She giggled. “Why, Mr. Wilcox, are you planning on seducing me?”
“Isn’t that what I’ve been doing all week?”
She laughed as they got into the car.
Chapter 8
Levi did indeed find it difficult to keep his mind on the road during the 90 minutes it took them to get to the hotel. After checking in, they carried their bags into the room. He was pleased to see Leslie’s look of joy as she explored the room, noting the Jacuzzi, the roses on the table, and king-sized bed that looked extremely comfortable. She stepped into his arms and kissed him.
“This is wonderful, Levi. It’s perfect.”
His body reacted immediately to her nearness and he pulled her closer until they were breathing each other’s breaths. “If we don’t leave right now, we may not make it to dinner and the horse show.”
“I’m actually not very hungry, and I can see a horse show some other day.”
He raised his eyebrows and studied her shining eyes. “Come to think of it, I had a pretty big lunch myself and I’d rather be riding my own horse than watching someone else.”
“So, what should we do to occupy our time?” she asked innocently.
In answer, he lifted her into his arms and kissed her passionately, deciding it was absolute torture to put it off any longer. He carried her to the side of the bed and leaned down to pull back the comforter, not pausing his kisses, even as he laid her onto the bed.
He brushed the hair from her face and rubbed her cheek with his hand, watching her intensely until he could feel her shiver under him. He stood back and took off his shirt, and her sigh nearly caused him to explode.
“Hold that thought,” he murmured gruffly, and picked up his bag to pull out a small shiny package. “I’ve learned my lesson and I don’t think either of us is ready . . . just yet . . . to add a third child to our family.”
She laughed. “Not just yet?”
He set the condom on the nightstand and she sat up, raising her arms for him to peel off her top. He sucked in a quick breath at the site of her red-laced bra that revealed more than it hid. She put her hands behind her back and quickly unfastened it, dropping it to the side.
He cupped her breasts with his hands, using his thumbs to tease the nipples and then brushed his hand along her collar bone and down her side to grip her hip as he pressed in again and kissed her, no longer having to worry about slowing it down.
She reached for his groin and rubbed him through his jeans until he pushed her hand away.
“I definitely won’t last if you keep doing that,” he growled in her ear. Then he stood again and pulled her onto her feet. He knelt before her, kissing the tender skin of her stomach, then unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, pulling them down just enough to expose her hips and he put his lips just to the inside of them.
He gripped her bottom and pulled her to his mouth, then began pulling down the jeans in the back, careful not to remove her panties. She stepped out of her jeans and he sat back on his knees to take in the sight of her matching red panties that hung low under her hips. He put one finger inside the bottom of her panties and explored, teasing, watching her throw her head back and inhale sharply. She moaned as he intensified his exploration, and then pulling the panties aside to expose the most sensitive part of her body, he brought his mouth to her once again, urging her to the edge until she nearly screamed and shook. Her fingers had entwined themselves into his hair as he brought her to orgasm, and they relaxed as she put her hands on his jaws and pulled his face away from her. He watched her expression of satisfaction melt back into desire as he stood and pulled his own jeans and underwear down, preparing himself with the condom.
She offered a mischievous smile and he took her into his arms again, squeezing her bottom and pushing her onto her back. She parted her legs immediately, and he kissed her forehead and nose and then mouth before entering her in one thrust.
It was nearly his undoing, but he held on to push slowly, feeling completely enveloped in the hot, wet, soft cushion. Her breaths started coming faster, and he felt her pulse around him. She gripped his shoulders with her fingertips, nearly scratching at him and then wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him on until they both moaned and shuddered in each other’s arms.
She kept her legs around him and dropped her arms out to the side. He could feel her heartbeat and hear her breathing start to slow. As he lay there, he realized he wanted more, and feeling her thighs tighten around his waist and her arms encircle him again, he thought she might want more too.
***
It was after 8:00 when they finally rolled out of bed, having made love until they were exhausted and spending some time talking about their lives and their crushes on each other in high school. Levi suggested a romantic bath, and Leslie hurried into the bathroom to start the water. She looked into the mirror next to her and, noticing her body’s reaction to the pleasure she’d experienced, she suddenly felt beautiful. She hugged her breasts and sighed. In the mirror, she saw Levi enter the room behind her, coming up to her to put his arms around her.
His warm chest rubbed her back and she closed her eyes, feeling fuller than she had ever in her life. She turned to him and put her arms around his neck to give him a quick kiss, then disentangled herself to finish getting the bath ready.
