Sasha dashed around the swing set. Ryan went after her. She made a darting move to her right, surprising him. He turned, tripped on a ball and tumbled to the ground.
“Smooth,” he muttered as he lay staring up at the cloudy afternoon sky. “Very smooth.”
“Unk Ryan!” Sasha rushed to his side and threw herself on top of him. “’Kay?” she asked. “Me kiss boo-boo.”
“I’m okay,” he told her and shifted her so she sat astride his waist. Her short legs stuck out. “Thanks for worrying. I tripped but I’m not hurt.”
Sasha nodded, then leaned forward and rested on his chest. “Me tired.”
Ah, so the running around had finally caught up with her. “Are you going to take a nap on me? Right now?”
She giggled and tried to fake sleep. But she kept peeking up at him to see if he was watching. Every time she showed her face, he growled at her. She giggled and retreated, only to try it again.
Suddenly, she wrapped her little arms around his neck and squeezed tight. “Me love Unk Ryan.”
His throat tightened with unexpected emotion. “I love you, too, Sasha,” he managed, although his voice was a little thick. “I love you very much and I’ll always be here for you.”
Wise toddler eyes stared at him. “Me know,” she told him solemnly, and at the moment he believed she did know that she could trust him.
Was that all it took? he wondered. A heartfelt declaration? Could he just tell Cassie that he loved her and wanted to marry her? Would that be enough? It would have to be, he thought. He didn’t have anything else to try.
Tonight, he decided. Tonight, when they were in bed together, he would tell Cassie the truth. He would explain that he didn’t know how to do any of this right, but that he would always try to do what she wanted. That making her happy was the most important part of his life. Then he would confess his feelings and propose.
Before he could figure out if it might work, a voice cut through the afternoon. “Ryan? Are you out here?”
He grabbed Sasha around her waist and set her on the ground, then stood up himself. Cassie’s aunt Charity came into the backyard. She smiled when she saw him. “Cassie said you two were playing.” She walked over and gave Sasha a hug. “How’s my best princess?”
Sasha giggled.
“I’ll take that as a good report,” Charity said, then straightened. “I’m just here for a second to say hi. I had a few last-minute details to work out with Cassie for her birthday party and I needed to drop off the nightgown.”
Cassie’s twenty-fifth birthday was at the end of the week. “She’s really looking forward to the party.”
“I’m sure it will be fun,” Charity said. “I’ve even hired a high school girl to look after Sasha so you and Cassie can relax. Seven o’clock on Thursday.”
“I’ll get her there.”
With that, Charity was gone. Ryan stared after her. Should he buy an engagement ring first, or wait until he talked to Cassie? She might want to pick it out herself, especially after nine years of wearing diamond lint.
Sasha tugged at his hand. “Drink, peas.”
“Sure thing, kid.” He picked her up and carried her inside.
Cassie sat at the kitchen table, reading a cookbook. She glanced up when they came in. “I saw you two out there. You were having a good time.”
Her face was practically free of makeup, her clothes were sensible rather than glamorous, her hair slightly tousled. Yet Ryan thought she was the most lovely, incredibly attractive woman he’d ever seen. It was all he could do not to declare himself right there.
“We were,” he said, and had to clear his throat. “Ah, Sasha wanted a drink.”
“I’ll get it,” she said and stood up. As she crossed to the refrigerator, she passed a large white box. “It’s the magic nightgown. Want to see?”
Ryan couldn’t answer. He’d completely forgotten about the Bradley family legend and Cassie’s hope that when she wore the nightgown on her twenty-fifth birthday she would dream about the man she was destined to marry. She’d waited for this night nearly all her life. He knew she thought of herself as an outsider in the family. Her adoption had left her feeling different. If the nightgown worked, then she would truly belong.
He told himself the nightgown wasn’t really magic. She wasn’t going to dream about anyone. But he also knew that his opinion didn’t matter…it was Cassie’s fantasy and he had no right to interfere. So he would wait until after her birthday. He would let her dream, perhaps even about another man. Then he would win her for his own.
* * *
BY THE MIDDLE of the week Cassie knew she wasn’t imagining things. She drove back to the house determined to have it out with Ryan. Sasha was in preschool for two hours. That should give them plenty of time to deal with whatever was going on with him.
For nearly a week, he hadn’t been himself. She kept turning around and finding him staring at her with a really strange look on his face. He would start conversations, then simply walk out of the room. Something had him distracted and she was determined to find out what.
She had a bad feeling she already knew the answer. He was ready to end their affair. No doubt he was concerned that she was getting too emotionally attached to him and he didn’t want to be responsible for hurting her. So he would end it before she completely fell for him. Good thing he didn’t know she was already in love. There would be no avoiding the pain this time.
She parked in the driveway, then walked purposefully into the house. It would be easier to avoid the situation, but that had never been her style. So she squared her shoulders, dug up all the spare courage she could find, then headed to his office and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” he called.
