Fingers sliding into her hair to clasp her head in both hands, he stamped his mouth over hers, cutting off the rest of her suggestion. Her eyes flared wide and she grabbed his wrists, pulling on them, but he held fast and took advantage of the fact that her mouth was open mid-rant. It was enough to slide his tongue in, and…there, yes, right there. God, she tasted so good. He wasn’t letting her go this time without a fight.
He kissed her until the rigidity left her spine and she slumped against his chest. Kissed her until her eyes slid closed and her mouth went soft and hot in response. Then he backed her against the nearest vertical surface and kissed her some more.
Eventually he pulled his mouth free and kissed her cheekbone, her cheek, her chin, her throat. “I’m sorry,” he said, and his voice felt rusty as old pipe. He cleared his throat but still sounded hoarse when he said, “God, Red, I’m sorry—I screwed up. It’s just that I felt so responsible for getting you into that mess and I was scared—no, Christ, I was terrified—that Chains would hurt you. And it would have been all my fault.”
She slugged him in the chest. “We’ve had this conversation. You aren’t responsible for the world!”
He wrapped his fist around hers. “Yeah, I know that…here.” He brought her entrapped hand up and tapped it against his temple. Then he brought it down and unfurled her fingers, pressing them to his chest. “But here, I’m still working it out, ya know? I get tunnel vision sometimes and forget to look at the big picture. Then just when I think I’ve learned all these important new lessons, they get all scrambled up, and I revert to my old ways.” He tucked her against his chest and ground his chin against the top of her head.
She fiddled with his faded T-shirt where it tucked into his waistband. “You weren’t just sulking because you didn’t get to do all the rescuing?”
“No!”
“I know how you like to be in charge of every last detail.”
“I was proud of you. Hell”—the noise from his throat was half snort, half laugh—“I was even proud of your sister. Y’all not only got the best of a man who had three guns; you talked him into turning state’s evidence while you were at it.”
“You didn’t act proud,” she disagreed. “You acted as if I didn’t exist. Bobby was kissing and carrying on with Kaylee and what’d you do? Gave me a quick once-over and then set me aside so you could go play cops. I wish you’d just join the darn force for real.”
“Hey,” he said, stung, “you didn’t exactly throw yourself into my arms, either.”
“Yes, well, that was because…” She bit off whatever she’d intended to say, and he felt a sudden tension in her posture. He leaned back to peer into her face.
“It was because what?”
“Nothing, never mind. You know what?” She thrust her chin up at him. “Maybe your reasons are just so much baloney. Maybe the truth is, you had my sister and your stupid bounty and didn’t need me anymore. You sure as hell dumped me fast enough.”
Even though part of him recognized it as a diversionary tactic, it nevertheless worked. Brilliantly. “Bullshit!” he roared, letting her go. “You know that’s bullshit! Maybe I’m not good at spilling my guts in front of a crowd like your sister’s precious Bobby, but I was going to talk to you on the plane. Then our seating assignment got all screwed up and I didn’t get a chance, and I guess I, uh…lost my nerve, okay? Chickened out. I blamed me for the whole lousy situation and figured you did, too, and I backed away from putting my feelings on the line.”
Catherine stared up into his golden brown eyes, watched as he plowed his big hand through his hair in frustration. She took a deep, calming breath. Then, easing it out, she summoned all her nerve.
Instead of demanding to know exactly what those feelings were, she took the biggest risk of her life and gave him hers instead. “I love you, Sam.”
“What?” He went very still, his hand arrested mid-sweep in his dark hair, elbow pointed to the ceiling.
“I love you. That’s why I didn’t throw myself in your arms back at the motel room. I’d just sorta admitted to myself how I felt, and then suddenly you were there—but you were all businesslike and aloof, and I didn’t think you’d want to hear it.”
Slowly, his arm lowered. “Oh, yeah—I’d want to hear it. I’d definitely want to hear it.” He swallowed, and his Adam’s apple slid up and down the length of his throat. “I kept telling myself it’s not possible to fall in love in a week. But I want to rush you in front of a preacher, change the laws to outlaw divorce, and bind you to me with as many legal ties as I can find or invent. Jesus, Red, I’ve been so miserable. I thought you were gonna leave and go back to your life and forget all about me, and it paralyzed me. You could have anyone you want—what the hell would you want with me?” He bent his knees to bring his face to her level. With gentle fingertips he slid her hair behind her shoulders, then ran his hands lightly up and down the bare length of her arms. “But I love you, Red. God, I love you so much.” He picked up her hand and gave her a crooked grin. “So whataya say: you wanna get married?”
“Well, I don’t know.” She looked up at him through a screen of lashes. “I just learned you’re a smoker. I really don’t like smoking.” He could have a three-pack-a-day habit and she’d still jump at the chance to make him hers, but she didn’t have to tell him so. “I could have anyone I want, remember,” she murmured modestly. “You told me so.”
A corner of his mouth kicked up and he eased his pelvis against hers, giving her a subtle rub while his hands continued their feather-light seduction up and down her arms. “Who says I’m a smoker? That’s a damn lie. I’ve reformed.”
