Once More A Family Part 15

"Hurry," she begged as she obeyed. A flip of his sinewy wrist sent the uglygown flying, and then he was looking at her intently.

Reverently.

"G.o.d, sweetheart, I'm not dreaming here, am I?"

Riaheard the harsh need in his voice a split second before his mouth tookhers. Over and over the rough silk smoothness of his lips teased and tempted,while his clever hands stroked her hair, the line of her jaw, the vulnerableskin of her throat.

"So good," he whispered before touching his tongue to the sensitive hollow atthe base of her throat.

He drew back to look down at her again, his dark eyes hot and hungry beforehe bent to salute one breast, then the other with a long, moist kiss.

"I love kissing your b.r.e.a.s.t.s and knowing I was the first to take those hardlittle nipples into my mouth," he whispered with a catch in his gruff voice.

"There's been no one but you," she murmured, running her hands over thepadded steel of his chest. Bending forward, she kissed the curved birthmark onthe slope of his shoulder.

He groaned, then sent her reeling with another searing kiss that wentstraight to the liquid core of her. His hands were gentle yet sure as he foundall the secret places, until she was writhing helplessly, swept along on atide of sweet pulsing pleasure.

Grady heard the pleas she breathed and knew bliss. She was his, only his. No other man had ever made her senses swim. No other man had felt the urgents.h.i.+vers that grew more and more frantic as he stroked and kneaded.

He knew he should feel humble. Instead he wanted to shout to the heavens. He settled for murmured endearments, whispering praise for the softness of herskin, the sleekness of her thighs, even as his fingertips traced circles justabove the indentation of her navel. When she was writhing, he let his fingerstrail lower, into the silky curls, over the sweet mound and into the slick,moist heat. He heard the plea in each breath she exhaled, the gatheringimpatience in the helpless little noises she made deep in her throat.

He slid one finger into her, then two. She gasped, twisted, clawed at him,but he knew there was more he could give her. Much more. Everything he was andhoped to be.

Half-wild with longing, he dug deep into himself for the discipline he'dlearned so painfully, narrowing his mind until it was focused on the tiniests.h.i.+ft of breathing, the smallest change in her expression.

Tonight she would accept his love, like it or not.

"That's it, sweetheart, fly for me," he whispered against the perfumed skinof her shoulder. "Let it go. For once, let it all go."

Riaarched upward, close to sobbing, desperate for relief. Each stroke of hisraspy fingers brought her closer to the brink, closer to that moment whensweet ecstasy would be hers. A wanton madness seemed to have entered her body,crowding out the lingering agony of her lost love. Bathed in the heat of hisma.s.sive chest with its cruel scars, she felt her bones melting under her skin,dissolving under his pa.s.sionate a.s.sault.

She whimpered deep in her throat as the urgency built. Her fingers bit intothe hard texture of his back muscles as she arched against him, eager to feelhim sliding inside her, hot and thick and potent.

"Please," she whispered, clutching at his arm even as she bucked against hishand. "I want you now."

"Soon," he promised, his voice rasping.

Teeth gritted, sweat making his skin slick and wet, Grady thought about thenights he'd spent alone, aching for her. He'd dreamed of this for so long. Hewanted this night to last. Another memory to add to his wall against theloneliness.

"Yes, baby, that's the way," he urged as she let out a low, keening moan thatended in a shuddering gasp. Her eyes popped open and she looked at him withglazed shock.

"Oh," she said. "Oh, my."

He palmed the delta between her thighs, his fingers still slick with nectar,and squeezed, bringing her down slowly, gently.

"You're so dear to me," she whispered, running her palms up his arm.

Dear? h.e.l.l, she said that about his brothers, too. Especially Flynn when hewas being charming. Selfish b.a.s.t.a.r.d that he was, Grady wanted to be special toher. As special as she was to him. More than that, he wanted her love.

Battling disappointment, he bent to kiss the damp curve of her breast.

"Come inside me," she whispered, sliding her hands up his thigh to touch him."I want to feel you explode."

He groaned as his body threatened to do just that. Reminding himself to begentle, he stroked thighs already widening to welcome him. He chewed theinside of his mouth to distract himself from the punis.h.i.+ng urgency, fought tokeep from plunging hard and deep. Because he remembered the last time-eachmindless thrust that had hurt her, each bruise he'd left-he settled himselfslowly, testing her with his fingers, watching the pleasure gather and seethein her eyes. Finally, when she was hot and dripping, he pushed himself intoher with a slowness that had sweat pouring from his skin and his nervesscreaming. Still he let her take him gradually, feeling the velvet wallsstretching to accommodate the thick hard width of his need.

"Yes," she cried, clutching at him. "Oh, yes, that's the way. Yes,yes!" Shearched, writhed. "More, give me more. I need..." Her voice shuddered into a gaspand her eyes widened. "All of you, I need to feel all of you."

