Captive at Christmas (18 page)

Something precious, incredible, and wondrous. Created out of love.

“I
can’t
believe that I actually left you in that cabin.
Can’t
understand how foolish I was to think that I would be able to go on without you, Hannah.” Mac shifted onto one knee, using his free hand to retrieve something from a jacket pocket. “But most importantly, I
can’t
imagine spending another day, another hour, hell, another minute, even another
second
without you.” He produced a small jewelry box and motioned for her to open it.

“Hannah Kamille Magnus, will you allow me to spend the rest of my life showing you how much you have changed, healed and loved me? Nothing matters except you, me and Kayla.” In a whisper, he added, “What you told me in the cabin, about children; it doesn’t matter to me, as long as I have you. Hannah, will you marry me?”

The white box sat in the back of her mind as she blurted out the truth. “Mac, I’m pregnant.”

Another bout of nausea swelled and she resisted the urge to vomit, turning away from his shocked face. Hannah instantly regretted the direction she chose, landing on his teenaged daughter’s equally surprised expression.

~~~

Mackenzie heard the woman he loved say the words he never thought he’d hear her speak and the worried look on her face wrenched his heart into his gut. Did she think he would be upset that she was carrying his child? That something every woman should be able to experience – should they choose to – Hannah could know the joy as well?

“Dr. Grantham thinks that, when the original assessment was done, they didn’t take into account the possibility of healing over time,” she explained quickly, her hands clutching at her stomach. “I-I swear I didn’t know, not until he told me moments ago and I hope you don’t think I expect anything from you, I-I…I don’t.”

“Oh, Hannah.” The ring box placed next to her, Mac gathered the enchanting woman into his arms and marveled at how wonderful it felt to hold her again. “I love you, Hannah. I will always love you,” he whispered between feather-light kisses on her jaw and neck. “And I’m done hiding, sweetheart.” Framing her face with his hands, Mac brushed her tears away with his thumbs. “The woman I want to spend the rest of my life with is carrying my child –
our
child.”

He asked the question with his eyes, looking down to where her hands were tightly clasped over her stomach and then meeting her gaze again. Hannah nodded, moving her hands away from the crumpled sheets. Before Mac reached down to touch her, he captured her lips and nearly groaned at the sheer pleasure of her tongue thrusting hungrily against his. If it weren’t for Kayla standing behind them, he would cover Hannah’s entire body with the same kisses he gave her mouth.

“Marry me?” he murmured at her cheek.

“Are you sure?”

“Hannah, I asked you before you told me about this.” Mac rested his hand on the firm bulge of her lower abdomen. His heart swelled. He had to see. “May I?” He gently tugged at the hospital gown and she nodded.

As the worn fabric lifted, every evil act he committed and everything he endured in the past flashed in his mind. Each kill, the awful, satisfied feeling he received upon completion of the task, swirled away in a vortex of love and understanding.

Memories of torture, though they would always linger, seemed insignificant compared to this. The most passionate, considerate and challenging woman he’d ever known held his attention while he continued to pull back the cloth.

When his fingertips brushed the smooth bare flesh he’d come to know intimately, he could tell that it had changed. Mackenzie Dunlop slowly tore his eyes away from Hannah’s and gazed down at the lower half of her abdomen. The sight of her belly, however slightly swollen it was, brought tears to his eyes. Instinctively, he lowered his mouth to her skin and held a kiss there.

“Mac,” Hannah sighed, losing her fingers in the dense mat of hair on his head.

This is love
, he thought, feeling Kayla’s palm on his shoulder.

This
, he took his daughters hand and Hannah’s, keeping his lips pressed against her abdomen,
is everything that I have ever wanted yet never felt deserving of
.

With a grudging sigh, Mackenzie stood and covered her stomach. “Hannah, Kayla,” he paused, waiting until they were both listening. The words formed in his mind, though nothing sounded quite right. It could take him hours to come up with the perfect ones and still, they’d never be any better than the ones spoken from his heart, in the heat of the moment. “This isn’t going to be easy on any of us, but I promise that I will do whatever it takes to make us a family.”

They turned to each other, both smiling. Mac had a feeling he might know Kayla’s, seeing as how she made the same expressions he did. The little twitch at one corner of her mouth before pulling back all the way and drawing her lower lip between teeth. He did that one when hiding something sarcastic.

Hannah… Her soft, delicate lips curved upwards, showing the smallest hint of her straight, white teeth. During their two weeks together, she gave him that smile on numerous occasions, mostly when she thought he didn’t see her watching.

