When It's Right (27 page)

Liquid fire in his arms. “Ah, God, Gillian, you make me burn.”

He needed her completely naked. Now.

He trailed kisses down her neck, the underside of her breast, down her ribs to her hip. He undid her jeans, hooked his fingers into her lace panties, and dragged both barriers down her legs and right off her cute little feet.

He sat on the edge of the bed and found a condom in the bedside table drawer. He removed his clothes, but that didn't stop her from caressing his back, kissing his shoulders and neck, sliding her hands around to grab his chest and hug him close. He sheathed himself and turned back, following her back down onto the bed. Cradled between her legs and in her arms, he thrust into her. Her hips rose to take him deep. Their slow pace gave them time to savor the feel of skin pressed to skin, and the intimacy of being joined so completely together in a way that transcended their bodies. He lowered his forehead to her hair and brushed a kiss on her ear. He thrust into her again, exhaled with pure pleasure, and whispered, “I love you.”

Need overpowered their languid pace. He pressed her thighs wide, thrust deep, hard, and fast. They moved together and rose higher toward the peak that overtook them and sent them flying.

With his face buried in her hair, his lips pressed to her neck, and his thundering heart pressed to hers, he crushed her into the bed. He didn't think she minded too much, since her hands rested on his ass and one of her feet hooked over his calf. He'd poured everything he was into making love to her. He always did, but this time he hoped his love had finally filled all the empty places inside her.

She let out a gasp when he rolled over and dragged her across his chest, then wrapped his arms around her after pulling the blankets over them. He kissed the top of her head and brushed his hand over her hair and sighed, more content than he'd ever felt in his life. He felt the first tear touch his chest. She sighed and melted into him. He held her tighter with one arm and used the pad of his thumb to wipe her cheek as another tear slid down her pretty face.

“Ssshh, sweetheart. It's okay to let yourself be loved.”

 

Chapter 27

T
he smell of roses and lilacs woke her. Lying on her stomach across the bed with her arms beside her head, she opened her eyes, expecting to see Blake lying beside her. Nothing but empty sheets and a single red rose lying on his pillow. A vase filled with roses and lilacs from the garden sat on the bedside table, along with a note. He'd picked her a bouquet. Lovely. Sweet. But the sun hadn't even come up, and he was gone. Why?

Sleep usually left her slowly, but waking up alone after making love to Blake in such spectacular fashion last night cleared her head quickly. She'd just woken up, and already she missed him.

She sat up and brought the rose to her nose, inhaled the heady scent, and closed her eyes. For a moment, she felt his lips on hers where the rose rested against her skin. She picked up the note and read it.

Gillian,

I've got a few things to do today in Bozeman. I'll be back later this evening. I miss you already.

Love, Blake

She threw back the covers and stood looking out the windows at the dawn of a new day. She couldn't spend the day in bed waiting for Blake to come home. A nice idea, but hardly productive. She showered and dressed and met the family in the kitchen at the breakfast table.

She leaned down and kissed Justin on the head. “Hey buddy, I'm sorry I left yesterday without talking to you.”

“It's okay. Grandma made spaghetti for dinner. Blake ate his extra helpings of salad. He played battleships with me in the bath and read me a bunch of books before bed. We had a lot of fun.”

It touched her heart to know that Blake took such good care of Justin in her absence.

She couldn't help but think for a moment what might have happened to Justin if her father had succeeded in killing her. Justin would have ended up in foster care. Maybe Justin would have come to live on the ranch anyway and have had Blake to look after him. If that had been the case, Blake would have been the father Justin deserved. Blake didn't play with Justin and watch over him just to score points with her. He did it because he genuinely cared.

“Gillian,” her grandmother called, her voice sharp to get her attention.

“Hah. What?”

“Eat, dear. You're staring off into space. Don't worry. Blake will be home before you know it.”

Her grandparents gave her patient smiles, and Justin smirked. If she didn't know better, she'd have thought something was going on with all of them. Justin bounced with energy this morning.

“I'd like you to take over training Diamond Deuce along with Boots,” her grandfather said. “You and Jeff make a good team. I'd like the two of you to continue working together.”

“Okay.” She couldn't hide her excited smile. A great opportunity, she'd be responsible for the two horses and have a chance to prove herself to her grandfather and Blake.

That her grandfather showed such faith in her touched her deeply.

