Fire & Ice

by Jerri Drennen

  * * *

  “What would you do?” Melanie asked Kay as she plopped down into a chair.

  “So you’re asking me, if Paul had children from a previous marriage would I still love him, right?”

  Melanie nodded.

  Kay sat across from her and placed her fists under her chin. “No, it wouldn’t keep me from loving him. I would, however, be angry he didn’t tell me himself.”

  “What should I do? Should I ask him?”

  “I guess I wonder why it matters, considering that nothing is going on between the two of you.” The question was Melanie’s opportunity to confess to everything.

  “I’m scared, Kay.”

  “Scared, why?”

  “Because I slept with Knox and we didn’t use protection.”

  “What? That was stupid, Mel, especially in today’s disease ridden world.”

  “I know, I know. I was swept up in the moment. I wasn’t thinking, period.”

  Kay shook her head, and her eyes widened. “What about pregnancy? You might be knocked up at this very moment.”

  Uncanny that her friend’s thoughts mirrored Melanie’s to a tee. All the things Kay mentioned, Melanie had to worry about. How could she have let herself get into such a precarious situation?

  “So was he good?” Kay asked out of the blue.

  Was he good? Good wouldn’t even come close to describing Knox in bed. The man had made her body quake, shaking her to the core. By far the best experience she’d ever had in her life—the highest high.

  “I guess that’s a yes,” Kay said with a smirk.

  “You wouldn’t even believe how good.”

  “Maybe not, though you can try. I want a blow-by-blow, literally.”

  Melanie wasn’t shocked by Kay’s choice of words. The woman had to have been a construction worker in a previous life. There was no way she was going to tell Kay every detail of her and Knox’s night together, yet she would be willing to generalize.

  “Where did this happen?”

  Melanie’s face heated at the question. What was Kay going to say when she told her they’d christened her chaise lounge?

  Kay frowned. “What? Why is your face turning red? Come on, spill.”

  “You know your lawn furniture?”

  Her friend’s mouth dropped. “Are you saying you did it on my lounge chair?”

  Melanie nodded, too embarrassed to say a word.

  “You little whore, you. I’d almost be proud of you, if you’d have used a condom.”

  “I know, I know. Believe me, I’ve been beating myself up about this all day.”

  “Mr. Manning is as healthy as a horse. He surely had to pass a physical, blood work and all. I’m sure he’s clean of disease. The pregnancy thing concerns me. Where were you in your cycle?”

  “Two weeks in.”

  Kay pursed her lips. “You’d better hope your cycles are different than most women’s, because that’s the perfect time to get pregnant.”

  Melanie’s glimmer of hope plummeted. The only thing she could do was to wait and see if she got her period. If she didn’t, she’d have to decide what to do next—with or without Knox at her side.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Knox lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, going over what he’d witnessed earlier that day. Everyone he’d thought normal had done a one-eighty on him.

  When he’d dropped the boys off at his mom’s that afternoon, his father’s car had been parked in the driveway. Not surprising considering he’d been out looking for Tara. When they’d entered the house, he had caught his parents in a passionate embrace. Knox found it hard to shake the image, to his disgust.

  How could his mother even think about taking the man back after what he’d done? She was smarter than that. He wouldn’t feel comfortable coming by on a regular basis now, not if his dad would be hanging around. He’d make sure to call first.

  Had Tara known about this? If so, that bothered him too. He thought they told each other everything. Would she have admitted to it given enough time? Or was this a family secret, kept only from him because of the way he felt?

  He shook his head.

  Everything he knew as a constant in his life had changed overnight. Tara suddenly wasn’t who he thought she was, especially if she was interested in Brent. Why would she go from bad to worse? Not that Brent was abusive, but he wasn’t a guy to take on a ready-made family. Hell, he’d never settle down. A fact he himself had voiced to Knox on more than one occasion. So what was she thinking? Why hadn’t she confided in him that she was interested, asked about what type man Brent James was? Maybe he and his sister weren’t as close as he’d thought. Was she keeping anything else from him? She might be dating the whole 901 for all he knew.

  One thing he did know, Brent James and Nathan Manning were not right for his sister and mother. Both were simply not husband material. You’d think his mom would know that after their failed marriage.

  Shrugging the troubling thoughts off, Knox’s mind changed gears to the other woman he loved, Melanie. He wished she were lying next to him right now. Not just for them to make love, but to talk to her about how he was feeling. He’d thought about calling her—asking her to come over—but he was afraid he’d sound pathetic. He didn’t want to scare her off. Especially if she didn’t know how she felt yet. A gentle nudging might be the way to handle things if he wanted a future with her.

  Since they’d been together, his thoughts had centered around marriage, the white picket fence scenario. Her standing next to it, greeting him with a sweet kiss every night. How would she feel about that? Would she say yes to the offer? Welcome sharing a life with him? Or was he just a distraction to her for the time being?

  Knox shrugged. What the hell had happened to him? Weeks ago women were nothing more than warm bodies to bury himself in.

  What a turnabout. Damned if he hadn’t fallen madly in love with Melanie, so much so that his thoughts were fuzzy. She’d snared him big time.

