Randall Renegade (16 page)

When the movie ended, someone turned the lights on and Patience blinked in surprise. She straightened abruptly, leaving the warmth of Jim’s arms. “Oh. That was a good movie. Did you like it, Tommy?” she asked, hoping to draw attention away from her and Jim.

“Shh,” Elizabeth said. “Both boys are asleep.”

“Oh! I didn’t realize…”

Jim stood up. “I’ll carry him up and help you undress him, Patience.”

“Thank you. Next time I’ll have him watch the movie in his pajamas,” she said, smiling. Then she realized how presumptive that sounded. “I mean, if we…if there is a next time.”

“There will be,” Jim assured her, straightening with Tommy in his arms.

She didn’t look at him until he’d gone past her, carrying her sweet little boy. She quietly followed him.

Upstairs they worked together to get Tommy into his pajamas and tucked into bed.

“Are you going to bed now, too?” Patience asked Jim as he walked her to her room.

“Maybe.”

They’d reached her door. She paused, staring at Jim. “What do you mean, maybe?”

“I’m guarding you. I’ll bed down out here so I can get to you quickly if you call out.”

Patience sighed. “I’ll be fine. I don’t want you losing sleep. You need to recover from your wound.”

“No argument, Patience. I’m guarding you.”

Patience took a deep breath. “Then come inside.” She turned and entered her room, not looking to see if he joined her.

Chapter Thirteen

When Patience reached her bed, she picked up her nightgown and headed for the bathroom. Jim stepped in front of her and grasped her arm.

“Wait a minute. What do you want me to do, exactly?”

She drew a breath, hoping she could be honest without pleading. “I…I want you to share my bed.”

He stared at her but didn’t release her. “Why?”

So he was going to force her to spell it out. Okay, she would. “I want you to make love to me, and I hope you want the same thing.” Her voice was trembling by the time she finished, but she thought she’d made herself clear.

Jim swept her into his arms and kissed her, a long, deep kiss she felt all the way to her toes.

“You know I want to,” he whispered when they came up for air. “But—”

Patience stopped his words by covering his mouth with her hand. “No, Jim, I don’t want to discuss it. I always say the wrong thing. I won’t hold you to anything right now. You’re safe. Just…love me.”

This time she kissed him, needing his touch now more than ever.

He smiled at her after their kiss and took her nightgown away from her. “You won’t be needing this, honey.” Then he began unbuttoning her knit top. She’d assumed she’d be horribly embarrassed, but she found she wasn’t. This was Jim, and Jim was the right person, whatever happened. She began unbuttoning his shirt, too.

“Damn!”

Patience jerked her eyes open. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t suppose you’re on the Pill, are you?”

It took her a moment for his words to sink in. “Uh, no.”

“Okay. I’ve got to go to my bedroom.”

She moaned. How could he do this to her when she’d finally gotten up the nerve to tell him what she wanted?

He kissed her. “Not for the night, honey. I’ve
got to go get protection. It won’t take but a couple of minutes.”

“Oh. Okay.” She kept telling herself she was pleased that he’d thought of it. “Sure. I’ll wait here.”

He kissed her again quickly and backed out of her bedroom.

She only hoped he remembered to button his shirt before he went through the kitchen.

W
HEN
J
IM RUSHED
back up the stairs, after trying to appear calm as he strode through the kitchen, he found Patience’s bedroom door closed.

What would he do if she’d changed her mind? He certainly hadn’t. He rapped softly on the door. “It’s me,” he said.

“Come in,” her sweet voice called out. So far, so good. Jim opened the door to find the room darkened. “Patience?” he called, reaching for the lightswitch.

“No, Jim, don’t turn on the light.”

“Why not?” he asked as he approached the bed. In the shadows, he could see Patience in the bed, the covers drawn to her neck. “Did you change your mind? If you did, I won’t be angry. I know this is a difficult time for you.”

“I thought you wanted me.”

“I do. Absolutely. But I don’t want to force you or anything.”

She threw back the covers, revealing her naked body. “Does this look like you have to force me?”

“Mercy,” he muttered, and began tugging off his boots and unfastening his jeans as fast as he could.

She sat up and began unbuttoning his shirt again. In less than a minute, he was as naked as she was, and sliding under the covers, flesh against flesh.

