The Texas Rancher's Marriage

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  He caught her by the waist and shifted her upward, until she was cozily ensconced over him. “I do,” he whispered tenderly, kissing her.

  Merri smiled and returned the caress with all she had. “Well, then, it’s settled,” she said, slipping her arms about his neck. “Because I do, too.”

  Chapter Eleven

  The twins barreled into the kitchen just as Merri took the last blueberry pancake off the griddle. “Mommy, how come our daddy is yelling?” Jeffrey demanded.

  Merri wrinkled her brow. “What do you mean, yelling?”

  “Like this!” He looked at his sister, and they yelped in unison. “Do you think he got a boo-boo in the shower?”

  A faint trickle of alarm went through Merri. “Did it sound like he did?”

  The two shrugged. “I dunno,” Jeffrey said.

  “Was the water running?”

  They nodded affirmatively.

  “Then what happened?” Merri turned off the griddle. “Did Chase stop yelling?”

  “Yes, but first he said some of the words we’re not supposed to say.”

  “And then what?”

  Jessalyn blinked. “It was real real quiet.”

  “Except for the water,” Jeffrey added seriously. “’Cause it was still on.”

  Merri knelt down to their eye level. “Did you ask Chase if he was okay?”

  Jessalyn scoffed. “You told us not to bother a grown-up in the bathroom ’less it was an emergency. And we didn’t have an emergency!”

  Did Chase have an emergency? Merri hoped not. Bathroom accidents could be lethal, and if he wasn’t talking, that could mean he had fallen and hit his head.... Feigning calm, she guided the twins into their chairs. “You two sit down and eat your pancakes. I’ll go check on your daddy.”

  “Should you take him a Band-Aid?” Jeffrey called after her.

  “I have some upstairs. I’m sure it will be fine.” Merri walked as far as the hall, then dashed on up the stairs, silenting berating herself all the way. This was what she got for allowing Chase, who had clearly been dead on his feet after an eighteen-hour shift to get cleaned up and try to stay awake long enough to have breakfast with the twins before they went off to preschool.

  She should have told him his health was more important, and sent him straight to bed. The kids would have understood.

  Merri burst into the master bedroom, raced through it and threw open the bathroom door.

  The shower had stopped, she realized belatedly. Chase was standing there, naked as could be, dripping wet.

  “What happened?” He stepped out of the glass door.

  Merri was hit with a blast of cool air. And the impact of gazing at her sexy-as-could-be mate in the altogether. Flushing and terribly aroused, she explained, “The twins said you were yelping in distress!”

  Chase looked embarrassed. “They heard that?”

  She imitated the sounds the twins had made.

  He chuckled. “That was me, all right.” He lazily rubbed himself down with a towel. His flat male nipples were erect, as the rest of him was beginning to be, she noted, despite the goose bumps standing out on his arms and legs.

  Reluctantly, Merri dragged her gaze back to his face. “Did you run out of hot water?”

  “Yes. And then no.” He ran a towel over the day’s growth of beard on his face. “And then yes. And then no.”

  She smacked her forehead with the flat of her hand. “Oh, no.”

  “Oh, yes…” Towel around his waist, Chase closed the distance and hauled her against him. He smelled good. Like soap. And mint. And man.

  Merri apologized with a wince. “I forgot I had the washer on! I always put in a load first thing, before I start breakfast.”

  His eyes roved her face appreciatively. “I could tell it was something like that.” He ran a hand down her spine, drawing her closer still.

  “I’m not used to having a man around.” Merri’s breasts pressed against the hard, damp muscles of his chest.

  “I could tell that, too.” Chase’s hands slid lower and cupped her derrierre. “Although I can’t say I’m sorry about that.” He kissed her temple, her cheek, her ear. “I like being your one and only.”

  And I like being yours. Much more of this and she would really fall in love with him....

  Merri swallowed, noting the sudden parched feeling in her throat. “Forgive me?” she asked.

  “Depends.” His wicked grin widened as he pulled her up on tiptoe, so she was pressed even more intimately against him. “Are you going to kiss me and make it all better?”

  “Well,” she whispered playfully, “when you put it that way…” She linked her arms around his shoulders, closed her eyes.

  “Mommy!”

  “What are you doing, and where is Chase’s boo-boo?” The twins’ voices echoed loudly and impatiently behind her.

  Merri knew what part needed to be eased. It was pressed up against her and hidden beneath the towel. Busted by the most diligent and effective of chaperones, she dropped her arms and turned carefully, so her back was against his chest, her hips nestled against the proof of his desire.

  Chase wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close. He lowered his head and pressed his lips to her hair. “We were going to kiss,” he explained.

  “Yuck!” the twins said in unison.

  “I know.” Chase regarded them solemnly. “So it’s a good thing you came up here and interrupted us, otherwise who knows what might have happened?”

  The children wrinkled their noses, clearly perplexed while Merri stifled her laughter.

  “Did you get an owie?” Jessalyn demanded eventually, coming closer.

