For Love and Family

by Victoria Pade

  As if she’d spoken what was on her mind and given him the go-ahead, Hunter tightened his grip on her arms and took yet another step closer, pulling her toward him to kiss her.

  He kissed her without any hesitancy. Without any timidity. Almost as if he were picking up where they’d left off the previous evening because he knew she’d been sorry she’d ended it prematurely.

  His mouth came over hers, claiming it as if he had the right. Terese met and matched him, claiming some rights of her own, even as she asked herself if she really did want to give in and just let nature take its course.

  But the answer was right there, at the forefront of her brain. Nature was stronger than she was. And yes, she did want to give in to it. She wanted to stop fighting what she felt for this man. She wanted to stop fighting all he brought to the surface in her. And tonight that was exactly what she was going to do—she was going to stop fighting it.

  Hunter had come far enough inside to clear the threshold, and almost by reflex Terese reached around him and pushed the door closed.

  The sound ended their kiss as Hunter looked up, his eyebrows raised in question.

  Now that she’d gone this far, Terese wasn’t sure what to do. Or say.

  But then Hunter smiled a smile tinged with wickedness and said, “Does that mean you’re still cold or is it an invitation?”

  “I’m not cold,” she said.

  “Or scared tonight?”

  The way she had been the previous evening when she’d abruptly ended what had been happening between them because of her own self-doubts.

  “Maybe just a little nervous,” she confessed.

  “But not enough to send me packin’?”

  It was her turn to smile just because he was so sexy whenever he dropped his G’s. “I thought you were finished packing,” she challenged.

  He studied her face, searched her eyes, as if to be sure she knew what she was doing. But apparently he still wasn’t convinced, because he said, “I don’t want us havin’ crossed signals, so I’m asking. Are you giving me the chance to stay tonight?”

  Terese nodded but only barely. “If you want to,” she said almost imperceptibly.

  Hunter laughed. “If I want to? I didn’t want to let you out of my kitchen last night. Yes, I want to.”

  His enthusiasm made her laugh, too. “Okay, then.”

  He continued to look into her eyes, to study her face, but now it was as if he couldn’t get enough of the sight of her, as if he were memorizing her features. And all with a gaze so intense she could almost feel it.

  He raised a hand to the side of her neck then, brushing it with the backs of his fingers as that hand rose into her hair, cupping her head to pull her even closer so he could kiss her again. Not her lips this time, though. This time he kissed her cheek, a bare meeting of supple mouth and warm breath against her skin. He kissed above her eyebrow, one then the other. He kissed her nose. And only then did his lips take hers once more. Playfully. Gently. Short, chaste kisses so intriguing that each one heightened her anticipation of the next.

  And then he began to lengthen them. To linger. To draw her lips between his, separately, first the bottom, then the top, easing them apart and then returning with his parted, too. Far enough to send his tongue to lure hers.

  That was when mouths opened wider and their kisses deepened.

  His hands reached to her shoulders and he slipped off her coat, letting it fall to the floor behind her.

  It seemed like a fine idea, so Terese did the same, discarding the jean jacket he had on and tossing it aside.

  But once they’d begun, they just went on kissing and undressing each other until Terese was down to her bra and panties, and Hunter had on only his jeans, unfastened and ready to shed.

  “Lights,” Terese whispered between kisses that had grown hungry and seeking.

  “You want it dark?” he asked.

  “Please,” she answered as some of her self-consciousness asserted itself.

  Hunter conceded, leaving her to go to the switch near the door. But before he flipped it off, he turned to get one look at her.

  It helped that his smile was full of pleasure and appreciation in response to that. It also helped that Terese got to feast on the sight of him, on the sight of those massive shoulders, those carved pectorals, those big biceps, that flat stomach and the line of dark hair that dipped from his navel to disappear into the open front of his jeans.

  But still she wasn’t brave enough to leave the lights on and so she said, “Off,” and Hunter finally did her bidding.

  He returned to her, taking one hand in his, raising it to his lips to kiss the back of it. Then he kept hold of it to take her across the room to the bed.

  The glow of the moon coming in through the open curtains was the only light in the cabin, just enough to dust them in gold. Hunter kissed her again at the bedside, taking his time, holding both of her hands in his now.

  But despite the slow pace of those kisses, Terese was feeling anything but leisurely. She wanted to know every inch of his body, she wanted him to know every inch of hers, she wanted all he had to offer and she wanted it right then.

  With that sense of urgency nudging her and her hands on either side of his waist, she moved them downward, finessing his jeans past his lean hips and all the way off.

  She felt him smile as he went on kissing her and then he unhooked her bra and cast it aside before slipping off her panties, too.

  Once they were both naked and unfettered, Hunter wrapped his arms around her and held her close, flattening her breasts to his chest where the taut knots of her nipples greeted him impudently and letting her feel his own need of her.

  And all the while his mouth plundered hers, his tongue toyed and taunted, and his hands massaged her back, arousing her even just with that.

  Then he lowered them both to the mattress.

  Terese was on her back while Hunter lay on his side, his big body only half over hers so he could take her breast in one powerful hand.