And then he was welded to her, a part of her.

Home.

The sound he made was strident and primitive, a man's cry of possession andtriumph. His control broke; his patience drained dry. Hands fisted in th.e.s.h.eets, legs braced, he drew back, his muscles shuddering with restraint andhis teeth gritted, then thrust into her, alive for the first time in years.

She was his love. His happiness.

Gasping, she matched his rhythm, wildly responsive. He felt her musclessqueeze him, sensed her hover, then flash. Even as she cried out, he came witha splintering force that exploded white in his head. Dimly he heard himselfshout her name and then he was spiraling into a sweet welcoming pool of heat.

He had just enough mind left to roll to his back, his arms still lockedaround her. "Sleep," he murmured. She sighed, linked her arms around his neck,snuggled. Murmured words he couldn't hear. And then he let himself shut down,taking her with him.

Riasurfaced slowly, feeling wonderfully sated. She was also smashed againstthe hard wall of Grady's chest, which meant that she was being cooked by theheat pouring from his naked skin.

She smiled into the dawn light filtering through the loosely woven drapes.Sleeping with Grady had always been a battle for s.p.a.ce. Even deep in sleep, hewas restless, sprawling from one side of the bed to the other a dozen times inthe course of the night.

Lifting her head, she looked past his bullet-scarred chest at the clock. Itwasn't quite six. She resettled her head on the pillow that was half-buriedunder his shoulder and drew in the soap and male-musk scent of him-as familiarto heras her baby's, she realized as she exhaled slowly.

Letting her lashes droop, she studied the harsh planes of the face turned herway. Though more relaxed now, he still wore that slightly dangerous look thathad fascinated her from the moment they'd met. The eyes that crinkled beguilingly when he laughed could narrow to lethal warning in the span of athought, and the sensuous mouth that coaxed helpless moans from her throatcould harden into an implacable line.

Hard edges on an even harder man, Kate had described it once. Deliciouslypotent-if a woman was strong enough to handle all that soul-stirring power.

She let out a careful sigh and tried to wiggle her way into more breathingroom. He stiffened, his face going hard and the steely muscles alreadybracing. During his years undercover she'd learned to call his name evenbefore his eyes were open.

Grady dived a hand under the pillow and came up grasping air instead of theweapon that should be there. His gut screamed danger a split second before heheardRia's voice-in his head, he thought-until he opened his eyes and saw herface.

Her eyes were soft and luminous, her lips a little swollen from the kisseshe'd tried so hard to keep gentle-until her wild little cries had driven himpast his control into a wildness of his own.

Because his fingers were too clumsy and too rough, he used the back of hishand to nudge the wispy curls away from her cheek.

"Was it all right?" he asked because he had to know. "I didn't hurt you?"

"It was very all right, and no, you didn't hurt me," she murmured with adrowsy smile.

He let out the air he'd been holding, and some of the hot tension in his guteased. "Not sore?" He stroked her hair and inhaled the faint scent of flowers.

"Only a little." The corners of her mouth curled up in an imp's grin. "Howabout you? Did I hurt you?"

He lifted the sheet and pretended to look. "He's pretty bruised but still upfor a challenge."

She choked a laugh and he felt wild with happiness. Since she didn't want thewords, he rolled her on top of him and kissed her forehead.

"How about a morning quickie?" he proposed with a grin.

"Hmm?"She rubbed against him and he groaned.

"Notthat quick, sweetheart," he begged, earning himself another laugh to addto his h.o.a.rd.

"Jimmy was always an early riser," she reminded him before nipping his chinwith her teeth.

He wrapped his arms around her and rolled to his side. The sheet grabbed athim, and he jerked free. She giggled, and he wanted to shout.

"Not funny, Victoria," he scolded before covering her mouth with his.

Chapter 10 Since Grady would be commuting to the city from the cottage for at least partof their stay, it seemed logical to take both vehicles.Ria led the way, withGrady and Jimmy following in the truck.

One of two lakes created by damming the Tippecanoe River, Lake Freeman wasthirty-five miles northwest. Sunday-morning traffic was light, and the day wa.s.sunny and clear. On one memorable occasion, when Grady had come off the nights.h.i.+ft hot-wired with too much energy and eager to make love to his bride, heand the Charger had managed the drive in eighteen minutes flat. Even in thetruck that had the pickup of a tank, he'd figured twenty-five max once he gotthe sucker up to speed.

WithRia driving the van as though it had bald tires and iffy brakes, theywere working on forty minutes and counting. It was making him crazy. Everyfive miles or so he reminded himself that he was a patient man.

Besides, any morning that he woke withRia wrapped around him like a softblanket on a cold night was a darned good day, no matter what the weather waslike.

"Pretty day, isn't it, son?"

Jimmy answered with a grunt. Belted into the seat next to the pa.s.senger door,he was playing a computer game he'd picked out in the Discount Mart wherethey'd stopped on the way in order to supplement the meager supply of clothingGrady had picked up for him in California.