She stepped inside. “Ryan, we need to talk,” she began, then stopped when she saw he wasn’t at his desk. Instead he stood by the window, staring out at the backyard. “Is everything all right?” she asked.
He turned toward her. “Sure.”
But despite his neutral expression, she didn’t believe him. “No. Something has been bothering you for several days and I think I know what it is.”
He smiled. “I doubt that.”
Okay, here went nothing. “You’re worried about me. You’re concerned that I’m going to get emotionally attached to you because we’re lovers and women tend to bond when they make love with someone. I want you to know that I understand and I’m—”
“They do?” he asked, interrupting her.
“What?”
“Women bond when they make love?”
“Yes. Most of the time. If they have feelings for the man. It’s pair bonding, like wolves or swans. But that’s not the point. I don’t want you to be concerned about me.”
“Because you haven’t bonded?”
This was the tricky part, she thought. She didn’t want to lie, but she was afraid to tell him the truth. She took a step toward his desk. “I’m a mature person. I can handle my feelings.”
“So you have bonded.”
“I didn’t say that.” Except by avoiding the question, she sort of had.
He moved toward her, stopping less than two feet away. His green eyes were alight with an emotion she couldn’t read. “It’s one or the other. Either you’ve bonded or you haven’t. But if it makes answering the question any easier, I can tell my bonding story.”
“Okay.” What was he talking about? Her stomach got all quivery and she felt both hot and cold. Dear Lord, please don’t let it be bad.
He took one last step forward, then kissed her gently. “I’ve bonded with you, Cassie. Even before we made love, I found myself falling in love with you. I didn’t recognize it at the time, probably because I’ve never felt this way before. You mean everything to me.”
She couldn’t speak. She wasn’t su
re she was even breathing. Was this really happening? Was Ryan actually saying these things to her?
He touched her cheek, traced her mouth, tucked her hair behind her ears and gave her a shaky smile. “You deserve so much more than I have to offer. I don’t know how to be what you need, but I’m too selfish to let you go. I love you. I want to marry you. I want us to raise Sasha along with a couple dozen kids of our own. I want to make love with you every night, I want to hold you while you sleep and I want to watch you smile when you wake up in the morning.”
He clutched her hands tightly in his. “Just tell me what you want. I can learn to be a better man, if you’ll help me. I want to make you happy. I want to make all your dreams come true.”
He was saying everything she wanted to hear and more. So much more. The odd light in his eyes was love, she realized. He loved her. “You have made all my dreams come true.”
“Then why are you crying?”
She pulled one hand free and touched her face. It was wet. “I’m so happy.” Her head was spinning. “Is this really happening? Did you just propose to me?”
“Not exactly.”
Her heart plunged to her toes and then broke.
“No, don’t!” he said quickly. “I want to marry you. I want to elope with you tonight. But I know how important the family legend is with you. So I’m going to ask you to marry me, but I don’t want you to answer. Wear the nightgown tomorrow night, then answer me in the morning.”
“I don’t understand. What if I don’t…” She couldn’t finish the statement. But he knew what she was thinking.
“What if you don’t dream about me?” he asked. “If you dream about another man, I’ll win you from him because I know you’re my destiny. I’ll sweep you off your feet with passion and devotion until you can’t imagine being with anyone else. I’ll earn you, and once I have you, I’ll never let you go.”
“I want to marry you,” she said and kissed him.
“Tell me that again in forty-eight hours.”
* * *
CASSIE’S FINGERS TREMBLED as she unfolded the nightgown, then slipped it over her head. She climbed into her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.
Ryan sat down beside her and smiled. “Don’t look so scared. It’s going to be fine.”
“I know, it’s just so strange. All my life I’ve wanted the nightgown to be magic, and now I don’t.”
“You’re going to dream of me. I know it. And if you don’t, hey, I have a plan. Either way, I love you and want you in my life.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered back.
They talked for a few more minutes, then he left her alone. Cassie fingered the lace at her collar and cuffs, then turned on her side. The bed felt odd. She hadn’t slept in it since she and Ryan had become lovers.
She closed her eyes, then opened then. After twenty-five years, it was finally her turn to wear the family nightgown, and now that the moment was finally here, she was afraid to go to sleep.
“This is dumb,” she told herself aloud. “Ryan is a wonderful man. I love him. I want to marry him. I should just go accept his proposal.”
Except she’d tried that several times over the past couple of days and every time he told her to wait. He wanted her to have her night of magic.
She tried to relax. In an effort to distract herself, she thought about her wonderful party. All her friends had been there. Ryan had fit in with everyone. He’d made her feel so special.
Gradually, her eyes grew heavy. She fought against sleep because she was afraid, but at last it claimed her. She drifted for a while, then found herself standing on the porch of the Bradley house, staring at the wide lawn. A man appeared in the shadows. Her heart pounded in her chest. She was having a magic dream. The nightgown was about to reveal her destiny.
Even in her sleep, she found herself calling out for Ryan. She needed it to be him. She loved him.