  “No,” Chase told them sincerely. “I’m sorry if it sounded like I did.”

  “We ran out of hot water again,” Merri explained. “Everything is fine.”

  “Oh.”

  She shepherded the twins toward the door. “Our breakfasts are getting cold. Daddy—” she cast a look over her shoulder, making no effort to hide her affection “—we’ll see you downstairs, okay?”

  Chase nodded and gave her a look that said he intended to finish what they had started. Jovially, he called, “Be right there, kids! As soon as I get dressed.”

  * * *

  “BYE! HAVE A GREAT DAY at school!”

  “We’ll see you later!”

  Merri and Chase waved as the car carrying the preschoolers drove off.

  He walked back inside with her. “So,” he concluded huskily, “you were worried about me.”

  Merri shut and locked the door behind them. “Of course I was worried.” She made a comical face. “The twins made it sound like you had fallen and couldn’t get up.”

  His belly laugh electrified the air. “So naturally,” he concluded, deadpan, “you told them to stay put, and came to my rescue.”

  “Well.” Merri shrugged and met his eyes. “You are my husband.” More so every day.

  He ran his palm over his unshaved jaw. “Speaking of marital duties…”’

  Merri quirked her lips. “Were we?”

  “We’re about to.” His expression innocent, he swung her up onto the kitchen counter and moved in, trapping her with his arms.

  Merri’s heart began a slow, heavy beat. Chase smiled. “Now, where were we earlier, when we were interrupted?” He undid one button on her blouse, then another. Gazed down at her cleavage. “Oh. I think I remember....”

  “Chase�
��”

  He undid several more buttons. “We haven’t had nearly enough time alone.” Easing the blouse from her body, he whispered, “I vote we take advantage of this....”

  The kiss that followed ramped up her desire and curled her toes. Eventually, he lifted his head. “So what do you say?”

  Merri sucked in a breath, aware she had zero willpower where her husband was concerned. She rubbed the moisture from his lips. “That you’re a hard man to say no to.”

  His next smile was even more devastating. Chase took her hand, and pressed it over his manhood. “I’m a hard man, period. And I have been since you walked in on me.”

  Merri checked him out. “That’s not good.”

  He shifted his weight. “It can be. At times like now.”

  Oh, my. “Chase.”

  “Merri…”

  She smiled, knowing that he knew he had turned her on in a major way. She kissed the tip of his nose, his cheek, his jaw. Ran her free hand down his chest. “We should go upstairs.”

  His eyes turned opaque. He lifted her hand from the most masculine part of him and kissed the back of it. “We’ll get there. Eventually.” His eyes darkened all the more. “But first…”

  Chase undid the clasp of her bra, which went the way of her blouse. She trembled, watching as he ran his fingers across the smooth skin of her abdomen, over her ribs, then palmed her breasts. He groaned at her responsiveness.

  Merri rested her forearms on his shoulders and gazed up at him. “You make me feel so good.”

  His lids lowered to half-mast. “At last, you’ve discovered my plan,” he teased, covering her mouth with his once again. Merri’s pulse skipped ahead, into a fast, hard rhythm as he kissed her, his body unyielding. No longer willing to wait for a bed, she palmed his shoulders, the corded muscles of his back, the smooth curve of his buttocks.

  Chase moaned. Smiling, she brought her hands around to the front of his soft gray sweats and slid her fingers beneath the waistband. He moaned again as she pushed it down, caught the band of his briefs and slid her fingers beneath that, too. His skin there was warm and covered with crisp hair. Lower still was the satin hardness she had admired earlier. She closed her fingers around him, wanting, needing.

  “Not yet.” He caught her wrist, his voice hoarse and unsteady.

  She clutched at him, already spiraling. “Yes....” Yes! Yes!

  “You’re not ready.”

  Merri felt the throbbing deep within her, the slipperiness between her thighs. “I beg to differ with you there, pardner…” she argued, her voice soft and thick.

  Smiling with lascivious intent, Chase eased open the front of her jeans, lowered the zipper. “But you will be,” he promised, lifting her long enough to push the denim down and then off.

  Cool air assaulted Merri’s skin. She trembled as he set her down again, positioning her legs so they were wrapped around his waist. He kissed her once more, stroking her with his hands, ever so tenderly. Merri shuddered in response and opened even more, desire sweeping through her in powerful waves.

  Chase lifted her partially off the counter, murmuring encouragement all the while. Just when she thought she couldn’t stand it anymore, he ended the passionate kiss and lowered his head to her breasts. Excitement surged through her as his lips became as busy as his hands, laving, adoring, inciting. Deliberately, he moved her against him, shifting her back and forth, driving her out of her mind, even with his clothes between them. Need overcame her, and everything in her tightened and peaked. She finally let out an exultant cry and trembled in release.

