Part 24 (1/2)

aAngel,a Hawk whispered. Then, even more softly, aMy sweet, generous woman. What am I going to do with you?a There was no answer for the long term. There was only now, this moment, and the generous warmth Hawk knew awaited him within Angel.

Without waking Angel up, Hawk found one of the foil packets that had been scattered across the bed in their haste. He smiled, remembering.

A few moments later Hawkas hand slid beneath the covers, finding and touching Angelas breast, kneading it gently as his lips nestled in the curve of her neck. Slowly, languidly, Hawk caressed Angelas body, calling to her wordlessly until she moved with his touch, neither asleep nor yet awake, suspended in a beautiful sensual dream.

Her body melted, wanting him.

aAngel,a Hawk said, his voice husky as he parted her legs. aAngel.a Her eyelids fluttered open in response to Hawkas deep-voiced call. He waited until he knew that Angel was awake, aware, looking into her eyes . . . and in that instant he slid into her, taking her completely.

His slow, sensual invasion undid Angel. Her soft cries of ecstasy rippled through Hawk, undoing him in turn. He flew with her, spiraling quickly upward into a sky that was neither cold nor dark, but hot and bright and infinite.

When Angel had the breath and the strength to speak again, she whispered her love against the warmth and power of Hawkas shoulder. His answer was an exquisitely gentle movement that made her cry out and cling to him all over again.

aHawk,a Angel said finally, her breath uneven, aweare going to miss the tide again.a He murmured something against her neck.

aWhat?a she asked.

Reluctantly, he lifted his lips from her fragrant skin. aI set the alarm a bit early,a he admitted.

Angelas eyes lit with understanding and laughter.

aSuch a clever hawk,a she said. aIall have to reward you.a aYou already have,a Hawk said smiling.

Angelas breath stopped at the beauty of his smile. She touched his lips with fingers that trembled, measuring anew the depth of her love for this hard and gentle man.

aWhat are you thinking?a Hawk asked, wondering at the emotions he sensed quivering through Angel.

aHow much I love you.a Hawkas eyes closed.

aI shouldnat let you,a he said fiercely.

With a harsh sound Hawk pulled Angel against him and buried his head between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

aOh, G.o.d, what am I going to do?a he asked starkly. aI canat love you and I canat let you go.a Gently, Angel stroked Hawkas hair, trying to comfort him, to tell him that she understood.

And, sadly, she did.

She understood that every time she told him of her love, it brought him pain rather than pleasure. Hawk didnat want to hurt her. Angel knew that as certainly as he knew that she loved him. Yet he believed himself incapable of love.

And, believing that, he would hurt her as surely as she loved him.

She understood that, too, and accepted it as she had learned to accept so many painful things.

With a skill won at great cost from the past, Angel reached for the serenity of the rose. When she had achieved it, she stirred in Hawkas embrace.

aI know what youare going to do,a Angel said, kissing Hawk gently, smiling against his lips. aYouare going fis.h.i.+ng. Weare going to catch a beautiful dawn salmon.a Hawk lifted his head and looked at her. Tears came to Angel in a burning instant as she saw the pain and sadness and regret in Hawkas clear, dark eyes.

aItas all right,a she said, stroking his face. aPlease, Hawk. Believe me. I know youall do everything you can not to hurt me. I donat ask any more than that of you. Donat ask it of yourself. Please.a Hawk saw his own sadness and desire not to hurt reflected in Angelas haunted eyes.

And then he saw deeper, her certainty and her love. She understood his limitations, his lifetime beyond the closed circle of human warmth, his inability to love her as she deserved to be loved. Yet she loved him anyway.

Hawk bowed to that, and to Angel.

Very gently he kissed her palm, accepting her as she had accepted him.

25.

The minutes and hours, days and weeks with Hawk swept by, each with its own aching beauty. Angel didnat allow herself to count the days, to add them up and discover the end of summer coming toward her with each sunset. Loving and losing Grant had taught her not to live in the past.

Loving and knowing she would lose Hawk had taught Angel not to live in the future. Instead she lived in each moment, loving Hawk more with each touch, each smile, each shared memory.

aAngie?a Angel looked up, startled out of her thoughts by Derryas call. The tiny silver bells hanging from her ears rang sweetly with her sudden movement.

aIam in my studio,a she answered.

Derry swung easily into the room. He had long since overcome any awkwardness with his crutches. Nor had there been any awkwardness over Angelas changed relations.h.i.+p with Hawk. Angel knew that Hawk had talked to Derry, but she didnat know what had been said.

Any fear Angel might have had that Derry would resent her loving a man other than Grant had been erased when Derry hugged her and told her that she had never looked more beautiful.

aWhereas Hawk?a Derry asked.

aOn thea”a aPhone,a Derry finished, grimacing. aWho is it this time?a Angel shrugged and smiled sadly.

aTokyo, I guess,a she said. aHeas already talked with London, New York, Houston, L.A., and whoever was vacationing on Maui.a In the last week Hawk had spent more and more time on the phone. Despite her determination not to count, Angel knew that Hawk had already stayed past his original time limit. The complex, interlocking business transactions that he had mentioned when he first came to the island were coming to fruition.

aFrom what Iave gathered,a Angel said, athings are getting to the crisis stage.a aHawk and I will probably take the same plane off the island,a said Derry.

Tomorrow Derry would finally get his cast removed and fly to Harvard. His dream of becoming a doctor had been made possible by Hawk, who had bought Eagle Head for more than Derry thought the land was worth.

But as pleased as Derry was about his own future, when he mentioned leaving, Derry saw the quick flash of pain that Angel couldnat wholly conceal.

aHey,a Derry said quickly, aIall visit you in Seattle.a He didnat say anything about Hawk visiting her, because it never occurred to Derry that Hawk would not be in Seattle too.

Angel smiled and kissed Derryas cheek.

aSummers and holidays,a she agreed.

But the instant Derry could no longer see her face, Angelas mouth turned down in a sad curve.

Yes, Derry will come back to me.

Hawk will not.

aI think Iall take my sketch pad and go up to Eagle Head,a Angel said. aIf Hawk gets off the phone before five, give him directions to the old Smith homestead. The raspberries are ripe, and heas never gone berrying.a aHe got his salmon, though.a Angel smiled. Yes, Hawk had caught his dawn salmon, had known the thrilling, primal power of the fish as it leaped and tail-walked across the radiant sea. The look of awe and delight on Hawkas face as he had felt the seething, silver life was something Angel would remember long after the pain of losing him had faded. If it ever faded.

She had never known anyone like Hawk. She could only guess what life would feel like when he was gone.