“Rayne, are you okay?”
She looked out over the view. “I’m fine.”
“Then why are you clutching that railing so hard your knuckles are white?”
She hadn’t realized she was. “Oh. Um, because I—”
“I thought you were afraid of heights.”
“I am.”
“Does the thought of having my last name scare you that badly?”
“Yes… No… I mean… It’s just all… happening so fast.”
He nodded. “I guess it is.”
“I’m a proud person, Rory. You should know that about me.”
“Okay.”
“And stubborn.”
“What are you trying to tell me, Rayne?”
“I may not be rolling in money, but I’m not the kind of person to chase after someone just to…”
“To what?”
“I didn’t get pregnant on purpose.”
“I didn’t say you did.”
“And I’m not after your money.”
“I didn’t say you were. Where is this all coming from?”
She looked away and lifted her chin. “I overheard your brother talking to you. I was on my balcony and you were—”
“On Jameson’s balcony,” he finished for her.
“He warned you I might be after your money.”
“Doesn’t mean he thinks that. He’s just being protective.”
“He looked at me funny at dinner, too.”
“He did?”
“Well, not at dinner, afterward when we were out here and you brought me that hot cocoa.”
Rory frowned.
“I said I could get used to this, and he gave me a look, you know, like that’s what I was after.” She waved her hand at the condo. “All of this and your money.”
“Don’t worry about it. Our relationship—yours and mine—is just that. It’s ours. It’s nobody else’s business. It’s true we don’t know each other well, but I aim to change that. Don’t let anything anyone else tells you color what we have, okay?”
“You make it sound so easy. It’s not. It’s hard to hear people who don’t even know me suggest that I may have ulterior motives. How am I supposed to defend myself against talk like that?”
“You know the truth. So, you just let it slide right off your back. Others’ opinions are not important. It’s what you think of yourself that counts, right?”
She didn’t reply.
He took her hand and laced her fingers through his. “Remember that night in Vail? How we were? We talked and laughed and opened up to each other about things I don’t think we’d ever talked about with other people. I want to get us back to that place—where we felt close, where it felt right.”
She squeezed his hand. “It was good. That night.”
“It was. Tell me it can be again.”
She met his eyes. “I hope so.”
He pulled her to the couch by the fire and cuddled her close. “Talk to me. Tell me how you’re feeling.”
“Tired. I’ve been tired a lot lately. I guess that’s normal.”
“I want to do whatever I can to make this easier on you. Whatever you need, all you have to do is ask, okay?”
“Okay.”
He tilted her head back with a finger under her chin, and his mouth came down on hers. She melted, her head dropping back farther and giving him access. It had been a long time since she’d felt attractive or desired like he’d made her feel in just the last twenty-four hours. She let herself enjoy it.
His mouth kissed its way to her ear, and he whispered, “Did you think about me when you lay in bed last night?”
She nodded, unable to lie.
“I thought about you, too. I’ve thought about you a lot in the last six months. You have no idea how much.”
Her arms stole around his neck as desire swamped over her. Desire and need.
He pulled her onto his lap, gave her a long, lingering kiss, and whispered against her mouth, “I want you. Do you want me, Rayne?”
She nodded.
He didn’t waste a moment in carrying her inside and to the bedroom. He laid her on the bed, following her down. He moved to her side and ran a hand over her body and slipped underneath her shirt to rest his big warm palm on her baby bump.
“Is it okay for us to fool around?”
“It’s fine.”
He pushed her shirt up, revealing her bra, then dipped his head and kissed her belly, working his way to her breasts. He paused to pull her shirt over her head and then slipped his hand under her back, flicked her bra clasp open and pulled it down her arms.
He caressed his way across her pale flesh, lifting her hair away from her breast so he could see them. She shuddered at the heat in his eyes.
“Still as pretty as I remember. I’m hungry for a taste of those pert little nipples that have haunted my dreams for so fucking long.” He pressed his lips to one, then the other. They were so sensitive these days that she moaned with just that barely-there touch.
He lifted his head to search her eyes, then his mouth descended again, closing around one of her nipples. He wasn’t teasing. There was no toying in this touch. It was all fierce intent.
He transferred his attention to her other nipple, slipping his fist into her hair, and pulled her head back which made her arch her breasts up into his waiting mouth. He toyed with the tip of her nipple until she was writhing to get closer to him.
“Are these nipples hard for me?” he demanded, waiting patiently for her answer.
“Yes, for you, only you,” she whispered and strained to rub them against his mouth. She writhed and wriggled against his cock. “I want you.”
He stripped her clothes, then stood and discarded his own. She lay there exposed and watched him, her desire growing with every piece of clothing that hit the floor. God, his body was perfection—muscled, tattooed, and hard with need for her.
He finally settled next to her, his hand stroking over her skin, her breasts, her baby bump, her hips and thighs. He lit her on fire with his gentle stroking touch until she could take it no more. She grabbed his wrist and drew his hand to her pussy.
