Priceless Marriage

by Bonnie Gardner

  Honor looked not at Sam, but at Nick. “Well, I guess so. I wouldn’t want to worry you,” she said softly. “Thank you. I’d appreciate a lift.”

  And Sam would appreciate them getting on with it. With the approaching storm, he’d finally been presented with a surefire way to get Ruby into his bed. She had always been terrified of storms and a severe one was guaranteed to send her running, cowering, into the shelter of his arms.

  All he had to do was get them all home before that storm hit.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ruby watched the lightning flickering in the distance with growing apprehension. She wasn’t so much worried about the approaching storm as she was that she and Sam wouldn’t reach home before it hit. She’d long since gotten over her fear of storms themselves, but she did have a healthy respect for the damage they could do.

  She’d seen a tornado come tearing across the plains toward her family’s ranch when she was a child, and she’d never forgotten that awesome sight. Though no humans had been injured in that particular storm, it had decimated a herd of cattle, ripped trees right out of the ground and left several outbuildings looking like nothing more than a pile of matchsticks. A sight like that could imprint itself indelibly on a child’s psyche.

  She shuddered as she remembered.

  Sam reached over and patted her knee, making her shiver with anticipation. And not of the storm. “It’s okay, Ruby. We’ll be home well before the storm hits.”

  Of course, Sam had no way of knowing that she’d conquered her fear of storms during the time he’d been overseas and she’d been living alone in the apartment above the Mercantile. But still, Ruby liked the idea that Sam wanted to protect her.

  And this storm was giving her the perfect opportunity to let Sam back into her bed where he belonged without either one of them having to admit they’d made a mistake. She was pretty sure they both understood that by now.

  “Turn on the radio. Let’s hear the weather report,” Nick suggested from the back seat.

  “Good idea.” Sam switched on the radio and staticky music filled the air.

  “Damn. Why aren’t they giving the report?” Nick muttered.

  “Probably because it’s not that bad,” Ruby suggested. “They only give complete coverage if storms are expected to be really dangerous.”

  “Then why did Dev send us all home?” Nick fumed. “I was enjoying myself.”

  “I expect I know,” Sam said. “Dev’s got a new wife. Maybe he was looking for an excuse to close up early and go home to Amanda.”

  “Maybe so,” Nick grumbled. “But the man stands to lose my repeat business if he keeps doing that,” he added sourly. “Besides, Roy could keep things open if Dev went home.”

  Ruby laughed. “Nick Folger, you are going home to South Dakota in another week. I think Dev will be able to keep the wolf from his door without you here.” And she completely understood why Dev wanted to get home to Amanda. Maybe it wasn’t a very dangerous storm, but it was as good an excuse as any to crawl into bed with someone you loved.

  She was planning on using a very similar excuse herself.

  “Sam, do you suppose you could manage to drive a little faster?” Ruby asked. She had always hated speeding in the fast, low-slung Corvette, but in the SUV it was okay. After all, she had a reason to hurry home.

  “Don’t worry, Ruby, darlin’. I won’t let the storm beat us to the house,” Sam said as he pressed on the gas and the SUV surged forward.

  That wasn’t what Ruby was worried about.

  She was afraid the storm would pass them by, and she’d lose her excuse.

  Not that she’d let on to Sam.

  Yet.

  “WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE it’s going to pass us by,” Sam said, glancing at the retreating storm in the distance and trying to conceal his disappointment as he stepped out of the car. The air outside was still thick with humidity, though, so maybe there was a slim chance that another storm might head their way later.

  A guy could hope.

  Funny how, considering her storm phobia, Ruby didn’t look the least bit relieved, Sam thought as he escorted her, hand at the small of her bare back, up the path to the house. A slight frown furrowed her alabaster brow as the breeze taunted them with the promise of rain—a promise it might not keep.

  Sam drew in a deep breath. Was that the scent of rain he detected in the sultry air?

  “Yeah,” Ruby said, sounding disappointed. “We could use the rain, though.” She let out a low sigh and pushed open the front door.

