She walked to the window and looked out on open prairie with the mountains in the background. She loved this land and this man. It was about time for her to let go of the past and prove it. She pulled off her boots, her jeans, and her panties. Then she headed for the large master bath.
The water cascaded down the walls of the shower from three different directions. A brick wall circled the shower instead of a curtain. Gab stood naked waiting for her. He put out his hand and drew her to him, then lifted her up on her tiptoes.
His chest hair rubbed against her sensitive breasts, and his hard cock pulsed along her abdomen. “See what you do to me.”
He bent his head and kissed her hard on the mouth. Then he stepped into the warm water with her in his embrace.
Gab put her down and created a lather with the soap. He started at her earlobes, washed down her neck and massaged her shoulders with his soapy hands. His eyes had dropped from her face to her neck, to her breasts.
“Luscious globes with tasty strawberries in the center.” His teeth grazed across her nipples, and a shot of hot desire went to her core. Her skin became supersensitive to every touch of his hands or lips. He licked across the spot where her heart pounded in her neck, while his hands slid down and covered her breasts. A shiver of delight ran through her.
He took his time caressing her and brushing his tongue across her tight nipple. When he sucked, a shot of excitement flew up her spine.
She ran her hands over his chest and pinched his nipples. His groan gave her a sense of satisfaction. Her hand slid down his six-pack, across his taut abdomen, and wrapped around his cock. It jerked in her hand.
“Be careful. I’m ready to go off like a firecracker on the Fourth of July.”
“That’d be all right. Relax and enjoy.”
“No. I want to be buried in your hot pussy before I let go.”
While he kissed her breasts, his hand slid down her torso and between her legs. His fingers rubbed her clit and her arousal spiked higher. Her juices flowed over his fingers when he slipped two of them inside her pussy. He stroked in and out. Her breath came in gasps.
“Take me, now.”
He sucked on her tight nipple and sent a shot of desire straight to her core. Her body arched against his.
“I’m in charge. This time you won’t have a chance to think beyond me, and what I’m doing to you.” His deep, rich voice warmed her blood.
Gab reached up on the shower ledge and opened a condom package. “Slide it on me.” He handed her the condom. She knelt and rolled it up his large cock. Then he lathered his hands and glided them along her hips to her abdomen and down her legs.
Each sensuous stroke fueled her fire. Her pussy ached with her hunger to have his cock filling her.
“Hold on to my head,” he murmured. He lifted one foot and massaged it all over. When he put the one down, he picked up the other and did the same.
Grace moaned from the pleasure swirling upward to every cell in her body. “Spread your legs,” he ordered. She did and he buried his head between them. His fingers separated her folds and he licked from her bud of nerves to the opening to her pussy. When his tongue flicked inside, her body shook as a wave of intense bliss rolled over her.
Gab placed his cock at her opening and surged inside. He pulled her legs up around his waist and put her back against the tiled wall. Then he pumped in and out of her pussy, and he kissed her hard, drawing a responsive moan from her lips. An explosive current raced through her veins intensifying her passionate desire to be closer and closer to him.
Their bodies clung to each other and her fingers held onto his wet hair. Warm water cascaded around them, but the only sound she heard was the pounding of her heart.
When Gab thrust in hard against her womb, her pussy rippled around his cock. Shivers raked her body as her orgasm swept her up and away.
Gab’s cock pulsed against her pussy walls as his release came to him. His heart beat like a tom-tom against her chest. Gradually their heartbeats returned to a normal rhythm. Like yesterday, she knew they’d formed some type of bond. She felt more secure and comfortable in his arms than she had in New York. With all the ways she’d tried, she had never stopped loving him.
Gab let her legs down and showered off. He got out. “I’ll dress and fix us a sandwich.”
She finished, dried, and went in the bedroom to put her clothes on. The phone rang, and she heard Gab’s low, composed voice, and then his footsteps coming toward her.
