Fencing You In (24 page)

She looked as radiant as a bride herself with her short, glossy blonde curls pulled back away from her face, a delicate blush to her cheeks and wearing a royal blue bridesmaid’s dress. She had an inner glow that lit up the room. Between her and Megan they didn’t need any lights in the small church.

A month after the ordeal, Tess was holding up well. She’d worked through what had happened with the help of a counselor and Tess said she believed she had fully recovered.

Gage couldn’t help but feel protective over her. He’d never wanted to kill anyone in his life until Harvey had taken Tess. Thank God Harvey hadn’t done more than he had, which had been bad enough.

Megan and Ryan exchanged their vows but Gage barely heard them. The next thing he knew, the groom was kissing the bride.

Jenny led the way back down the aisle, tossing pink flower petals as she walked, a cute grin on her precious little face. She wore a pretty velvet and satin dress in the same colors as the bridesmaid dresses and her own blonde hair was in corkscrew curls around her face. Barry, the class bear, sat in the basket as she tossed flowers. It was her turn to have the bear and she was taking him everywhere, including her aunt’s wedding.

The bride and groom walked arm and arm and then Tess and Gage moved together to follow Megan and Ryan. Tess looked up at Gage and smiled as he took her arm. Her smile did amazing things to his gut, sending sparks of lightning through him like he’d never felt before.

Behind Tess and Gage the ushers and bridesmaids followed as they headed out of the church. With all five McBride brothers and four bridesmaids and the bride, they made a long procession.

The afternoon was filled with greeting family and friends, posing for pictures, followed by toasts, eating, drinking, and dancing. The entire time, Gage wouldn’t let Tess out of his sight and couldn’t wait to get her alone.

When the new husband and wife had escaped to leave on their honeymoon to Cancun, Gage drove Tess and Jenny back to their house.

“Is it time?” Jenny asked Gage when they walked into the house and Tess had kicked off her shoes and set her purse on the dining room table.

He nodded. “It’s time.”

Jenny jumped up and down and clapped her hands before running to her room, still holding Barry by one paw.

“Time for what?” Tess tilted her head to the side.

He just grinned at her and her gaze turned suspicious.

Jenny returned, running back to stand beside Gage. She carried a big poster board folded in half in one hand, Barry in her other. She looked up at him and he nodded, and she set Barry down.

Tess looked from her daughter to Gage, wondering what the pair of them were up to. Jenny looked like she could hardly contain herself, and Gage had a silly grin on his handsome face.

“Go ahead,” he said to Jenny and she opened the big poster board.

The pink poster had sparkly letters, flowers, hearts, and glitter all over it. Tess read the words slowly.

Will you marry me, Tess?

Love,

Gage and Jenny

Tess put her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide as she looked from Gage to her daughter and back. Gage held something in his hand and he knelt in front of her. He opened his hand and on his palm was a diamond solitaire. The look in his eyes was intense, loving.

“Please, Mommy?” Jenny said and Tess half laughed and half cried.

She knelt in front of Gage and Jenny and lowered her hand. Her eyes filled with happy tears.

“Yes.” She nodded and flung her arms around Gage and Jenny. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

“Yay!” Jenny grinned as she moved aside and bounced up and down. “Now I’ll be able to call you new-Daddy instead of new-Uncle.”

Gage brought Tess to her feet. He slid the ring on her finger then wrapped her in his embrace and kissed her gently.

“Are you kissing the bride?” Jenny asked.

Gage and Tess laughed. “Yes,” Gage said. “But we’ll have a wedding like Aunt Megan’s and you can be our flower girl.” He turned to Tess “If all of that is okay with you.”

“It’s amazing.” Tess kissed him again before hugging Jenny to her. “How long have you two been planning this?”

“Forever.” Jenny nodded emphatically.

“Since last night.” Gage grinned. “While you were at Megan’s getting ready for the wedding, Jenny and I got together and made the poster.”

