Finally, she couldn’t take anymore, and the erotic sensations tore away the last shreds of her resistance to her climb into an untamed climax. She bucked hard against his mouth, and she cried his name and cursed him too. He stayed with her until the last of her ripples crossed his tongue, and she went limp.
Then he replaced his mouth with his hand as he moved over her, and she was so lost in the moment, in the emotion, in the sensations still rippling through her, that she was stunned to find herself sitting astride him a moment later, kissing him with wild, irresistible, and almost reckless need. Following her instincts—from here on out, she wasn’t going to hold anything back—she licked his neck. His skin tasted deliciously salty.
She sat up, still straddling him, his hard dick throbbing under his briefs.
In the candlelight, his eyes glinted as he looked up at her. “You’re beautiful, and your release tasted delicious.”
“I love the way you touch me,” she said, watching the joy in his eyes. “But I can’t wait another second for you. For all of you. These briefs have to go.”
“Are you sure?”
To prove she was, she lifted her hips to pull them down, and then with a sinful slide against his erection, she was ready to take him inside her, but he stilled her with firm hands on her hips.
“Penny, wait. I need a condom.” The desperate need in his voice was threaded with the same urgency she felt for him, and it was nearly enough to take her over the edge of pleasure again. He reached for a condom on the table and ripped open the foil. “I’ve never had sex without one of these.”
“I haven’t either. Give it to me.”
He laughed. “Is my ladylove in a hurry?”
“You’re damn right, I am.” She took it and rolled it on him. Then she lifted her hips, and he guided his dick to her tight entrance. The tip teased, and she slowly slid down on him. And her body welcomed his heat, his hardness, his thickness, and his length. The smile she gave him came from the very center of her heart, the deepest part of her core.
She tilted her head back as she rocked over him, and they began to move, slow and sweet and perfect.
“Can I flip you over?”
“Yes, I think so.”
He did, and he placed his lips against her ear. “I don’t want to worry you. You’re so beautiful. Your body feels amazing. I want you to come again. What can I do?”
“Don’t stop.”
“Are you sure? Are you okay?”
“Don’t ask me again. Just don’t stop!”
He pushed farther into her until he was solidly embedded. He bit the slender cord of her neck lightly and held it for several heartbeats, then raised his head and looked down into her face.
“Come for me, babe. Scream my name, so I’ll know I’m in your head, in your heart, inside you—forever.”
I’ll be everything you ever want me to be / For, my darling, you are everything to me / I’ll be everything you ever want me to be…
He thrust into her, and her hips moved in sync with him, begged him to keep up the intensity. Her legs wrapped around his waist, clinging to him. No one had ever made her feel so cherished. He went deeper, then deeper again. Still, it wasn’t enough. She needed more. Her head dropped back, and her body bucked into his thrusts, her arms wrapped stranglehold-tight around his neck.
A low growl choked from his throat, the sound of a desperate man, waiting to detonate, and he pushed her higher and higher, freer than she’d ever known until pleasure exploded inside her, and she screamed, “Rick! Rick!”
And then he followed her into bliss. Nothing had ever felt as right as it did at this moment, in the arms of the man she loved.
It might be the way I adore you / Or the way that you hold me tight / I don’t know the reasons, girl I’m believing / We must be lovin’ right…”
Her chest heaved, and her shoulders rose and fell in breathless satisfaction.
Strands of her hair stuck to her forehead, to his forehead, and her eyelashes grazed his cheek. What just happened to her was better-than-amazing sex.
Minutes passed, and neither of them moved. Finally, their breathing slowed, and one finger at a time, she released her death grip, and her lifeless legs unhooked from around his waist and plopped on the bed.
He slid his weight off her but kept his arm slung around her waist, hooking their bodies together. And she just existed, without thinking or worrying. Her limp body lay sprawled on the rose-petaled sheets, numb with absolute ecstasy.
His soothing finger teased her belly button, dipping in and out of the shallow indentation. “When I saw you floating in the pool this afternoon, I imagined doing this.”
“Making love to me?”
“No. Well, that too, but teasing your belly button.”
“Of all the body parts you could tease, why that?”
He rolled off the bed, went into the bathroom to dispose of the condom, and returned to her side. “My sister always complained about her belly button sticking out when she was pregnant, and I was”—he shrugged—“just imagining how yours would look.”
“I’m not sure what to think about that.”
He nuzzled her neck. “It was just a thought.”
She sighed, not sure whether to continue their second conversation about babies in under four hours, but she had come this far, and the room was warm and smelled potent, like the virile man enveloping her, and he did appreciate her courage.
So she said it, “You told me earlier tonight not to wait, and now you’re imagining me pregnant. You know, don’t you, that condoms typically prevent that from happening?”
He lightly bit her ear. “There was only one on the table.”
“I noticed that, but it never occurred to me that you wanted to get me pregnant.”
He rolled off the bed again, but this time knelt beside it. “I didn’t say that right. You see, babe, I’ve thought of nothing but you for weeks. And, well”—he reached under the mattress—“I know this seems sudden, but it really isn’t.” He cleared his throat. “Will you marry me?”
