He pulled his pants down, bending gracefully from the waist, giving her a breathtaking view of his lean, long-legged body. The briefs remained, outlining every curve and bulge of an aroused male.

Sara's thighs relaxed as heat wound through the center of her stomach. She breathed with soft, shallow puffs, and her fair skin tingled. She knew that a mirror would have revealed that her face and chest were flushed with a fine pink mist of desire.

"Let me help with the rest," she whispered.

He moved to the edge of the bed and stood quietly, though his chest rose and fell as swiftly as hers. Sara nuzzled her face into the springy blond hair on his stomach and completed his performance with hands that trembled as they pushed his briefs down.

She moved her head lower and touched her lips to him. His hands sank into her hair convulsively. "Magnificent," she said.

He lifted her to her knees and cupped her chin in one hand. She looked up at him as her fingertips skimmed over his thighs and arousal. He traced her lips with his thumb, and devotion brimmed in his eyes. He mouthed the words I love you. Sara turned her face toward his palm and whispered them against the warm, callused skin.

She lay back on the bed as he knelt beside her. His hands parted her robe an inch at a time, savoring every moment. When she was bared, he let his gaze move over her just as slowly as his hands had, and the fierce love in his eyes coupled with primal need.

The moments that followed left Sara in a daze of wonder. He cared for her with his hands and his mouth, absorbed the essence of her skin and her mysteries, touched her everywhere, and brought her to an edge that made her cry out with happiness. In the midst of that pleasure he lowered himself on top of her and sighed hoa.r.s.ely when she circled him with her legs.

They shared the joining, coming together on some silent signal, then following the rhythms of desire while their lips whispered words of praise and adoration. in the blue heaven of his eyes she saw a shattering that matched her own. Together, safe inside her magic and his enchantment, they made the world right again.

Chapter Nine.

"Next we go out into the real world," he said as his fingertip traced a streak of afternoon sunshine across her stomach.

Sara raised her head from a rumpled pillow, lovingly eyed the chaos of her bedcovers, the empty Coco-Moo bottle that had gotten lost in them sometime during the night, and finally the naked man sprawled half on top of her with his head on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

"I don't think we're ready," she protested dryly.

"Obviously, we'd have to get dressed first."

"Yes." Smiling, she played with his golden hair, spearing her fingers through it, separating the copper strands that gave it such warm, dark undertones. "I've forgotten how to tie my shoes."

"No way. Tinker Bell. I've kept you in bed for only three days."

"But I haven't paid attention to my feet once in that whole time."

"They got you back and forth to the nursery and the kitchen."

"No, I was floating. I'm sure of it. You have that effect on me, Mr. Surprise. It's like nothing I've ever experienced before."

She felt him smile against her breast. He lapped his tongue across one of her nipples. "What flattery."

"My gorgeous man." She ran her hand down his back, lazily scratching a spot between his shoulder blades. "I know how to keep you from getting out of bed."

He made a gruff sound full of pleasure. "You think I'm helpless just because I go limp when you scratch my back."

Her laugh was throaty and confident, the sound of a woman who had been well loved. "Limp? Only on rare occasions when you're asleep."

"You've been peeking!"

From the nursery came Noelle's sleepy chatter, then the sound of the crib b.u.mping the wall as she bounced around. Sara stretched and patted Kyle's shoulder, letting her hand linger on corded muscle and smooth, lightly freckled skin. "Baby time."

"I'll go get her."

He placed several jaunty kisses on Sara's b.r.e.a.s.t.s and another on her mouth before he rose from the bed. She sighed happily as she watched him pull on his T-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. He winked at her as he left the room.

She hummed with satisfaction as she put on her long blue robe and straightened the bed. After a second she heard Kyle call, "We've got a soggy-bottomed elf princess in here."

"Hold the fort. I'll be there in a second."

"Let me have a try at it. I've been the sorcerer's apprentice two or three times. Looks easy. I bet I can manage alone."

"I'll take that bet." Grinning mischievously, Sara sat down on the foot of the bed and waited. She heard Noelle giggling and Kyle talking in a low tone, the emphasized words occasionally making his progress clear.

"Ugh," she heard him say. Then, "Chewa toesa Incredible contortionista be stilla wrestlinga stronga oucha a tornado with legs!"

"Need some help?" Sara called, trying not to laugh.

"No. I'm going to put her on the floor. I just need a bigger arena." Then, a minute later, "Run for your life! She's loose!" - Sara got up and went to the door. Noelle was crawling down the hallway, chortling at her freedom, her fresh diaper flopping open on one side, only half pinned. Kyle and Daisy followed her. Kyle wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead. "That's all I could manage before she got away." He pointed to the diaper. "It's a new style."