“He asked me if it was okay if he married you,” Jenny said solemnly. “I said yes.”

“I’m glad you did.” Tess couldn’t stop smiling, her heart wouldn’t stop pounding so fast that it throbbed against her breastbone. “I love you, sweetheart.” She hugged Jenny tightly.

“I love you, Mommy,” Jenny said with a broad smile.

When Tess rose to stand again, Gage put his arms around her. “I love you, Tess. God, but I love you.”

Tess smiled at him. “I love you so much.”

A small form squeezed in between them and wrapped her arms around them as high as she could. “I love you both.”

Gage settled his arms around both their shoulders. “My two favorite girls.” He leaned down and kissed Jenny on top of the head and then kissed Tess on the lips. “A man couldn’t ask for anything more.”

“Do we have to wait as long as Aunt Megan and Uncle Ryan did?” Jenny asked. “Can’t we get married now?”

Tess grinned at Jenny’s use of “we.” Tess met Gage’s eyes. “What do you say?”

He grinned in return. “I say you have a very smart little girl.”

Chapter 39

Jo volunteered to fly to Las Vegas with Gage and Tess as a witness and to watch over Jenny when the pair took off for their honeymoon. Tate went along as a witness, too.

The wedding was held in a small chapel off of the Las Vegas Strip. Jenny twirled around and threw silk flower petals all over the chapel, not just down the aisle, after Gage and Tess said their vows and “I do’s”.

When they stood outside the chapel, Tess’s heart was almost too full to speak as she looked at her new husband and her daughter.

“Can I pleaaaaase go on the honeymoon with you?” Jenny looked up with Tess and Gage with big blue pleading eyes.

Gage crouched in front of Jenny. “When your mom and I get back, we’ll all three go somewhere special.”

Jenny looked doubtful. “Somewhere more fun than going on a giant ship?”

He nodded. “When we get back from the cruise, we’re going to Disneyland.”

Her eyes got big and her mouth opened. “To see Mickey and Minnie and Belle and Ariel and Cinderella and Goofy and Donald Duck and—”

With a grin, Gage tugged on a lock of Jenny’s hair. “Yes. Your mom and I wanted to surprise you.”

Jenny clapped her hands, her eyes bright with excitement. “How long before you come back so we can go?”

“One week,” Tess said.

Jenny looked like she was contemplating it for a moment. Then she gave a big smile and threw her arms around Gage and then Tess and hugging each of them tightly.

When she drew away, Jenny looked at Gage seriously. “Can I call you Daddy now?”

Warmth went through Tess’s chest and she saw Gage’s look of surprise and then his broad grin. “Yes, you can.”

“I love you, Daddy.” Jenny hugged Gage again and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I have two daddies now. An angel daddy and you.”

A tear escaped from Tess’s eye. “Yes, you do,” Tess said as she smiled at her daughter.

Tess thought she saw a tear in Gage’s eye, too. “I love you, Jenny,” he said and kissed her cheek in return.

The three of them huddled together in one giant hug and Tess couldn’t imagine ever being happier than she was at that very moment.

* * * * *

Sun warmed Tess as she and Gage stood against the railing of the cruise ship and watched the crystal waters of the Bahamas pass by on their way to the ship’s next stop.

They rested their forearms on the railing, their hands clasped. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

“It’s been a wonderful week.” She tilted her head to look up at him.

He lowered his head so that he could brush his lips over hers. “The week’s not over yet.”

“I’m glad.” She gave a happy sigh. “I love having you all to myself.”

He brought her around to face him, his expression serious. “I’ll never allow anything to come between us and I won’t let anyone ever hurt you again.”

She gave him a soft smile. “I’m not worried.”

“So when do I get to read the first chapter of your book?” he asked. “You’ve been keeping it to yourself since you started writing it.”

“I wanted it to be a surprise.” She beamed at him. “I finished the first chapter before we left.”

He rubbed her cheek with his thumb. “I’m so glad you’re following your dream. Everyone should have that chance.”

