Heartsong (Singing to the Heart Book 2)

by Sara Walter Ellwood

  She’d known it was coming, but the intensity of the kiss took her breath away. Wrapping her arms around him, she held on, kissing him back with the same urgency, and hated that none of her actions were part of the charade. She’d missed him and wanted him.

  When he pulled away, his amber-brown eyes glowed hot in the bright florescent light of the airport. “Damn, I’ve missed you.”

  Cameras flashed around them and she had an insane thought. She leaned in and whispered into his ear, “Please put me down. As short as this dress is, my butt is probably sticking out.”

  He let her slide down against him and grinned. “I definitely don’t want that cute ass of yours in the news. No one better see it but me.”

  Excitement shivered through her at his implication. But she pushed the desire and trepidation of having sex with her husband away as the two ranch hands, who’d come with her, moved in to take his bags. Gabe shook their hands, then wrapped his arm around her waist to steer her out of the airport.

  Once they were in the back of the same deep-blue BMW that had driven them to the airport after their wedding, Micki took a deep breath and tried to relax, but all she got was a nose full of Gabe’s delicious, spicy scent. How could she still want him after everything that had happened?

  He watched her for a few moments, then furrowed his brow. “How’ve you been holding up?”

  She met his concerned gaze and shrugged. “Okay. I guess. Any word about Lydia?”

  With a shake of his head, he glanced out the side window. “No. The PI hasn’t been able to find her.”

  “Do you think the idea of giving up the baby scared her?” She’d asked him this question last week, but he hadn’t answered her.

  He looked back at her. “I’m beginning to wonder if she ran after we did the paternity test because she knew how it would turn out. I’ve been thinking hard about the coincidence of it all. The lab lost the samples and she disappeared. Then the TMZ report came out all at the same time. It’s too calculated not to have been planned.”

  She gasped at the idea. “But by who?”

  He snorted and shook his head. “Who has the most to gain by all of this?”

  “You think Lemont is behind it?” Her father was a heartless bastard and had a long reach, but what Gabe suggested seemed too farfetched even for Lemont.

  With a shrug, he ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. But I don’t believe for a moment that baby is mine. Because I can’t prove it and can’t find the woman feeding the reporters with stories that make me sound like a kidnapper, I’m beginning to wonder if he didn’t put her up to this sham.”

  * * * *

  Gabe didn’t expect Micki to invite him into her bed, but that night as they stood in the hallway and said “Goodnight,” he felt a pang of regret when she didn’t ask him to stay in her room. Sleep didn’t come easily. He stayed up trying to figure out what he could do to change Michaela’s mind about wanting a divorce.

  By the time the cold, gray, and rainy morning of Thanksgiving dawned, he’d decided he had to lay everything out on the line. If he wanted her, he had to let her in on his secrets; then maybe she could face hers.

  He made his bed, putting the room back as he’d found it. Flo wasn’t in on their deception and he wanted to keep it that way. Not that he didn’t trust her, but the fewer people who knew the truth about why he and Michaela married the better. After using the bathroom down the hall, he headed to the master bedroom. Sounds of an occasional clang from the kitchen drifted up the stairs. Flo must be preparing the turkey and fixing breakfast. Delicious spicy aromas filled the air with the promise of pumpkin pie and cranberry muffins. His stomach growled.

  Before his hunger derailed him, he knocked on Micki’s door, then opened it to slip into the room. From the bathroom, the shower turned on and her less-than-perfect singing voice greeted him. A smile tugged at his lips and his heart warmed when he recognized the song. He couldn’t help but sing along. “Heaven Tonight” was his second hit song, and he’d written it when they’d started dating as teenagers.

  With a grimace as she sang the chorus completely off key, he headed to the bathroom. He stripped off his pajama pants and entered the steamy room. Behind the frosted glass of the shower door, Michaela’s provocative, silhouetted movements as she washed her body sent a jolt through him, causing his semi-hard cock to stiffen to full attention.

