Gabe nibbled on the back of Emma’s neck as she slept. He moved her hair away and gently took her earlobe between his teeth. He knew she was awake when her breathing changed, and became deeper. His hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her back against him. When she wiggled her butt against his erection, he chuckled against her hair.
“I’m trying to sleep, Gabriel Stone.”
He snorted. “Sure you are.” He rolled her to her back. “Merry Christmas, baby,” he growled before capturing her mouth in a deep kiss.
“Merry Christmas to you too,” Emma said grinning up at him. “Is that my present I feel against my leg or are you just happy to see me?”
“It can be one of your presents, I suppose.” He kissed her again then whispered against her lips, “I do have something I want to give you.”
Emma burst out laughing. “I bet you do.”
He groaned. “You have definitely been hanging around Olivia too much.” He nuzzled her hair with his nose. “Seriously, I have a present I can’t wait to give you.”
Emma pulled away and sat up. “Really? Can we go downstairs now?”
He chuckled, reaching for her again. “So you don’t want this present now?”
“Pffft…I can have that any old time.” Emma jumped from the bed. He watched her put on her robe, and after visiting the bathroom, she ran downstairs. He groaned and climbed from the bed to follow her.
Gabe was in the kitchen getting a cup of coffee when she came in, stepped up beside him to pour herself a cup, and then crooked her finger at him to follow her to the living room. He grinned and happily followed her. They each retrieved gifts from under the tree. He pulled Emma down onto the sofa and laid several boxes in front of her on the coffee table. She stared at the boxes with pure surprise. “Open them, darlin’,” he told her. She glanced up at him and smiled before grabbing one.
He watched her pick up the box ripping the paper off it. Emma lifted the lid and gasped at the beautiful blue blouse. She rubbed her hands over it and lifted it out. It was a maternity top made of silk. “It’s so beautiful. Thank you.” She kissed him then reached for another box. The next box contained a new bridle and reins trimmed in blue. She ran her hands over them and looked at him with tears in her eyes.
“I thought with a new horse, you’d need new tack. There’s also a new saddle in the barn for you.” Gabe touched her hair. “You can see it later.” He handed her another box and watched in delight as she opened it. Emma inhaled with deep appreciation when she saw the new cowgirl boots inside. The soft brown leather had blue weaving through the sides. She put the box down and threw her arms around him.
“I love them, Gabe. Blue’s my favorite color. I love everything and I can’t wait to see the saddle.” Emma retrieved the gifts she’d set aside for him, and set them on the coffee table. “Your turn,” she said with an excited smile.
Gabe grinned as he picked up a box. He held it to his ear and shook it. Emma laughed and slapped his arm. He laughed as he opened it. He pulled out two pairs of leather work gloves, and new piggin’ string. “I needed these. I’m always losing my gloves, and my piggin’ string has about had it. Thanks, baby.” He kissed her. She handed him another box. He was shocked when he saw a new shearling coat. They were expensive coats. He kissed her again. “I really needed this.” The last box she handed to him was small. He opened it, lifted a book out of the box. He ran his hands over it with appreciation, and then looked at her, smiling. “How?”
“I found it on eBay, and had it shipped to the feed store. Junior drove me crazy telling me it hadn’t come in yet, and all the time, Daddy had it in his office.” Emma grinned with obvious pride.
“I’ve been looking for this book forever.” Gabe turned the book over in his hands. It was a book about the history of the rodeo. He put his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her to him. “Thank you. This is the best gift you could’ve given me, except the baby, of course.” He grinned as she handed him yet another one. He opened it and pulled back the white tissue paper. He lifted out the blue teddy. Holding it up, he sighed and shook his head even as he stifled a grin.
“You don’t like it?” Emma nibbled her lower lip with her teeth.
“I don’t think it will fit me,” he said as deadpanned as he could manage. Emma gasped and punched his arm. He laughed. “I love it, and can’t wait to take it off you.”
Emma smiled, and then stood. “I’m glad you like it. How about breakfast first, and then I want to see my new saddle.” She started to walk away, but he grabbed her hand. She stopped, looked down at him, and cocked her head in question.
