Читать книгу The Forever Husband - Kathryn Alexander - Страница 8

Eric smiled at his wife and extended an arm to take her hand in his protective grasp, then pulled her gently into the boat with him. Hope had been watching from the sidelines, uncertain about joining her husband in the anchored, but unsteady vessel. But as he urged her into testing their new purchase, she came haphazardly into his arms with nervous laughter and, finally, a shriek sounding of certain catastrophe when the boat rocked sharply.

“Eric! Do something! We’re tipping over!”

His grip on her arms was as firm as it could be without hurting, and he steadied her before she slid her own desperate arms around his waist.

His smile was wide. “Don’t be afraid, Hope. You know how to swim if you need to.”

“But we’ll probably both drown because I’ll be too scared to let go of you! If this thing tips, we’re going down together,” she warned.

Eric laughed out loud, the sound of his voice mingling with the slap of water against the boat’s hull. On a sudden gust of October wind a swirl of autumn leaves blew from the lakeshore into the boat and around their feet.

“We’re going down together, huh?” Eric repeated in a solemn tone.

Hope loosened her clinging hold on him slightly, and tilted her head back in time to see the laughter fade from her husband’s eyes. Just then, the boat steadied some, although that did little to ease the rapid pace of Hope’s heart as she stared into the depths of Eric’s darkening gaze.

“Yes, you’re going with me,” she responded with a teasing smile. Then, lifting her hand to his chest, she touched the soft fabric of his shirt and watched Eric’s gaze lower to her mouth. He would kiss her; he always did when he had that look. But the waiting wasn’t easy, even after all the years.

“That’s where I want to be, Hope. With you…always.” His hands moved upward into her windblown hair, and he leaned toward her, as Hope raised herself up to meet his kiss. Eric’s warm mouth moved firmly against hers, taking and giving—both of them wanting more of the love they’d found in each other’s arms…

Hope woke up instantly, sitting up in her bed with a gasp. She pulled her knees up, hugging them to her in the loneliness of her room.

Eric had been kissing her again, and she’d been kissing him back—as it had always been with them. Mutual love; equal longing. She gave a soft sigh. She’d had this dream too many times to count. And it wasn’t a dream in the true sense of the word. Not fantasy or a capricious imagination at work in a sleep-filled mind. It was real. A clearly remembered incident replayed in her sleep. Over and over. A relived moment in time from when she and her husband had lived together. She’d loved Eric Granston nearly all her life—the boy he had been, the man he’d become. And she loved him still. There was a place in her heart only Eric could fill.