Once it was ready, she sat in front of him, leaning back onto his chest. He used his finger to pull her mouth up to his and kissed her gently.
“You know,” said Leslie thoughtfully, looking into his eyes. “While I was a bit too young to dream up this, I did picture us together in so many ways that my little knowledge allowed.”
“And as a horny teenage boy,” he laughed, “I did picture some of these things with you. Don’t ask me why God made us this way, but sex was on my mind at least 99 percent of the time when I was seventeen. Though I must say, I don’t think I imagined it could be so emotional and filling.”
“That’s the reward of age,” she said, putting her head on his shoulder. “The dream I had the most was you giving me your high school ring. I know, I was a bit young and naïve, but that was a huge deal for me. You have no idea how crushed I was to see Carey wearing it when we were seniors.”
His chuckle caressed her cheek pleasantly. “She practically stole that from me. Begged me to let her see it. I didn’t think I’d ever see it again until she threw it in my front yard when she was pissed at me.”
“So, you didn’t truly give it to anyone, then.”
“Nope.”
“Well, I feel a little better. Not much, but a little.”
They laughed and enjoyed each other’s presence until the water grew cold.
***
They didn’t leave the room until checking out mid-morning the next day. They did finally order room service and joked about how much of an appetite they had worked up.
When they returned to Leslie’s home early that afternoon, they were greeted by two squealing girls. Leslie was reminded once again of how fleeting were these moments when her daughter would be so delighted to see her. She scooped Ava into her arms as soon as they entered the house, dropping her bag at the bottom of the stairs.
“Oh, I missed you so much!” She rubbed her nose against Ava’s.
“Me too, Mam. Can Amberlyn stay tonight too?”
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m sure Amberlyn missed her daddy too. I know he missed her.”
“Well, since you two had a sleepover, he can stay here too.” She looked down at Levi, who was kneeling before his daughter, tying her shoes. “Right, Mr. Levi?”
He looked at Leslie with amusement, and she suppressed a laugh.
“Please?” chimed in Amberlyn.
Levi stood and put his hand on Leslie’s shoulder, watching her as he replied, “Not tonight, hon. Maybe we could work that out sometime in the future.”
Leslie’s mother cleared her throat. She was standing in the living room doorway, unnoticed. She smiled broadly and chuckled before greeting her daughter and Levi
with a kiss.
Chapter 9
It took nearly three months, but the new daycare center was finally in its last stages. Levi and Eric had put in so many hours. Levi surprised Leslie with a special addition that hadn’t been on the drawn-up plans. He’d created a small mudroom just inside the backdoor that opened into a large, fenced-in playground. The mudroom was a small area of ceramic tile and cubbies for each kid to store belongings, with a plastic square on the top of each of them where Leslie could slide in name plates.
The surprise brought her to tears, and she nearly overwhelmed Levi when she crushed him in a strong embrace. If they’d been alone at the time, there might have been an addendum to the hug.
Now all that was left was for Leslie to set the opening date. She wanted to host an open-house reception for the parents who had signed up to enroll their children and for the two young women, fresh out of college, whom she’d hired after weeks of extensive interviews and background checks.
Levi was amazed at how calm and organized Leslie was, planning every detail for the opening reception and the first day in business. She exuded confidence and was genuinely excited about her new business and working with more kids. Ava and Amberlyn were thrilled to be getting new friends, especially since there would be a few more girls.
When the last guest left the reception, he joined her as she collapsed onto the couch. Her mother had taken the girls home so Leslie and Levi didn’t have to rush to get them to bed on time.
“It seems so long ago when we sat here and talked about taking our relationship to the next level,” he said, taking her hand.
Her eyes were closed. She murmured, “Mm, hm.”
“I didn’t want to complicate anything or distract you while you were in the final stages of this all coming together, but now I think it’s the perfect time to talk about the next step.”
She opened her eyes and looked at him, curiosity lining her brows.
“The night we got back from Oklahoma City, I spent a couple of hours looking for something. It’s one of the few times I was glad my grandparents never threw anything away.” He pulled out something from his pocket and kept it in his closed fist. “What I didn’t tell you was that I found my ring a few days after Carey tossed it. I was going to get rid of it, but Grandma took it and said she would hang on to it, that I might want it someday. Smart woman, that lady.”
Leslie nodded slowly and watched his hand open to reveal a golden class ring with a blue stone set in the middle and the year 2002 engraved on the side.
“So, it’s fifteen years too late, but would you please wear my class ring, Leslie?”
She took it from his hand, tears starting to slide down her cheeks.