  Looking for any excuse to touch her, Sam reached around her and flipped on the light. “No sense in you tripping on something and hurting yourself,” he said, brushing his hand against her creamy shoulder, shown off to tempting advantage by the yellow dress. Then he wondered what might have happened if Ruby had tripped.

  He could have picked her up and carried her to her bed. His bed. Their bed.

  He might have been able to put an end to this ridiculous charade once and for all.

  Damn. Why had he been so gallant?

  The air inside the house was stuffy and warm, and Sam stopped to push open a window in the living room. “If it does rain, it won’t come in under the porch,” he said, looking for something, anything, to keep Ruby from retreating alone into her bedroom quite so soon.

  “I suppose,” she murmured, punctuating her answer with a low sigh. “I guess I should open one in the bedroom, too.” She wandered slowly across the living room, as if she didn’t quite know where she was going or what she was going to do.

  What was wrong with the woman? “Ruby, don’t you feel well?”

  “Just tired, Sam,” she said, and she really did sound weary.

  Why was he reading more into everything than was actually there? Was he reading between the lines or was he merely guilty of wishful thinking? Sam reached for Ruby’s hand and pulled her to him.

  “Is something on your mind, Ruby?” he asked, holding her gently by her upper arms. He caressed and massaged her creamy soft skin, and Ruby seemed to tremble in response. Sam was determined to give her every chance to invite him into her bed. But as the minutes ticked slowly by, his chances seemed increasingly slim.

  Why had he made that stupid, foolhardy promise not to push her?

  Ruby shook her head. “I’m fine. Just tired. It’s been a long day. I think I’ll just go on to bed.”

  Alone, dammit, Sam couldn’t help thinking. When was the blasted impasse going to come to an end? When was Ruby going to stop testing and accept that he was here to stay?

  He released her and watched as she slowly turned away. He was gonna need another cold shower tonight, that was for sure. He’d taken too many lately, and it hadn’t been because of the hot, sticky air in the house.

  It was because of Ruby’s decidedly cold shoulder.

  RUBY CLOSED THE BEDROOM door, using every bit of restraint she possessed to keep from slamming it. If she’d had something to kick, she would have; she was so angry with herself! Why couldn’t she just swallow her pride and tell Sam that she was ready to end their separation?

  It was plain as day that Sam wanted her back. And ever since Ruby had learned the real reason her husband had gone out on that mission that night she’d called to tell him about winning part of the lottery, she was feeling more than a little guilty for not having given him a chance to explain before she’d jumped to all the wrong conclusions.

  She unzipped her dress, kicked off her shoes, maybe a little more forcefully than necessary, and plopped down prone on the bed. Balling up her fists, she pounded on the soft, giving mattress. It wasn’t as satisfactory as punching a wall, but it would have to do. She’d made her bed and here she was lying in it. Alone.

  Now she just had to figure out how to get out of it.

  As the storm moved off and the flickers of lightning outside her bedroom window grew dimmer, she made her decision.

  Tonight would be the night, she decided. Storm or no storm.

  SAM WRE
STLED his bedroom window up and stood, naked and damp, in the open expanse, hoping to catch even a hint of the frail, humid breeze. He stared off into the darkness, which was unrelieved by lights or stars or the slightest flash of lightning. A shower had cooled him off, but it had done nothing to douse his burning desire for his wife.

  His loins raged with a fire that could only be eased by Ruby. In his bed. Beneath him.

  A slight breath of wind stirred the sheer curtains and brought with it the suggestion of impending rain. Sam could smell it in the air, but he shrugged. The storm had already passed. He could not count on another one to send Ruby running into his arms. And besides, rain or not, she would come to him when she came to him. He tried to be philosophical about it, but he was rapidly running out of patience.

  A man could stand only so much waiting.

  He turned slowly to the bed and stretched out on top of the covers. He was too hot and bothered to sleep, and at least this way he’d be able to take advantage of what little breeze meandered his way.

  MIDNIGHT.

  The bold, red LED display on the alarm clock seemed to scream at her, but the old house was as still and silent as it normally was at night.