Jeff was a great source of information. He was good with the horses, but she connected with them in a way even Jeff couldn't figure out. When he couldn't get them to cooperate or respond, she managed to with little effort.

“Blake left a list of things for you to take care of today. If you could see to them, that would be great. Dee and I are taking Justin to school this morning, and then we have some errands. Is there anything you need from town?”

Odd. None of them left the ranch during the week. They usually ran errands on Saturday. She dismissed her concerns entirely when she saw the long list of things Blake wanted her to do. She'd be lucky to get lunch if she had any hope of completing the whole list.

“Blake wants all of this done today?”

“That's what he said.” Her grandfather stood and took his coffee cup to the sink.

Blake put a lot of faith in her ability to accomplish everything on that list. Still, for him, she'd try to get it all done.

Her grandparents couldn't wait to get Justin out the door to school so they could run their errands. She worked nonstop through the day and barely had a minute to miss Blake or reflect on waking up to roses and lilacs. Every time she tried to get back to the house, someone distracted her and asked for her help in the stables or up at the track. As the sun set, she found herself beneath one of the tractors. One of the guys had accidentally snapped the oil line. By the time she was done fixing it, she was covered in grease and oil. Her hair was a tangled mess from lying in the dirt, and her muscles were sore from a long day tending the horses and working her way through Blake's list of chores.

Finally done, she lazily made her way to the house, thankful no one stopped her. That is, until she reached the porch and Grandma Dee greeted her on the steps.

“Gillian, you've got oil on your face, dear. Go on over to Blake's and get cleaned up.” She handed Gillian a stack of clothes and a pair of sandals.

“Grandma, I'll just go upstairs and shower and be down for dinner.”

“You can't, dear. There's a broken pipe. The water is off. Your grandfather is fixing it. I'm afraid you'll just have to use Blake's shower.”

Too tired to argue, Gillian didn't fuss over the fact that her grandmother handed her a dress. She'd much rather put on her pajamas or slide into bed naked with Blake. Of course, she had no idea where he was, or when he'd be home. His phone went straight to voice mail every time she tried to call him.

“Go on, dear. Dinner will be ready soon.”

“Okay. Um, have you heard from Blake?”

“He called a little while ago and said he'd be home shortly.”

“That's good. I was getting worried.”

“He's on his way. Go on, now. A nice shower will do you good. It'll put the glow back in your cheeks.”

Blake could certainly put the glow back in her cheeks if he ever got his butt home. She could really use a kiss and a hug right about now. She'd like to curl up with him on the sofa and watch a movie and just relax in his arms.

Blake's house seemed too empty. She felt strange being here without him. His bed was perfectly made. Everything in the room was neat and clean. The only outward sign that this was his place was the hamper filled with his dirty clothes. He didn't spend any time in this room anymore. He slept with her in her bed. He only came back for his clothes and to shower. She wondered how long they'd continue to split their time between the two places. It seemed stupid for him to move his things into her bedroom. The man had his own house. Half of Justin's things were here, they spent so much time playing together.

How does a girl go about asking her boyfriend about moving in together?

She didn't know. They'd only been together for a ­couple months. Blake hadn't said anything about a permanent living arrangement. In fact, he seemed content with the way things were. Of course, they both wanted to be together, but she wasn't sure where Blake saw them in a year. Would they get married? Did he want to be married? Did he want to have children?

She wanted to be Blake's wife. She wanted that bond. She wanted to see him hold their child and love him the way he loved Justin. She put her hands over her belly and thought how wonderful it would be to have their baby growing inside her. They'd be a family. Oh, she wanted that very much.

Blake found her
in his room. She walked out of the bathroom wearing a pretty dark pink dress, her hair still damp, hanging down her back. She stopped by the bed and stared down at it. Blake came up to her and wrapped his arms around her, then cupped her breasts in his hands and nuzzled her neck.

She sighed. “You're home.” How much she missed him today infused those words.

“Thinking about me, sweetheart, and what we can do in that bed?”

“Would you rather be here?”

“I want to be where you are,” he said without a second thought.

“You don't mind sleeping with me in the main house?”

“I don't mind sleeping with you anywhere.” He ran his hands over her breasts and down her belly. He pulled her hips back and snuggled her bottom into his aching cock, groaning when she rubbed her hips against him.

She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I'm serious. Do you miss having your own space, your own bed?”

Worried, he didn't think she was talking about sleeping in separate beds, but that's what it sounded like. “What's this about? Don't you want me with you at night?”

