Chapter One
Page 27
“Touch me anywhere.” She reached for him, closing her small fingers over his swollen shaft. “Touch me everywhere. And tell me again.”
“Tell you...?”
“You know. What you said before.”
His face softened. “I love you, Kate Griffin. With all my heart. I’m going to make love to you until you don’t even know your own name. Then, if you can still walk, we’re going to city hall to apply for our marriage license. How does that sound?”
“Better than you can imagine,” she breathed.
He came down to her, kneeling over her, his hands following every inch of her body as if learning her for the first time.
She moved her hands over his back, touched his shoulders, feeling the play of muscles under the skin.
“Make me better,” she begged. “Make me whole again.”
When he again reached the spot on her belly beneath which their baby was growing, he skidded soft, almost reverent kisses across her skin. Flashes of pleasure spiked through her and she fisted her hands in the silk of his hair.
“Are you sure this won’t hurt him?” he asked, his voice tense.
“It could be a her, you know.” Her voice wasn’t quite steady as a painful thought struck her. “Quinn? Would it be hard for you? You know, having another little girl?”
“Not as long as she looks like you, darlin’. I’m learning to look to the future and not live in the past.” He lifted his head and flashed a wicked grin. “Now lie still, I’m enjoying myself.”
He nudged her thighs further apart and bent her legs, exposing her to him completely. She heard the sudden intake of his breath as he opened her labia and stared with hunger at her sex. His head lowered and his mouth closed over her throbbing nub while his fingers stroked every inch of her drenched flesh.
Heat flooded her everywhere. She had missed this so much and feared never to have it again. She pushed her hips against him, grabbing his hair and holding his head against her body. “Yes, oh, yes. Do that, please.”
When he pushed two fingers inside her she was so ready she convulsed around him immediately, her inner muscles gripping his fingers hard, milking them as her cream coated them...as she wanted to do with his hard shaft.
She reached down and found his swollen length, and as he shifted position between her legs, she guided him home, straight to the opening of her core. To her soul. To her heart.
One push and he was in, his hips rolling and thrusting almost immediately. Kate raked her fingers against Quinn’s back as he drove in and out of her.
“Kate, Kate, Kate.” He chanted her name like a litany.
As aroused as they both were, their climax rolled over them in seconds, no less intense because it caught them so quickly. Kate lost herself in him, everything disappearing except his cock inside her, throbbing and pulsing. Their bodies shuddered together, her liquid showering his cock with velvet heat. His hands gripped her buttocks, pulling her tight against him, holding her until the last spasm faded away.
Still dragging air into his lungs, Quinn slid carefully from her and rolled to the side, pulling her against him.
“I love you,” he said, when he could breathe again.
“I love you, too.”
It was a long time before they ever got to eat their lunch.
Epilogue
Quinn leaned against the wall in the hospital room and watched his wife and newborn son. Kate was dozing, smiling in her sleep. John David Quinn nestled peacefully in her arms, replete from his recent suckling. The image caught at Quinn’s heart.
The past several months had been wonderful. Released from the terror that had dogged her, comfortable in a new environment, Kate had blossomed. Their wedding was small, with Jake as best man and Jake’s sister, Julie, who quickly became a good friend to Kate, as maid of honor.
Lane Barton and the others who had been closest to Quinn were pleased to see him finally embrace life again. There had been much laughter and many toasts, and the guests treated Kate as one of their own.
Quinn returned to the practice of law, but not with the U.S. Attorney. Instead he opened an office in Windswept and, as Kate predicted, he was flooded with more business than he wanted to handle. Apparently everyone thought a “local boy” should take care of their legal matters.
He’d had to hire a secretary and was thinking about a paralegal, especially now the baby was here. He wanted to spend as much time with his family as he could. He felt so truly blessed. His life, which had been such a shambles, was richer than he ever could have hoped.
A light tap on the door drew his attention and Jake slid quietly into the room. He smiled as he looked at Kate and John.
“You’ve certainly got it all now, Ace,” he whispered.
“No kidding. Someone was watching out for me.”
“I wanted to stop by and bring you the good news myself, make this a really good week for the Quinn family.”
“What news?”
“Could you stop whispering so I can hear, too?” Kate’s voice was soft. “Hi, Jake. Did you come to get another look at your godson?”
“Absolutely.” He bent over and kissed Kate’s cheek. “It almost makes me think of wedded bliss myself. I said almost.” He grinned as they looked at him. Jake was still wearing the crown of champion ladies’ man.
“So what did you come to tell us?” Kate asked.
“I thought you might like to know that the last of the plea bargains wrapped yesterday and everyone is gone for many years. I think after the first trial, when Esai got such a stiff sentence, Miguel and the others decided to get the best deals they could.”
“So it’s truly over?”
“You bet. And won’t we be glad to see the last of them.”
“Thank you again for arranging it so I didn’t have to testify,” Kate said.
“With that flash drive and the papers we were able to take from the offices, we didn’t need you,” he explained. “You can enjoy life, with the monkey off your back.”
Quinn had gone to stand beside the bed while they were talking. He touched his son’s small head gently, his face filled with awe as he gazed at this tiny person he helped create. Then he took Kate’s hand and held it tightly against his heart.
Their love for each other was so intense it made Jake feel like he was peeking into something very private. If ever a man had found redemption it was Quinn. Silently, knowing they wouldn’t miss him, he slipped from the room.
A word from the author...
It seems all my life I’ve been making up stories in my head, waiting for the time I could write them down. All my life experiences have added to the cartons of ideas stored in my head. I was the first female sports reporter on a college newspaper, managed rock bands and country singers, worked in retail, worked for newspapers, worked in public relations for two universities. Now I live in the beautiful Texas Hill Country with my husband and our three cats. Our children are all grown and are my biggest supporters.
Visit Judith at www.judithrochelle.com
Contact Judith at
judithrochelle@judithrochelle.com
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