“Oh, before you say yes, there’s something you should know. Taking this ring also means you’ll move in with me.”
He held his breath. He hadn’t been so sure about her response to that part, but he just wasn’t satisfied anymore with random moments, an overnight here or there. It nearly hurt every time he said goodbye to her.
When she continued to stay silent, he added, “I’ve done this backward. I’m sorry. I’ve been so nervous about this that I didn’t start out with the most important part of this.” He leaned in and brushed a tear from her cheek, studying her face. “Now that this part of your life is falling into place, I need you to know what you mean to me. I am so in love you with you I can barely see straight, and it doesn’t feel right for us to go to separate homes each night. It feels like we should be going home together, so I want you and Ava to move in with me and Amberlyn. It’ll be easier to plan our wedding that way too.”
“Wedding?” she gulped.
“Oh yeah, did I not mention that?” He laughed and pulled a box from his other pocket. “Like I said, I’m so in love with you I can barely see straight.” He opened the box and her tears flowed freely as she looked at the ring, wide-eyed.
It seemed to take her forever to respond. His gut tightened, worried that she might say no. He started to pull back the diamond ring, but her hand flew out and took it from him. She met his eyes and smiled broadly. “Levi, I’ve been waiting fifteen years for you to realize what a catch I am.”
He threw his head back and laughed deeply. “And I have loved you since I was thirteen. You have no idea how much you’ve exceeded my wildest kid dreams.”
She sighed and pulled his face to hers. “I love you too. And I love your daughter and the little family we’ve sort of put together. So yes, I’ll take that high school ring, and yes, we’ll move in with you, and yes, I’ll be your wife.”
“Can I put the ring on you now?”
“Which one?” she laughed.
“Both of them.”
Her eyes sparkled as she held out her hands and he slid on each ring and then took her into his arms, feeling so complete that he seemed to be floating and couldn’t wait to get their families together and begin to grow it.
Epilogue
Six months later
Ava and Amberlyn stood in front of the floor-length mirror, sticking out their tongues and giggling about the faces they were making when Leslie’s mother stepped in their view.
“Let’s be a little more serious, girls. This is an important day. Don’t mess up those beautiful dresses.” The girls’ dresses were soft yellow with eyelets tracing the bottoms of the sleeves, the necklines, and the hems. Silk sashes tied at their backs, and they each wore white tights and yellow patent leather shoes. Ava’s curls were adorned with two sunflower barrettes, and Amberlyn’s straight, long hair was held back with a headband, sporting small yellow flowers.
Leslie watched her mother check the girls’ sashes and smooth out the skirts. Everything was ready. They were standing just inside the kitchen of their home waiting on their cues. The girls couldn’t stop looking out the door into their backyard every few minutes as guests sat down. Finally, they both squealed, “There’s Daddy!” and Imogene had to restrain them from running right out. The music began and she handed them both white baskets with sunflower petals.
She looked at her daughter. “You look so beautiful. I am so proud.”
“Thank you, Mama.”
“Are you ready?”
“I’ve been ready for years.”
Her mother smiled and then put her hands on her granddaughters’ shoulders and directed them onto the carpet.
Leslie approached the door and watched her girls tossing petals. She could just make out Levi’s smiling features and noted when he wiped at the corner of his eye.
She put her hand to her chest, breathing in deeply, then picked up her own bouquet and took the first step toward her brand-new life.
~The End~
Books by Charlene Bright
Canton County Cowboys
A Cowboy Worth Loving
A Cowboy After Her Heart
Dare to Love a Cowboy
Captivated by a Cowboy
Cowboys of Courage
Courage to Follow
Courage to Believe
Courage to Fall
Cherish Cowboys
Cherished Love
Cherished Moments
Cherished Embrace
Wild at Heart Cowboys
Like a Cowboy
The Cowboy in Me
Cowboy Casanova
Cowboy Nuptials
To Have and Hold a Cowboy
To Love and Honor a Cowboy
To Cherish and Keep a Cowboy
Christmas Romance
I Saw Mommy Kissing a Cowboy
Snowfall Kisses
About the Author
Charlene Bright is the author of several contemporary western romance novels. She’s a lifelong resident of the American South and currently residents in southern Oklahoma on a family-owned cattle ranch. She greets each morning with a hot cup of coffee and an optimistic smile. Traveling to America’s national parks is her favorite pastime. After rearing her children, she and her husband recently became empty-nesters. With the peace and quiet th
at comes with that, she began to hear the characters in her head begging for their stories to be told which is when the author inside her was set free.
Brand New Cowboy Page 7