He held out a ring. “I know this looks plain, but I had the cross on my mom’s rosary made into a ring for you. Lafitte gave you so many jewels, a diamond or ruby or sapphire wouldn’t have much meaning, but I thought this might because it’s so important to me.”
Tears poured down her cheeks. She started to remove her West Point class ring, but he stopped her. “No, this ring was made for your right hand. I know how important your class ring is to you, and I want this one to be special as well. I don’t want you to look at your finger and miss your class ring, so I had it made for your right hand. I hope that’s okay.”
She sniffed. “Yes, I will, and it’s absolutely perfect.”
“You will…what? Marry me?”
“Yes! Yes! I’ll marry you.”
He slipped the ring on her finger. “I’m sure you’d like to spend months planning a wedding and having a huge event with all the family, but if you want something small… maybe tomorrow…I’d be up for it.”
“Tomorrow?” she gulped. “Are you serious? Don’t you want to wait and see how we fit into each other’s lives?”
“Penny, we just fought the Battle of New Orleans together. There isn’t anything I don’t know about you, and I’m pretty sure you’ve seen all sides of me—the good ones and the bad ones—and you still seem to like me.”
“Are you nuts? I’m in love with you.”
“I was pretty sure that’s how you felt, or I would have waited to give you more time.”
“That might not have been such a bad idea. How in the world can I ever admit to anyone—our families, children, grandchildren—what we were doing or where we were when you proposed?”
“You could say I was singing to you on a moonlit night on the bank of the James River. Or you can tell them the truth, but don’t ever doubt how much I love you and have since we worked together years ago. I just didn’t know how we could ever get to this point, but the brooch worked that
out.”
“What’s everybody going to say?”
“They’ll celebrate. Everybody knew this was going to happen.”
“They did?”
“We’re soul mates, babe. We might be neighbors, but we had to go through hell to get where we are now. And I never want you to be hurt or scared again.”
She pulled him into her arms. “Make love to me again, and don’t ever stop.”
68
Mallory Plantation—Penny
Rick and Penny stayed up all night eating chocolate-covered strawberries, drinking champagne, singing, laughing, telling stories, soaking in the hot tub, and fulfilling almost every sexual fantasy they had about each other.
The night was heaven on steroids.
And by the time the sun came up, Penny felt emotionally safe, physically replete, hungover, but unbelievably happy.
She opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was a hunk of a naked man sleeping on his stomach beside her. What an ass. The second thing that caught her eye was the gold and silver Celtic cross ring on her finger. The cross had been artistically altered to form a circle, retaining all its beauty and symbolism.
“Do you like it?” Rick’s rough voice raked over her, along with the tail of his wicked grin.
“No. I love it, and knowing that it’s been passed down through generations of your mother’s family makes it even more special.” She leaned over and kissed him. “You designed a perfect engagement ring.”
“Perfect for you.”
“Perfect for me. But I am worried about your family’s reaction. They might not be as excited about it as we are.”
He rolled to his side to reach out and tweak her nipple. “I asked Pops and JL, and they were both pleased. They thought it would make a perfect ring for the love of my life, and they can’t wait to see it on your finger.” He reached around her waist and pulled her with him as he rolled over onto his back, fitting his semi-erect dick between her legs.
“Hmmm.” She wiggled her hips. “Feels like you’re ready to go again.”
He smiled. “It’s a semi-on, and can go either way, depending on you. So, love, what’s your pleasure?”
She wiggled her hips again but was distracted when Rick’s phone beeped with a text message. She grabbed the phone off the bedside table and handed it to him.
“I don’t want to read it. I want you.”
“I thought you said you can’t ignore family messages.”
“Yeah, something like that. I can wait a few minutes to respond to everyone except Elliott, Meredith, Charlotte, and David. For different reasons. Elliott can fire my ass. Meredith can chew my ass. Charlotte can cut off my ass. And David can whup my ass. So I answer them and keep my ass protected. Everyone else will send me another message, and another, and continue to bug the hell out of me until I answer.” He took the phone, read it, then sent a return message.
She rested her head on his chest. His skin was smooth except for a smattering of chest hair across his well-defined pecs, and she breathed in the scent of his woodsy soap and the musky aftermath of sex. She traced the two-inch scar below his left nipple.
“How’d you get this?”
“A couple of years after I joined the NYPD, I was arresting a guy on meth, and he pulled a knife.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“So, who’s looking for you? Do you need to be somewhere?”
“No. Pete wanted to know if you’re pregnant and if you like your ring.”
“What?” She looked up and glared at him. “Pete and Soph knew you were going to propose?”
Rick dropped the phone on the bed and rubbed her back, pressing her head back down to his chest while he finger-combed the knots out of her hair. “After I asked for their help to set this all up, Pete wanted to know if I was going to ask you to marry me, and made me promise not to elope.”
This all sounded weird and presumptuous to her. “I don’t get it. I mean…we can’t keep our hands off each other, but that doesn’t scream wedding bells. It screams two horny people. Why’d Pete assume you’d ask me?”
