“Didn’t seem to, although I was surprised that he was so open with me. I was touched, too.”
“It’s very cool that he was willing to talk about it, especially with someone who’s not….” She paused. “I mean, someone who hasn’t—”
“It’s okay, Millie. Everyone’s been terrific, but clearly I don’t have the long history that the rest of you have. Well, Garrett only arrived two months ago, but everyone else has years of shared experiences to draw on. Jake was kind enough to say I was one of you since CJ and I are having a baby, but—”
“Isabel, you are one of us. We all liked you so much when you came for Lucy and Matt’s wedding. Even though you didn’t plan on this baby, it’s an exciting turn of events.”
“Thanks for saying that.” She heaved a sigh. “I’m excited, too. I only wish it hadn’t put CJ in a difficult position.”
“He seems to be rolling with it.”
Rolling in the wrong direction. She didn’t say it, though. No reason to bring up—
“Just so you know, I see your side of it.”
“You do?” Startled, she looked over at Millie. “I thought everybody—”
“I see his side, too. But putting myself in your shoes, I wouldn’t want to live with a man who’s sacrificed his happiness for me, especially if I’m in love with him.”
She gulped. “Is it that obvious?”
“It was to Jake this afternoon.”
Her heartbeat quickened. “Evidently he told you, but did he tell—”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” She took a shaky breath. “That’ll make CJ even more determined to move.”
“Probably.”
“His iron will is part of the problem. I can see him getting to Seattle and forcing himself to stay even if he’s miserable.”
“He’s capable of that, but what if it goes the other way? What if the joy of being with his new little family overrides the negatives and he’s blissfully happy?”
“That’s so unlikely.”
“But it’s not impossible. By the way, we’re here.”
“I knew that.” She gave Millie a sheepish smile. “I need to let you get home to Jake. I just—”
“You’d like a chance to gather your forces before going in to face him?”
“Yeah.”
“Take your time.”
“Until now, I didn’t fully appreciate how interconnected all of you are.”
“Oh, yeah. Especially the Brotherhood.”
“That’s my point! CJ would be leaving those guys, leaving Henri, you and Kate, the Babes, his entire support system.”
“In body, but not in spirit. Henri loves that her boys are sticking around, but she says they’re fully capable of building a life elsewhere. Seth has proven that. She says if they aren’t, then she and Charley failed.”
“I’ll take that into consideration, too.” Isabel reached for the door handle. “Since you have so much inside information…is CJ going to pull out a ring tonight?”
“Not that I know of.”
She let out a breath. “I sure hope he doesn’t.” She opened the door and got out, hauling her bag with her. “Thanks for the ride and the empathy.”
“Anytime.”
“See you tomorrow.” Closing the door, she gave Millie a wave and started toward the porch steps. He’d dimmed the lights. Only a subtle glow penetrated the drawn curtains. She gulped and kept walking.
As Millie pulled away, CJ opened the door. Country music drifted out, a slow love song. “Looks like you have loot.”
Clearly he’d set the scene for… something. Her heart thundered in her ears. “They gave me so many nice gifts. Luckily baby stuff is small so I should be able to get everything in my suitcase.” She climbed the steps.
Crossing the porch, he reached for the bag. “Let me take that.”
She caught a whiff of his aftershave. Judging from his bristle-free chin, he’d shaved and likely showered, too. She breathed in the heady scent as she handed over the bag.
His gaze traveled over her and he smiled. “Water fight?”
“Bobbing for apples.” She glanced down at the forgotten water spots on her orange shirt. “I won.” Looking up, she tucked her wet hair behind her ears. “Got a little plush moose as a prize.”
He grinned. “Congratulations. Sounds like you had a good time.”
“I really did.” She glanced past him to the light flickering from the interior of the cabin. “Did you build a fire?”
“Too hot for that. Come on in.” He drew her through the open door and nudged it closed with his foot.
She gasped. “CJ!”
“Do you like it?”
“The room looks beautiful.” Please don’t let this be the prelude to a proposal. “You’ve been busy.”
“Kind of.”
“Great job.” A vase of fragrant roses sat on the nightstand along with his phone, the source of the romantic music. The aroma of the roses mingled with another sweet smell, maybe from the candles.
No wonder he’d turned off the lights. Didn’t need them with all those candles. Rose petals decorated the snowy white sheets and a bucket of champagne rested on a stand beside the bed.
She turned to him. “You’re making me nervous.”
“Nervous? Why?”
“I’m afraid any minute you’ll drop to one knee and pull a velvet box out of your pocket.”
His eyes widened. “You think I’m about to propose?”
“That’s what this looks like!” She swept an arm around the room. “Candles, roses, champagne, mood music…what else am I supposed to think?”
“Not that! We’re a long way from that step.”
Air whooshed out in a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.”
“But not so far from this one.” He reached for her and pulled her close. His warm gaze held hers captive. “I love you, Isabel Marie Riccetti.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
The glow of happiness in Izzy’s eyes was encouraging. She hadn’t popped right back with I love you, too, but he could wait for that. If Jake said she loved him, that was good enough for now.
