“I’m not afraid of your father or his gun, but we’d better get married fast, because I don’t want our first child born less than nine months after the wedding.”
Maddie drew a quick breath at Patrick’s happy, utterly wicked grin. “Oh, yeah? I thought you didn’t want to have children—no more changing dirty diapers or reading Mother Goose. Remember?”
“That was before I fell in love,” he said quietly. “Now I want everything. If you have enough love and faith in me to be my wife, then I’ll make darn sure not to mess it up.”
When she didn’t say anything, Patrick sighed.
“Sweetheart, I can’t help being protective, but it has nothing to do with how wonderful I think you are. A man wants to protect the woman he loves, and all the logic in the world won’t change that. Your father is the same, but do you really believe he thinks less of you and your mother because of it?”
“No.”
“Please, Maddie,” he urged, stepping so close she felt the warmth radiating from his body. “I’m tired of being alone. You can’t leave me like this, not when you’ve shown me what can be. I love you.”
Unable to resist his plea, Maddie threw herself into Patrick’s arms. “And I love you,” she whispered against his lips.
“Does this mean you’ll marry me?”
She gave him that saucy, impudent smile he adored. “What do you think?”
Patrick caught sight of the Jacksons peering out from the kitchen window. From behind Maddie’s back he gave them a thumbs-up. “I think you should stick your hand in my back pocket,” he murmured.
“What?”
“Just do it.”
The sensation of slender fingers sliding into his jeans’ pocket nearly brought Patrick to his knees. “Get all three of them,” he growled. “And fast, or your father is going to be very unhappy with me.”
“I thought you weren’t afraid of Daddy.”
“Maddie.”
“You…oh.” Tears spiked Maddie’s eyelashes as she looked at the three rings lying on her palm. Two engraved wedding bands, one obviously for a man, and a beautiful channel set diamond and sapphire engagement ring.
“I know it’s traditional to pick out the wedding bands together, but I hoped you wouldn’t mind. Especially since your mom helped.” He slipped the engagement ring over the third finger of her left hand.
She drew back with a serious expression on her face. “All right, I’ll marry you,” she said. “Just so long as you know, I don’t believe in long engagements.”
Patrick drew his thumb across Maddie’s lip. “You’re going to have the shortest engagement in Slapshot history. Your mom promised she could put together a wedding in two days, and I sent the jet to Washington so it could bring everyone back here. Provided you agreed to marry me, of course.”
“Of course,” she said, and kissed him back.
Four Weeks Later
“That feels so good,” Patrick said, groaning at the ache in his muscles.
“That’s what you get for trying to inspect the transmitter in the middle of a thunderstorm,” Maddie said gently, rubbing liniment into his back and shoulders as he lay sprawled across their bed.
Despite his aches and pains, Patrick smiled into the pillow. His wife was sweet and wonderful, but she wasn’t shy about saying “I told you so.”
Maddie had scolded furiously when he’d climbed onto the platform to check it out after the worst of the storm passed, declaring that someone else who was better qualified could do it later. But nobody knew that old transmitter the way he did, and he’d wanted to be certain it was okay after the wind they’d had.
“It was perfectly safe. The storm was almost over,” he said.
“No, it wasn’t. It’s still pouring down rain. If it was ‘almost over’ it would have stopped by now.”
Patrick chuckled, turning over to smile at her. “This is winter in Washington. It’s basically going to rain for the next six months. That’s what keeps it—”
“Green,” she finished for him. “I know.”
His grin faded as he traced the line of Maddie’s face. She was so lovely, so passionate about everything. She brought the same enthusiasm to their marriage that she brought to everything else. Still, maybe asking her to adjust to the weather in the Pacific Northwest wasn’t fair.
“We could move,” he said quietly. “We could start a radio station in Albuquerque, or I could do something else.”
Maddie blinked. “Why would we want to do that?”
His shoulders lifted in a small shrug. “Some people have trouble getting used to the short winter days and rain up here.”
“Have I complained?”
“No.”
“Then stop worrying about it. I like the rain.” She bent over him, giving a long kiss that sent Patrick’s pulse racing. “Except when you insist on climbing all over a transmitter in the middle of a storm.”
“But you miss your parents,” he said hoarsely.
“Luckily I have your mother, my sister, and the rest of the O’Rourkes to help when I get homesick. And you haven’t seen our first long-distance phone bill.” Maddie’s fingers were busy unsnapping the buttons on his worn jeans.
Patrick helped her maneuver the jeans down his legs. He kicked them out of the way. “I don’t give a damn about the bill,” he growled. “I just care about getting you naked.”
“Oh, yeah?”
Maddie sat back on her heels and admired her husband’s powerful body. They probably would have made love in the Blazer if she hadn’t been shivering so hard when they left the station. They most certainly would have made love taking a warm shower, but Patrick had gotten a call from Pegeen…much to his sexual frustration. He’d left the bathroom, pulling on the jeans and ordering her not to put on any clothing herself, but she donned a T-shirt and panties for comfort.
“What?” His eyebrows shot upward. “You’ll give me a massage, but you won’t get naked for me?
Maddie smiled and slowly lifted the hem of the T-shirt. “Are you sure you don’t mind about the phone bill?”
Patrick snorted. “Give me a break.”