  A loud knock on his front door gave him a start. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand and frowned. Nine-thirty. Who’d be dropping by so late?

  He rose and headed for the door. He was surprised to find Melanie standing in the hallway when he opened the door. She was the last person he’d expected to see, especially since he hadn’t given her his address.

  “Is this a bad time?” She shifted from one sandaled foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable.

  “How did you find out where I lived?”

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come.” She turned to dash down the hall stairs.

  Knox caught up with her and grasped her elbow. “Don’t go. I’m glad you came, Mel. We need to talk.”

  “Talk?” she asked, her eyes widening. “About what?”

  “You don’t want to talk? “ Her reaction caused a vice-like twisting in his gut. So what he thought earlier was true. She just wanted to fuck. Clearly a relationship was the furthest thing from her mind.

  “Yes, I do. I ah—”

  “You what?” he shot back, unable to disguise his anger.

  “I’m scared.”

  Her confessed fear confused him.

  “Scared? Of what?”

  She glanced around them. She nodded in the direction of his apartment door. “Can I come in?”

  Knox heard the edge to her voice and moved to allow her inside his apartment, closing the door behind him.

  “Okay, you’re in. What’s going on?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What are you scared of, Melanie?”

  “Last night we didn’t ah…use…” she stuttered.

  “What?”

  “Protection.”

  Stunned would have been an understatement for how he felt. What the hell did she think? “Do you want to know if I have a disease or something?”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “What if I’m pregnant?”

  Knox hadn’t thought about using a condom, a religious practice up until he’d met Melanie. The idea hadn’t even
crossed his mind, though it should have. The timing for them to have a child wasn’t good with Sandra expecting. Besides, from the stricken expression on Melanie’s face, having a child with him was the last thing she wanted.

  What was he supposed to say? Did she want him to tell her not to worry? That he was sterile? He couldn’t do that.

  “Do you even care?”

  Her question drew his full attention. “I’m not sure what you want me to say.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” she snapped. “Maybe that you’d be here for me if I was.”

  Knox smiled. The woman he loved did care, and she had spunk—more than he’d first thought.

  “What? You think this is funny?” She raced around him before he had time to react, heading straight for the door.

  Just as her hand turned the doorknob, he grabbed her around the waist and drew her up hard against him. As she struggled in his arms, he whispered, “I love you.”

  She stilled instantly. “You don’t mean that.”

  He spun her around and his hands cupped her cheeks. “I do, and if you’re pregnant, we’ll have a baby. Together.”

  She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, her lips warm and inviting to a man in love. Not thinking about tomorrow or what it would bring, Knox lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.

  She wasn’t leaving him tonight. They were going to make love, and for the rest of the evening, he was going to hold her in his arms as they planned their future together.

  * * *

  Melanie sighed as she watched Knox remove his jeans.

  She’d come to his apartment to talk to him, find out where she stood. She’d been furious about his nonchalance until he’d said the magic words she’d longed to hear. I love you. What a shock to learn he felt this way about her. Now she lay on his bed, waiting for him to come to her.

  With shaky hands, she pulled her t-shirt over her head, losing eye contact with him for only a few seconds. His gaze devoured her, and caused a fluttering in her lower stomach. Her skin heated under the scrutiny.

  She’d just begun to work her jeans down her hips when Knox knelt onto the bed, completely naked, and stopped her.

  “Let me do that.” His eyes radiated an intensity she’d never witnessed before now. The magnitude of his feelings took her breath away.

  His hands moved slowly over her shoulders, gliding over her arms, the skin warming where his hands caressed her. He tugged the jeans down her legs and tossed them behind him.

  Her whole body trembled as he stared at her.

  Melanie sailed in uncharted territory with Knox. He drove her body to a heightened state, over the edge to orgasm faster than she ever thought possible, his touch so powerful that she hovered above herself, in some altered state.

  He reached around her and released the hooks and eyes on her bra, sliding the straps off her shoulders.

  She glanced up into his eyes as his palms molded over her breasts, his gaze darkening.

  Dipping his head, his lips grazed the sensitive mounds and her nipples tightened in response. She arched her back, moving closer to him as his dark hair tickled her skin.

  He laved at her nipples and drew one into his mouth, his tongue swirling around it in sweet torture.

  Melanie tensed against the pillow her head lay on, an overwhelming desire rendering her senseless. Wet heat pulsed between her legs and she felt a maddening need to touch him.

  She ran her fingers over the sparse, springy hairs on his belly, and with purpose, grasped his shaft, amazed at its velvety softness. She stroked him and smiled in triumph as he grew harder between her palms, his groans exciting her to immeasurable heights. The power she held over him was intoxicating. How she fed his desire as he did hers.

  To her surprise, Knox covered her hands. “You have to stop, Mel. I don’t want to come in your hands. I want to save that for when I’m inside you.”

  His words gave voice to her need—to feel his powerful cock, driving hard and fast in her until she came, bringing forth the most intense orgasms she’d ever experienced. “I want you now. Please, Knox,” she pleaded in his ear.

