Special Assignment: Baby

by Debra Webb

  He eased an inch or so closer to the edge of the bed, in hopes of disengaging from her without completely embarrassing himself or her. With her face pressed against his chest and her arms around his neck, he doubted it would be possible to accomplish the task without waking her. The heat between her thighs burned him through the layers of denim separating them, and beckoned to him on a base level that nearly defied control. Her breasts were flattened against him, their tight peaks making him ache to taste her. He licked his lips in dizzying anticipation.

  But he couldn’t do that…not this time. She meant too much to him. He couldn’t hurt her again. Court closed his eyes with that last thought. He would not analyze that insight. He was leaving soon, he wouldn’t pretend otherwise. Slowly, he lifted her left arm and eased it toward her side. She moaned softly and burrowed her face more deeply into the crook of his neck. Court gritted his teeth until the overwhelming urge to roll her onto her back and take her right then and there receded to a more tolerable level.

  He had to move, do something…now.

  Sabrina hovered somewhere just the other side of waking. She felt warm and contented for the first time in too long to remember, her body relaxed and languid against the hard muscular one beneath her. Court, she thought dreamily. She hoped this dream wouldn’t end, for in it she was with Court, in his bed. Beneath the disinterested facade she adopted each day, in his arms—in his bed—is right where she wanted to be. Her hips arched instinctively toward the thick ridge of exquisitely hard, male flesh pressing into her pelvis. Court was the one and only man she had ever made love with. She wanted to make love with him again. She sighed and snuggled closer. A sound rumbled from his chest and Sabrina’s heavy lids slowly drifted open, the dream that had felt so very real fading to black.

  The room was still dark. It was early, she decided. Where was she? She struggled to clear the last remnants of the erotic dream from her groggy mind. Where was Ryan? Memories of last night’s midnight adventures zoomed into vivid focus in her mind. You cannot leave tonight. She’d spent the night with Court. In his bed. Every sense she possessed suddenly honed in on the aroused male body beneath her.

  Oh, no.

  Sabrina scrambled off him and to the end of the bed. She barely caught herself before she tumbled over the edge. The bedside lamp clicked on and Court pushed to a sitting position, his gaze searching hers. She blinked, adjusting her eyes to the light. His hair was tousled, his shirt wrinkled from her attempts to climb inside it, no doubt.

  “Morning, Brin.” His voice was thick and husky. The sound sent goose bumps tumbling across her skin.

  The way she must look abruptly slipped into her consciousness. She shot off the bed and gave him her back while she straightened her clothes and finger-combed her hair. What had she been thinking? How could she have slept in his bed?

  “You okay?”

  He was right behind her. Sabrina stumbled away from him, stubbing her toe on a nearby chair in her haste. She hissed a curse and rubbed her sore toe with the heel of her other foot. He probably thought…what did he think? He’d awakened to find her sprawled all over him. Instantly a flush rose in her cheeks.

  “Good morning,” she offered with as much enthusiasm as she could considering her current state. She stole a glance at the cause of her flustered condition. He was watching her too closely, worry lines etched across his forehead. He thought something was wrong with her, that’s what he thought. And he was right, she’d lost her mind.

  “I’m fine,” she retorted. She tried without success to ignore the liquid heat throbbing between her thighs, not to mention the absolute ache in her breasts and the fierce pounding of her heart. If you could call that fine, she was damned fine. Just mindless, that’s all.

  He closed the distance between them with slow, cautious steps as if he feared she might make a mad dash for the door. “Look, it’s okay that you…well, about the way we woke up.” He glanced at the bed. “Nothing happened.” He swallowed, the strain evident in the movement of muscle beneath tanned skin. “So, it’s okay, Brin.”

  But it wasn’t okay. It wouldn’t ever be okay. Sabrina cried. She wasn’t exactly sure if it was her own fear and frustration or his sweet sincerity, but tears leaked past her crumbling restraint and slipped down her cheeks. Her whole life was a complete mess. She’d almost lost the ranch. Charlie wanted nothing to do with her. And here stood the only man she had ever wanted, and she couldn’t have him. The father of her child. Her baby. Oh, God. A sob tore from her throat and she quickly covered her mouth to stop the next one. She’d never in his life spent an entire night away from her baby.