“It’s all thanks to you.” She looped her arms around his neck. “If you hadn’t encouraged me, I don’t know if I would ever have had the courage to try.”

“I think you would have.” He settled his hands at her hips. “It’s been inside you all along.”

She reached up and kissed him, her heart swelling with her feelings for him. “I love you. I love everything about you.”

He grinned. “Everything?”

She nodded. “The good, the bad, the beautiful and every other little thing there might be.”

“I love you, Tess.” He caught her face in his hands. “When I saw you for the first time behind the bar in Nectars, I knew you’d be mine.”

She rested her head against his chest. “You belong to me, too.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Forever.”

# # #

Also by Cheyenne McCray

“Riding Tall” Series

Branded For You

Roping Your Heart

Fencing You In

“Rough and Ready” Series

Silk and Spurs

Lace and Lassos

Champagne and Chaps

Satin and Saddles

Roses and Rodeo

Lingerie and Lariats

Lipstick and Leather

 “Altered States” Series

Dark Seduction

“Dark Enforcers” Series

Night’s Captive

Lexi Steele Novels

The First Sin

The Second Betrayal

The Temptation

From St. Martin’s Press:

“Night Tracker” Series

Demons Not Included

No Werewolves Allowed

Vampires Not Invited

Zombies Sold Separately

Vampires Dead Ahead

“Magic” Series

Forbidden Magic

Seduced by Magic

Wicked Magic

Shadow Magic

Dark Magic

Single Title

Moving Target

Chosen Prey

Anthologies

No Rest for the Witches

Real Men Last All Night

Legally Hot

Chicks Kick Butt

Hotter than Hell

Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romances

Mammoth Book of Special Ops Romances

Excerpt…
Roping Your Heart

Cheyenne McCray

“I guess that will have to do for today.” Cat brushed her hair out of her eyes as she started to organize the papers on Blake’s desk. “We can work on this more another day.” She glanced from the papers to him. He was sitting in the chair beside her now, in front of the desk. “My schedule is still pretty open,” she said. “When is a good time for us to get together again?”

He was studying her, his gaze so intense that she felt the heat of it on her skin. “Friday night at seven,” he said.

“Friday night?” It took a moment to register that he was asking her out. “Oh.” She hesitated and he kept looking at her with that same dark look. “I—sure.”

She felt warning bells going off in her head, but too late. It wasn’t good to spend so much time with the man. She was going to fall head over heels for him again.

If she hadn’t already.

She looked away from the intensity of his gaze and got to her feet. From her peripheral vision she saw him stand, then felt the heat of his body when he moved closer to her.

“I think we made pretty good progress.” Her heart pounded faster and she busied herself with making each stack on the desktop perfectly neat. “We might be able to get everything done in one more meeting.” She rushed her words, feeling like she was babbling.

“KitCat.” His voice was soft and she went still at the low, throbbing quality of it.

Slowly, she lifted her eyes to meet his. He was looking at her intently. Her lips parted, but she couldn’t think of a thing to say.

He took her by the shoulders, bringing her face to face with him. “Damn, Cat. I don’t know how much longer I can be around you without having you.”

Her eyes widened and her lips parted. He wanted her?

He gripped her upper arms tighter, the pressure of his fingers almost hurting her. “Damn,” he said again before he jerked her up against him and brought his mouth hard down on hers.

She gasped as he took control of her mouth, kissing her hard. It was more primal than the night before, almost wild. She didn’t remember him kissing like this before. It was as if the man he had been before had matured, becoming more dominant and decisive. She knew he’d decided he was going to have her. If she said no, he’d let her go, but she didn’t want to say no. She wanted him.

A groan rose up in him and she followed his lead, letting him take the kiss to a level of passion she’d never experienced before. He released her shoulders and slid his hands over her blouse to her waist then cupped her ass and pulled her up tight to him. The feel of his erection against her belly sent fire through her straight between her thighs.