  Oh, but that work-roughened hand knew just the right pressure, just the right gentleness, just the right everything to drive her out of her mind! Kneading her engorged flesh. Pulling and releasing. Rolling the very tip of her nipple against the center of his palm before fingertips took hold to tug and tease her nearly to a frenzy. She arched her back and neck at once and tore her mouth from his.

  He kissed the hollow of her throat, the dip of her collarbone, and then began a descent that brought his mouth to replace his hand at her breast. Warm, wet, wonderful. He drew her deeply into that sweet darkness, flicking his tongue against the incredibly sensitive tip, circling and tormenting.

  And as if that weren’t enough, his hand began its own exploration, trailing soft caresses to her stomach, to her hip, down the top of her thigh and then back up the inside until he reached between her legs.

  A moan escaped her throat and she couldn’t help writhing beneath his touch, beneath the softest of fingers that sought and found that moist, secret part of her body, sliding into her and out again, drawing forward in a silken stroke that took the desires that had been building and making them pulsate all through her, pounding within her as loud and strong as her own heartbeat.

  She filled her hands with the glories of his masculine body, tracing the muscular expanse of his back, the honed bulge of his pectorals, the tensed mounds of his perfect derriere, the sinews of his thighs and then the long, hard staff of his own desires for her, until she had him every bit as worked up as he had her.

  He came above her then, fitting himself in that juncture his hand had just left wanting, capturing her mouth with his in a wide-open play of lips and tongues as that proof of his manhood found its home inside her, filling her with the greatness that was Hunter, diving in and retreating and diving in again as far as he could go.

  It felt so amazing Terese could hardly breathe. He felt so amazing—on top her, inside of her, moving in and out, in and out with ever-increasing speed and force.
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  She clung to his back as he lifted her higher and higher until it was as if they’d broken free of gravity. He took her to soar in a miraculous explosion of ecstasy. Ecstasy that held her in its grip for an unbelievable moment when sensation was all that existed. One incomprehensibly astonishing sensation that melded her to him and made them a single body together in mindless perfection.

  And then it dissolved like glitter floating to the ground, slowly taking them with it until Hunter enjoyed one last wave, one last deep, deep thrust that sent shudders through him now. Shudders Terese absorbed and savored.

  Then, spent, he relaxed his weight completely onto her.

  For a time that was how they stayed, too exhausted to do more than catch their breath.

  Then Hunter pushed his upper body away from her and braced himself on his forearms to kiss her again. A slow, soft kiss.

  “Tell me you’re all right,” he ordered afterward.

  Terese smiled. “I’m all right,” she complied. Then she added smugly, “Maybe even a little better than all right.”

  That made him laugh. “Only a little better than all right?”

  “Quite a bit actually.”

  “Me, too,” he nearly growled in answer.

  He rolled from atop her then, taking her with him to lie by his side. He wrapped one arm around her to keep her close and reached to cup the back of her head in his other hand.

  “I’ll be gone when you wake up, you know,” he said then.

  “Mmm,” was all Terese could manage because that was the last thing she wanted to think about.

  “But I’ll call every day.”

  “Um-hmm.”

  “And I’ll be back.”

  “I know,” she said, keeping her eyes closed so she could just revel in the feel of his warm skin under her cheek while she still had him there.

  “And then we’ll see,” he whispered.

  And then we’ll see, she thought.

  Not really considering what that might mean…

  Eight

  Terese had honestly thought she would wake up when Hunter left her bed. She’d wanted to wake up to say goodbye to him.

  But when the sounds of Willy working near the barn and Johnny calling to him penetrated her dreams, something told her she hadn’t made it.

  Still, hoping Willy and Johnny were there to pick Hunter up and that she might be able to catch him, she opened her eyes.

  But the sun was shining brightly through the windows and the alarm clock said seven forty-seven. Which meant that Hunter was long gone.

  Just that realization was enough to make her miss him.

  But he’ll be back, she told herself as she got out of bed.

  It was just that in the cold light of day that reasoning didn’t sustain her for long. Not when her head began to fill with other thoughts, thoughts that assaulted her like sharp rocks thrown at her bare skin.

  She had reason to doubt herself, her thoughts reminded her—years and years of her sister and her stepmother pointing out that she didn’t have any appeal, and an engagement to a man who had said he was settling for the plain girl with money.

  She thought about the vows she’d made to herself long ago not to pin her future on any man, let alone a man who was incredible-looking and could have any woman. In this case, it was a man who had already had a woman so beautiful she’d made her living from her beauty.

  Her thoughts had the strength and power to override any good memories of the night before so that by the time she was showered and dressed she was wondering what had possibly possessed her to actually sleep with Hunter.

  But it was too late now, she told herself with a sinking feeling. What was done was done and couldn’t be taken back. And the best she could do, she decided, was cut her losses.

  It was with that in mind that she made another vow to herself as she finally got ready to move her things from the cabin into the guest room in the main house to be nearer to Johnny. She vowed to go through the next two weeks putting all her energy, all her focus, into her nephew. He was the reason she was at the ranch. He was what mattered and she had precious little time remaining with him.