  “Aw, hell, Brin. Dammit, don’t cry.”

  Court pulled her into his arms. She wanted to resist, but she couldn’t. She just couldn’t. He felt so strong. She needed someone to be strong for her right now, even if it was only for a little while.

  “Please don’t cry,” he murmured next to her ear. “I never could stand to see you cry.”

  Her arms went around his neck and she held on with all her might. “I’m sorry,” she said between sobs. “I can’t seem to stop.” She didn’t have anyone in this world to hang on to except her son, and he was just a little baby. God, how she wanted to hang on to Court now—to someone strong enough to hold up the world pressing down on her shoulders,

  He kissed her forehead. “It’s okay. Cry if you want to.” He held her tighter. “It’s okay, Brin.”

  His lips grazed her cheek and her heart stilled in her chest. He didn’t move, his mouth only centimeters from hers, his body rigid. Longing surged through her, pushing away the last of her inhibitions. She lifted her chin slightly, just enough to align their mouths. His breath was warm on her tear-dampened skin.

  “I want you to kiss me,” she murmured. She could feel his yearning almost as strongly as she felt her own. It crackled between their nearly touching mouths.

  He licked his lips and she had to close her eyes with the wave of desire that washed over her. “Please,” she whispered, anguish, fear, anticipation all clawing at her.

  “Are you sure that’s what you want?” He cradled her face in his hands and forced her gaze to meet his.

  She nodded, then she tasted his full, wide lips. She closed her eyes as he took control of the kiss. She knew better than to let this happen. She knew her heart would pay the price. Court would be leaving soon, and she would be left behind once more.

  But she could have him now, and, for once in her life, that was all that mattered.

  This moment…this man.

  His fingers moved deftly down the front of her blouse, slipping the buttons loose. He pushed the shirt off her shoulders, dragged it down her arms. His mouth closed instantly over one bare breast. He groaned with pleasure at the taste of her. She threaded her fingers into his silky hair and held him closer, urging him on.

  When he had laved that breast to his satisfaction, he moved to the other, dropping to his knees. His hands splayed over her bare skin and slid down to the waistband of her jeans. His mouth drawing long and hard on her breast, his hands opened, then slipped inside her jeans and panties, pushing them over and down her hips. Her legs trembling, she stepped out of the final barrier of clothing. She cried out when his mouth fell upon her mound. Deep inside, her feminine muscles constricted with the same need racing through her veins.

  His heart threatening to burst from his chest, Court eased Sabrina back into the armchair behind her. He lifted first one leg, then the other onto his shoulders, exposing the pleasure place he sought. Thirsty for all of her, he lowered his mouth to that sweet, sensitive flesh. Her spine arched as she threw her head back in ecstasy, her fingers gripping the wooden arms of the chair. Desire burned inside him, hot and fierce. He wanted to bury himself deep inside this heat, but first he would pleasure her until she was weak from it. He traced a path with his tongue, delving into each honeyed recess, finding that special place that made her moan and whimper his name. He teased with his teeth, then sucked and licked until
she squirmed for more. And then he gave her more. His arousal weighed so heavy with need for her that he wasn’t sure he would survive the foreplay.

  He thrust his tongue into that steamy, hot place, his hands kneading the satiny skin of her thighs. She screamed, muffling the sound behind her fist. Over and over he tortured her in this way until the spasms throbbed inside her, her release so violent it even rocked him to the core.

  He stood, his gaze still feasting on her naked beauty, and slowly unbuttoned his shirt. She lounged in the chair, too sated to do anything but watch his methodical movements. Her legs were still spread wide apart, but her feet were on the floor now. Her small, firm breasts gleamed, the nipples thick and taut. He pulled the shirt from his jeans and dropped it onto the floor. Her gaze tracked his every move, her fingers still tightly clenched around the polished wood. He unbuttoned his jeans, then lowered the zipper, the sound echoing in the room. Her eyes went wide with anticipation as he lowered his jeans and briefs, then kicked them off.