“I have one more for you. Please sit down.” Gabe waited for her to take a seat again, and then reached into his jeans pocket. He pulled out a small box. Emma’s eyes widened. She looked first at the box, and then at him. He placed it in her hand. She sat staring at it in her palm. “Open it, Emma.” He watched as she pulled the paper off, and then just stared at the black velvet box. “Aren’t you going to open it?” He chuckled when she shook her head. “It won’t bite you. I might, but it won’t.”
Emma handed it back to him. He was stunned. “Emma, please.”
“I can’t,” she whispered not looking at him.
“Why not?”
“Because it might not be what I think it is and I don’t want to be disappointed, or it will be what I think it is, and I won’t know how to react.”
Gabe laughed. “Okay. I’ll open it.” He started to open the lid and stopped. He took her left hand in his. “We got married too quickly. Neither of us was prepared for it, but I felt bad that you didn’t get the kind of wedding all young women dream about growing up. I pushed you into it, I suppose, but I think we’ve done pretty well together.” He opened the lid and a one-caret princess cut diamond sparkled from inside. “I believe every woman deserves an engagement ring, and although we were never engaged, you deserve one next to your wedding band.” He turned her hand over and slid the diamond on in front of her band then he lifted it, and kissed the back of her hand. “I hope you like it.” In answer, she threw her arms around him and they fell back on the couch. Emma rained kisses all over his face as he laughed and wrapped his arms around her. Breakfast was late.
* * * *
Now eight months pregnant, Emma felt more like one of the heifers in the pasture than normal. She could no longer even see her feet. Until her seventh month, her baby bump was barely visible but then all of a sudden, it just popped out. She now looked like she had a basketball stuffed under her shirt. When March roared in, so had the baby and now she no longer walked but waddled, and her hormones were driving her crazy. Poor Gabe never knew what to expect from her or what to do when she was acting insane. There were days he steered clear of her completely and she couldn’t blame him. He gave her flowers one day and she burst into tears. The day he’d mentioned she looked tired she’d almost taken his head off. He’d literally backed out the kitchen door.
Emma lowered herself to the sofa and placed her hands over her swollen belly. “I hope you’re enjoying yourself in there, because I’m not having a good time out here while you dance.” She received a strong kick for that comment, and she was so concentrated on her belly she hadn’t heard Gabe come in so when she saw his boots in front of her, she flinched in reaction. “What?” she snapped at him.
Gabe cleared his throat cautiously. “I think we should pick out names. What do you say?”
“I want to name her Sophie Ann.” She folded her arms across her chest, not being in the mood to argue.
“We can name the next one Sophie Ann. This one is a boy, and I want to name him Joshua Gabriel.”
She snorted. “This is a girl. The next one can be Joshua.” She couldn’t believe they were calmly discussing having another child. They’d never even exchanged words of love and they were talking about the next kid.
Gabe sat down beside her, gently pushing her legs aside. “Okay. We like the names so whatever he is, we’ll choose those names.”
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She turned to glare at him, but then nodded her agreement. “Can we go for a ride?” she asked in a less snappy tone.
“On a horse? No fucking way,” Gabe growled.
“In. The. Truck,” she said through clenched teeth, not in the mood for his macho overprotective nature at that moment. “I need to get out of this house or I’m going to kill someone.” She gazed at Gabe, letting him know who that someone might be.
Gabe stood and put a hand out to her to help her up. “Sure. Let’s go.”
Together they made their way to the truck, Gabe patiently moving with her while she waddled. Once there, Gabe helped her up into the front seat of the truck. Emma could smell spring in the air, the sun was shining, and the day was beautiful. The blue sky was cloudless. She smiled as she slipped her sunglasses on then watched Gabe get into the truck and settle in behind the wheel. He put his sunglasses on too, and after smiling at her steered the truck out of the driveway. He turned left onto the road toward Wyatt’s ranch, but drove on past it.