“Please,” she heard herself beg. “I need it. I need you.”
He pushed her thighs further apart and then his fingers stroked her, dipping inside to draw her arousal and coat her with it. He made small circles around her clit and she moaned. He kept at her, stroking over and over until she was drenched, then he slid his fingers inside deep in one thrust, and she lifted off the mattress, her hips straining up to meet his strokes. He found that little trigger buried deep inside and he pressed and stimulated it until she thrashed against him, begging for more.
His used his thumb to brush across her clit slowly, repeatedly. Her nipples drew into tight little beads of sensation as she tensed and clenched her fists into the bedspread.
“Oh, Rory!” she gasped his name. Her back arched, and she cried out in a long, wrenching climax.
Before she came down, he’d positioned himself with his knees between her thighs, spreading her wide. He grabbed her hips and angled her and prepared to thrust inside her. With a roar, he sank into her deep, as far as he could go, and she moaned.
Rory growled, lifted her hips, and ground her sensitive clit against the base of his cock. She threw back her head and a cascade of pale lavender hair fell around her on the mattress.
“Look at you, pretty girl, all wanton and naked and sexy as hell, taking my cock so good. Fuck, I love you, Rayne.”
She heard the words, but he began to power into her, not giving her time to respond. His muscles strained as he gripped her hips to hold her still. His skin grew slick, and his face was a snarl of passion as he grew close to climax. She wondered if he’d even realized he’d admitted such feelings until he met her eyes.
“Say it,” he growled. “Say it back.”
Her heart burst open with love like a dam that could no longer hold the torrent. “I love you, Rory. I love you.”
> He roared as he thrust into her one last time and exploded. He pumped slowly a time or two as he coasted down. Then he pulled out and sank to the mattress next to her. He was breathing hard, but his eyes were locked with hers. She was terrified he hadn’t meant it, that it had just been words spoken in the throes of passion, but then he confirmed them.
“I mean it. I love you, Rayne. I have since the moment I looked into your eyes.”
“That’s lust.”
He shook his head. “Maybe it started that way, but it’s love now.”
“You hardly know me.”
“I know enough to know you’re a good person, that we have so much in common, that you click with me like no other woman ever has. We have a connection. Tell me you feel it, too.”
“I do. But I don’t know if I can trust you. Not for the long term. Not for the important things.”
He lifted up and twisted to her, his hand brushing her hair off her face. He dropped a kiss to her mouth, then pulled back to stare deep into her eyes. “Then I’m going to prove to you that you can trust me.”
Chapter Twenty-five
The early morning gray light filtered in through the sheer-covered windows. Rayne cracked an eye open. It was still too early, so her eyes slid closed again, and she snuggled deeper into the soft bed, tucking her hand between the pillow and her face.
A strong arm tightened around her waist and drew her against a hard warm chest. She smiled to herself, recalling the last time she was in bed with Rory. She had to admit, she’d spent many nights remembering what it had felt like and wishing he were in bed with her again. And now here he was.
His mouth moved to her ear. “You awake?”
She stretched and wiggled and felt his erection pressing hard against her. Then she giggled. “I am now.”
He smiled against the side of her face, then pressed kisses along her cheek, her jaw, her brow.
She couldn’t stop the moan that escaped her throat.
His hand traveled down her body and slipped between her legs at the apex of her thighs. Those long, musician fingers began to stroke and pet and tease.
She spread her legs, giving him room.
“That’s my girl,” he murmured into her ear. His fingers dipped inside. “So wet for me, baby. Were you dreaming about me?”
“Maybe.”
He slid down the bed and flipped her to her back, spreading her thighs open with his shoulders. His mouth settled over her and his tongue sank deep.
She sucked in a breath and writhed beneath him, lifting to meet his mouth.
He put her legs over his shoulders and settled in for a long stay.
She sank her fingers into his hair, urging him on. God, it felt so good.
He spread her wide with his thumbs and ran circles around her clit with his tongue until she was rocking against his face, wanting more. He toyed and played, then sank two fingers deep to find her g-spot. It didn’t take him long to have her detonating in ecstasy. He knew her body so well.
As she lay back in bliss she felt something flutter inside her. Her eyes widened, and she grabbed his hand and placed it over the spot. “The baby moved!”
He rose up to stare down at her belly, waiting.
She felt it again, and his eyes widened, and he smiled huge. “I felt it!”
He laughed and she did too, at the joy on his face.
She’d never felt more connected to another human being as she did to him in that moment.
***
“It’s too much,” Rayne said, looking at the price tag.
“Not if you want it,” Rory insisted, his hand running over the smooth wood.
“You don’t need to do all this.” She gestured around her to all the baby items in the store.
“Do what?”