  She moistened her lips as she surveyed him from his bare feet to his disheveled hair. He eased back onto the bed, his gaze never leaving hers. She stood, moving slowly, like some ethereal vision, toward him, then she crawled onto the bed and over him. Her hair glided along his skin, making him tingle with renewed excitement. His arousal throbbed insistently, aching for release. He couldn’t hold out much longer, but she would have to do the taking. He would not. Not this time. He would only offer her the pleasure she wanted. She kissed his chest, licked one nipple. Court fisted his hands in the tangled sheets beneath him, a sting of desire rushing through him all the way to his tip. Her damp heat grazed his arousal, his hips instinctively arched. She gasped, and he growled savagely. He needed to be inside her.

  She smiled just a little, as if sensing his desperation. With one hand she reached between them and encircled him with her cool fingers. He shuddered. Watching him intently, she guided him to her entrance. Slowly, one hot, hard inch at a time, she sheathed him until her thighs flattened against his hips. Court shook with the mind-blowing sensations that washed over him as she sealed their bodies.

  She was incredibly tight and so hot it took all his powers of concentration not to come right then. She made a sound, not quite cry, not quite moan as she began to rock back and forth, squeezing him to the point of pain. He watched as she moved, hesitantly at first, then more confidently, faster. Her long silky hair hung around her shoulders, concealing the breasts he wanted to see. He reached for her, took one taut mound in each hand. She arched instinctively toward his touch, her nipples stone hard against his palms.

  She rocked faster, harder, her eyes closed in fierce concentration. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was so beautiful. He kneaded those perfect little breasts, aching to draw one into his mouth, but she felt so good astride his hips he couldn’t bear the thought of her stopping or even slowing down to fulfill that need. She gasped with the first wave of climax, her slick, hot walls tightened around him, squeezed, released, squeezed.

  No more!

  Court pulled her down against him. He kissed her hard and deep, then rolled her onto her back and thrust deeply inside her. She moaned into his mouth. He sucked her tongue inside him, then pounded out the desire burgeoning in his loins. One more to-the-hilt thrust and he poured into her. His fingers tangled in her hair, pulling her mouth more firmly against his. He flexed his hips again, sealing their bodies as one until the last remnants of pleasure faded.

  He drew back far enough to look into her eyes…to see if she felt it, too.

  Completion…not only the physical kind, but something beyond that…way beyond that. She smiled and gently caressed his jaw. This was why he could never, ever put Sabrina fully out of his mind. She was the other half of him.

  SABRINA SAT IN THE MIDDLE of Mrs. Cartwright’s living room floor and played with her son. Her heart thumped hard each time she looked into her baby’s eyes. He looked so much like his daddy. Her heart fluttered at the thought of Court. Her face flushed even now at the memory of his bold, intimate loving of her body.

  “What are you going to do, Sabrina? Do you think it’s right to keep the truth from Court?”

  She lifted her gaze to meet her elderly friend’s. This was the first time she had ever told anyone other than the doctor who Ryan’s father was. But she’d had to explain her actions somehow. Sabrina never stayed out all night, but she had warned Mrs. Cartwright that she might have to in order to find Charlie. For that matter, she never even dated. Mrs. Cartwright suspected something wasn’t right, and there was nothing to do but tell her the truth.

  Sabrina pressed a kiss to her sweet baby’s head. “I honestly don’t know. I’ve kept this to myself so long, it scares me to even say it out loud.” She smiled down at her gurgling little boy. He was teething, and therefore, chewing on everything in sight. “What if I tell him and it’s a mistake? The fact I’m still in love with him doesn’t mean anything. I don’t know that he ever really loved me.”

  Mrs. Cartwright frowned, considering, as she rocked back and forth in her ancient rocker. “But he’s a good man?”

  A smiled lifted the corners of Sabrina’s mouth. “A very good man. I was a little worried there for a while when I couldn’t figure out what the deal was between him and Neely, but I know now.”