“Everybody assumed it would happen.”
“I didn’t.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t either until we got back to California. I missed you like hell and knew I couldn’t spend the rest of my life without you. I’d become accustomed to looking for you in the morning at headquarters, bringing you coffee, making sure you were safe, and honestly craving to be close to you, to hear you laugh and give me shit.”
She tickled him.
“Don’t do that. You know what happened last night when you tickled me.”
“Are you threatening me?”
He rolled them over. “Now, ask that again.”
“Topaz!”
He froze. Then rolled off her and jumped to his feet. “Fuck, Penny. What the hell happened?”
She giggled. “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to be tickled again.”
“Okay, here’s the deal,” he said, patting his chest and still breathing hard. “That scared the shit out of me. So, I’ll never tickle you again, and we’ll save the word ‘topaz’ for real emergencies. M-kay?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean—”
Rick rolled over on top of her again and tickled the hell out of her. She laughed and squirmed and kicked. “You shit. Stop it! Get off me. You promised!”
He finally rolled off laughing. “I had to get you back for scaring me.”
“Okay, truce.” She snuggled up to him again, but this time fondled his dick, turning his semi-on to a full hard-on.
His chest rumbled with a laugh. “Are you teasing me to get even, or are you looking for some action?”
She kissed Oliver’s head, and he twitched in her hand. “I’m getting even.”
“Thought so.” He stroked the side of her face. “God, woman. I love you. Let’s promise not to do any more crazy shit, like riding off into a battle with only a fucking cutlass.”
“I’ll see what I can do. But you know…I thought we’d date for a while, and then I’d move in with you—because my townhouse is too small—and in a few years, we might get married, but not this soon.”
“We can wait as long as you want, but one of us is changing their address immediately—your place or mine, I don’t care. But I don’t want to go to sleep or wake up without you ever again.”
Penny’s phone beeped, and he reached for it on the table, swiping the half dozen foil wrappers onto the floor as he turned over and handed it to her.
“Soph wants us to come to the big house for breakfast. What should I tell her? I don’t know if I have the energy to get dressed.”
“I’ve been around long enough to read between the lines. Elliott wants us there to celebrate our engagement and assigned the most vulnerable adult to deliver the message.”
“Soph? Vulnerable? Oh, you mean because she’s pregnant, and I won’t get mad at her for tricking me. I see how this game is played. But I can’t believe everybody already knows. Why didn’t Pete and Soph keep your secret?”
“I’m sure they did. The leak was probably JL. She and Jack are best buds and talk every day. If Jack knows, Charlotte knows. If Charlotte knows, Braham knows, and on and on. Welcome to the MacKlenna Clan. What happens to one happens to all.”
“Well, this will be our wedding, and if they want to be part of it, they’ll have to keep their noses out.”
Rick laughed. “I’ll do my best to run interference, babe, but every single one of the women will have suggestions, including parts for all their kids.”
She sat on the edge of the bed and had flashes of all the impossible mothers of the bride she’d dealt with over the past decade. “If we take Pete and Sophia with us, can we elope?”
He laughed again. “We could try, but you can’t keep secrets with this group.”
“Elliott did, so it’s possible,” she said, grumbling her way to the shower.
; “Can I get in there with you?” he asked.
She turned on the water in the shower then contorted into a suggestive pose. “Yes, but leave Oliver behind, or we’ll never make it to breakfast.”
“To hell with breakfast, we’re coming for you.”
69
Mallory Plantation—Penny
An hour after shower sex, Penny and Rick entered the mass confusion at Charlotte and Braham’s house. Penny counted nine kids—five McBains, two Parrinos, and two McCabes—chasing each other through the foyer. Penny laughed at Lukas running after the older kids as they tore open the door to the basement.
Churchill propped open the door and waved at Penny and Rick. “Hurry, Lukie!” Lukas ran toward him, holding his arms out so Churchill would carry him. Churchill snatched him up and dashed down the steps.
“How precious. You’d never know that a few weeks ago, Churchill was hiding in a tree watching the slaughter of thousands of his countrymen.”
“Pete said he has nightmares. Charlotte’s talking to him since Pete and Sophia can’t take him to a therapist. And the twins have been supportive. They ask him lots of questions to keep him talking, so he doesn’t hide from the memories. Pete, David, and Braham are also talking to him about the horrors of war and how to live with them.”
“Maybe we should join that group,” Penny said.
“We could,” Rick said. “We need to make a promise to be sensitive to each other’s triggers. Sooner or later, one of us will wig out.”
She turned into him, and he wrapped his arms around her. “I’ll be there for you, babe.”
She looked up at him. “Kenzie told me what happened at the rental house when you believed I’d gone back to the Battle of Verdun.”
“I sort of lost it. I guess she told you Connor broke into your house.”
“Sophia told me. I should be pissed, but I understand why you sent Connor to do it.” At the time Sophia told her, Connor’s break-in had felt like an invasion, but with so much else going on, it quickly slipped to the bottom of the pile, and now it didn’t matter.
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