  Ruby lay quietly in her bed, listening to sounds of the house settling. An occasional breeze fluttered the sheers on the window, but otherwise the night was still as a tomb.

  She shuddered at the thought.

  Though the storm had apparently passed them by, the stars had not reappeared in the sky, suggesting that clouds still covered its infinite expanse.

  Why had she needed a storm, anyway?

  All she had to do was knock on Sam’s door, and she had no doubt that he’d let her in. Sam had promised to wait until she was ready, and he was an officer and a gentleman, medical retirement or not. He would not break his word.

  It was all up to her.

  She was ready to move forward, and she realized now she was the only one who could set them on the right path.

  Ruby yanked the cord on the bedside lamp and pushed herself up out of the tangled sheets. As quietly as she could, she slid to the floor and tiptoed to her bureau. In the top drawer was the nightgown—if you could call that tiny scrap of peach-colored silk a nightgown—that she’d planned to wear for Sam’s homecoming.

  If she were going to seduce her husband, it was going to take something a little more attractive than Sam’s old T-shirt that she’d taken to wearing to sleep in when he’d gone overseas. Of course, Sam had made it perfectly clear that no seduction would be necessary. Still, Ruby felt she had to make the effort.

  She pulled the worn and faded T-shirt over her head and slipped into the silken gown. How smooth and weightless it felt against her bare skin. Knowing how quickly Sam would pull it over her head and fling it away, she put it on anyway.

  How wonderful his hands would feel against her breasts—Ruby’s breath caught in her throat.

  Why was she standing here? Why was she imagining what might happen when all she had to do was walk down the hall and experience the real thing?

  She drew in a deep breath, squared her shoulders and pushed open the bedroom door.

  The rest was up to Sam.

  SAM JERKED UP, instantly alert, at the sound of something he couldn’t quite identify. He held his breath as he tuned out the creaking of the old house and focused in on the noise he’d thought he heard.

  There it was again.

  Someone or something was outside in the hall. And no one who belonged here had any reason for stealth. If someone was creeping through the house, he was up to no good.

  The security lamp from the barn sent a path of light across the floor, straight to the door. As Sam crept toward it, he could clearly see the knob turn.

  The mechanism clicked free with a quiet snick, and the door pushed inward. Sam waited, breath bated, behind the door. Waited, tense and ready, until whoever was trying to come in showed himself and gave him a chance to grab him.

  The door slowly creaked open and a shadowy figure, shrouded in the darkness, stepped inside. Another moment and Sam would grab him.

  “Kee-yah!” Sam shouted as he lunged for the intruder and grabbed him around the neck.

  A soft silky neck, he realized as his victim shrieked. A neck that was much too slender and velvety smooth to be that of a man.

  Sam abruptly let go. “What the hell? Ruby?”

  The shadow let out a low, shaky and decidedly feminine breath. “Next time I guess I’ll knock first,” she said dryly.

  “Ruby Melissa Albright Cade! What the hell are you doing sneaking into my room like this?” Sam demanded as he flipped on the overhead light.

  Ruby blinked at the sudden illumination. “I was trying to surprise you,” she said, rubbing her throat with a trembling hand. A red mark showed where he had grabbed her, and Sam wanted—no, needed—to kiss the mark away. “This was not exactly what I had in mind.”

  Sam brushed Ruby’s hand away from the angry marks on her throat. “Oh, God, Ruby. Did I do that? I am so sorry!”

  “It’s all right, Sam. I guess I was asking for it.” She wound her arms around his neck, and Sam was suddenly, acutely aware that he was naked. And Ruby was nearly so, wrapped in a piece of silk that was only slightly larger than a handkerchief.

  “I guess I’ll have to kiss it and make it better,” Sam murmured huskily, lowering his face to Ruby’s exquisite, delicate throat.

  “You do that, Sam,” Ruby replied softly, sultrily as Sam’s lips touched her silken skin. “And then will you take me to bed?”

  Sam’s breath caught. “Do you have to ask?”

  She shook her head. “No, I didn’t think so,” she answered breathlessly. “But I know you’ve been waiting for the proper invitation.”