  Chase’s eyes were hot and his smile was tight when she slowly came back down to earth. Transfixed at the sight of him, so hard and hot and ready, she reached for the hem of his T-shirt, dragged it up over his head and tossed it to the floor. He watched her, clearly liking her plan, when she drew his sweatpants and briefs the rest of the way down his thighs. He kicked them off, away.

  Merri caught him by the shoulders and brought him close, wrapping her legs around him until she was straddling him, and he was… right where she wanted him. This time she let herself look into his eyes as he slid home, going deep, going slow. Emotion shimmered through her.

  She wasn’t sure she had felt married before.

  She did now.

  She wasn’t sure she had felt loved before.

  She did now.

  She wasn’t sure he’d felt loved, either.

  But the way he was looking at her, so avidly, so openly, told her that in this moment, he did. And really, Merri thought as she took his head in her hands and brought her mouth to his, that was all they needed.

  * * *

  “DON’T GO.” CHASE CAUGHT Merri’s hand before she could leave the bed, and pulled her back into his arms. He kissed her neck, behind her ear, leaving trails of fire and need in his wake.

  Merri shut her eyes, basking briefly in the erotic glow the two of them created every time they were together like this. “Believe me.” She sighed, absorbing his warmth and strength. “I would like nothing better than to stay, but I have to go.”

  He slid his hands down her hips. “Why?”

  Much more and he’d have her begging. Merri tried—unsuccessfully—to wriggle free. “Because if I don’t I’ll stay here all day.”

  He smiled as if he’d won a prize. “So?”

  “And you won’t get any sleep. And as your wife,” she continued archly, tingling even as she slipped from his light, easy grip, “one of my duties is to make sure you get the rest you need. So people won’t be saying things like, ‘Have you seen Chase Armstrong? Boy, that fella sure isn’t getting any shut-eye.’”

  Chase threw back his head and let out a raucous laugh. “They’d probably just figure it was because I was on my honeymoon with my very hot and lovely wife.”

  Merri grinned despite herself at the image that conjured up. She sat beside him and stroked the crisp, curling hair on his chest. “You can be really ornery, you know that?”

  He ran his eyes over her possessively, admiring her naked form. “Someone currently in this room brings it out in me.” Then he bent to kiss her knee. “And speaking of that person—you still haven’t told me what you want for Christmas.”

  Selecting the right gift was hard under normal circumstances. In this instance…? She shook off the question, letting him know that he didn’t have to give her a present. “I have everything I want and need.” Well, almost, she amended silently.

  He studied her eyes. “Except a baby.”

  Merri smiled. “I think we just worked on that.” Although from what she knew, the ovulation period was either well over or fading fast. She looked at him, knowing generosity should go both ways. “What do you want for Christmas?”

  Devilry lit his eyes. “Besides more lovemaking?”

  “There must be something you want and don’t have.”

  “I really can’t think of anything, now that I’ve got you and the twins.”

  “Except…”

  His expression turned wistful.

  “…the fact they aren’t yet calling you Daddy,” Merri guessed.

  He exhaled. “At least they’ve accepted that I am their daddy.”

  Merri gathered up her clothes. “It would be nice to have them call you something other than Chase.”

  Arms folded behind his head, he lay back on the pillows and watched her dress. “I asked Kate Marten about that. I figured she would know, since she’s had a lot of experienc
e dealing with kids, moving out of one situation and into another, so to speak.”

  Merri came closer, still buttoning. “And?”

  He shifted over so she could sit down and put on her socks. “She said it will happen when the kids are ready, and not before.”

  Merri turned, concluding, “So we have to be patient.”

  Chase nodded. He took her face in his hands and gave her another sweet and loving kiss. “Which, as it turns out, is not such a bad thing. As long as we’re together.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Chase had just sat down to go over the chart of a patient he had operated on, when his cell phone vibrated.

  “Going to be one of those days, hmm?” Paige commented, from the other side of the conference table.

  Luckily for him, it wasn’t anything that would take him back to the O.R. He showed the screen to his colleague.

  Wordlessly, Paige checked out the photo of his six vacationing army friends, who’d been visiting the Grand Ole Opry in Tennessee. All were decked out in Santa hats and grinning broadly, next to a hand-lettered sign, held by Starr, that said Hi, Chase!

  Having just come out of surgery herself, Paige paused to make a notation on a chart. “You still getting those?”

  He nodded. “Every time the ladies hit a particularly exciting landmark or destination.”

  His colleague got up, walked to the fridge in the corner of the staff lounge and took out two bottles of sparkling water. Returning, she handed one to him. “Merri okay with that?”

  Chase wondered if Paige was thinking about what the twins had said—about him and Merri sleeping in separate beds. Something in her inscrutable expression hinted that she was. Not about to go there, he sat back and uncapped the bottle. “Sure.” He lifted it and took a long drink. “Why wouldn’t she be?”

  The pediatrician shrugged, her concern for her longtime friend evident. “They’re all awfully pretty.”

  Chase was growing tired of everyone telling him how to manage his marriage. He didn’t need or want their advice, well-meant or not. “Merri understands they’re just good friends.”