Still more than a little dazed from the pleasure he’d sent coursing through her, she looked down at his tanned skin. “When did you take off your clothes?”
“It took you a while to catch your breath.” He looked extremely pleased by this fact.
“It’s going to take you longer,” she promised.
His sexy-as-sin grin flashed, sending her heart racing all over again. “I sure hope so.”
And then he lifted her hips, moved her over him, and slid inside—one perfect thrust that stole away the breath she’d only just gotten back.
Ohhhhh yes.
There was nothing she loved more than making love with her husband. Watching the rise and fall of his chest as he gave them both such epic pleasure. Drinking in the heat in his eyes as he watched her move over him, with him. Feeling the rough sensation of his hands sliding over her skin, always knowing just where to touch her so that she begged for moremoremore.
She’d never had a better partner—on the dance floor, in bed, in life—and every ounce of her love poured from her body to his as they did the sexiest dance imaginable with each other. His abs flexed, the ridges deep between each one as he lifted up to put one hand on her cheek and kiss her.
Both the passion and the pure, sweet love in his kiss sent her flying over the edge into another magnificent climax, one that took him with her, his release as wild and rapturous as hers.
Lying replete in each other’s arms, they dozed together on the couch. She might have slept through until morning if she hadn’t smelled the most delicious food cooking.
Sitting up slightly, she brushed her hair out of her face and rubbed her hand over her eyes, before purposefully sniffing the air. “Is that chicken pot pie?”
“Sure is.” While she’d napped, he had pulled on jeans. Still shirtless, he brought over a tray full of her favorite foods. Not only pot pie, but also potato salad and corn on the cob. “I asked the rental company for the name of a caterer,” he explained. “She left this for us in the fridge, so all I had to do was heat it up.”
“You think of everything.” Sitting up naked on the couch, she pulled the blanket around herself, then took a bite of the pot pie. “Mmmm. This is so good.”
“I couldn’t let you and the baby go to bed hungry.” She thought she saw a flash of darkness in his eyes, as though even the thought of their being left wanting hurt him. But then he smiled and said, “Especially after the workout we’ve given each other today.”
Though he had worked to cover the dark flash quickly, Lori knew it was long past time for her to ask him if everything was okay—and remind him that he shouldn’t feel he needed to hide any doubts or fears that he might have about becoming parents. They were a team, and she always wanted to support him as much as he supported her.
But before she could say any of that, he asked, “Has today made you happy, Lori?”
Her heart squeezed as she looked into his eyes. “Even if it hadn’t already been the best day ever—which it most definitely was—when I’m with you, no matter what we’re doing, I’m always happy.”
He had done so much to make this the perfect beachside retreat—the perfect day full stop, complete with dancing and family. And now, she hated to spoil the moment with difficult questions that probed into his painful past. That would bring up things she knew he wished could be forever left alone.
She vowed to do whatever it took tomorrow morning to make sure her husband no longer harbored any fears for her or their baby. But for tonight, she truly believed the very best thing she could do for Grayson was to show him exactly how happy he made her.
Pushing her food aside, she moved onto his lap. “Want to play a game by the fire?”
He stroked her cheek. “What kind of game do you have in mind?”
She whispered something very naughty into his ear. And when he kissed her as she laughed, he easily took her breath away all over again.
Although, truth be told, even when he wasn’t kissing her, she never stopped feeling breathless around him.
And she knew that she never would.
CHAPTER SIX
Morning dawned sunny and bright, with clear blue skies outside the bedroom window. As she frequently did, Lori was using Grayson as a full-body pillow. Her face would have looked perfectly serene as she slept, were it not for the hint of wickedness that never quite disappeared.
Though he didn’t want to wake her when he knew how much she needed the extra rest—regardless of how much energy she insisted she had—he couldn’t keep from running his hand down the smooth skin of her spine in a long, soothing stroke. Not only because it made her move like a cat beneath his touch in her sleep, but also to soothe himself. More and more, he needed to reassure himself that she was perfectly okay and that the baby growing inside her was healthy too.
Grayson knew plenty of people had worse pasts—dark histories that were nearly impossible to recover from. With Lori’s help, he had recovered.
At least, he thought he had, until she’d told him she was pregnant, and suddenly it had felt like his past was strangling him again. Fears of losing another loved one—or two, God forbid—were waking him up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night on a regular basis. Fortunately, Lori slept hard and rarely woke before morning, so he’d been able to keep it from her.
Just as he had so many times over the past months, he schooled himself to think straight and to remember that his life on the farm with Lori was nothing like his life in New York City. He’d come a long way, learning not only how to love with his whole heart, but also how to compromise with a woman who liked the sound of that word even less than he did, but did it all the same to make him happy.
But over the past few weeks, none of those rationalizations worked anymore, not when every time he closed his eyes…
He gritted his teeth, wishing he knew how to stop his fears from running away with him. He’d tried to work them out of his head by getting up extra early to start his farm duties and coming in late. He’d tried to sweat them out in their home gym, lifting increasingly heavy weights. He’d even tried to meditate them away, courtesy of the skills he’d gained when Lori had insisted they try out the new yoga studio in downtown Pescadero, which had set up business next door to the general store.
Unfortunately, nothing kept him from lying awake, Lori in his arms, as he tried to convince himself that he wasn’t going to lose everything again.
On a contented sigh, she rolled over so that he was spooning her. “Good morning, husband.”
“Good morning, wife.” He had to work like hell to make sure his voice didn’t betray the darkness roiling inside of him.
“How about we make it a really good morning?” Without waiting for his response, she reached back to stroke the one part of his body that couldn’t have cared less what was going on inside his head, not with Lori’s soft and supple body pressed against him.
“Sure you’re not worn out from yesterday?”
She opened one eye and looked over her shoulder at him, a teasing look of disdain on her face. “Worn out by having sex four times? You do know who you’re in bed with, don’t you?”
He laughed softly, the tightness in his chest easing. He’d always loved sparring with Lori, even when he’d been lying to himself about his feelings for her. From the moment she’d literally crashed into his life, he’d been a million times happier with her than he could ever be without.