  “Hoo-ah!” Sam cheered. “I accept.” He lifted her into his arms and carried her, light as a feather, to the bed.

  As he lowered her to the top of the covers, she murmured the words he was beginning to think he’d never hear. “Sam, I am so sorry that I let that misunderstanding come between us. Will you ever be able to forgive me?”

  He settled down beside her, trying to temper his excitement. “Of course I can. But, darlin’,” he drawled. “It would be a hell of a lot easier if you didn’t have that silly nightgown comin’ between you and me.”

  Ruby grinned, then slowly and seductively began to peel the nightgown off in a striptease that was moving much too slowly.

  Sam grabbed the offending piece of silk and snatched it the rest of the way off, and Ruby, in all her naked glory, sat perched on his bed in front of him.

  As a loud clap of thunder sounded, followed by a blinding flash of lightning, Sam closed the short distance between them. He felt Ruby’s warm, damp skin against his, and he knew he’d found heaven on earth.

  Then, as he lowered himself over her, the power went out.

  Ruby didn’t care that the lights were out, that thunder was crashing and lightning flashing all around her. So powerful was her urgent desire for Sam, for the fulfillment that only he could bring, that she scarcely heard anything save the beating of their hearts in tandem and the sound of their breathing as she and Sam finally came together.

  He covered her willing body, kneed her legs apart and surged into her so quickly that it made Ruby gasp as they became one.

  Sam paused and, braced by his arms, hovered above her. “Are you all right, Ruby?” he asked, obviously trying so hard to hold back that he trembled with the effort. “I want so much to make this night perfect for you, but I…it’s been…so long.”

  Ruby smiled and raised her head to place a soft kiss on Sam’s mouth. Tendrils of desire wound their way from her throbbing center through her body to her heart. “It’s all right, Sam. I want you so much. And we have all night.”

  “Yes, we do, darlin’,” Sam murmured. “And I promise I will make it up to you the second time around.”

  Ruby laughed softly, raised her hips and moved seductively beneath his body, making him jump ref
lexively inside her. Sighing with satisfaction, she trailed one hand down his bumpy spine, smiling as she felt gooseflesh form on his skin. That had always driven Sam wild, and Ruby loved the power she felt when it did. “Go on, Sam. Please. It’s been just as long for me.”

  He pushed deep inside her and rocked back and forth, back and forth, surging more powerfully each time, like wave after wave pounding a sandy white beach. A kaleidoscope of light and sound and emotion overwhelmed Ruby, and she rode to the crest of each wave of passion and sensation with an ecstasy more fierce and powerful than the storm outside.

  She felt Sam contract within her, and Ruby anticipated his slight gasp of breath an instant before he made it. Then, with a triumphant cry of pleasure, he emptied himself into her. Quickly following him to completion, she tumbled, swirling head over heels over the brink with her own satisfied cry of completion.

  This was the way it always had been.

  This was as it should ever be.

  SATED FOR NOW, Sam caressed Ruby’s skin, still damp from their lovemaking, as she nestled against him in the crook of his arm, her head on his chest. He could feel the soft rhythm of her heartbeat against him as she lay in his arms, and everything seemed right with the world.

  “I love you, Ruby.” He kissed the top of her tousled head and smiled as she snuggled closer, murmuring something he could not understand and really didn’t care that he didn’t.

  “Ruby, are you awake?”

  She didn’t answer, but the soft, even sound of her breathing suggested she was fast asleep.

  “That’s so like you, Ruby, my beautiful, priceless gem. Always giving, and me always taking,” he whispered. He kissed her again. “But I will make it up to you,” he promised. “If not tonight, then tomorrow. It’s about time that I learned to give as much as you have.”

  He lay there for a long, long time, listening to the sound of the departing storm and the quiet, even rhythm of Ruby’s breathing. Nothing mattered to him except this beautiful, loving woman who finally lay so peacefully, so trustingly in his arms.

  Sam hadn’t realized how much she’d sacrificed, how much she’d given to him until now, and he wondered about his sudden stroke of clarity.