  He took a deep, moist breath filled with the sweet fragrance of summer jasmine, then opened the sliding door of the shower, singing the words of the song that she now hummed.

  She whirled around at his intrusion, her mouth open and her eyes wide. Foamy bubbles dappled her skin in enticing areas, making him want her even more.

  “Gabe!” She let out a breath. “Damn you. You scared me to death.”

  He suspected she was more embarrassed that he’d caught her singing his love song in the shower than scared. With a snort, he reached over to turn the heat down a bit. She loved the water temperature set at scalding. Wrapping his other arm around her slick body, he chuckled and pulled her to him. “Were you expecting someone else?”

  She pushed at his chest without force. “No. But I wasn’t expecting you. What are you doing?”

  He nuzzled her neck and sucked on her wet earlobe. She rewarded him with a shudder despite the heat of the water raining down on them. In her ear, he whispered, “Water conservation.”

  Before she had a chance to retort, he brought his mouth to hers and kissed her. She fisted her hands where they lay on his chest and opened her mouth under his. As she snaked her arms around his neck, she moaned. She held him to her as their tongues plunged, tasted, and danced. He pressed her back against the sandy-colored tile of the shower wall and moved his hand down her side to the hot, moist folds of her sex. With a groan, she slid her leg up and along his outer thigh to hook it on his hip in blatant invitation. As she sucked on his tongue, he palmed her and teased her clitoris.

  She broke the kiss and panted. Lolling her head back, she closed her eyes. “Oh, Gabe. I’ve missed you.”

  His heart skipped a beat at her beauty. He wanted to be inside her. Now.

  Moving his hands under her firm little butt, he lifted her against the wall. She wrapped her legs around his hips as he thrust into her. When she cried out, he paused to allow her to get accustomed to him.

  “God, you’re so tight and hot,” he rasped into her neck. “I want you so bad I can’t think straight.”

  She answered with a loud moan that may have been his name, then held on to his shoulders and used the slickness of the wall and their bodies to move with him. He hit deeper and deeper with each thrust until he couldn’t hold back much longer. “Michaela, baby, come for me.”

  “Yes… Gabe…” She clenched around him as her orgasm quaked through her.

  “Michaela…” He tensed his body as he thrust into her one last time, the burn of white-hot pleasure turning him inside out as he emptied into her. “I love you.”

  He held her for several moments as their breathing returned to normal. As he let her legs slide down to the floor, he kissed her tenderly.

  She grinned up at him. “Water conservation, huh?”

  With a smile he knew was cocky, he shrugged, then picked up the bar of soap and relished the way her eyes darkened with desire as he lathered it over his body. She shook her head as if to clear it and faced away from him to wet her hair. He squirted a small amount of her shampoo into his hand, caught up her damp hair, and worked the soap into the silky strands.

  “Emm…” She leaned back against him as he caressed her sculp. “I love when you wash my hair.”

  He leaned over her shoulder to kiss her neck. “I love washing your hair.” He turned her around. As the water sprayed over her, rinsing out the suds, he tilted her face with his thumbs under her chin to force her to look at him. When she met his gaze, he said, “I want to wash you for as long as we live, Michaela.”

  “No, you don
’t. Once we’ve adopted Jesse, you’ll want out of this marriage.” She shook her head and tried to back out of his grasp, but he held her.

  “When will you stop running from your feelings? I know you love me. When will you let yourself believe that I love you? Yes, I made a horrible mistake when I left with Andrea. I didn’t know your ultimatum was out of fear, not out of lack of love for me or your disbelief in my dreams. I know your father hurt you by leaving, and his lack of love is what you’re afraid of. I’m not Lemont. I may have left you once, but I was so wrong.” She closed her eyes, and he rubbed his thumb over her cheek. “Michaela, I’m sorry I didn’t come back. But I’m here now, and I will never leave you again. Even if this mess I’ve found myself in ends up costing us Jesse--”

  “Don’t say that.” She opened her eyes and gripped his forearms. “We will get him, Gabe. We have to.”