  “He doesn’t want to stay here?”

  Sabrina sighed. “No. Court hates it here. Life was tough for him growing up. His father was a heavy drinker, and that took its toll, financially and otherwise, on all of them. Court couldn’t wait to get away. I think he was born restless. I can’t ever remember a time when he wasn’t talking about leaving.”

  For a moment Mrs. Cartwright remained silent. “And you don’t want to leave?”

  “This is my home. How can I just up and leave? I have Charlie to consider. My father worked hard to keep the Double K going, just like his father before him. How can I be the one to let it go?”

  “But you said you loved Court,” Mrs. Cartwright countered.

  She closed her eyes and tried to sort her tangled emotions. “I do love him,” she admitted. She opened her eyes and rested her gaze on her dear friend. “I’ve always loved him, I just don’t know if I can hold on to him.”

  The older woman shook her head slowly from side to side, her eyes taking on a faraway look. “You can’t hold him, child, unless he wants to be held. Nothing, not you nor Ryan, will keep him here for long if he doesn’t want to stay.”

  “I know.” Sabrina pressed her lips back to her baby’s soft hair. “I know.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  Feeling helpless, Sabrina lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “That I don’t know.” Her thoughts turned back to her brother. “I’ll probably bring Ryan to you tonight and try to contact Court if I haven’t heard from him about Charlie.”

  “You’re not going back to the compound?”

  Sabrina massaged the ache in her forehead. “It’s the only thing I know to do. Charlie’s my responsibility. I won’t go inside. I can ask for Court at the gate.” She dredged up a smile for the older woman. “I’ll wait until Ryan is asleep and bring him over. You just keep my baby safe for me.”

  Sabrina considered Mrs. Cartwright’s words as she drove Ryan home. She was right. Trying to hold on to Court would never work, Sabrina had known that years ago when he left the first time. She certainly wouldn’t use Ryan to try to trap him now. If Court loved her, and wanted to stay, he would simply have to be the one to make that decision. In the meantime, she would keep her closely guarded secret. When, and if, he ever told her that he loved her, then she would tell him. And pray that he wouldn’t grow to hate her for keeping his son from him for the past two years.

  Then Sabrina thought of the look in Mrs. Cartwright’s eyes when she spoke of not being able to hold someone. Could she have been thinking of some lost love in her past? Or now? That notion gave Sabrina pause. Mrs. Cartwright had been alone for nearly ten years now…and she was past sevent
y years old. But who knew? Sabrina shrugged. Maybe her friend had a secret, too.

  A frown lined her brow as Sabrina started down her long drive. An unfamiliar vehicle was parked near her house. Anxiety tightened her chest. It wasn’t Court. She glanced at Ryan, who was asleep in his car seat. She would just leave him in the truck until she determined who her company was. With the windows down this early in the morning, he would be fine for a few minutes. The temperature was still pretty cool.

  Sabrina climbed out of her truck and closed the door quietly so as not to wake her baby. The man on her porch turned to face her just as she started toward the steps.

  Thad Ferguson.

  What could he want? “Morning,” she offered in the strongest voice she could marshal. Fear niggled at her, but she ignored it.

  He glanced at the sky, then settled that leering gaze back on her. “Yeah, it’s morning, all right.”

  She swallowed, uncertain what he meant by that remark. “If you’re looking for Charlie he’s not here.” She prayed nothing had happened to her brother.

  He shrugged. “I’m not looking for Charlie.” He glanced at her truck. Sabrina’s heart surged into her throat. “I just thought I’d see how you were feeling this morning.”

  “I’m fine.” Her voice sounded empty, hollow. That little niggling of fear mushroomed and froze her to the spot at the bottom of her porch steps. “Why would you be concerned?”

  He took one step down. “Well, I saw you come out of Court’s quarters real early this morning and I just wondered if you’d gotten any sleep last night.”

  “Court and I are old friends.” Her heart pounded so hard in her chest she felt certain Ferguson could hear it.

  He grinned, a sleazy, hate-filled expression. “I’m sure you are. I wouldn’t mind having you for a friend myself.”