"Cal," she breathed, wondering how much longer she could stand up as his lips trailed kisses lower. His warm breath moved over her like hot silk, stroking and teasing the sensitive flesh exposed to his lips. It was like every erotic novel she'd ever read, but this was real. He rested his head on her abdomen and took a deep breath before he spoke.
"Come to bed, Addie."
"Yes."
He lifted her easily and deposited her on the bed. She pushed the covers aside and slid beneath the sheets while Cal undressed.
"This is crazy," she managed to say as he tossed his shirt to the floor. "We're going to regret this in the morning."
"Why?" He sat down on the bed and tugged off his boots before he turned to smile at her. "It's going to last longer than ten minutes this time. And hopefully neither one of us is going to run off into the night."
She thought about running. But she was naked, and didn't want to be anyplace but in bed with Cal McDonald, who was taking too long to remove his jeans. She wanted him, plain and simple. Her breasts ached to be touched, her body hummed with unspent passion, and when Cal, now blessedly naked and impressively aroused, slipped into bed beside her, Addie shivered.
"What's wrong?" He leaned over her and brushed a lock of hair from her forehead. "Are you cold?"
"No." He urged her closer, and she went into his arms as easily as if she did so every night. It was like coming home after a long, hard trip, an erotic reunion of two people who might not have realized how much they missed each other.
She'd missed him, though. She'd known that every night she'd lain alone in her bed and remembered how he felt deep inside of her. His body slid against hers as he kissed her, his tongue teasing hers as their bodies entwined underneath the cotton sheet. His deep, low sound of pleasure echoed her own need, and she wanted him inside of her again, wanted to feel him as part of her. He moved her onto her back and took his time caressing her body and kissing a path downward, to the vee between her legs, then gently pushed her thighs apart to allow him entrance.
Addie bit back a cry as his mouth found her. Her body, so newly pregnant and sensitive, reacted quickly to the touch of his lips, and she flinched at the startling pleasure that his mouth gave her. His long fingers slid across her wetness, slipped inside, opened her for him. She tried not to climax right then and there, but her body was on fire and there was no stopping the spiraling orgasm that Cal coaxed so easily from her. She closed her eyes and gasped as the climax burst from her, whirling from the very core of her being and turning her breathless and shaking.
He didn't leave her for a long moment. His mouth absorbed the aftershocks of her orgasm while his fingers moved in and out with slow, soothing motions. She eventually caught her breath and wondered how on earth this man could have this kind of effect on her.
He eased away from the bed, retrieved the condom he had left on the nightstand and returned to her. She reached for him before he could cover himself; she wanted to feel him, needed to run her fingertips along the hard length of him and learn how he liked to be touched.
Cal groaned, but when she would have taken him in her hand and pleasured him with her mouth, he gently removed her hand and lifted it away from his body.
"It feels too good, sweetheart," was all he said, his voice raspy with passion as he slid the condom on. "Not that I don't appreciate the gesture, but keep that up and I'll embarrass myself and have to go home early."
"We wouldn't want that." She smiled into his eyes before he leaned forward and kissed her. And she was lost once again as Cal moved over her and urged her thighs apart. She was ready for him, of course. He'd made sure of that. And they fit together as perfectly as she remembered, though tonight she could appreciate it for more than simply sating lust, filling a lonely need to beloved, if only for a little while.
Tonight was so much different, so much better. Tonight she knew his name. She called it a long time later when she climaxed, moments before he plunged deep and hard, finding his own release inside of her.
He pulled the covers over them, settled her into his arms. She was asleep almost immediately, but not before thinking that she might have made another big mistake. Not by making love to Cal, she realized, snuggling into his wide chest, but by falling in love with him.
* * *
"Hi."
Cal opened his eyes and saw the twins' faces inches away from his own. They looked at him as if they were happy to see him this morning, which was unsettling to a man who had made love to their mother twice last night and could have done so again this morning if he'd been left alone to seduce the woman curled so contentedly against him.
"Hi," he whispered, knowing Addie was still asleep. Her face was tucked against his back; he could feel the length of that beautiful body pressed against him. Thank God they were both covered with the sheet, or the kids would really have something to tell their grandmother next weekend.
"What are you doin' here?" Ian asked, looking over at his mother as if he couldn't believe that she was sleeping so late.
"Sleeping," was the only thing Cal could think to say. He knew he'd locked the doors, but the boys must have gone downstairs and come up the front staircase. Cal hadn't thought of locking the door that led to the hall. Next time he'd be more careful.
"Oh. Mommy's sleeping?"
"She sure is. Don't wake her up, all right? She's really tired." The boys frowned.
"We're hungry," Matt said. "And we hafta go to school."
Cal peered at the clock on the nightstand. "It's only five-thirty. I think you have plenty of time." They didn't look convinced. "Go downstairs and watch TV or something, and I'll be down in a minute."
"Really?" Ian's face brightened and he turned to Matt. "See? I told you."
"Told him what?" Cal asked, but Matt only grinned before the boys turned and hurried out of the room. He heard them laughing as they hurried down the main staircase, and hoped the sound wouldn't wake Addie.