  He took a deep breath of the steamy air scented with Jasmine. “Then we will.” He made sure the soap was out of her hair and kissed her gently on the lips. “C’mon, let’s get out of here before we use all the hot water and turn into prunes.”

  * * * *

  Micki wrapped a fluffy towel around herself. She couldn’t look at Gabe, as doing so would only complicate her sudden desire to never let him go. Could she believe him? Did he truly love her?

  A sudden sensation of hunger made her nauseous. She put her hand over her belly and flinched. “I hope I didn’t give you this virus I have.”

  He stopped rubbing a towel over his hair and looked at her. “What virus?”

  She turned toward the sink and squirted some leave-in conditioner into her hand. As she worked it into the ends of her hair, she shrugged and met his gaze through his reflection in the mirror. “A stomach bug. Nothing to worry about. I think the stress I’ve been under hasn’t helped either.”

  How could she feel so comfortable with him? Although they’d been married for nearly a month, they hadn’t acted much like a married couple. But this morning felt so normal, like they’d always been together. Was he right? Was she sabotaging their love by comparing Gabe with her father? Gabe was nothing like Lemont; so, why did she expect him to do the same things?

  “I’m sorry about all this. I never should have been with her.” He came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and buried his face into her neck. “But I was at a low point in my life when I met Lydia. I was missing you so bad and needed to forget.” He turned her around and held her face as he searched her gaze with eyes so fierce her heart raced. “I’ve never stopped loving you, Michaela. I met Lydia on what should have been our wedding anniversary. I know that sounds perverse, but… God, I’m sorry.”

  The thought that he’d hook up with someone else on a day she usually spent riding the range alone hurt, but how could she truly judge him? Hadn’t the few times she’d had sex since their breakup happened during that same week of July when they should have been celebrating their wedding anniversary? She feathered her fingers into his wet hair. “I forgive you. To be honest. I’ve done the same thing once or twice.”

  His eyes narrowed and she felt his body go stiff.

  So, he’s jealous. Good. She didn’t elaborate about her past flings and was glad he didn’t ask her to. “But we do need to figure out what to do about this mess. The adoption hearing is right after Christmas.”

  “I think as long as we stay together and show the world we are united we should be okay. I’m not the first celebrity to be accused of fathering a child.” He found his razor in the top drawer of his side of the double-bowl vanity. As he lathered his face with shaving cream, he rinsed the blade in the sink and started to shave. “Next week I’m heading to Vegas for the show I have scheduled to do there during the NFR. I’d like you to be by my side as we’d planned.”

  She was having a hard time concentrating on anything but how damned sexy he was standing at the sink shaving with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. To distract herself from watching him, she stood at her side of the vanity and applied her moisturizer. “I planned to be there. I’m having lunch with some of my barrel racing friends.” She glanced at him again. His muscles and sinews moved under his broad shoulder as he stroked the razor over the dark growth on his jaw. She wanted him.

  Now and forever.

  “Gabe, I do love you. I’ve always loved you.” She set the lotion bottle on the counter and took a step toward him. “You were right about me being afraid of your leaving to chase your dreams all those years ago.”

  He wiped his face and turned toward her.

  “I’ve always believed in you. You are so talented. It’s not that I didn’t want you to sing. I didn’t want you to go to Nashville because I truly believed you would decide you didn’t want me.” Her sinuses burned. She sniffed and wiped at the offending moisture in her eyes. “So, I pushed you away. I still am afraid you’ll get tired of me.”

  She leaned against the countertop and took a deep breath. Was she ready to truly commit to him? He could still leave, which scared her, and her stomach turned over at the emptiness the thought caused her. She laid her hand over her belly and met his gaze again.

  “I will never tire of you.” He brushed his warm fingers over her face. “You don’t have to be afraid.”

