Safari Moon by Rogue Phoenix Press Page A

her neck
with his thumb. “We’re going to be very happy. Aren’t we
pumpkin?”
     
    She swallowed hard. “If you say so,” she
managed to whisper.
     
    Solo had never called her pumpkin, and now
he’d done it twice in a very few hours. She wasn’t sure she liked
that term of endearment but it satisfied the Colonel.
     
    “Well, Nyssa, has the cat got your tongue?
Don’t you have anything to say?” Colonel St. John asked.
     
    “Um,” she licked her lips. “A--I’ll try to
make him happy. And I won’t hurt him.”
     
    “Hurt him? What on earth--”
     
    “You’ve got her so rattled she doesn’t know
what to say. Of course she won’t hurt me. I’ll be very safe in her
arms.”
     
    Solo stepped in and saved her again. About
time Nyssa thought, breathing a little easier.
     
    “Rattled--good. Every bride should be
nervous. It means she loves you.”
     
    Solo coughed then looked at her, his gaze
searching, questioning. He walked to his grandfather and extended
his hand, which the old man took in his own.
     
    Without warning Colonel St. John strode to
Nyssa and pulled her into his arms. He hugged her quickly and with
warmth, then setting her aside he graced her with a devilish smile
that reminded her of Solo when he had something up his sleeve.
     
    “Welcome to the family, Nyssa.”
     
    “A--thank you.” A hot rise of color settled
on her cheeks.
     
    “I’m tired. I’ve had a trying day and I’d
like to go to bed now. Can I assume the loft is where I’ll bed
down.”
     
    “You’re staying here? But--”
     
    It was the first time all evening Solo was
at a loss for words and Nyssa found that extremely cathartic.
     
    “Of course, where else would I stay? There’s
not a motel around for hundreds of miles.” And with that Colonel
St. John yawned deeply and started for the ladder to the loft
bedroom.
     
    Solo’s mouth fell open and Nyssa thought
that was the first honest assessment of the situation he had
expressed since he first visited her begging for help. Well,
tonight Solo would have to sleep on the couch.
     
    The thought made her feel good though she
knew she was petty. He used her as a weapon, picking her out of all
the women who had approached him because he knew the idea of
marriage to her would annoy his grandfather, knowing too that his
grandfather would have to accept her if Sarah was going to have a
chance of recovery.
     
    She felt like standing up to him and yelling
at the top of her lungs that she was a fraud, that Solo no more
wanted to marry her than he did any of the willing, able, and eager
bodies his grandfather sent after him. But she didn’t want to give
up her fantasy, not even for her better judgment.
     
    “I’m going to bed, also.”
     
    “I’ll join you in a few minutes.” Solo bent
over, whispering words that had her panicked once again.
     
    Join me ? This wasn’t part of the plan. No way would she let him curl
up next to her in that huge king sized bed. A fake engagement did
not give him privileges.
     
    ***
     
    “When will we see the wolves?”
     
    “In a minute.”
     
    “This doesn’t feel any better in the
moonlight.”
     
    “Hush. They’ll hear you.”
     
    Although Nyssa was huddled in the middle of
a thick growth of bushes, and although she knew they had to talk
about the fake engagement, this wasn’t the time.
     
    They were watching a family of wolves and
any noise might frighten them away. Solo had his camera perched on
a tripod next to her, and they were so close she could feel his
warm breath whisper against her neck when he spoke.
     
    The soft click of the camera blended into
the night sounds and the ruckus coming from the wolves. Nyssa
pulled her jacket tighter and scrawled a description of the
family’s antics. No wonder the sleeping arrangements hadn’t
concerned Solo enough to protest his grandfather’s railroading. He
had no intention of sleeping. No sooner had the Colonel climbed the
ladder to bed than Solo pulled her