"Oh, no," she groaned. Too late, Cal realized. He turned to watch her make a frantic attempt to sit up. She was tousled and lovely, caught in a tangle of sheets and cursing quietly under her breath.
"Addie, it's okay. They didn't see anything." He put his hand on her arm but she shook it off.
"They saw you in my bed. What on earth are they going to think?"
"That you were sleeping. They're only five."
"Going on six. Old enough to remember they saw their mother in bed with a man. A naked man." She managed to get out of the bed, a sheet draped modestly around her body, and hurried across the room to close and lock the door. "I knew it was a mistake."
"What was?"
"This. Us. You." She stopped at the foot of the bed and gazed at him. "Definitely a mistake."
Cal shook his head. "Come here."
"I can't. I have to make breakfast and act like a mother."
He sat up and held out his hand. "Come here, Addie. Say good morning."
She stood where she was, but she returned his smile. "Good morning, Cal."
"Good morning, Addie. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes. When I had a chance." She walked around the bed and took his offered hand. He tugged her closer and kissed her lightly on the lips before releasing her.
"Go back to bed," he said. "I'll go down and feed the boys."
"No." Addie moved away. "I'll do it. Just go, okay?"
"All right." He told himself it was for the best. He had no reason to act like he belonged here, even in the early hours of a Monday morning.
Cal had lain awake for a long time while Addie had slept curled against him. He hadn't planned on this. Hadn't dared to hope that dinner would turn into lovemaking, that a simple evening out would end with this sweet and willing woman welcoming him into her bed.
He was truly amazed. And yet he'd known for weeks, since he'd learned she was a widow, that they would end up together again. There was too much passion between them, too much awareness of each other to ignore. They'd come together whether they'd plan
ned to or not.
But passion was all it could be. Nothing more. He'd been alone too long to think of anything else.
* * *
Chapter 10
«^»
"So now what?"
"I don't know." Addie held the cell phone to her ear as she sat outside in the car, waiting for the boys to come out of school. She was early, but she'd needed a reason to leave the ranch and avoid running into Cal. Every time she thought of making love to him last night, she turned red and dropped something. She'd already broken her favorite coffee mug and one of her new cereal bowls. Tonight she was serving dinner on paper plates. "I'm not sure how to act."
"Well, you called an expert," Kate drawled. "Your cowboy took you out to dinner, took you to bed and took you to, um, heights of ecstasy, right?"
"Yes." She blushed, remembering some of the more erotic details.
"And in the morning you sent him back to his little hut and morphed back into Supermom."
"The boys woke up and came into the bedroom. What else could I have done?" When she'd rushed downstairs to the kitchen, they were already arguing over what kind of cereal to pour into their bowls. They'd looked disappointed to see her and not their hero, but Addie had told them that Cal had to go take care of the cows.
"Have you seen him today?"
"No."
"Have you tried to see him?"
"Of course not." She picked up the cup of iced tea she'd bought from the Dairy Queen. "Kate, there's more to this, something else you don't know."
"Uh-oh. Just a minute. I'm going to close my office door." There were footsteps, Kate told someone to take a message, and there was laughter and then the sound of a door closing. "Okay. Tell me now."
"I'm pregnant." There was silence. Such a long stretch of silence that Addie finally prompted, "Kate? Are you still there?"
"I'm here. I was just thinking that I wish I hadn't quit smoking."
"It happened that night at Billy's, on Valentine's Day. The condom broke," she explained. "I couldn't believe it, either. Not until I started haying morning sickness."
"Good heavens, Addie, you're a regular baby-making factory. You need to get married, and fast. What does Cowboy Cal have to say about all of this?"
"That's the hard part," Addie said, taking another sip of iced tea. "He doesn't know it. He's going to think it's a trap, that I'm looking for a husband and a father for my kids—all three of them."
"Can you blame him?" Kate sighed. "Fertile Myrtle arrives on the ranch and presents him with a baby. I don't think he's going to jump for joy."
"That makes two of us not jumping," Addie said. "And you should have heard my mother's reaction."
"She knows? You're a brave woman."
"She figured it out."
"I hate to remind you, Addie, but Cal's going to notice eventually, too. When is the baby due?"
"Early November. I have time."
"Time for what?"
'Time to tell him, I guess."
"And then what? Get married? Ride off into the sunset together?"
"No, of course not." Addie sighed as the doors opened and the children were led outside into the sunshine. "I don't expect that. I'm perfectly able to raise this child by myself. And it's not like I'm in some kind of relationship with Cal McDonald. He's practically a stranger."
"It may not be a typical romance, but you're in love with him," Kate declared. "Otherwise you wouldn't sound so miserable."
"I have to go," Addie said. "The boys are coming. And of course I'm not in love with him."
Kate laughed. "Yeah, right. You wouldn't have slept with him again if you weren't feeling something. I know you."
"But—"
"Dinner tonight," her friend declared. "I'll be at your place by seven and I'll bring pizza. You can eat pizza, can't you?"
"Sure. But—"
"We'll talk then," Kate promised. "In the meantime, try to be nice to your cowboy."