He swooped his hands under Noelle and picked her up. She squealed with joy and patted his face. His smile grew wide under her exploring fingers. "Who loves ya, elf princess?"

"Cal!" she squealed.

"That's right. Cal."

Sara came to the two of them, grinning, her eyes damp from the sight of trusting baby and loving man. This was her revenge against Valdivia.

Kyle glanced at her carefully as he stopped his sports car beside the ever-watchful dragons at the gate. Sara sat stiffly in the car's bucket seat, both arms wrapped around Noelle as if evil wizards might try to pull her away at any second.

"We're just going to lunch," Kyle reminded her. She nodded finally. He helped her put Noelle into the baby carrier that was anch.o.r.ed to the backseat. When they were done. Sara faced forward and clasped her hands in her lap. Her face was pale. "I'll be fine. You Just have to remember that I've geared all my energies to keeping her a secret for almost a year and a half, ever since I learned that I was pregnant. It's not easy to relax."

"You've got to believe that no one is interested in you anymore. You're just an average citizen."

"Kyle, you're the one who told me that the people from your old organization are probably keeping tabs on me. What are they going to think when they find out I have a baby?"

He chuckled. "When I said they were keeping tabs on you, I didn't mean that they're watching every move you make. They're undoubtedly curious about your research, that's all, and they'll do their best to find out what you're doing before anyone else does. But they don't care about your personal life. You're allowed to have a baby."

"But the father wasa was Suradoran. You don't think anyone would find that disturbing? Questionable?"

Kyle reached over and brushed his fingers across her cheek. "What would our government accuse you of, Sara? Being human? Needing to take comfort from a rebel soldier? Sara, we support the rebels' cause. You didn't exactly cavort with the enemy."

"I didn't cavort at all," she said defensively, stiffening in the odd way she always did whenever he mentioned Noelle's father. "It wasn't, uhmmm, something I did for fun." She glanced back at Noelle, who looked a little perturbed by the emotions that were swirling around her. "But I don't regret the outcome."

"Neither do I," he said quickly. "I don't live in the past. All I care about is today, this moment. All I care about is the fact that we're together, the three of us."

She grabbed his hand and kissed it. "That's all that's important. I love you. Noelle loves you. Don't ever forget that."

Her fervor puzzled him. It was as if she were afraid of something, something she wouldn't mention. Kyle shook his worries away and decided that they were the result of being so dose to her in spirit and dreams. For the first time in his life he wanted to be part of another person's future.

"We'll have to buy a stroller for Noelle," he said, smiling. "Because well be going out a lot, the three of us."

"Yes. Yes." She sounded pleased. "The three of us."

The little town near the national park was a model of laid-back southern style. Nothing new had been built in the last forty years, but the old stores were kindly cared for and the town square was a hospitable place of giant oak trees cloaked in red fall leaves.

Kyie swung the sports car into a parking place in front of a small, homey restaurant with rocking chairs on its narrow porch. Inside they found a table in one corner and put Noelle in a high chair provided by a plump waitress who stared at the three of them without hesitation.

Kyle knew that they made an intriguing familya"him with his scars and Noelle with her chocolate-colored hair and dark eyes, a coloring that a blond father and redheaded mother rarely produce. He grinned to himself. Family. He didn't care if anyone stared. They couldn't hurt Sara or Noelle, and the scrutiny they gave his ravaged face didn't bother him as it would have just a few weeks before. He was loved and needed; the world was perfect.

Tom and Lucy Wayne shuffled in halfway through the meal. With his buck-toothed, gold-plated grin and her pathetic shyness they looked like some insulting Hollywood version of hillbillies. They gaped like stunned trout when they spotted Sara with a baby they'd never seen before.

"What you got there, Miz Sara?" Tom asked, stomping over to their table. Lucy crept along behind him, peering over his shoulder.

Kyle glanced at Sara. Her eyes were suddenly shuttered with uncertainly. "I'm adopting a child," she said. "She's from South America."

Kyle groaned with dismay at her deception. What would it take to convince her that the past couldn't hurt her or Noelle?

"Sh-she sure is p-pretty," Lucy Wayne stuttered, nodding so vigorously that strands of her long white-blond hair shook free of its braid. "When'd you get her?"

"Just a few days ago," Sara told them.

"What place is she from?" Tom asked.

"Brazil."

He gave her a blank look, obviously not certain what Brazil was other than a type of nut. Lucy edged up to the table and stared at Noelle in awe. "You sh-shoulda't-told us. We l-love b-babies."

"Until recently I wasn't sure that the adoption would go through." Sara twisted in her seat and fumbled with Noelle's bib. Noelle seemed fascinated with Tom and Lucy. She smeared mashed potatoes everywhere but on her mouth and started to chew. Sara laughed nervously and rose from the table. "I need to clean her up." She took Noelle from the high chair and held her close. "I'll just take her to the bathroom and be right back."