She cupped his face in both hands. “I’m impressed that you went to all this trouble. Most guys—”
“I’m not most guys.”
She brushed his cheeks with her thumbs. “That’s for sure.”
“I wanted the right setting. It’s important. I’ve only said those words to my mother and Henri.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“I’ve been in lust with several, but it was never love on my part. If they felt more, they didn’t say so.”
Her gaze searched his. “Is it because of our baby?”
“Izzy, I was in love with you by the end of our first night together.”
“How could you know? We had plenty of lust going on. What if it was an extreme case of—”
“Nope. The lust was a bonus on top of a much bigger feeling. Didn’t know what it was, at first. Finally figured out what was different about you, about us.”
“And?”
He tugged her closer. “In a crowd, we communicated with only a look or a smile. When we were alone, your eyes told me everything I needed to know. The way you responded to me…it was like you read my mind.”
She nodded. “And like you read mine.”
“I thought we would be the same when you headed down here again. Then you said we shouldn’t have sex anymore. But your eyes said—”
“Something different.” She gazed up at him. “I’ve never been a waffler. But now—”
“At least you didn’t stick to the program.” He rubbed the small of her back. “And sometimes I imagine I can still read your mind.”
“I guess Jake can.”
“Oh?”
“Millie gave me a ride home. She was very informative.” Izzy didn’t seem upset. Instead she was melting into him like warm wax. “Was that why you invited me to go out to the sanctuary site?”
“Not the re
ason, but one of them.” He might as well spit out the truth. “I wanted to know where I stood. I honestly couldn’t tell anymore. Jake agreed to gather intel. He drew a conclusion. Doesn’t mean he’s right, but I—”
“Doesn’t mean he’s wrong.”
His breath caught. “Iz?”
“I’ve loved you since that first night, too.”
Enough energy surged through him to power the Buckskin’s generator for a month. “God, that’s all I needed to hear. Now we can—”
“It doesn’t change anything.”
“Are you kidding? It changes everything. If we love each other, the sky’s the limit! We—”
“If we love each other, we’ll make good decisions about the future, because that’s what people who love each other do.”
“Why do I find that statement so depressing? Oh, I know. Because next you’ll tell me the best decision is long-distance parenting.”
“Because it is.”
“I won’t do it, Izzy.” Despite their difference of opinion, he kept his grip firm. She’d have to demand that he release her before he’d let go. Sparring with her at close range was a better strategy. He had some really good songs coming up on his playlist. Her favorite.
“Well, I won’t agree to you moving to Seattle.”
“You need to think of Cleo.” He began moving in time to the music.
“Who’s Cleo?”
“Our daughter. Just throwing the name up as a trial balloon. I’ve been thinking about names and—”
“We don’t know we’ll have a girl.”
“You know and that’s enough for me.” He moved her in a lazy circle around the small area between the front door and the bed. When she didn’t resist, he took heart.
“Cleo. Short for Cleopatra.”
“Yes, ma’am. I wouldn’t want to saddle her with all of it. Cleo’s nice. Goes with Marie, too. But you may not—”
“You know, I do like it. Cleo Marie. Are we dancing?”
“Seems like we are. We’re moving and there’s music, so we must be.”
“You’re a sneaky one, Cornelius Jasper, playing She’s My Kind of Rain. You’re trying to soften me up.”
“Don’t need to.” He leaned down and nuzzled the side of her neck. “You’re already soft enough.”
Her breath hitched. “For what?”
“Rolling around on that bed, finding out how it feels when we crush rose petals under our writhing bodies.”
“You’ve never tried it?’
“Have you?” If she’d done the rose petal thing with some other guy, he’d scoop them out of that bed and ditch the idea.
“I haven’t, but I figured you had, since you set it up.”
“I’ve never done it. I’ve been told it’s worth the effort of collecting the petals.”
“You did that?”
“I collected them. Garrett and Nick washed and dried them.”
“Oh. My. God.” Her eyes sparkled with laughter. “Those are Henri’s roses, aren’t they?”
“And her vase.”
“The candles?”
“Jake’s idea.”
“The bucket of champagne?”
“Jake, again. Kate provided the bucket and stand. I’ve never created a setup like this so I needed a little help from my friends.”
“Oh, CJ.” She stopped dancing and stood on tiptoe to give him a tender kiss. “We’re going to make love in a bed of roses.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What are we waiting for?” Wiggling out of his arms, she began pulling off her clothes.
He did the same. He’d learned that when Izzy took charge of the proceedings, he was wise to follow her lead.
She was naked before he was and that slowed him down considerably because he couldn’t stop looking at her. What’s more, she wanted him to.
“Watch this.” Standing beside the bed in all her glory, arms out, she flopped backward onto the bed. She bounced and so did the red petals. “Ooo. I like this.” Scooping up a few, she dribbled them over her breasts and stomach. “Hurry up, cowboy. Let’s play.”