  And while she was enjoying that time with him she swore she would do everything she possibly could not to think about his father. To try to forget that that night together had ever happened.

  And she absolutely would not think about what might happen when Hunter got back.

  Or get her hopes up…

  It wasn’t difficult for Terese to keep that vow to put all her energy and focus into Johnny during the two weeks that followed. Her nephew was a joy to Terese and she loved every minute of playing at being his mom—even the minutes when he was cranky or out-of-sorts or showing a stubborn streak.

  Those times were infrequent, anyway, because, for the most part he wanted to please her as much as she wanted to please him. In fact, he didn’t even put up a fuss going to their doctors’ appointments on Wednesday of that first week, and instead did his best to comfort and support her through having her blood drawn for the test for hemophilia.

  But still, Hunter was never too far from Terese’s mind.

  She didn’t want to think about him. To miss him. To imagine what it would be like if he not only came home to Johnny, but came home to her, too. Sometimes even her best efforts weren’t enough to stop it, especially not when he called every day.

  Terese made sure that most of the time Hunter was on the telephone, he was talking to Johnny, and kept her conversations with him brief and impersonal.

  Still, whenever he took up residence in her thoughts, whenever she’d had even a moment to touch base with him, she was vigilant about reminding herself that there hadn’t been any discussion about what would happen when he did come back. There hadn’t been any hint that things would be any different just because they’d made love. And the only thing Hunter had said was And then we’ll see—which certainly wasn’t any kind of promise.

  Hunter was scheduled to return on Saturday—two weeks to the day after he’d left. On the day before that, Terese had another doctor’s appointment to learn the results of her blood test. So, after taking Johnny to his favorite hamburger restaurant for lunch, the two of them went to Portland General Hospital again.

  “You’re sure I don’t have to do anything?” Johnny asked as they went in the hospital’s front doors.

  “I’m sure,” Terese told the little boy. “This visit is only for me and it’s just a talking visit, anyway. It’s called a consultation.”

  “They aren’t gonna poke you with any needles this time, either?”

  “No, no needles,” she assured.

  “’Cuz I’d hold your hand again if you wanted me to.”

  Terese rubbed her nephew’s head. “I know you would and I’m grateful for that. You can still come in with me, though,” she added, “and play with your drawing board while I talk to the doctor.”

  They reached the office then and Terese signed in before she guided Johnny to the waiting area. There were only two other people standing just beyond the small space in the corridor and Terese recognized them both. They were the same couple she’d seen at the restaurant the night she and Hunter had gone to the Parents Adoption Network meeting and then had dinner.

  The woman was once again dressed in a nurse’s uniform, only now she carried a stack of file folders, and Terese recalled that Hunter had said her name was Nancy. She remembered the man’s name from seeing it on his ID badge that night—the same ID badge he was wearing now. He was Everett Baker from Accounting.

  Once again Terese found herself in the awkward position of being unable to avoid eavesdropping on their conversation because it was impossible not to overhear what they were saying in the quiet, nearly deserted waiting area.

  “I just don’t understand,” the nurse was saying. “I thought things between us were going well, but now you’re keeping your distance.”

  “I’ve just been… Well, you know how it is…There’s been a lot of work and
… Well, work and well, things…” the man said, sounding shy, fumbling for his words—not at all the way he’d been at the restaurant.

  “I’ve seen you in the cafeteria a couple of times just staring off into space. Is everything all right with you?” the nurse persisted.

  “Fine. Fine. Everything is fine.”

  “Because I’m a good listener. I mean, if you should ever want to talk…”

  Even though Terese was trying not to look directly at the couple, she still had the impression that the man was tempted to open up to the woman. He even started a few sentences before cutting himself off, as if he were squelching the impulse to say more.

  Then he finally said, “No, no, there’s nothing I need to talk about. But I have missed your company,” he added. “And if I’ve hurt your feelings, I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not so much that. I just hope you’re okay.”

  “Fine, I’m fine,” he repeated. “In fact I’m so fine that maybe we could have dinner again this weekend—if you’re not busy.”

  That brightened the nurse’s spirits considerably. “I’m not busy, no,” she said eagerly. “How about tomorrow night?”

  The man agreed to dinner Saturday night but still Terese had the sense that something else was going on with him, because his enthusiasm seemed to wane suddenly, as if he wasn’t certain he’d done the right thing. It was actually an odd dance to watch because the man kept drawing near and then backing away—verbally and physically—as if he was tempted to get close to the woman but fearful of it, too.

  In the end he appeared to be too drawn to the nurse to resist, and they made their plans while Terese continued to pretend she wasn’t listening.

  “Tomorrow night. Seven o’clock,” the nurse confirmed.

  Then the man told her he had to make a phone call, and when he turned to go, the nurse noticed Johnny and asked what he was building with the connecting blocks he was so interested in.

  Terese was just relieved not to be in the position of eavesdropping any longer and listened to her nephew explain that he was making a barn like the one his dad kept their horses in.