With that piece of advice, the phone clicked off and Addie tossed her cell phone into her purse. Even if she was falling in love with Cal McDonald, it didn't mean anything. They were two people thrust into an awkward situation, even if only one of them realized it.
* * *
"She has company," John informed him. "Just in case you were thinking about going over to see her."
Cal reached for the rag hanging by the shop door and attempted to wipe the grease off his hands. Ed's old tractor wasn't going to last much longer, but Cal was determined to get another season out of the old beast. "You have anything else to do around here except watch what's going on at the big house?"
The old man chuckled. "No. Those horses aren't much work, not for an old pro like me. I'm giving the boys riding lessons tomorrow, though. I could use your help, if you're gonna be around."
"Sure." He tossed the rag aside and looked toward the house. "Who's there now? The plumber again?"
"Nah. The guy installing the air-conditioning system's still here, and then Kate drove up. Maybe we should walk over there and see if the ladies need anything."
"Like what?" He needed a shower and a beer, nothing more. Just because he'd made love to Addie for half the night didn't mean he had to start following her around. She'd made it clear this morning that she didn't want him around when the boys could ask questions. He wondered how she'd explained him sleeping over last night.
John shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe they'd just like some male company."
"If Addie wants us, she knows how to find us." He'd be damned if he'd walk into that house looking for her.
"You're in a mood."
Cal shook his head. "Sorry. I'm heading home to clean up, and I'm staying there."
"What'd you two talk about last night? You have a good time?"
"She's been reading about Santa Gertrudis," he told the old man, whose eyebrows rose. "Wants to raise chemical-free beef."
"Guess she's not going to sell the cattle, then." John's grin threatened to split his face apart. "Guess she's going to keep you around. Aren't you happy you took my advice and asked the little gal out?"
"Yeah," Cal told him. "Sure." He hoped the old man never found out what he and Addie had done for the rest of the night. He didn't doubt John would come after him with a shotgun if he knew that Cal hadn't left Addie's bed until after dawn.
He wanted nothing more than to see her again; to walk into that kitchen and put his arms around her and carry her upstairs to bed. He wanted to make sure she was feeling all right, wanted to watch her sleep. Wanted to make love to her again and wake up next to her.
Later, in the brutal emptiness of his small house, Cal wondered if he had been better off before Addie moved here, when he hadn't known what he had been missing.
* * *
She could take the magazine to him. She could discuss the upcoming auction and pretend she cared about raising beef cattle. She could stroll past the barns—they were her barns, after all—and inquire about the livestock.
Or, as Kate suggested with great hilarity, she could put on her sexiest nightgown and invite Cal to the house for a nightcap. Call him, her friend had said. And she was tempted, of course. They had some things to discuss, but she wanted to have all of her clothes on when she talked to him about the baby.
She would make it clear that he wasn't to feel obligated, that she could manage quite well on her own. The last thing she needed, as she'd explained to her incredulous friend, was a man who felt forced to be with her.
"You're crazy," Kate had said. "He's a good man—or seems to be—and you're going to have three fatherless kids. If I were in your shoes, I'd admit I was falling for the guy and do whatever it took to keep him in my life."
"It's not that easy," she'd countered, wondering if it possibly could be.
"You're making things more complicated than they need to be," Kate had insisted. But then again, she'd had a few rum and Cokes with her pizza, and decided to spend the night and go into work late the next morning. "Take the man to bed, Addie. Keep the
man in bed. If he's not in love with you now, he soon will be. After all, he's been on this ranch for twenty years. How grim is that? And how lucky is he to have you move in?"
Addie had been only too happy to say goodnight and avoid any more advice. She'd waited three more days—and spent three more sleepless nights—before she decided what to do about the cowboy. She put on baggy shorts, a loose T-shirt and a wide-brimmed hat, and headed outside to see if he was around. His truck was parked near his house and she found him behind the largest barn, doctoring calves. The little guys were bawling their heads off and their mothers, on the other side of the fence, weren't happy about the separation, either.
Cal looked up at her and waved. She walked up to the fence and perched on the top rung. They would be friends, she decided. And then, once that had been established, she would decide when to tell him the rest.
"Hey," he said, walking toward her. He wiped his brow with his sleeve and tipped his Stetson back to reveal a sweat-soaked forehead. "What are you doing out here?"
"Looking for you." He actually took her breath away, something Addie didn't like admitting to herself. Good-looking and coated with dust, the man had that competent strength about him that made her want to jump into his arms.
"Yeah?" He grinned. "I thought you were avoiding me."
"I was," she admitted. "A little."
"You didn't have to." He took off his gloves and put one hand on her bare knee, sending shivers up her leg. "I wasn't about to come walking into your bedroom."
"I know." Though each night she'd wondered what she would have done if he'd appeared in the doorway. She didn't think she'd have kicked him out.
"Not that I didn't think about it," he admitted, smiling up at her. "You're a hard woman to forget."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." They smiled at each other for a long moment. Addie took a deep breath and tried to remember why she was out here. "How's everything up at the house? Did the boys ask a lot of questions?"
MADE IN TEXAS Page 11