  “It’s hard not to be. But it’s also too hard to fight my feelings. I want a life with you. I may not like some aspects of your fame, but I know how important it is to you.”

  “Michaela.” He cupped her face between his big hands and stared so intently into her eyes, she got the impression he was trying to show her his soul. “I’d give it all up if you asked me to.”

  His declaration sent a jolt straight to her heart. Could she believe him? “Gabe. I’d never ask you to do that. I know how much you love singing and performing.”

  “I do. But I’m not twenty-four any more with something to prove with nothing but the clothes on my back.” His voice rumbled through her and sent a chill up her spine. “I’ve proven myself, and I have more money than I’ll ever spend. But it cost me the most important thing in my life, and I will never choose it over you again.”

  He swung her up into his arms and kissed her with a blazing passion that set her on fire. She wrapped her arms around him as he carried her out to the bed where he laid her down and made the sweetest love to her.

  Two hours later, they entered the kitchen with Gabe holding her from behind. He’d found her ticklish spots and teased her relentlessly.

  “Gabe!” she squealed between peals of giggles as she struggled to escape him. “Stop!”

  He stilled in tickling her and held her close from behind. In her ear, he whispered, “I love to hear you laugh. You’re so beautiful, I can’t believe you’re all mine. I’ll love you forever.”

  She turned her face to look over her shoulder at him. “Be patient with me. That’s all I can ask. I love you, too.”

  He kissed her hard on the lips, but the soft chuckles coming from the doorway of the laundry room had them stepping apart. Flo wiped her hands on a dishtowel and watched them with humor glinting in her dark eyes. “Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. McKenna. I’ll get you your breakfasts.”

  Micki cleared her throat and adjusted her blouse that Gabe’s tickling had set askew. “Thank you, Flo.”

  “We were wondering if you two were planning on spending the whole day in bed.” At the kitchen table, Momma leaned away from the newspaper she was reading. Her face brightened with a wide grin. “It’s good to see you both finally came to your senses.”

  Chapter 18

  A week later, Micki stood in the wings of the stage at the MGM in Las Vegas watching her husband do what he loved to do. He’d told her earlier that the Garden Arena had sold out at nearly 17,000 people. She’d agreed to go out onto the stage with him for his last song, since most of the people in the audience were in Sin City for the NFR and she had been a rodeo champion. No one had beaten her times since she and Beau set the record two years ago; she was somethin
g of a legend, though she hated the idea. Now, the reality of going out on stage with him before all those people made her queasy stomach churn.

  Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on settling the twisting snakes in her belly. She started doubting she had a stomach virus two days after Thanksgiving when she realized she’d missed her period. She was two weeks overdue, which for someone who could have set her watch to her monthly cycle only meant one thing. Damn, why had she thought about that now? Closing her eyes she focused on Gabe’s voice. First, she had to get through this; then she’d worry about a possible pregnancy. She could do this.

  Gabe finished his crowd pleasing, bad-boy song, “One Night Rodeo.” As the crowd cheered, a stagehand approached her. “Mrs. McKenna. It’s time.”

  “Thanks.” She pasted on a smile, stepped out from the shadows, and waved at the crowd. Her focus settled on Gabe’s smiling face, and she made it across the stage without mishap; then he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

  He moved his wireless microphone away from his mouth and whispered close to her ear, “You okay?”

  She nodded and glanced at the crowd but couldn’t see much except for the bright lights. As she fought the urge to squint, she fixed her smile firmly on her face, measured her breathing, and calmed her skittish nerves. How could Gabe be so comfortable out here? Hell, why on earth did he want to do this?

  Micki wasn’t sure she’d ever understand his need to sing in front of people, but she accepted singing gave him the same thrill barrel racing had her for so many years. She missed riding and probably always would. Gabe had mentioned that she could go back to the rodeo, but she hadn’t made any decisions. She still managed the ranch, and her mother still needed her despite Flo’s excellent care. Besides, once they adopted Jesse and if she were pregnant, she’d have a lot to keep her busy.