tomorrow morning and call my parents," Lainey suggested. "I need to call them anyway to let them know where I am, and we can tell them about our engagement. Maybe do some shopping and then go to lunch. What do you think?"
"I think I'd like that," Micah said, and then he frowned. "Maybe we should go today. I don't want your mother and father to worry about you."
Lainey smiled at Micah, touched by his concern for her parents.
"Tomorrow will be soon enough," she assured him. "Besides, it'll be dark soon, and I've never liked driving these mountain roads after sunset."
Rising, she started to clear the table, and then she felt Micah's arm curl around her waist. He drew her up against him, his face cradled in the valley between her breasts.
"Since I am not a guest," he murmured, his breath penetrating the fabric of her blouse to warm the skin beneath, "and since you said I should tell you what I want..." He drew her down into his lap, his tongue laving the curve of her ear... "I want to make love to you, now. I want to taste of your sweetness, feel your heart beating next to mine, listen to the music of your soul..."
Spellbound, Lainey took Micah by the hand and led him into the bedroom.
Breathless with yearning, her pulses racing with desire, she gave herself into his keeping and let her soul sing to his all through the night.
Part One Chapter Seventeen
Chadds Creek was an old mining town. In the early 1800s, gold had been discovered along the banks of the river, but it had been a small strike of little consequence and the town had slowly died out. In the mid 1960s, George Malcolm McHenry - a man who had lots of money and even more spare time - decided to build himself a winter home near the old town, complete with a ski lift. When McHenry died, his son, George, Jr., turned the house into a ski lodge and Chadds Creek became an exclusive playground for the very rich and the very famous.
With the increase in tourists, the town's original buildings had been restored to give people a taste of the past, while new businesses - mostly fashionable boutiques - had sprung up like mushrooms near the ski lodge. Lainey preferred the old part of town.
Leaving the car behind Nell's Ice Cream Parlor, Micah and Lainey walked down the narrow alley that led to the main street. Now, during the summer, the ski lifts and a lot of the boutiques were closed, but the old section of town drew enough tourists to keep the place alive throughout the year. She saw several cars with out-of-state license plates as they crossed the dusty street and walked down the wooden sidewalk to a pay phone located on the corner.
Micah had shed his own form and taken on his alter ego when they left the cabin and now, walking down the street, women old and young alike turned to stare at him. She could only imagine the long, lingering looks he'd get in his natural form, which she thought was every bit as sexy and gorgeous as this one.
Lainey laughed when a girl of about ten pointed at Micah and loudly exclaimed, "Mom, that man looks just like Fabio!"
Micah leaned one shoulder against the door of the old-fashioned phone booth while Lainey placed her call. He grinned at the pained expression on Lainey's face as she explained to her mother that everything was all right, that Micah was with her, that she wasn't sure when they would be back, that she was sorry she had left home without telling anyone.
"Mom! Mom, would you please just listen for a minute? I've got something to tell you." Lainey glanced at Micah and smiled. "Mom, guess what? Micah asked me to marry him. No, I'm not kidding... Well, we haven't set a date yet... we'll probably go to Vegas..." She looked at Micah and rolled her eyes. "I've already had one big church wedding, Mom, I don't need another one... yes, we'll talk more about it when I get home. Give my love to Dad. Bye."
Lainey hung up the phone, then shook her head. "Well, I'm glad that's over. Let's go get something to eat."
Hand in hand, they walked down the street to Kattle Katy's Kitchen. It was a building unlike anything Micah had ever seen. The furniture was rough-hewn; the tables were covered with red-and-white checked cloths. There were animal