“I saw the evidence myself. You came in here with a cigarette sticking out of your mouth.” She gave a delicate shudder. “Disgusting habit.”
“Didn’t see it lit, didja?”
“Well…no.”
“There you go, then. You and me, we’re gettin’ married. There’s no good reason not to.”
She tilted her nose in the air. “Maybe I’m not ready for that kind of commitment.”
“Don’t make me get tough, Red.”
She pursed her lips and blew out a little pfft of disdain.
“Okay, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Sam narrowed his eyes at her. “I know where the really big spiders live. And I can find one—just…like…that.” He snapped his fingers in her face.
She blinked. “You’d use my deepest fear against me to get your own way?”
Giving her an insolent grin, he ran his tongue along the edges of his upper teeth and wagged his black brows at her.
“My God. That’s reprehensible. You are such a low-down, despicable snake.” Leaning back, her face was a study in mock horror as she stared up at him. Then a slow, wicked smile began to unfurl across her lips.
“I really like that in a man.”
Epilogue
“WHOA NELLIE, I thought I was gonna have a heart attack trying to make it here on time.” Kaylee arrived breathless at the church dressing room. “Our plane was late, and then the baggage got held up. Did we hold up the show?”
“No, there’s still time to dress.” Catherine gave her sister a hug. “It’s good to see you.”
“I know. I wish we were gonna have more time to visit, but it’s been a crazy week. I’ll tell you about it when we get a minute.”
“Let me introduce you to my bridesmaids.” Catherine did so, then stood back, awaiting the expected reaction.
Kaylee didn’t disappoint her. “Dammit, Cat!” Her hands fisted on her shapely hips as she glared at the pale green gowns worn by Catherine’s two other attendants. “When you said ‘trust me to pick out the perfect matron of honor’s dress,’ I took the big gulp and let you…even though all my instincts screamed I was makin’ a big mistake.” The bridesmaids, stifling smiles, murmured excuses and drifted out of the room, and Kaylee turned back to her sister. “I should have known your wedding would be pitifully anemic.”
“I prefer to call it elegant,
” Catherine replied calmly, and gave her twin a wry smile. “Although I do admit it must seem sorta tame compared to the Hunka-Hunka-Burning-Love Chapel. And of course our officiant is just a regular old minister, not the snazzy Elvis impersonator you had.”
Kaylee grinned, her eyes dreamy with reminiscence. “Wasn’t that just the greatest?”
“Umm,” Catherine replied noncommittally. Then she returned her sister’s grin. “Anyhow, Kaylee, you oughtta have a little faith in me. You think I don’t know your taste by now?”
“Not if those simpy dresses that just walked out the door are anything to go by.” Kaylee reconsidered as she eyed her sister’s wedding gown. “Although I gotta admit, you look really fine. Your dress could be the teeniest bit tighter and it could stand more beads, for sure, to add a little flash. But all in all, Caty-girl, you did all right. It shows you off.”
“I know. Isn’t it great?” Catherine stopped to admire herself in the full-length mirror. Complementing her hourglass figure, the gown was form-fitting without being skintight, a long, slim tube of creamy white. It was cut low between her breasts for a strapless appearance beneath the beaded illusion that stretched from her shoulders to her waist, where it nipped in before skimming the flare of her hips and draping softly to the floor.
She felt beautiful in it.
She met Kaylee’s gaze in the mirror and cocked an eyebrow. “Okay, so you ready for yours? Close your eyes.”
“That ugly, huh?” But Kaylee obediently did as she was told.
Catherine unzipped the garment bag hanging from a hook on the door and removed her sister’s dress. Holding it up against herself, she said, “You can look now.”
Kaylee’s eyes opened. “Oh!” Her breath caught in her throat. “Oh, my God. OHMYGOD!” She started ripping her street clothes off, dropping them where she stood. “It’s beautiful. Sis, it’s so beautiful!”
“Didn’t I say you could trust me?” She carefully lifted the emerald green gown away and extended it to her twin. “I told the seamstress to think Jessica Rabbit, but she hasn’t been in the country long and didn’t get it. So I just had her add a lot of extra beads. And I told her to fit it to me ’til I couldn’t sit down.”
“Perfect,” Kaylee breathed.
“Yeah.” She grinned as she watched her twin hug the gown to her breasts. “I thought you’d like it. Put it on. It’s almost time to rock ‘n’ roll, and I want to see how you look.”
Down at the altar several minutes later, Sam hooked a finger under his bow tie and tugged. “Christ,” he said. “Isn’t this shindig ever gonna get on the road?”
The minister had led him and the groomsmen out a minute ago, then just left them there to sweat it out in front of a sea of strangers.
Gary looked up at him. “Getting a little jittery, son?”
“Big-time.”
Bobby, who was still adjusting his cummerbund, said out of the side of his mouth, “Breathe deep. You’ll be okay once you see her.”
“Man, from the looks of things,” Gary observed, looking out over the church, “I’d say you spent a pretty penny on this affair.”