  “Not yet,” he said smiling. “I want to taste all of you first.”

  Melanie swallowed hard, her lower belly contracting in anticipation. Her body trembled as he hooked his thumbs under her panties and, with slow intent, slid them down her legs and tossed them aside.

  His eyes turned deep emerald as he stared at her. He gently nudged her legs apart, sliding his hands up her inner thighs, both meeting at the triangle of hair between her legs.

  She jumped when his head bent to kiss her intimately, his tongue delving into her delicate folds, licking until she thought she’d splinter in two. Each flick of his tongue erased a bit of the world around her until she felt nothing but his hot demand. When she thought she’d surely die from it all, her body exploded into a spectrum of brilliance.

  He moved up her body, peppering light kisses here and there until he stared into her eyes. “You taste damn good,” he said and brushed his mouth over hers.

  His kiss ignited a hunger deep inside her again, strange after what he’d just given her. Would she ever get enough of him?

  Her heart began a steady acceleration as Knox kneed her legs apart and drove into her, so deep she sucked in a breath. Her world folded in again. Each thrust became more powerful than the next until they both climaxed.

  Knox rolled to his side, taking her with him.

  When her breathing steadied, Melanie studied him. He lay watching her as well, his iridescent eyes soft, satisfied. He smiled, and her heart melted. “You’re so beautiful,” he said, brushing a strand of hair away from her cheek.

  No one had ever told her she was beautiful before.

  She shook her head. “No, I’m not.”

  His brows knitted together. “Yes you are. You’re breathtaking.”

  Pure emotion made it hard to breathe. It was hard to believe he felt this way about her. What had she done to make her luck change? Knox could probably have any woman he wanted, though he’d chosen her. Suddenly, that afternoon at the park came rushing back to rain on her happiness. Were the boys he’d been playing his? Did he plan to tell her about them? Should she ask?

  “What’s going on in that gorgeous head of yours,” he asked, giving her an opening if she wanted to take it.

  Best to get it out on the table now if they planned to have a future together. “I was driving by the park this afternoon and I saw you with two boys. Are they yours?”

  He smiled. “No. They’re my sister’s kids. Cody and Ty.”

  Relief washed over her. Melanie didn’t know how she’d have felt if the answer had been yes.

  “Would that be a problem if they were?”

  Why did he have to ask that? She didn’t know the answer.

  “I’m not sure. But for now, is there anything you do need to tell me, some hidden skeletons? Something you think I should know?”

  The softness in his green eyes faded. Melanie knew there was. But how bad was it going to be? Did he have a whole slew of children somewhere? Had she fallen in love with a man who pollinated from one flower to the next? And, to her utter dismay, Melanie realized that they hadn’t used protection again. Now her chances of getting pregnant had doubled.

  “Mel, I’m going to be honest with you because I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. I hope you’ll still want to be with me after what I tell you.”

  At his words, Melanie wasn’t positive her heart still beat. Here it comes. The ten kids just a confession away.

  “My ex-girlfriend is pregnant. I have no clue how it happened. I used a condom every time we were together. It was a casual thing. I never loved her, Mel.”

  Melanie didn’t know what to say. Not ten kids, though one that was due to arrive any day. She’d have to deal with that child if they were to become a couple. Would she be able to? She wasn’t sure, but that decision had to be made before she told him how she felt. Before she confess
ed her love for him.

  Chapter Twenty

  Knox stretched his arms out and brushed against something solid, something that stirred.

  He smiled.

  Melanie—all warm and naked under the covers. This was the first time he'd allowed anyone to spend the night, the only woman he’d ever actually fallen asleep with.

  Her body felt good next to his. He could spend the whole day loving her, leaving the bedroom just long enough for them to replenish their energy.

  He rolled over to gaze at her and slid the blanket down to admire her perfect breasts. Less than a handful had been unappealing to him until he’d met Melanie, but the sight of her ivory skin and rose-colored nipples left him hard—his balls pulsing, ready for action.

  He brushed his thumb across her nipple, it peaked in instant response.

  Melanie's eyes fluttered open as a soft moan escaped her lips—sweet, tempting lips he wanted to kiss.

  Knox was never going to get enough of the woman lying next to him. She sent his blood coursing wildly through his veins. His body ached to possess her—to taste her again. No woman had been sweeter tasting to his tongue. She made him want to experience the pleasure over and over.

  It was hard to believe his cold, uncaring heart had been kick-started by a skinny, fiery-haired waif with a temper to match.

  He loved her so much. He just hoped his fathering another woman’s child wouldn’t keep Melanie from sharing a life with him.

  No longer able to resist, he slid his hand down her chest to her stomach, skimming the petal soft skin with his fingertips. Her belly was flat and firm against his palm. What would it feel like as it expanded with child? The mere thought flooded him with tender emotions. How wonderful it would be to have their child growing inside her. For them to start a family and share a life filled with love and happiness. The mere image clogged his throat.

  Hell, he sure wasn’t the same person he’d been weeks ago. Somewhere along the way he’d changed from womanizing jerk into a man head over heels in love with one woman. He never would have thought it possible.