“One of the men from the furniture store called. They’re about thirty minutes out. I’ve got our lunch ready. We can eat before they get here.” He had no particular expression on his face, and she worried he’d remembered what happened earlier and had withdrawn from her.
Grace followed him to the kitchen. They leaned against the counter and ate their sandwiches and drank the tea he’d poured into the glasses he had at the house.
When she finished, she moved toward him impelled by a sense of urgency. The heat from his body drew her in. She wanted his strength and warmth. Her fingers slid slowly up his arm. “What are you thinking?”
“Nothing. Just waiting for the furniture. I have a lot of stuff to buy before this house is livable.”
She noticed he said I. Her chest ached around her heart. “I can move back to the cabin. I’m safe, thanks to you.”
“Good idea. It’ll take time to get all the furniture, dishes, and other items I need to make the house ready to live in. I’m sure you want to get back to your work.”
Her temples throbbed, and an unwelcome blush covered her cheeks. But he didn’t notice. Gab had walked into the living room, leaving her behind. What had happened? Her pride had been hurt by his behavior and the old fear crept into her tight throat.
When they delivered the furniture, she made herself smile and appear pleased, but as soon as they left, she asked Gab to take her to the cabin.
He dropped her off at the front door. “I’ll call. Rest and don’t work too hard.”
She nodded and walked inside. She locked the door before collapsing on the sofa. She’d ruined it all when she stopped their lovemaking the first time. But what was that all about in the shower? Had it just been a release for him? She thought he’d bonded with her, too. Tears ran down her face, and she sobbed from the onrush of pain.
* * * *
Gab drove home with a heavy heart. When she brought up the hurt he’d caused her years ago, he’d felt there wasn’t any way to get past the selfish way he’d told her good-bye when he called after graduation.
He’d made love to her in the shower and it was slow and beautiful. But he couldn’t forget her earlier hesitation even after he’d saved her life today.
There was nothing for him to do but let her go. Her doubts about the past cut into him deeply. He deserved it. He’d been an ass. But their relationship couldn’t survive if she didn’t trust him. Better they stop now.
At the house, he wandered from room to room. In the bedroom, he’d swear he smelled her scent of arousal, and the bathroom haunted his memory. Jagged pain seared across his chest. He shook his head regretfully.
Back in the bedroom, he fell onto the mattress and covered his eyes with his arm. All joy had left him. This was stupid. He had work to do on the barn. Physical labor would take his mind off his immediate problem. He needed to give Grace time to think. She’d warned him. He had pushed her too fast.
Gab changed into old jeans and a flannel shirt. The air had cooled in the late afternoon. Pounding on nails and cutting wood kept his mind focused. By dark he’d have most of the work finished.
* * * *
Grace walked to the bathroom and rinsed her face. Gab had been right. She had plenty of work to keep her busy. So much had happened recently. No wonder she couldn’t clear her mind and settle on who and what she wanted in her life. She turned on all the lights in the study and started drawing. When she raised her head later, it was dark outside and eight o’clock in the evening.
She
opened a can of soup for supper and ate it with crackers. She’d bought a quart of her favorite ice cream when she’d gone shopping. Grabbing a spoon, she dumped half the carton into a bowl and sat on the couch to watch the movie channel. An old Clark Gable movie was playing. She loved his movies. Halfway through, Grace realized she’d eaten the half quart of ice cream and felt slightly nauseous from all the sugar. She didn’t usually eat that much at one time.
At some point, she fell asleep on the couch. When she woke the next morning, the movie channel had on a Jimmy Stewart movie. She moved to get up, and all her muscles protested.
Grace groaned when she looked in the bathroom mirror. I look as bad as I feel. Under the cold shower her body began to revive. She dressed and fixed cereal and toast for breakfast.
When the phone rang, her heart jumped. She grabbed her cell. “Hello.”
“This is Fred Vine’s mother. How dare you have him arrested. My son would never hurt anyone.” Mrs. Vine screamed through the phone. “I told him you weren’t the right woman for him. You are shallow and cold.”