A few miles further, they passed Ryder Wolfe’s place. Emma saw his horses enjoying the day in the pastures. He had the most beautiful Paints she’d ever seen. Tantamount proof was Beauty. She hadn’t been able to ride the beautiful animal yet, but she was looking forward to it. She looked over at Gabe and smiled. For a couple who hadn’t married for love, it seemed to be working. She loved him, but she also knew he didn’t love her. Maybe he would one day. At least, she hoped he would. She knew he loved the baby and he seemed to enjoy making love to her.
Emma suddenly couldn’t keep her eyes off her gorgeous husband. Her gaze drifted down to where his legs met, his jacket parting just so, framing his crotch. Oh my, she was horny. She wanted to laugh at the thought of how far she’d come since losing her virginity and slapped her hand over her mouth.
Gabe glanced over to her. “What’s funny?” He smiled at her.
She shook her head, embarrassed by her thoughts. There was no way she was going to tell him. He hadn’t even acted like he wanted sex lately so she wasn’t going to be the one to bring it up. Then again, why would he want her? Could it be because you look like the Goodyear blimp? She narrowed her eyes at him. It wasn’t as if they couldn’t still have sex. Now, her good mood was turning into a bad one. How dare he not want sex? Was he getting it somewhere else? The thought he might be, sent a pain through her heart. She shook her head. No. He was either in the arena training or with her. There was no time for another woman. He just didn’t want her.
She folded her arms across the top of her huge belly and huffed. She noted the way Gabe’s head snapped to the side to look at her. She almost laughed at the fear on his face. He was so afraid of her moods. “What’s wrong now, Emma?”
“What’s wrong now?” She heard Gabe swearing under his breath.
He sighed. “I just meant, what’s bothering you?”
“It doesn’t matter. I want to go home.”
“We just left home,” Gabe shouted, slamming his palm on the steering wheel.
She turned in her seat to stare out the window. “Take me home, Gabriel Stone!” She heard him sigh as he pulled off the road and turned the truck around to head home. After he pulled into the driveway, Gabe stopped the truck by the back door, shut it off, and turned toward her, laying his arm along the back of the seat. He tugged on her hair. She refused to look at him. He did it again and she still stared straight ahead. When his hand reached for her hair again, she jerked away from him.
“Pull my hair again, Gabriel Stone and you’ll be sleeping on the couch,” she said scowling at him.
Gabe sat back against the door with a sigh. “You mean I’m not already? I was sure I’d already pissed you off somehow today.”
Emma looked at him and almost groaned. Why did the man have to be so gorgeous and sexy? Those sexy dark eyes and that mustache still made her insides melt. She turned away from him and stared straight ahead. She felt him scoot across the seat, so she scooted closer to her door. He moved closer but now she had nowhere to go. His thigh was touching hers. He leaned forward and ran his tongue around the shell of her ear, and she shivered. She felt him grin. Damn him! She jerked her head away, but he did it again. She frowned at him.
“What?” Gabe raised his eyebrows innocently.
She huffed and looked away from him. She felt him running his finger along her jaw, and then he moved his lips there. She moaned, stifled it, and folded her arms across her chest. He chuckled. She turned to tell him to stop, but Gabe captured her lips with his. As if they had a mind of their own, her fingers plowed through his hair as he deepened the kiss. He ran his lips along her cheek to her ear. “Let’s go inside, baby,” he whispered and leaned in to kiss her again.
Emma opened the door and got out. Gabe fell face first onto the seat. Not waiting for him, she headed into the house. Inside the kitchen, he came up behind her, and tried putting his arms around her, but she pulled away from him. “I’m angry with you, Gabe. Don’t you get it?” She had no idea why she was angry with him, but she was.
“I get that I want you. As for being angry, you’ll get over it.”
She swung around to stare at him in disbelief. “You think so?”
“Uh, well, you will eventually, won’t you?”
She snorted and started up the stairs. Gabe took the stairs two at a time and caught up to her at the top. He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. After entering, he kicked the door shut, but didn’t put her down. She looked at the bed. “I’m not making love with you, Gabriel Stone.”
Gabe laid her on the bed and started undressing. “Then I’ll just have to entertain myself with you.”