Grady hated computer games. Forty minutes of electronic beeps and screamingriffs was his personal limit.

"You like rock and roll, Jimbo?"

Shoulders hunched as his fingers flew over the b.u.t.tons, Jimmy spared him animpatient look. "S'okay," he muttered, returning his attention to the small screen.

Biting off a sigh, Grady grabbed a ca.s.sette from the well in the console andshoved it home. His spirits rose even higher as the soul-stirring beat ofChuck Berry in his prime throbbed through the speakers.

It was a good betRia would be listening to one of those cla.s.sical tapes sheliked so much. Mozart probably. Something with lots of violins and no realbeat. In the early days of their marriage, she'd talked him into driving up toChicago to attend a concert.

Not only had he been forced to wear a suit and a tie, but he'd also had tocram his oversize body into a seat designed for a midget for three endlesshours. Worst of all, in spite of his best efforts, he'd fallen asleep afterthe intermission and ended up d.a.m.n near snapping his head off when she'djabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

Ticked big-time, she hadn't spoken to him all the way back to the city. Eventhough he'd managed to coax her into making love when they'd gotten home, ithad taken him weeks to get back in her good graces.

But d.a.m.n, she'd looked like every man's fantasy in that slinky black dress.He'd lost count of the number of guys he'd had to warn off with a look. He leta smile play over his mouth at the thought of making love to her again.

Tonight, if he had his way.

"She hates me, doesn't she?"

Not sure that he'd heard right, Grady glanced the boy's way. Jimmy hadstopped playing his game and instead was simply staring at the screen. Theshoulders that had been hunched in concentration a few minutes earlier were now stiff.

With a snap of his wrist, Grady turned off the music before asking quietly,"Are you talking about your mom?"

When the boy continued to stare, he added more softly, "Do you meanRia ?"

Jimmy looked at him long enough to bob his head. "She hates me 'cause Iwanted to ride with you." This time Grady heard the faint tremor in Jimmy'svoice and groaned to himself.

Grady waited for the oncoming car to whiz past, then flicked a quick glanceat his son.

"Jim, I doubt there's anything you could do in this lifetime that would makeyour mother-or me for that matter-hate you."

Jimmy didn't look convinced. If anything, he looked more uptight.

d.a.m.n, he didn't have enough experience for this, Grady thought as he searchedback through his childhood for guidance. Some profound words of wisdom his dadmight have tossed at him at some point in his benighted childhood. But he cameup blank.

So he did what painful experience had taught him to do. He simply told theboy the truth.

"When you were born and your mom held you in her arms for the first time, shelooked at you with so much love I thought my heart was going to pound throughmy chest. The two of you together..." Grady felt his throat close up, and he hadto take a breath. "Sometimes, when I'd come home late, I'd find her in yourroom sitting by your crib, watching you sleep." He risked a grin. "She seemedto think it was better than TV, though from what I saw you didn't do a lotthen but sleep and belch."

That had Jimmy's interest, which both scared and encouraged him. Don't blowthis one, hotshot, he told himself, as he slowed to followRia's van throughthe last of the small towns between Lafayette and the turnoff to the lake.

"This is just a guess, but I think Mom's afraid you've forgotten how to loveher back." He risked a quick look the boy's way and caught the look ofconfusion pa.s.s over the pinched features.

"If she's my mom and you're my dad, how come I don't remember you?"

Grady drew a breath and sent up an urgent prayer that Dr. Roth came throughfor them with McCurry, because he was way out of his depth here.

"It's complicated, like most things having to do with life," he hedged.

"That's what grown-ups always say."

Grady marveled at how much disgust a six-year-old could pack into a few words. "You're right, son. I'm stonewalling here because I figure you deservea dad who has all the answers, and to tell you the truth, I've got darn few."He cleared his throat and laid it all out. "Maybe I don't show it like Momdoes, but I'm pretty scared you won't love me, either."

That had the boy staring at him as though he'd suddenly grown another head."Lance said only wimps get scared," he said in a voice that he tried to makecynical.

"Lance is wrong, Jim. Everyone gets scared."

That shook the boy big-time. Grady saw it in his eyes and figured he'd blowna chance to make progress. d.a.m.n.

"Way I see it, you're smart enough to figure out what's true and what's not.It might take a while, but sooner or later you'll work it through."

When Jimmy lapsed into silence, Grady wanted to pound something.

"This is your room, sweetheart."

Riaopened the door and stepped back to give Jimmy a good look at the brightyellow-and-blue bedroom. Two sets of bunk beds lined opposite walls. There wasan identical room on the other side of the hall. Two more bedrooms opened offthe far end of the central hall, the larger of the two serving as the masterbedroom. The smaller, where Manda had once slept, had been converted intoSarah's sewing room.