“Mrs. Vine, Fred tried to hurt me. He went crazy after I broke our engagement.”
“Of course he did. You made a fool of him, and you deserve all the anguish you get in the future.” She slammed her phone down.
Grace did what she ought to have done days ago. She called the phone company and had her number changed and unlisted. No more calls from any of the crazy Vine family. Then she sent her family, Gab, and other friends her new number.
She started working on her designs when she got another call on her cell. Gina sounded excited when Grace answered.
“Grace, are you at the cabin?”
“I am. What do you need?”
“A ride to the hospital.”
“Where’s Graham?”
“I encouraged him to go to Rand’s place and fish. But I’m not sure I want to wait for him to get here. Plus, he might drive too fast and have a wreck. I’ll call him when I get to the hospital.”
“I gave the truck back to Mom. I’ll hurry to your house and we’ll take your car.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Grace grabbed her purse and ran down the dirt road to Gina’s house. She was out of breath when she got there. Gina stood in the doorway with her suitcase.
“Get in the car.” Grace took the suitcase from her and put it in the backseat. Gina handed her the keys when she got in the driver’s side.
“Are the pains close together?”
“Yes. They started at fifteen minutes, but they’re at five now. I was restless yesterday and didn’t sleep well. But it’s three weeks until my due date, so I never mentioned it to Graham.”
“You knew he wouldn’t go otherwise, and you didn’t want him to miss the time with his brother.”
“Right.” Gina grinned.
Grace drove fast, but stayed under the speed limit. This being a first baby, she wasn’t too worried about having to do the delivery.
She drove under the portico at the side of the emergency room and ran in to get a wheel chair. A nurse came out with her. Gina was on the phone.
“I’m fine, Graham. The nurse is here with Grace, and they’re wheeling me into the hospital. Have Rand drive you here. I don’t want you wrecking the truck speeding and getting hurt.” Gina laughed into the phone. “This is my job, honey. You can’t do it for me. See you.” She looked up at Grace, who was walking beside the wheelchair. “He’s frantic as I expected, but Rand will bring him to me.”
The nurse wheeled her into an emergency cubicle and asked Grace to step out. In a few minutes, she came out and called the doctor.
The nurse stood at the station with her back to Grace, but Grace heard her speak. “Yes, doctor. She is ready to have the baby, soon. All right, I’ll send her upstairs.”
She turned and smiled at Grace. “Doctors, just because it’s a first baby he expects them all to take hours and hours. This little lady has been in labor for a while. She just didn’t recognize her low back ache for what it was. Do you want to wait here for her husband?”
“I’d better.”
“Bring him up to the fourth floor. The nurses will direct you from there.”
“Thanks.” Grace went in the cubicle where they had Gina on a stretcher. She assured Gina she’d get Graham upstairs as soon as he arrived. A nurse and an aide came in and rolled the stretcher into the nearest elevator.
A few minutes later, Graham rushed in with a distracted look on his face. His hair stood out in all directions, as though he’d pulled on it during the whole ride to the hospital. Rand walked in after him.
“You look like a crazy man.” Grace handed him her comb. “Fix your hair, or you’ll scare Gina.”
Rand chuckled. “I looked the same. It’s a frightening experience for husbands.”
“We’ll take the elevator to the fourth floor, and they’ll tell us where she is.”
When they got off, they went straight to the desk. Graham frowned at the nurse and demanded to see his wife.
The nurse grinned. She’d obviously dealt with irate husbands in the past. “Mrs. Brodie is being prepared for delivery. You can go in her room in a few minutes, but”—she glanced at Grace and Rand—”no one else is allowed in.”
“This might be a long wait,” Rand said. “I’m heading home. Call me if you need anything. I’m sure Sis will be glad to keep you company.”
“You’re deserting us?” Grace asked.
“This is my day off. I see enough of this place as it is. They’ll take good care of Gina.” He slapped Graham on the shoulder. “Keep cool. I’ll call Mom. She’ll probably break the speed limit getting here.”