The man continued to walk toward her. His figure was indistinct, then suddenly he was in front of her. All five feet four inches of him. She recognized the gray hair, the craggy face and the scowling expression. Old Man Withers, their caretaker for longer than she’d been alive, glared at her.
Cassie woke up with a start. She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. She’d dreamed about Old Man Withers. What a joke. The nightgown wasn’t going to work for her.
“It’s better this way,” she whispered to herself. “I love Ryan.”
But the sadness inside her didn’t have anything to do with loving Ryan. It was about really belonging to the Bradley family. She was adopted. There wasn’t a legend for her.
Coldness swept through her and she shivered. She didn’t want to be alone so she got out of bed and walked down the hall. Ryan stirred as she opened his door. He raised himself on one elbow. “Good news?”
His eyes were sleepy, his hair mussed. She knew that under the blankets and sheet, he was naked and if she crawled in beside him and touched him, he would want her. He loved her and she loved him back. He’d changed in the time she’d known him. He was a wonderful father to Sasha and he would be an equally wonderful husband.
All her life she’d wanted to belong. She suddenly realized that being a part of something wasn’t about a place. It didn’t matter where she’d been born or who had given birth to her. Home was a state of mind. Home was where her heart was welcome. Home was with Ryan.
She smiled. “The best news,” she said and slipped in beside him.
He wrapped his arms around her. “I knew you’d dream about me. Now you have to marry me.” His voice was sleepy. “I was gonna win you no matter what, but this is better. Let’s get married soon.”
“I’d like that,” she said.
“Good.” He kissed her cheek.
He was, as she’d suspected, completely naked. And he was half-asleep. She really should let him get his rest. Except she found herself wanting him. Not because she’d lost her dream, but because she’d finally found where she belonged—where she’d always belonged. First with her adoptive parents and Chloe, and now with Ryan.
So even though his eyes were slowly closing, she rested her head on his shoulder, then slipped her hand down his body. He made a low sound of pleasure.
“You’re not going to let me get right back to sleep, are you?” he asked lazily as her hand closed over him. He was aroused in a matter of seconds.
“Pay no attention to what I’m doing,” she told him in a whisper. “I’m just trying to relax you.”
“Oh, yeah, it’s very relaxing.”
She continued to stroke him, moving up and down in that slow steady pace he enjoyed. Then, without warning, he rolled over, taking her with him, until she was on her back, staring up at him.
“I love you,” he said, his green eyes bright with a combined blaze of love and passion. “You are mine and I’m going to spend the rest of my life convincing you that you’ve made the right decision.”
“I already know,” she assured him.
“Do you? I think I should start making you sure right now.”
He lowered his head and kissed her. His tongue swept against the seam of her lips before slipping inside to tease and torment her in the most perfect way. They’d learned so much about each other’s bodies in the past several weeks. They’d learned about the pleasures they most enjoyed together. He knew how to touch her to make her sigh, to make her catch her breath, to make her aroused. She knew how to bring him to his point of release in a matter of seconds. There were still wondrous discoveries, but already they were finding their favorite ways to make love.
He sat up and pushed down the covers, then pulled her into a sitting position and tugged off the nightgown. With her body bare to his gaze, she relaxed back onto the bed, drawing him with her. He kissed her deeply, then broke that kiss to touch his mouth to her
forehead, her eyelids, her cheeks and her nose. He left a damp trail down her neck, then loved her breasts with mouth and tongue and teeth until she was shaking beneath him.
“I want you,” he breathed against her heating skin. “I want to be with you and in you. I want to make love with you so much that we really become halves of the same whole. I want to be deep inside you—and I want you to have our children. I will always love you, Cassie. No matter what. Forever. I promise.”
She felt the wetness of her happy tears as they trailed down her temples and into her hair. She felt her body ready for him.
“I want you, too,” she whispered. “I want your babies and your arms around me at night.”
She had more to say, but he was moving lower, kissing her belly, then kneeling between her legs so that he could give her the most intimate kiss of all. He parted the soft folds of her feminine place and touched his lips to her center-most place. Pleasure shot through her. Pleasure heightened by the realization that Ryan loved her as much as she loved him, and that they’d committed to each other. No matter what, they would always be together.
Then she was unable to think at all. She could only feel the sweep of his tongue against her and the pressure of the finger he’d slipped inside her. He moved in a matching rhythm designed to take her to the edge of madness and beyond. She parted her knees more to allow him to get closer, then dug her heels into the bed. As she neared her release, she half sat up to watch as well as feel his magic. She stroked his head with her fingers, giving a quiet moan as the pleasure intensified.
Then she was lost in the perfection of the moment, caught up in a storm that rearranged the universe, then delivered her safely to her lover’s arms. Ryan caught her as she fell and entered her while she was still quivering. Long, deep incredible thrusts filled her woman’s place and took her back up on that wonderful journey.
They opened their eyes at the same moment and stared at each other. She could not say who held the other tightest. They were so joined that she could feel his own need as well as her own—she knew the exact moment when he would find his release.
Dream Wedding Page 44