He ditched the rest of his clothes in record time, letting them fall wherever. Holding her gaze, he approached the bed. “Have a game in mind?”
“I do. It’s called Driving CJ Crazy.” She scooted over and patted the sheet, making the petals dance. “Lie on your back right here.”
“Okay.” He started to clear a spot so he could sit.
“No, leave them.” She put back what he’d brushed aside. “See how it feels.”
He eased down on the scattered petals and began to laugh. “Tickles.”
“Lie down.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Grinning, he stretched out on his back. “They’re still kinda wet.”
“Wet and soft.” Rolling to her side, she held her closed fist over his chest. Opening it gradually, she dribbled petals over his chest.
The sensation itself was erotic, but he was even more turned on by her expression. Her gaze hot and her lips parted, she went back for more petals and decorated his abs, his crotch and his thighs.
Her breathing quickened. “That’s the sexiest visual ever.”
He reached for her. “How about if I—”
“Stay there. I’m coming over.” She straddled his thighs and hummed with pleasure as she settled her tush on the petals she’d scattered there.
Talk about a sexy visual. Her breasts trembled with the rapid pace of her breathing. His breathing wasn’t all that steady, either. If only she’d rise to her knees and edge a little bit forward, she could—
Instead she picked up more rose petals and let them cascade over his very erect cock.
He groaned.
“How does that feel?”
“Like butterfly wings.”
“Is that good?”
“It’s torture. I need—” He gasped as she dipped her head and bestowed an open-mouthed kiss on his bad boy.
“That?”
He clenched his jaw. “It’s a start.”
“How’s this?” She took a petal and stroked lightly and thoroughly—the tip, the underside, and his aching balls.
“Izzy.”
“The object of the game is to—”
“Mission accomplished.”
“Good, because I’m driving myself crazy. I want you so bad, you rose-petal-covered man.” Rising to her knees, she positioned herself and grabbed hold before taking him up to the hilt.
He battled the urge to come. Won the first round. “Iz…” The effort roughened his voice. “Hold still a minute.”
“A minute?”
“Five seconds.”
She counted them off, the little devil. Then she braced her hands on his chest and leaned down to lick his pecs and bite his nipples.
He spoke through gritted teeth. “You’re gonna make me come.”
“I don’t care.” Her voice was breathy, fanning his damp chest and moving the petals around. “I could come any second just looking at you.”
“Why?”
“That ripped body is reason enough. Then add in rose petals resting lightly on your massive chest…okay, that’s it. We’re going for it.”
“Thank you.” Hallelujah, she’d stopped kidding around. Grasping her hips, he held on for dear life, fighting to outlast her. He lost that fight. With a groan of surrender, he arched into her. “I…love…you!”
With a cry of triumph, she came, gasping as she leaned over him, her gaze locked with his. “I love you, too.”
There it was, the perfect exchange while making perfect love. They were going to be just fine.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Isabel had fully intended to stay awake long enough to make love to CJ again. Maybe they’d drink some of that champagne and she’d show him the cool gifts she’d received.
But sometime during the after-sex cuddling, a routine CJ loved as much as she did, she fell asleep. When he woke her with a kiss, he was dressed.
Confused, she propped herse
lf on her elbow. “Is it morning?”
“’Fraid so. I have to go, but I promised not to leave without saying goodbye.”
“Did we go to sleep with the candles burning?”
“No. When you drifted off I blew them out and turned off my phone.”
“And didn’t set an alarm?”
“I did, but I was awake before it went off.”
She touched his bristly cheek. “You didn’t wake me.”
“I couldn’t bear to. You looked so peaceful. Besides, you and the baby probably need the sleep.”
“You’re a good man, CJ.”
“Who loves you very much.”
“I can tell. And I love you, too, but—”
“Gotta go.” He kissed her once more and started for the door.
“We didn’t drink the champagne.”
“We can take it over to the bunkhouse so you have something fun to drink with chuck wagon stew.”
“Will I see you before then?”
He opened the door and paused. “I’ll check the schedule and text you. I was so focused on last night’s plans that I can’t remember what I’m scheduled for today.”
“Just let me know.”
“I will. Grab some more sleep.” He put on his hat, touched two fingers to the brim and ducked out the door.
Sleep? Not likely. She climbed out of bed and hurried over to the window to peek out through a slight gap in the curtain. Off he went, his stride purposeful. Then he lifted both arms and punched his fists into the air.
The image stayed with her as she showered. Her text from CJ showed up while she was toweling off.
Nick and I are taking a group out for a lunch ride today. No lunch break, but I’m off at four. Want to hang out at the bunkhouse and help Jake and me make the stew?
Absolutely! She added a kiss-blowing emoji.
He called. “I was hoping you were still in bed.”
“Wasn’t sleepy.”
“Maybe because you’re such a deep sleeper. You barely moved.”
She laughed. “Did you keep track?”
“Kind of. I was too happy to sleep much. I kept waking up so I could look at you lying beside me.”
A heart-melting confession. “That’s very sweet.” She cleared the tightness from her throat. “Will you be okay out on the trail?”
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