He kissed her, his hands touching her everywhere. She loved the feel of him, the warmth of him and, most of all, his eagerness. Just when she thought she was going to explode, he stopped moving.

“Jim? What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?”

“Hardly,” he told her, chuckling, “but my trip to get the condoms was a waste of time if we don’t use them.”

“Oh!”

He reached over her, found his jeans on the floor and fished a condom out of his pocket. After he’d prepared himself, he turned his complete attention back to Patience. Then he positioned
himself over her, eager to become one with the only woman he’d ever loved.

As he pushed her legs apart and began his entry, something kept niggling in his mind. When he felt the initial resistance, he knew what it was. She was a virgin.

Patience almost whimpered his name. “Jim?”

“Honey, why didn’t you say it was your first time?” He gritted his teeth.

“Because it doesn’t matter. I want you!” she exclaimed. “Do you want me or not?”

“Of course I want you. There’s no question of that.”

“Then make love to me, please,” she said quietly.

Jim gave up. They’d talk tomorrow, he assured himself, but he couldn’t turn down what he wanted so badly. He built their momentum to fever-pitch again, to make it less painful for Patience. Then he pushed through.

She gasped, and he stroked her body, whispering sweet words in her ear. When she began to relax, he started moving, creating a rhythm that seemed to explode between them only a few minutes later.

He removed the condom and deposited it in the wastebasket beside the bed. Then he cuddled
Patience in his arms, remembering their night in the cabin. “Patience?” he whispered.

“Just hold me, Jim. Just hold me,” she pleaded as she pressed against him.

That he could do. In fact, he intended to do so for the rest of their lives. He’d tell her so tomorrow.

T
HEY’D MADE LOVE
again a couple of hours after the first time. Again, as Patience had requested, there’d been no conversation. Afterwards they’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms.

When Jim awoke the next morning, it was very early. But he’d slept better than he had for months. He grinned. No wonder. He’d made love to Patience. He’d like to wake her now and make love again, but he’d only brought two condoms to her room last night.

He’d better concentrate on getting to the bachelor pad and taking a shower before the rest of the house was up. He had about fifteen minutes before Red appeared in the kitchen.

He quietly dressed, forcing himself to leave without kissing Patience. He didn’t want to disturb her sleep when there was nothing he could do about it.

Half an hour later, he entered the kitchen and
filled a mug of the coffee Red had brewed. “Morning, Red.”

“Morning, boy. Patience okay?”

“Yeah, she’s fine.” Jim didn’t meet his gaze.

“How about I fix her breakfast and you can carry a tray up?”

“Good idea. She might be tired. All this stress can get to a person.” Jim hoped Red prepared a tray soon. He’d rather not face his father this morning. Not until he’d had a chance to talk to Patience.

When Drew and Josh came in, Jim realized they were coming off guard duty. “Any problems last night?” he asked.

“Nope,” Drew replied. “It was so quiet we had trouble staying awake.”

“Good. I hope Kane’s given up and gone away.” Now that he and Patience were together again, he could almost forgive Joseph Kane for his crazy behavior. Without it, he might still be sitting here miserable and alone, with a big chip on his shoulder.

Instead, he’d held Patience all night long, just as he’d dreamed.

“Look at him,” Drew said, poking Josh. “We lost a lot of sleep and he’s sitting there grinning like the cat that swallowed the canary.”

Jim wiped the smile from his face. “Sorry, I was thinking of something else.”

“Here’s the girl’s tray, Jim,” Red said. “Get it up to her before it gets cold.”

Delighted with Red’s timing, Jim nodded to his brother and cousin and, grabbing the tray, beat a retreat. As he climbed the stairs, he noticed that Red had included a second cup of coffee for him.

He didn’t bother to knock on the door. He expected Patience to still be sleeping in the big bed they’d shared. He shut the door behind him and turned to the bed, a smile on his face.

The bed was empty.

He hurriedly set down the tray and scooted to the bathroom down the hall. Knocking on the door, he quietly called, “Patience?”

“Yes?”

Relief filled him. “I’ve got a breakfast tray for you in the bedroom.”

She didn’t respond. “Patience, did you hear me?” he asked.

