She handed him a glass of wine. "May I propose a toast?"

His smile widened. "To what?"

"The return of the Beast from the East."

He switched his gaze from her to glance out the window. Even in the  dark he could see the white flecks coming down in droves. He looked back  at her and cocked a brow. "We have a reason to celebrate this bad  weather?"

She stared at him for a long moment, then said quietly, "Yes. The Beast  is the reason we're stranded here together, and even with our low  rations of food, I can't think of any other place I'd rather be...than  here alone with you."





Chapter 15

Dane stared at Sienna and the intensity of that gaze made her entire  body tingle, her nerve endings steam. It was pretty much like the day  they'd met, when he'd walked into his father's study. She had looked up,  their gazes had connected and the seriousness in the dark irises that  had locked with hers had changed her life forever. She had fallen in  love with him then and there.

Dane didn't say anything for a long moment as he continued to look at  her, and then he lifted his wineglass and said huskily, "To the  Beast...who brought me Beauty."

His words were like a sensuous stroke down her spine, and the void  feeling she'd had during the past few months was slowly fading away.  After the toast was made and they had both taken sips of their wine,  Dane placed his glass aside and then relieved her of hers. He then  slowly leaned forward and captured her mouth, tasting the wine,  relishing her delectable flavor. How had she gone without this for six  months? How had she survived? she wondered as his tongue devoured hers,  battering deep in the heat of her mouth, licking and sucking as he wove  his tongue in and out between teeth, gum and whatever wanted to serve as  a barrier.

He suddenly pulled back and stared at her. A smile touched the corners  of his lips. "I could keep going and going, but before we go any further  we need to talk, determine what brought us to this point so it won't  ever be allowed to happen again. I don't want us to ever let anything or  anyone have power, more control over the vows we made three years ago."

Sienna nodded, thinking the way the firelight was dancing over his dark  skin was sending an erotic frisson up her spine. "All right."

He stood. "I'll be right back."

Sienna lifted a brow, wondering where he was going and watched as he  crossed the room to open the desk drawer. Like her, he had changed into a  T-shirt and a pair of sweats, and as she watched him she found it  difficult to breathe. He moved in such a manly way, each movement a  display of fine muscles and limbs and how they worked together in  graceful coordination, perfect precision. Watching him only knocked her  hormones out of whack.

He returned moments later with pens and paper in hand. There was a  serious expression on his face when he handed her a sheet of paper and a  pen and kept the same for himself. "I want us to write down all the  things we feel went wrong with our marriage, being honest to include  everything. And then we'll discuss them."

She looked down at the pen and paper and then back at him. "You want me to write them down?"

"Yes, and I'll do the same."

Sienna nodded and watched as he began writing on his paper, wondering  what he was jotting down. She leaned back and sighed, wondering if she  could air their dirty laundry on paper, but it seemed he had no such  qualms. Most couples sought the helpful guidance of marriage counselors  when they found themselves in similar situations, but she hadn't given  them that chance. But at this point, she would do anything to save her  marriage.

So she began writing, being honest with herself and with him.





Chapter 16

Dane finished writing and glanced over at Sienna. She was still at it  and had a serious expression on her features. He studied the contours of  her face and his gaze dropped to her neck, and he noticed the thin gold  chain. She was still wearing the heart pendant he'd given her as a  wedding gift.

Deep down, Dane believed this little assignment was what they needed as  the first step in repairing what had gone wrong in their marriage.  Having things written down would make it easier to stay focused and not  go off on a tangent. And it made one less likely to give in to the power  of the mind, the wills and emotions. He wanted them to concentrate on  those destructive elements and forces that had eroded away at what  should have been a strong relationship.

She glanced up and met his gaze as she put the pen aside. She gave him a wry smile. "Okay, that's it."

He reached out and took her hand in his, tightening his hold on it when  he saw a look of uncertainty on her face. "All right, what do you  have?"