“You’d better look at the ring before you answer him.” Kayla’s smile widened as she reached for the box and placed it in Hannah’s hand. “Go on.”

Nerves finally got the better of him and Mac closed her hand and the box, firmly between both of his. “If you don’t like it, we can go and get whatever you want, okay?”

“Ma-ac!” Hannah and Kayla groaned simultaneously.

“Go on, open it.” He released her hand and sat down on the edge of the bed, unable to resist touching Hannah’s abdomen. Under his palm, a life was growing and he could hardly wait to meet him or her.

“Oh…oh Mac…”

“You like it?”

“Yes!” she gasped, clutching his shirt.

“Oh, thank God,” he sighed, resting his forehead against hers. “I was so worried that you might think–”

“Mac, I said yes.”

Heart stuttering in his chest, Mac opened his eyes and met with her cobalt stare. “Yes?”

“I’ll marry you.” Hannah grinned. “Just promise me something.”

He met her gaze. “Anything.”

“Don’t let me wake up alone again like…like…”

Holding her face in his hands, Mac promised, “Never, sweetheart. And if I ever have to go out while you’re asleep, I’ll leave a note.”

She laughed through her tears. “Good.”

Kayla cheered and wrapped her arms around his neck from where she stood behind him. Hannah smiled as he pressed his lips to the back of her hand and for once, his life felt complete.

The End

About the Author

Danielle Taylor has lived in and travelled to many countries. She enjoys many different genres – both writing and reading – and always seems to have a project on the go. Feel free to like her page on
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Also, find Danielle on the following:

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http://authordtaylor.wordpress.com/

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Sneak preview of:

Book II in the

Captive Hearts Series:

Intimate Strangers

With evil lurking on every corner, can two veritable strangers survive on love alone?

Chelsea Reid shares one sinful night with a delicious stranger and she winds up pregnant. Disowned by her parents and forced to leave university, she accepts an offer from her boss, Hannah Magnus-Dunlop, to stay with her and her family.

Christiaan ‘Tiaan’ Carstens had everything going for him. In the blink of an eye, he lost it all, including most of his mind, tortured in an American run facility, tortured because he didn’t die when a rogue politician wanted him to. His former colleague Mackenzie Dunlop extended an open invitation to come back and visit him in Vancouver. The very last thing Tiaan expects to see up north is sweet Chelsea - and his infant son.

The memories of that one magical night they spent together acting as the glue that holds him together, Tiaan attempts to string the rest of the pieces of his life into some form of semblance, while trying to figure out if Chelsea even wants him in her life.

Excerpt:

Using her hand as a visor from the sun, Chelsea continued searching for a man who matched the description Mackenzie gave her. A tall guy was approaching her and for a moment, panic filled her. No, it couldn’t be. That man looked an awful lot like–

“I take it you are here to pick me up?”

Son of a…gun…

Swallowing down the urge to heave up her lunch, Chelsea gripped the fabric of her floral tunic, clutching it to her stomach. Of all the people she could have been picking up from the airport today, it had to be
him
. ‘South African elevator guy’, as she had come to call him. At least now he had a name.

“Erm, I haven’t gotten it wrong, have I? Or, are you waiting for someone else with the name Carstens?” His dark eyes searched hers through her sunglasses.

He doesn’t even recognize me
. Her heart dropped into her stomach. Of course he wouldn’t, why would he? She was probably just another girl he had a one-time thing with. A long list of countless sexual partners. Chelsea felt sick to her stomach.

“Hello?”

Sweet Mother. She’d just been standing there while he asked her questions. “Uh, n-no, you’re Christiaan, right?”

The corners of his mouth pulled back, a mouth that had been on parts of her body that were covered with clothing at the moment. “I am, but I go by Tiaan. Looks like we’ve settled that mystery. Now, where are you parked?”

She couldn’t look at him anymore. Too many emotions tore through her and she had to think of alternate living arrangements now. If Tiaan, as he finally announced, was staying with Mac and Hannah for an undisclosed amount of time, no way in hell could Chelsea continue living there too.

“This way.” She didn’t check to see if he followed as she crossed the street and entered the parking structure.

When they reached her car, Chelsea’s stomach turned over, realizing there was a car seat in the back. Surely he’d notice it and wonder?
No
, she scolded herself,
he doesn’t even remember so stop worrying
. Besides, Mac and Hannah had Erik so he would probably think the car seat belonged to them. She popped the trunk and he stowed his luggage away, then they both climbed into her small and old, yet reliable vehicle.

“Why do I get the strange feeling that you and I have met before?”