“I'm saying this wrong. This is your home, yet you barely spend any time here. You sleep with me every night at the big house because I need to be there in case Justin needs me. I wondered if it bothers you to be there with me, instead of here in your home?”

“I don't mind. We work so much, I enjoy the quiet time we share together in your room. It's not just the sex. I like that we talk and share our day.”

He wasn't ready to talk to her about them living together permanently. Making her his wife took more planning than he'd expected. He could ask her now, but he wanted to surprise her. To distract her, he leaned down and kissed her until he was sure her mind had gone blank. Her soft lips and gentle demand for more made it easy for him to forget for a moment that he needed to get her back to her grandparents' house.

“Hungry?”

She smiled provocatively. “Oh, yeah.”

He slid his hands down her hips and over her bottom. “That's not what I meant, but I like the way you think. Come on, I have a surprise for you.”

He took her hand and walked her down the hall and out the front door.

“Who won the Hot Wheels trophy?”

“Championships are next week. Justin's second in the rankings behind Jeff.”

“That makes you in third.”

“Don't remind me.” They walked across the field hand in hand. “You look so pretty tonight, sweetheart. I love that dress.”

“Thanks, Grandma Dee picked it out, but I don't know why she gave it to me to wear tonight. Where did you go today?”

“You got my note, right?”

She stopped him outside the kitchen door. “Yes. And the flowers. They were beautiful, but I'd have rather woken up with you beside me.”

He slipped his hand under the hair at her neck and drew her close. “Me, too. But I had to do something in Bozeman. It took longer than I thought.” Three different jewelry stores to find exactly what he wanted, along with his other errands. “Come on. Justin is waiting.”

He opened the door and she sighed.

“Oh God, that smells good. Grandma's been cooking up a storm. I'm starving.”

“Your favorites. Vegetable beef stew, mashed potatoes, fresh bread.”

“Let's eat.”

“Come with me first.” He kept her hand in his as he walked in front of her to the living room. He stopped and turned to her when they entered.

Her blank face made his gut clench. His heart stopped. Maybe he'd made a mistake. He glanced at Bud and Dee, Justin, his parents, and Gabe and Ella. All their smiles faltered at Gillian's silence.

The most beautiful sight Gillian had ever seen. Justin stood by her grandparents with a huge bouquet of pink roses. A “Happy Birthday” sign hung over the fireplace. Uncle Lumpy stood next to the mantel. She hadn't seen him since she and Justin had met him in town for lunch last week. Blake's parents stood beside her grandparents, smiling at her. Gabe and Ella, back from their honeymoon, sat together on the sofa, smiling at her.

Her grandmother had set the dining table in the other room with her fine china and silver. Crystal glasses sparkled in the chandelier's light around a centerpiece filled with flowers from the garden. A stack of presents covered the coffee table, beautifully wrapped with pretty, colorful bows.

She stared at Blake as the first tears fell from her eyes.

“I forgot . . . no one ever . . . I didn't expect . . .”

“Happy birthday, sweetheart. We know it was yesterday. Justin remembered. I thought about taking you out to dinner for another romantic evening.”

She thought about the way they'd made love last night and how she'd woken up to roses and lilacs this morning. He'd been trying to make her birthday special. He'd succeeded in so many ways. She'd never felt more cherished or loved in her life.

“I thought you might like a family celebration.”

She wrapped her arms around him. “It's perfect. It's the birthday party I always dreamed of having.” She pressed her forehead to his chin and hugged him close. “It's better because I have you.”

Justin came forward with his flowers and handed them to her. “Happy birthday, Gillian.”

“Thank you, baby. The flowers are so pretty.”

“Blake helped me pick them out.”

“I love them.” She turned to Blake's family. “I'm so happy you all came.”

“Happy birthday, Gillian,” Blake's mother said, a warm smile on her face.

“Thank you. Ella, how was the honeymoon?”

“Amazing.”

“She says that about me all the time,” Gabe teased, and received a friendly smack on the arm from his glowing bride.

The rest of the night was more fun and jokes, food and wine, presents and family. Gillian and Ella talked about her trip, clothes, New York, and horses. By the end of the night, Ella felt like a real friend. They'd even made plans to meet for lunch and go for a ride when Ella returned from a business trip to New York.

Blake had given her the perfect gift, aside from a gorgeous sparkling diamond heart necklace—­a beautiful memory she'd never forget.