Her mouth dropped open as she tried to scoot off the bed, but Gabe threw himself across the bed and caught her. He pulled her back onto the bed. She struggled. “Stop it Gabe,” she yelled trying to keep up her façade of being angry.
“I can’t stop now, darlin’. I’ll do this with or without you.” She could hear laughter in his voice. “I prefer you cooperate, it’s so much more fun that way.”
Emma tried not to laugh, but it bubbled out before she could stop it. “How can I stay mad at you when you make me laugh?”
Gabe laughed then and kissed her. “Why were you mad at me? All I did was take you for a ride when you asked me.”
“I don’t know. I seem to go from hot to cold in a heartbeat lately.” She laid her hand on his cheek. “It’s the hormones. I don’t have to have a reason to be angry. I was thinking about how long it’s been since we’d made love and suddenly, I started wondering if you were seeing someone else. It’s so crazy since I know you don’t have time for that.”
Gabe jerked back from her. “Time has nothing to do with it, Emma. I will never cheat on you. You’re my wife, and I plan on this being the only time I get married and I plan to stay that way.”
She blinked back tears. “Make love to me, Gabe.”
He kissed her. “With the basketball in the way, I think you’ll have to make love to me.” She gasped with indignation and tried to get up again. Gabe grabbed her and pulled her back. “I’m kidding. I love that basketball, but you’ll have to be on top so I don’t hurt you.”
Emma lay back down and relaxed. “Okay. I don’t have a problem with that.”
She kissed him and moved her tongue along his jaw to his ear. She pushed him down against the covers as her lips trailed down his chest and across his muscle carved belly. She took his hard shaft into her hand and slowly stroked her palm up and down the aroused length. Gabe placed his hand over hers to show her how he wanted her to caress him. She leaned down and kissed the swollen head as her hand moved the way he liked. She heard him groan. Her tongue moved from the tip to the base and slid back up, and now Gabe’s hands were in her hair and he was groaning. “That’s enough Emma. Please…stop.” Gabe’s voice was rough.
She kissed her way up his body to his lips, and straddled him. Reaching between them, she grasped his erection, and slowly lowered herself dow
n over him, taking him in, inch by incredible inch. She noticed Gabe clenching his jaw and smiled with the knowledge, even in her huge state, she was driving him mad with desire.
His hands moved to her hips to set the rhythm. She moved on him, first rocking her hips back and forth before lifting up and sliding back down over him. She moved her hips up until the tip of him was barely inside her, and then she slid back down on him, making him groan each time. “Faster, darlin’. I need faster,” Gabe growled straining against her.
Emma complied. She threw her head back as the feeling she sought started deep inside her. Gabe’s hands tightened on her hips, helping her rise up and down. She glanced down at him and her eyes met his. When he licked his lips, she lost it. Her hands squeezed his biceps as her orgasm shook her body. “Gabe,” she screamed.
“Emma, I’m with you baby…” Moving his hips against hers, Gabe groaned, and shuddered as he went over the edge.
* * * *
Gabe woke up with Emma sleeping on his shoulder. He felt the baby kicking against his belly through her stretched skin. It still amazed him there was a little life in there. He couldn’t wait to hold his baby in his arms. He loved the little bundle of joy he and Emma had created, even if unplanned. It didn’t matter what sex it was, boy or girl, he was going to love it as much as he loved Emma.
He grimaced at his not having told her how he felt yet. They’d been married quite a while, but he was too scared shitless to tell her. Fearing the idea of throwing his heart out there in the open and having her not feel the same way was terrifying. Maybe one day she would love him back, but until then he knew he’d never let her go. She was his heart and soul. Not having her in his life now was unthinkable. He had stood before God and promised to love, honor and cherish her. No other woman compared to his Emma. He’d been with quite a few but he couldn’t remember feeling anything other than sexual pleasure, and even that didn’t measure up to sex with Emma. He tightened his arm around her and smiled when he felt her snuggle against him. She moved her head back and gazed up at him. “Hey,” Emma whispered.
Gabe (Men of Clifton Montana Book 2) Page 12