"We sure look forward to seein' more of her next time we come to your place," Tom said, his eyes never leaving the baby.

"Of course. Next week. You can visit with her."

Sara hurriedly carried the baby through a set of swinging doors at the back of the restaurant. Kyle stirred restlessly, hating the discomfort this first outing had caused her and hoping that she'd stop worrying so much.

"You p-plan on stayin' at Moonspell Keep f-for a while?" Lucy inquired.

"Awhile."

Tom's angular face registered awe. "You must be a rich feller. You're takin' a long vacation from your job. You helpin' Miz Sara with her work?"

Tom and Lucy's questions were beginning to strike an odd chord in Kyle's mind. Suddenly alert, he gazed into Tom's carefully shuttered eyes and wondered what they hid. At the same time, Kyle grimaced at his cynical suspicions. Perhaps he'd let Sara's nervousness get to him. He gave the couple a trademark Surprise smile. It revealed nothing but good humor. "I'm just a friend of Sara'sa"just helping her with the new baby."

Tom studied him intently. "Well, we look forward to seein' more of you."

Kyie nodded pleasantly, wishing like h.e.l.l that they'd go away. Lucy craned her head around her husband's shoulder. "Sure do want to see more of you and that baby. But for now we best be goin'."

"Didn't you come in to eat?"

"Changed our minds." Tom told him.

Lucy grinned. "You tell Sara we said good-bye."

She had lost her stutter. A warning, almost like a premonition, began to hammer inside Kyle's head. "I will."

They turned to leave. Casualty Tom looked back. "Oh. Audubon says h.e.l.lo."

"Yes." Lucy added. "He hopes that you'll come to visit soon. Very soon."

Shock made a great stillness grow inside Kyle as he watched them leave the restaurant. Now he knew why his instincts had told him from the first that something wasn't quite right about Tom and Lucy Wayne;'they were too odd. They were fakes.

Suddenly all his rea.s.surances to Sara seemed foolish. Something was going on that he didn't understand. He could either tell her what had just happened and destroy her fragile confidence, or he could keep quiet until he knew more.

She came back from the rest room, toting a cleaned-up Noelle. who reached out to him with both arms. "She missed you," Sara said, smiling. Kyle made a great show of talking to the baby, while he silently began making plans. Audubon undoubtedly wanted to know whatever he knew about Sara, and that information must be more important than Kyle had ever imagined. Noelle's appearance was some kind of turning point. Why?

"Where are Tom and Lucy?" Sara asked, settling into a chair beside him.

"They changed their minds about eating."

She sighed with relief. "Good. Their questions made me squirm. I'm sorry about the adoption story. I just can't get over the feeling that the less anyone knows about Noelle, the better." She shook her head and looked at him with green eyes full of apology. "Do you think I'm hopelessly silly?"

Kyle grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. "Not at all," he said.

Kyle had been quiet since their lunch at the restaurant, and Sara began to worry about his unusual brooding. She told herself that he was just exhausteda"after all, she'd hardly given the poor man much chance to rest over the past few days, and she was tired too. They curled up on her queen-size bed with Noelle between them and napped all afternoon, but when Sara woke up she found Kyle standing at her bedroom window, gazing into the autumn dusk, lost in thought.

He wasn't interested in fixing supper; for the first time he let her cook. She made her gourmet specialtya" hot dogs and canned soup. Afterward they sat in front of the fireplace and took turns reading an old National Geographic to Noelle, who snuggled next to Daisy on the rug. Noelle fell asleep in the middle of "Great Whales of the Pacific," with her head on Daisy's golden side.

"I need to make a business call to Jeopard," Kyle said. "Would you mind if I use the phone in the kitchen? I need to sit at the kitchen table, where I can take notes."

Sara hid a feeling of dismay. He seemed secretive, and that wasn't typical of him. But she shrugged casually. "Sure. I'll put Noelle to bed and go get a couple of orchid blossoms from the greenhouse." Every night she put the orchid and milk blend on his scars. So far it had produced no effect; Sara told him to be patient, though her own results with the mixture had begun to show up more quickly.

"I won't be long," he promised, and headed for the kitchen.

Sara gave him his privacy, taking longer than necessary to get Noelle and Daisy settled in the nursery, then dawdling in the greenhouse. By the time she returned to the great room he was standing in front of the fireplace, his hands shoved into the pockets of faded jeans, his shoulders hunched under a white sweater, as if he were cold.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, going to him and slipping one arm around his waist.

He studied her so intensely that she shivered inside. "When I look at you, everything's fantastic," he said vaguely. He pulled her close. "Yes."

"You're crushing my orchids," Sara protested, chuckling. She held them up. "Ready for another treatment?"