Shadows of Yesterday
Page 29

She could have told him more. She could have told him that she’d never reached that level of senselessness with Greg. He had been a capable lover, but she had never felt as if she had his total attention. Even while lying in his arms, their bodies united, she often felt that his mind was elsewhere, that he was performing out of habit rather than spontaneously. But it wouldn’t be fair to Greg’s memory to discuss that with Chad.
“I want you to know, too, that there hasn’t been anyone since Greg. And… and no one before. Until tonight I had only slept with my husband.”
He might not believe so old-fashioned a confession.
He turned toward her until they were lying face-to-face. “Leigh, how rare you are,” he said softly, stroking her cheekbone with the tip of his finger.
“And you.”
“I love you, Leigh. I didn’t want to say it before lest you think I was just trying to pressure you into going to bed with me. I was so happy when you said you wanted me, and even if you’d said you weren’t ready yet, just knowing that you wanted me would have set my heart at rest. Of course, I can’t say the same for other parts of my anatomy…” They laughed softly, though inwardly Leigh wasn’t certain she wanted or was ready for his love. “I love you, but if you ask me to go now, I’ll go.”
“No. Stay,” she whispered, certain of that one fact—she wanted him to stay. She leaned into him, crushing her breasts against the wall of his chest. His hand went to the small of her back and pressed her closer. They kissed.
“You have a most impressive chest,” she said into the crinkly mat that tickled her nose as she lowered her head.
“Yours is okay.” He laughed when she nipped him with playful teeth. His hands told her how much he liked the way she was made. She was held in his palms while his thumbs appreciated the crests.
Her lips kissed their way across his chest until she found the masculine nipples. She tested the way they felt against her tongue. Chad’s body went rigid with expectation as her hand began to wander. Even as her mouth tortured him with slow, licking kisses, her hand sought and found the strength of his manhood where it pressed against her thighs.
“Oh, God,” he rasped between clenched teeth. “Leigh, do you know what you’re doing?”
“Loving you.” Mercilessly she persisted until his breathing against her neck was ragged with desire.
“Darling, if you… you don’t stop… ah, Leigh… I won’t be able to.”
“I don’t want you to.” She adjusted her body to his, accommodating his instinctive initial thrust.
A long, shuddering sigh shook him as he delved into the silken realm. “You take me so completely. So tightly. So perfectly.”
He was right. It was perfect.
* * *
“No kitchen should be without one,” he said into her ear after pushing her hair out of the way with his nose. His arms came from behind her to brace against the countertop and pin her between.
“Without what?” she laughed, wringing out the sponge she had been using at the sink to wash their breakfast dishes.
“Without a sexy-as-all-get-out cook.” His mouth opened over the skin of her neck and teased it with his tongue.
“You smell good,” she said, laying her head against his shoulder and turning her face into his throat.
“I availed myself of your shower and razor before I got Sarah up.” Her ear was being analyzed in detail by his inquisitive mouth. “Luckily I had a change of clothes in the car.” He was wearing jeans and another plaid cowboy shirt. She could tell he had his boots on. They always made him an inch or so taller.
“Thanks for letting me sleep late.”
“Well, I thought it was the gentlemanly thing to do. I kept you up half the night.”
“You were up half the night, too,” she quipped naughtily, rubbing her hips against him.
He smacked her jeans-clad fanny. “You’ve got a saucy mouth, too.” Apparently his hand couldn’t think of a good reason to leave what it found so interesting. It stayed to caress the firm, round muscles of her bottom. “But I like your sense of humor. As a matter of fact,” he growled in her ear, “I like just about everything about you. This, for instance.” He squeezed her lightly. “And the way you feel against me.”
He stepped closer and fit his middle against her hips. “See what a match that is?” he asked seductively. Leigh sighed and leaned back against his chest. “We haven’t even got to the good parts yet.” His hands slid around her waist, up over her rib cage to fondle her breasts. Only the soft cotton of her T-shirt covered them. “Tell me when to stop,” he said as he massaged her.
“Never.”
“Never? Hmm… so you’ve decided to keep me around after all?”
 
 
Chapter Seven

She stood upright and swiveled around to face him in one swift motion. “I didn’t mean it that way, Chad.” He folded his hands around her face and impaled her with his compelling eyes. “Then what did you mean?”
With effort, she tore her gaze from his. “I don’t know,” she sighed. “I do know we’re attracted to one another, Chad, and we’ve shared a precious moment together—the birth of Sarah. But that’s not enough.”
The corners of his mouth shifted into a frown. “I explained why I didn’t tell you about my job, Leigh.”
“Oh, I know, Chad.” She buried her face in the warmth of his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Give me time. Please. I still can’t reconcile your career with my own future. When Greg died, I swore I’d never get involved with a man whose work was dangerous. Don’t you see? I can’t risk losing the man I love a second time—I just can’t.”
He gripped her shoulders hard. “You wouldn’t be risking that. I swear it. It’s ridiculous to cling to a resolution you made long before we met. We belong together, Leigh. I’ll do everything in my power to convince you that you should marry me. I won’t pressure you, but you’ll say yes, sooner or later. I won’t give up until you do.”
He started his campaign with a kiss so earnest that Leigh almost capitulated immediately. But she broke away from him before the persuasion of his mouth became too hard to resist.