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  She had never seen two men more alike than Joe and his father, the only real difference being that Wolf’s eyes were as black as night while Joe’s were that brilliant, diamond blue. And looking at Wolf, she could easily understand why Joe had thought his father would kill the man who had abused him, if he had known about it. Wolf Mackenzie protected his own. Like his son, he was pure warrior.

  Mary was dwarfed by her sons, even thirteen-year-old Zane, the intense one. Michael was off at college; it would be Christmas before she would meet him. But Joshua, at sixteen, was almost as big as Wolf and Joe. Josh was as bright and lighthearted as Zane was dark and quiet, his gaze watchful. The same dangerous intensity that burned in both Joe and Wolf was evident in the boy.

  Then there was Maris. At eleven, she was small for her age, with Mary’s slight build and exquisitely translucent complexion. Her hair was pale, her eyes as black as Wolf’s. She was her father’s shadow, her small hands gentling and soothing the fractious horses as well as Wolf’s strong ones did.

  For the first time Caroline saw Joe with horses, and another element of his character fell into place. He was infinitely patient with them and rode as if he’d been born in the saddle, which he almost had.

  She stood at the kitchen window watching him and Wolf and Maris in the corral with a tall black mare who was currently Maris’s favorite. Mary came to stand beside her, knowing instinctively who Caroline was watching. “He’s wonderful, isn’t he?” Mary sighed. “I loved him the first moment I saw him, when he was sixteen. There aren’t many men in this world like Joe. He was a man even then, and I mean it in the purest sense of the word. Of course, I’m prejudiced, but you are, too, aren’t you?”

  “Just looking at him gives me shivers,” Caroline admitted dreamily, then caught herself with a laugh. “But don’t tell him that. Sometimes he can be very much the colonel. I try to keep him from being too commanding.”

  “Oh, he knows. The thing is, you give him shivers, too. Keeps things nice and balanced. I should know. His father has been giving me shivers for almost twenty years now. Do you suppose it’s inherited?”

  “It probably is. Look at Joshua and Zane.”

  “I know,” Mary sighed. “I feel so sorry for all the girls in school. And all those poor girls in college with Michael haven’t had time to get used to him, the way the girls he grew up with did. Not that it did them much good.”

  “Maris will balance it out with the boys.”

  Through the window she watched Joe lightly vault the fence and start toward the house. Wolf tousled Maris’s hair and followed his son, while Maris remained with the mare.

  Both men entered the house, their tall, broad-shouldered forms suddenly making the kitchen seem too small. They brought with them the earthy scents of the outdoors, horse and hay and clear fresh air mingled with their own male sweat.

  “You two look guilty,” Joe observed. “What have you been talking about?”

  “Genetics,” Caroline replied.

  His brows lifted in that characteristic way. She shrugged. “Well, I can’t help it. I’m probably going to be very interested in genetics for the next eight and a half months. Do you want to lay odds on whether it’s a boy or a girl?”

  “Oh, it’s a boy,” Mary said, her entire face lit with delight. Joe had gone weak at the knees, and Wolf was laughing at his son as he helped him to a chair. “Joe’s a Mackenzie, hardly a female sperm to be found. Mackenzies have to work really hard to have daughters. That’s why they appreciate them so much.”

  Epilogue

  Mary was absolutely right. John Mackenzie, eight pounds and two ounces, made his debut right on time. His heritage was immediately apparent in the thick black hair, blue eyes and straight black brows of his father. After his birth Caroline slept, and Joe dozed in the chair by her bed, his son lying on his chest and making squeaky little grunting noises. Caroline awakened, her drowsy eyes moving around the room until her gaze lit on the pair by her side. She reached out, first touching her husband’s hand and then the tiny hand that lay curled on his chest.

  Joe’s eyes opened. “Hi,” he said softly.

  “Hi, yourself.” He looked wonderful, she thought. Kind of grubby and rumpled. He was still in uniform, having been summoned straight from the base. The nurses were probably all swooning at his feet. She grabbed his tie and pulled him closer. “Give me a kiss.”

  He did, his mouth lingering hungrily over hers. “In a few weeks I’ll give you a lot more.”

  “Umm. I can’t wait.” He made a few lascivious promises to her that made her heart pound, and she laughed as she took the sleeping baby from him. “You shouldn’t talk like that in front of him. He’s too young.”

  “It’s nothing new to him, sweetheart. He’s been well acquainted with me from the very beginning.”

  She looked down at the tiny, serious face, and this time her heart swelled, blooming until it nearly filled her chest. It was incredible. This magnificent little creature was incredible. Her parents, having decided to stay in Greece for a couple of years, were on their way, but the flight was so long and the connections so horrible that it would be another ten hours before they arrived. John’s other grandparents, however, had managed to get there before he was born, and he’d already been in their arms.

  “Where are Wolf and Mary?” she asked sleepily.

  “In the cafeteria. They said they were hungry, but I think they wanted to give us some time alone.”

  “I wish they’d brought Maris and the boys.”

  “They were taking final exams at school. They’ll see him soon enough.”

  She looked back down at the baby, tracing the downy cheek with her fingertip. To her surprise, he abruptly turned his head toward the touch, the tiny mouth opening as he sought it.

  Joe laughed and said, “That isn’t it, son. You need to fine-tune your targeting a little.”

  The baby had begun fretting. Caroline opened her gown and gently guided the avid little mouth to her breast. He clamped down on it with a grunting noise.

  “He’s a typical Mackenzie,” she murmured. “Which means he isn’t typical at all.”

  She looked up and met Joe’s eyes, brilliant and filled with more desire and love than she’d ever thought to see in her life. No, there was nothing typical about this man. He was on a fast track to the stars, and he was carrying her with him.

  Mackenzie’s Pleasure

  By Linda Howard

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  Wolf Mackenzie slipped out of bed and restlessly paced over to the window, where he stood looking out at the stark, moonlit expanse of his land. A quick glance over his bare shoulder reassured him that Mary slept on undisturbed, though he knew it wouldn’t be long before she sensed his absence and stirred, reaching out for him. When her hand didn’t encounter his warmth, she would wake, sitting up in bed and drowsily pushing her silky hair out of her face. When she saw him by the window she would slide out of bed and come to him, nestling against his naked body, sleepily resting her head on his chest.

  A slight smile touched his hard mouth. Like as not, if he stayed out of bed long enough for her to awaken, when they returned to the bed it wouldn’t be to sleep but to make love. As he remembered, Maris had been conceived on just such an occasion, when he had been restless because Joe’s fighter wing had just been deployed overseas during some flare-up. It had been Joe’s first action, and Wolf had been as tense as he’d been during his own days in Vietnam.

  Luckily, he and Mary were past the days when spontaneous passion could result in a new baby. Nowadays they had grandkids, not kid