She tossed the shirt to one side and focused on Patrick. She loved to see his pupils dilate when she got “naked” for him. A woman couldn’t ask for a more passionate, lusty husband. He didn’t have any inhibitions in the bedroom and had rapidly demolished any she might have had.
“What are you thinking?” Patrick asked as Maddie crawled over him like a sensuous cat.
“That you took care of my inhibitions.”
“Huh. As if you had any.” He nuzzled the space between her breasts, then kissed his way to the velvety tip. Breath hissed through Maddie’s lips, making him smile. She was an enthusiastic lover, with the same natural talent in making love that she had in kissing. “Are you sure you’re happy here?” he asked, a lingering concern in the back of his mind.
Maddie sat back, her bottom landing on his unprotected arousal. He groaned at the exquisite pain.
“Will you stop that?” she demanded. “I’m an adult. If I was unhappy I’d tell you.”
Well, hell. He wasn’t going to argue with that logic.
He pulled her down beside him. “Fine. But I’m a little unhappy you’re still wearing these.” Patrick hooked his fingers around her panties and tugged. Maddie obliged by digging her heels into the mattress and lifting her hips. He tossed the panties over his shoulder. “You’re very helpful.”
Maddie’s smile was sultry as she ran the curve of her foot down his leg. “I don’t want my husband to be unhappy.”
“There’s not a chance of that.”
Oh, man, she really did have the prettiest breasts. Patrick swirled his tongue over one nipple, teasing the other with his fingers.
Maddie squirmed, the muscles in her abdomen clenching and grabbing in the most delicious way. Most of the time it was slow and hot between them, but she didn’t want that tonight. She needed him fast and hard and now. It had frightened her, seein
g Patrick working on the transmitter, wet and exposed, lightning forking across the sky. He was probably right that he hadn’t been in danger, but fear wasn’t logical. Shuddering, she muttered a sensual demand and felt him jerk.
It was like setting off a nuclear bomb, sensations igniting, rolling over her with a power that still left her filled with breathless astonishment, no matter how many times they’d made love in the past weeks.
The lightning from the storm was nothing compared to the electricity in her veins. She tried to wait, but her body exploded, sending her into a shimmering, mindless void of pleasure.
With a final gasping thrust, Patrick fell into the same void, collapsing over Maddie. With the last of his energy, he rolled, tucking her along his side so his greater weight wouldn’t crush her.
Nearly twenty minutes passed before he lifted his head. Maddie had a sleepy, satisfied smile he loved knowing he’d put there.
“Don’t look smug,” she murmured.
“I’m not smug, I’m happy.”
“Okay.”
Patrick settled back, hardly able to believe the difference she’d made in his life. Not just the greatest sex ever, but warmth and love and acceptance.
Kane and Beth had insisted Maddie and Patrick buy Beth’s old house at a ridiculously low price. The house was in excellent condition and would be a perfect home for them, at least until they had more than a couple of kids. They could remodel later, or get something bigger if that’s what they decided.
A thoughtful frown creased Patrick’s brow as he remembered Maddie’s reaction—or rather, lack of re-action—when her period had come on schedule. She’d wanted a baby so badly he was surprised she’d taken it so calmly.
“Sweetheart, about a baby…”
“It’s all right,” Maddie said quickly. “I don’t mind if we wait. I’ve been thinking I should go on birth control for a while.”
The sated lassitude in his body vanished. “Why?”
“You know, to give y—us some time before starting a family.”
Damn. He looked at her in exasperation. “You mean give ‘me’ some time. I don’t need time. We can have a baby now.”
“Well, not right now,” Maddie said, glancing down at her flat tummy.
“Maddie.” Patrick lifted himself on one elbow and looked down at his wife. “What’s going on?”
“I just don’t want you to think the only thing I wanted…” She rubbed her hand on his arm. “You’re more important to me than having a baby.”
A burst of warmth surrounded Patrick’s heart, and he blinked rapidly. Modern men might be comfortable enough to cry, but he wasn’t that modern.
“I already know that,” he said, stroking her face. He should have shaved, there was already a blooming case of whisker burn in several sensitive places—like her cheeks and breasts. “And a baby is something we both want.”
Maddie smiled tremulously. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.” Patrick kissed the red marks he’d left on her skin. She shivered, her nipples tightening in instant response. “And since making a baby is so much fun, we win two ways.”
Maddie arched her neck, the familiar tension flooding back through her body. “Sounds…like a plan.”
“Mmm, I love amenable women.”
“Patrick O’Rourke, that’s not what—”
His hand swooped over her mouth, cutting off her words.
“Just checking to be sure you were listening.” Patrick grinned as he lifted his hand. “You get distracted so easily.”
Maddie found a particularly responsive place on her husband’s body and noticed he was a little distracted himself.
“You were saying?”
“Not a thing,” he breathed.
“I thought so.” She pulled him down, her fingers threading through his dark hair. “Now make me forget I married a man who climbs out on radio transmitters in the middle of storms.”
“Delighted to oblige.”
Patrick’s kiss deepened as he did exactly that.
ISBN: 978-1-4603-5397-4
THE RIGHT TWIN FOR HIM
Copyright © 2003 by Julianna Morris
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
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* Bridal Fever!
The Right Twin For Him (O'Rourke Family 2) Page 15
