Chapter Thirty-One

Dreams of being pursued and abducted by the viscount plagued Georgiana. She was alone, with no one to save her, as the viscount dragged her into his carriage and shut the door. She tugged her hand free and shrank from his grasp.

"Did you think I would not come for you?" he snarled. "Your father never should have wagered everything on that hand of cards."

She crossed her arms in front of her, making herself as small as possible. When the viscount reached out and touched her, she cried out.

The door to the carriage swung open, and suddenly Dermott was there…

"Open yer eyes, lass," he urged. "Ye're safe now. He'll never bother ye again."

She struggled to free herself from the nightmare and the viscount's clutches, and slowly opened her eyes. "Dermott?" she whispered. "Am I dreaming, or are you really here?"

"Who else would be sharing yer bed, lass?"

Tears welled in her eyes. She hadn't thought she had any left after crying buckets yesterday. She tried to answer, but could not push the words past the lump in her throat.

"Ah, lass," he whispered. "Please don't cry. I'm here and will always protect ye."

His warmth surrounded her, seeping in through the last vestiges of the nightmare. "Flaherty is going to recover."

"Aye."

Dermott placed a hand to her back and urged her closer. She burrowed into his embrace, but needed to be closer. She shivered as need tangled with the remnants of fear that she would never feel his loving arms around her again.

He kissed the top of her head. "The viscount will be made to pay for his crimes, lass. Trust me and let go of yer fear."

She stared into the emerald eyes she knew so well, then lifted her mouth to brush against the sculpted lips that by turns teased and tormented her. She poured all of the love in her heart and joy in her soul into her kiss, pressing her body to his until not a breath was between them.

"Ye're exhausted, lass. Ye need sleep, not loving."

She slid her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth back to hers, silently willing him to understand that she needed proof that she was still awake and not dreaming. She needed to feel him inside of her, filling her until they were both mindless with passion and overcome with desire until they wrung every ounce of pleasure from one another.

"Love me, Dermott."

"Ah, lass, I do."

"Show me," she whispered.

*

The last threadsof his control snapped as he rolled her beneath him and drove into her. Need to reaffirm that they were both alive had him plunging into her warmth over and over until she cried out his name, on the edge of reaching fulfillment. He claimed her mouth in a mind-numbing kiss as he drove into her and released his seed, following her over the edge into oblivion.

Fearful of crushing her, he rolled over until she was lying on top of him. She settled onto him and sighed. Clamping a hand to her lush bottom, he held her to him, praying that a babe would come from their loving. Creating a new life from the remnants of the old. Leaving behind the terror and sorrows the lass had suffered. A daughter with soft brown hair the color of meadow flower honey and amber eyes. Mayhap a son who looked like him, carrying on the strong blond-haired, green-eyed O'Malley genes.

Still deep inside of her, he said a prayer of thanks for the gift of love the lass had brought to him, along with her gentle laughter that reminded him of faery bells. As he drifted off to sleep, he thought he heard his da's voice welcoming her to the family.