“Yes. But take it back downstairs. I’ll be down in a minute.”

“But, honey, I thought we could talk about last night. You know, have a little privacy.”

She yanked open the door, a frown on her face. “I told you last night I didn’t want to dis
cuss it. I still don’t. I’ll get the tray.” She tried to brush past him.

Hurt by her behavior, Jim held her back. “I’ll get the damned tray. You can skitter down the stairs to safety!” He was practically shouting by the time he finished.

“Thank you,” she said coolly, and walked past him.

He stood there, boiling mad that she could dismiss their lovemaking as she had. Was she through with him? The thought almost stopped his heart.

He went back to her room and picked up the tray, his movements so hurried that the coffee slopped on to the tray. He reached the kitchen in time to hear her say to Red, “You don’t need to wait on me. I’ll take my breakfast with everyone else.”

“We start early around here,” Red warned.

“Tommy does, too. I’m used to early hours.”

Patience then sat down beside Drew and began talking to him.

Jim frowned at her. What was she doing? He set the tray down hard, spilling more coffee, and set the full plate of food in front of her. “I’ll refill the mugs,” he muttered. He took the tray to the sink and poured off the spilled coffee, then topped off the mugs. He almost spilled them
again when he turned and saw Patience laugh at something Drew said and reach out to lightly tap his arm.

“Jim! Be careful or you’re gonna scald yourself,” Red warned.

“Yeah,” Jim muttered as he reached the table and sat down on Patience’s other side.

“Haven’t you eaten already?” she asked.

“Yeah. What’s it to you?” he growled.

Drew stared at him. “Wow, that was quick. Five minutes ago you were smiling to beat the band. Now you sound like a real sourpuss. What happened?”

“Mind your own business,” Jim growled, not looking at Patience or his brother.

After Patience finished her breakfast and put her dishes in the dishwasher, she left the kitchen to go check on Tommy. Jim followed her. “Wait a minute.”

She turned to look at him. “What?”

“I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but don’t flirt with Drew. That’s not fair!”

“Flirt with Drew? Don’t be ridiculous. I was just talking to him.”

“Yeah, right!” He wasn’t buying it.

“Morning,” Megan called as she came down the stairs. “Everything okay this morning?”

“Yes, fine,” Patience assured her as she stepped aside. “I’m just going up to check on Tommy.”

“I think Elizabeth is doing the same thing. I heard voices in the boys’ bedroom.”

“Oh, I’d better hurry. I don’t want to give her double duty.” With a smile, Patience hurried up the stairs.

Jim stood there, staring after her as if someone had stolen his favorite toy.

“What’s wrong, son?”

“Uh, nothing, Mom. I was just wondering if I needed to follow. I’m not moving as fast as usual, you know.”

“Come have some coffee with me. I’m sure Davy and Tommy will be down to breakfast soon. I don’t want you overdoing things.”

The rest of the day followed the same pattern. Patience avoided being alone with him at every turn. He tried to figure out what she was thinking. He even asked his father in a roundabout way, but Chad only shrugged. “Better ask your mother. Women are hard to figure out.”

Jim had no intention of approaching his mother. She’d have all his secrets out of him in no time. She was good at that.

When Tommy went down for his afternoon
nap, Jim caught Patience in the hallway alone. “What are you—”

She broke in with, “You’d better go gather some of your things and put them in my room, so you don’t have to run back and forth every day.”

He stared at her, stunned by the implications of her words. She pulled from his hold and continued on down the stairs.

By the time he collected himself, she was out of sight. It took him only a couple of minutes to decide to do as she suggested. He wasn’t strong enough to resist making love to her tonight if that was what she wanted. So he’d get some clothes and every condom he had, and move them to her room.

That night, she went up to bed when he was speaking with his father, and it took him a few minutes to get free. He hurried upstairs as fast as he could, anxious to discover if she’d meant what she’d implied earlier.

When he opened the door, the light was again off and Patience was in bed.

He gulped and cleared his throat. “Do you want me to stay here with you?”

“Yes, of course,” she agreed calmly, reaching a bare arm toward him.

He abandoned his clothing in a flash and
joined her under the covers as he had the previous night. The condoms he’d left on the bedside table were quite handy…fortunately.