“Yeah, I guess it’s just as well you refused to take any of the bounty money. I had no idea you could finance a small country for the same amount of money you put into a wedding and reception. If I’d known, I might’ve stripped Jimmy Chains of his jewelry before we turned him over to the feds.”
“Speaking of which, he ‘n’ Sanchez have been all over the news back home lately,” Gary said. “Y’all gettin’ the coverage up here?”
“Nah. Seattle could care what’s happening in Miami.” Sam tugged at his tie again and kept his gaze glued to the door at the end of the aisle.
“Kaylee’s not gonna have to testify after all,” Bobby contributed. “We’ve been talking to the DA all week and just found out for sure yesterday. Sanchez’s attorney accepted a plea bargain. It’s a huge load off, I gotta tell ya.”
The organ started up, but the door remained closed. Sam’s gut churned.
“They gave him twenty to twenty-five years,” Gary said. “Chains made a better deal. He got like fifteen to twenty.”
The doors opened, and Sam quit attending to the conversation. His gaze went past the two bridesmaids in pale green, past Kaylee in flamboyant emerald, straight to Catherine. Her upswept hair blazed beneath the subdued overhead lighting, and she was a vision in white, pale and serene. Catching her eye, he watched as she broke into a radiant smile.
It took his breath away, and his nervousness disappeared, replaced by a fierce pride. She was smart, she was beautiful, and she was his.
“Oh, darlin’,” he murmured under the swell of organ music, feeling a smile tickle the corners of his lips. “Come to Papa.”
The reception was in full swing when Gary wheeled up to the groom. “How ’bout a dance with the bride?” he demanded. Sam had been a mite possessive of Catherine since the moment she’d walked down the aisle, and even now made a growling noise of dissent. “Ain’t askin’ to kiss her, Sambo, just want one dance.”
Catherine laughed, gave Sam’s cheek a pat, and hiked up her skirt to climb on Gary’s lap. Giving his friend a maniacal grin, he tilted the chair back on its wheels and spun them around, then wheeled hell-for-leather to the edge of the dance floor. Once there, he slowly cruised its perimeter.
“I’ve never seen Sam so happy,” he said. He looked up at Catherine’s radiant face, and she gave him such a sweet, satisfied smile that he laughed. “You look pretty damn happy yourself.”
“I am,” she agreed. “And I’m happy to make him happy. But it’s not only because of me, Gary. It’s going to the Academy, too.” Much to her satisfaction, Sam had applied to the Police Academy right after following her out to Seattle.
“Yeah, that was one decision that was long overdue. I’m glad he finally saw the light.”
Catherine touched his forearm, which bunched and flexed muscularly beneath her fingertips as he propelled them in slow, lazy loops. “He misses you, y’know.”
“Get him a dog. He just needs something to take care of.” Gary gave her a rakish grin. “Or better yet, make him a kid.” He watched her carefully as he said, “On the other hand, it’s nice out here. I just might have to move once I finish up school. There’s Sam and you. And there’s Microsoft. I sure wouldn’t mind workin’ there.”
Catherine hooked her arm around his neck and smiled. “We’d really like that.”
“Give me back my wife, Proscelli.”
They both looked up at Sam with identical smiles on their faces, and Gary tipped an imaginary hat. “Your smallest wish is her command.”
“I live for that day.” Sam assisted Catherine off of Gary’s lap, then quirked an eyebrow at his friend. “There’s a good-lookin’ woman over by the buffet. If you hurry, you might be in time to hit on her.” He watched Gary spin the chair around and wheel off. “With luck, she’ll keep you too busy to hit on my wife,” he added under his breath.
Red slipped her arm around his waist and hugged him to her. “You aren’t going to be one of those dreary jealous husbands, are you?”
He pulled her into his arms and swayed in place to the beat of the music. “Maybe just today. And during the honeymoon. Then I’ll settle down.”
“Good. Because I love you and only you, you know.”
He looked down into her bright eyes and brought a hand up to gently trace his fingers over the flushed curve of her cheek. “I do know. And I’m crazy in love with you, Red. So, I’ll tell you what.” He saluted Kaylee and Bobby as they danced past, then turned his attention back to his bride. “After the honeymoon, men can look all they want. ’Course, if any of them tries to touch you”—he ran possessive hands down the sweet curve of her butt and wiggled his hips, sucking in a breath when she followed his movement perfectly—“Honey, I just may have to get ugly.”
About the Author
It's rumored that Susan Andersen was born with a book in her hand and can get a tad bit cr
anky when someone gets between her and her reading material. She loves sexy, fast-paced books filled with characters who have their flaws and insecurities but nevertheless talk to one another. Susan is the proud mother of a grown son and lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and kitty boys.
She can be found online at www.susanandersen.com and would love it if you'd join her at www.facebook.com/SusanAndersenFanPage.
Avon Books by
Susan Andersen
GETTING LUCKY
SHADOW DANCE
HEAD OVER HEELS
ALL SHOOK UP
BABY, DON’T GO
BE MY BABY
BABY, I’M YOURS
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
BABY, I’M YOURS. Copyright © 2006 by Susan Andersen. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Epub edition December 2006 ISBN 9780061762567
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About the Publisher
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