“Buy the most expensive crib in the store, or the most expensive stroller—”
“I thought you liked that stroller. You could jog with it and everything.”
“I do like it. That’s not the point.”
He huffed. “Then what is the point?”
“You don’t have to blow all your money on me.”
His brows lifted, and he leaned into her. “I’m not.”
“We don’t need a crib that’s the price of a used car.”
“Okay, fine.” Rory looked around. “How about this one?”
“Really, you don’t need to spend so much money, Rory.”
“I want to take care of you and shower you with gifts, and hey, maybe I want my baby to have the best, to give her a life I never had. Why does it bother you?”
“I guess it bothers me because somehow it’s saying the life I was going to give her, what I could have been able to give her, wouldn’t have been good enough. That somehow it says she wouldn’t have been loved enough. Is that what you think?”
“No, Rayne, not at all. I—”
“I guess I’m just sensitive about the money thing. Things have been tight for me for a while now. The business is struggling, and yes, I’ve bought some things for her at garage sales. Maybe her car seat or her stroller would have been used. Maybe her clothes would have come from a resale shop. Is that so bad? Does that make me a bad mother?”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Exactly,” she snapped. He looked like he didn’t know how to respond to her, and she felt bad for snapping.
“I’m sorry. Do you not want any of this?” he asked.
Rayne felt the tears coming again and that made her want to stomp her foot. Her point was valid; why did she have to be so hormonal and emotional? It made her feel like her thoughts would be dismissed as hysterical.
“Please don’t get upset, baby.” He reached out for her.
“Don’t.” She pulled her hand out of his reach.
“I’m sorry. I can’t seem to do anything right for you.”
She slumped her shoulders and murmured, “That’s not true, Rory.”
“I don’t know what you want me to do.”
She nodded. “I know you don’t. I don’t mean to be so difficult.” God, she could kick herself. Stop apologizing for how you feel! “I told you I was proud…and stubborn, and I guess I’m not making this easy.”
He pulled her over to a display of gliders and they sat. “Rayne, look at me.” He bent forward, elbows on knees. “I have no doubt you’ll be a good mother or that no matter how much money you have, you’d give our daughter a happy childhood and that little girl would feel loved. And no expensive crib is going to change that.”
“Okay.”
They sat quietly for a while.
“Rory?”
“Yeah, babe.”
“It’s a nice crib.”
He grinned. “It is.”
“Where would we put it? I mean we never talked about where we’d live or even if we’d be living together in the future.” Would she be back home with her father after the baby was born?
“I, ah, guess you’re right. I’ve never lived anywhere but the farm, and you live in Denver.”
She nodded. “And that condo is your brother’s. We can’t move a crib into it. Am I going back to my father’s house to live, then?”
He arched his brows and gave her a look. “No, babe.” He thought a minute, and said, “Would you consider coming to Grand Junction?”
“I have a business here.”
“Right.”
They were quiet for a moment. “You know there aren’t very many shops like yours in Grand Junction. Maybe with less competition your business would increase.”
“What, move the shop there?”
He shrugged. “It’s a thought. Something to mull over.”
“I never thought of moving it. Daniel started that shop from nothing.”
“Look, I understand you want to preserve it just how he had it, but you said yourself, sales were down. Maybe a new location would work out for the best.”
“I don’t know. All the guys live in Denver, my employees…”
“Right. Well, if the sho
p continues to lose money…”
“They’d be out of a job anyway.”
“Exactly.”
“I guess we have a lot to work out. And you leave in two days.”
“I’d feel better if I knew you were staying in the condo when I leave, but I’d understand if you wanted to move back with your father.”
“I hadn’t thought about it.”
“How about if one of your girls stayed with you while I’m out of town?”
“You mean move into the condo with me?”
“Yeah.”
“I…I don’t know. I guess maybe. I could ask them.”
“I’d feel better about leaving, knowing someone was here for you if something happened.”
She threaded her fingers with his. “Rory?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too.” He kissed her hand. “I’ll call every night.”
“I’d like that.”
“Feel better?”
She nodded.
“Good. Let’s go get some food.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Rory helped Rayne into the SUV they’d picked out at a dealership late last night. He fired it up and drove across town. When he pulled to the curb in front of the place he’d brought them to eat, she looked out her window.
“This is my dad’s diner.” She turned to him. “How did you know where it was?”
He winked. “I have my ways.” He looked out the window at the place. It was an old, wooden structure that a sign proclaimed had been part of Denver’s history since 1956. “Place has been here a while, huh?”
“My grandfather opened it. My father has worked here all his life. When Granddad died, he took over.”
He nodded. “Family businesses. We have something in common, then. That, and we both love his daughter.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Come on.” He got out and went around to help her. She hesitated, looking at the building. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“What are you going to do?” A frown creased her brow.
He took her hands in his and dipped his head low. “I’m going to meet him, and I’m going to talk to him, one on one, if he’s got time.”
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