Her words pierced his heart like an arrow. She had loved him since their first time together and she had given freely to him because of that love.
He closed his eyes against all the pain he had caused her and sought now to only bring her pleasure.
"I love you," he said softly, and gently spread her legs to ease between them. He slipped his arms beneath her knees and drew her up toward him.
"Lucian," she cried out.
"Soon, angel, soon," he cajoled, adjusting her position to accept him easily and without pain or discomfort to her or the child.
When he was ready he entered her slowly, thoughtfully, wanting only to bring her immense pleasure. And he did.
His strokes were sure and steady. She arched against him, wanting him deep inside her, wanting him strong against her.
He read her response correctly and moved with more intensity, more promise of satisfaction. He stroked fiercely, dominantly, surging in and withdrawing with controlled thrusts.
His rhythm increased.
Catherine's cries grew, the overwhelming size of him compelling her to scream her satisfaction, her need to release around him.
He felt her tighten, draw him in. Hot, wet, and pulsating. He could barely contain himself. "Catherine," he commanded sternly.
She understood and obeyed, squeezing around him, feeling herself release, feeling herself climax in a shattering explosion that took her breath away.
Lucian followed along. Mindless to his surroundings, mindless to everything but the forceful spilling of his seed deep within Catherine's womb.
The night wore on, Catherine wondering where Lucian got his stamina and Lucian wondering when he would ever get enough of her.
They laughed, they teased, and they loved, falling asleep just before the sun rose on the horizon. Just before the cargo ship left the shore with Catherine's note to her father.
Papa, come at once, I need you.
Love, Catherine
Chapter Thirty
Lucian stood on shore shaking his head as he watched his stubborn woman swim. He had ordered her to cease all strenuous activities and what had she done? Exactly what she wanted to do.
He stripped off his clothes and ran diving into the water, his powerful strokes taking him to Catherine in no time. He grasped her gently about her thickened waist and trod water until his feet touched sand and he could easily stand.
She clutched around his neck smiling and gave him a quick kiss.
"You taste like the sea," he said, nibbling at her lips and feeling a contentment he had not thought possible.
She pressed her finger to his lips, preventing his playful bites. "I never imagined I would enjoy swimming so much."
Lucian spoke seriously. "Did I not order you to cease swimming now that you have grown so abundant with my child?"
Catherine turned a little-girl grin on him. "I seem to recall something."
Lucian narrowed his brow. "I made myself perfectly clear."
"You always make yourself perfectly clear, you handsome devil," she teased, and kissed him soundly.
He tore his mouth away. "That won't work, Catherine. I expect my orders to be obeyed."
She kissed the corner of his mouth, lingering to enjoy the salty taste of him. "Swimming is not at all strenuous or harmful to the body. The baby favors the activity completely."
Lucian splayed his hand over her belly and was answered with a hearty kick.
"He's a little devil," she laughed.
"Like his father?"
She deposited a feathery soft kiss on his lips before responding. "He is much like his father. He keeps me up at all hours and demands that I stroke and ease him."
Lucian felt himself harden, recalling several evenings past when Catherine had stroked and eased him so skillfully. He had burst in her hand like a young schoolboy, and she had smiled in delight before arousing him again and settling herself over him.
"I want you, Lucian," she murmured against his mouth.
"Marry me," he demanded.
"When you speak with my father," she answered as she had each time he had asked her in the last few weeks. Knowing very soon her father would arrive and she would have her way.
"I'll never let you leave me," he warned sternly, slipping his hand between her thighs.
"I don't want to leave you. I love you," she gasped against his lips when his fingers intimately captured her.
Words were quickly forgotten as the two lovers joined in the midst of the sea, the hot sun beating down upon them, the seabirds serenading overhead and the ship in the distance drawing closer to Heaven.
o0o
Santos sprinted across the lawn, vaulting the wide bed of pink flowers before reaching the front step and racing up it. He threw open the door and ran straight for Lucian's study.
He knocked and opened the door simultaneously.