Graham barely nodded. He stared down the hall at the closed door to room 408, which the nurse had said was Gina’s room.
Grace hugged Rand. “Go on. We’ll be fine. I’ll tell him what you said when he’s more alert to the rest of the world.”
Rand waved and got on the elevator. Gina sat in one of the seats in the waiting room, and Graham continued his watch from the door.
Chapter Thirteen
After a restless night, Gabriel got up early and showered. He’d have a cup of coffee and drive to the cabin. He had to see Grace and talk with her. There was no way he could live without her. If it took her longer to trust him, he’d try his best to be patient.
His phone rang as he walked out the door. “Gab here.”
“Honey, your dad was helping me slice bacon. He’s cut his hand. I think it needs stitches, but he’s refusing to go to the emergency room. He wants to wait until Dr. Rand’s office opens.” Gab understood all the older folks in town called Rand by his first name.
“I’ll be right over, Mom.” Gab drove the short distance from his house to his parents’.
“Your mom is making a fuss about a little cut,” his dad said when Gab walked in the door.
“Let me see.” Gab unwrapped the bloody towel from around his father’s hand. “That’s a deep cut. I’ll call Rand and he can make the decision.” Gab punched in Rand’s number. When he answered, Gab explained the situation.
“Tell him to go to the ER. It needs to be taken care of now. I’ll see him in my office tomorrow”—Rand paused and then added—“I checked my schedule. Bring him in at one o’clock. Oh, by the way, Graham’s wife had a baby boy about an hour ago.”
“Great news. I’ll check on them while Dad gets stitched.”
His dad frowned at Gab’s words, but reluctantly took the new towel his wife handed him and started out the front door. His dad fumed most of the way.
“Dad, accept the doctor’s decision. Why are you so angry?”
“I’m mad at myself. In my younger years, I’d never have cut my hand that way.” He frowned. “The old grip isn’t what it used to be.”
“Remember, I’m here to help. I know it must grate like a sharp pain in the gut to have to accept limitations.”
“It does.” His dad looked out the side window. “But it’s been a good
life on the ranch. I don’t know if I told you how glad I am you’re home. You have your house finished, and what you need now is a wife.”
“I’m working on it.”
In a better humor, his dad chuckled. “Grace Brodie has a lot of spunk. I like her. She’s not letting you off the hook easy for disappearing all those years. I respect that.”
“Dad, whose side are you on?”
“I want you to win her, in the end.”
Gab stopped the truck at the ER entrance and helped his dad into the emergency room. When a nurse took over, he went back out to park his truck in the parking lot.
The doctor was with his dad when he got back. He looked across at Gab, who walked around the curtain. “Dr. Brodie called. I’m going to check your dad and stitch his hand.”
“While you work on him, I’m going up to the fourth floor.”
“Go ahead,” his dad said. “Without you around, I can yell at this young man if he hurts me.”
The doctor laughed. “You won’t have a pain after the first shot.”
Gab took the elevator up and the floor secretary directed him to room 408. When he knocked, Graham stuck his head out the door.
“Put on a gown, and come in and meet our son. Wash your hands in the bathroom just inside here,” Graham directed as Gab tied the gown at his neck and went in the bathroom to wash. Gina smiled at him when he came out.
“You look good,” Gab said. Then his glance turned to Grace, who sat in a chair by the bed. She held the small infant in her arms. Seeing her head bent toward the tiny babe was like a sucker punch to his abdomen. She glanced up at his quick intake of breath.
* * * *
His tender expression amazed her. He walked to her side and knelt down. At that moment, the baby blinked his eyes open.
“He has Graham’s dark blue eyes and brown hair, and I think he has a little reddish tint amongst the brown strands.” Gina’s face glowed when she looked at her baby. “Isn’t he wonderful?”
Enticed by the Billionaire Cowboy [Wives for the Western Billionaires 9] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) Page 11
