“I need you,” she whispered in his ear.
“I know.” He strode faster.
“Hurry.”
Like he needed telling.
Just in time, he turned and made it into the bedroom, laid her on the bed, jerked his shirt off and dropped it to the floor. With fumbling hands, he went to work on his belt and zipper. He watched her the whole time, thrilled with the coiled tension in her flushed body and the way her hips writhed as she waited for him.
When she touched herself, running one hand over both her breasts and the other down to the triangle between her legs, he nearly lost it.
“Are you trying to make me lose my mind?” he demanded gruffly.
A knowing woman’s smile curled her lips. “I told you to hurry.”
The jangle of tags distracted him. He looked around in time to see Frank trot into the room and leap onto the bed.
Miranda laughed, but James was out of patience. He’d waited too long for this moment. Now was not the time for that dog.
“Frank.” He snapped his fingers and pointed to the door. “Out.”
Frank, who was midway through his routine of turning in circles and finding just the right spot, shot him a questioning, ears-cocked look and whined.
“Frank. Out!”
Frank shared his displeasure by barking as he hopped down and slunk to the threshold. He stretched out in the hallway, with his snout on his paws and a perfect view of the proceedings on the bed.
Miranda laughed again. “I’m not sure you should kick him out. I don’t want him to hate me.”
“Screw the dog.” James, who had by now shed the rest of his clothes, crawled onto the bed and stretched out over Miranda, grabbing her hips to pull her into position beneath him. The sliding friction between their bare bodies sent shock waves through him, making him shudder. “God.”
“I know,” she said, angling her hips.
He reached for the nightstand drawer, his movements frantic and jerky. “I’m not sure I can take this.”
“Try.”
He found a foil packet and was about to rip it open with his teeth when he paused, staring down at her so he could savor this moment. She stared up at him with glowing eyes, waiting.
He opened his mouth. Tried to speak. Faltered, shutting his mouth again.
“What?” She nearly undid him, physically and emotionally, when she stroked his jaw with her soft hands. “You can tell me.”
“Thank you.” He cleared his throat and wished his nostrils would stop flaring. With his luck, his nose was seconds away from running, and wouldn’t that be sexy right now? “For not giving up on me.”
“What happened out there? When you were chopping wood?”
How could he explain the delirious elation he felt now, or his determination to be worthy of this woman who’d given him so many more chances than he deserved?
He shrugged helplessly. “I thought about what you said about my cage door being open. I’m still alive. It’s okay for me to live. My living doesn’t dishonor my past, you know? My mother’s been saying the same thing to me for a while, but ...I had to figure it out. I had to find a way to be with you.”
“Is this your way of telling me you’re in love with me?”
“Love?” The word was so comically insufficient he almost laughed. “What’s love to the millionth power? That’s what I feel about you.”
“We should find a word for that,” she said, hooking her legs around his waist to urge him closer. “Because that’s the way I feel about you. The way I’ve always felt about you.”
Leaning down, he kissed her until he couldn’t take it another second. Then he raised the condom for her to see.
“Are we going to need these?” he asked.
“I hope not.”
“Are you on the pill?”
“Yeah.”
He reached down to stroke her slick cleft. “And how do you feel about more children?”
She smiled—a glorious, teary-eyed smile that was the most thrilling thing he’d ever seen. “Are you asking rhetorically, or are we talking about more children with you?”
“We’re definitely talking about more children with me.”
“Then I feel great about it.”
He grinned. “We’ll have to talk about that, won’t we? That, and getting married.”
“Yeah. Let’s bookmark those for discussion.” She dug her sharp nails into his butt and pulled him closer. “I think we have other things to do right now.”
“Good point.”
He took himself in hand and, with a single sharp thrust that made them both cry out, drove all the way inside her. She was tight. Hot. Exquisitely perfect for him.
“I love you,” he whispered against her lips.
Then, with the silvery light from the falling snow filtering through the windows, they began to move together.
Epilogue
“Come here.” The second the boys’ thundering footsteps receded up the stairs, to their bedroom, James reached for Miranda and swept her into his arms. She hung on tight, breathing him in. It was the following Friday night, the appointed date for their official New Year’s Eve do-over, and she’d never been happier in her life. “Alone at last.”
“But not for long,” she reminded him.
“You’re right. I better make this quick.”
James stroked his fingers through her hair and tipped her head back. Then he kissed her forehead, eyelids, each cheek, and finally, sweetly, her mouth.
“I’ve been wanting to do that since I got here,” he said when he’d kissed her senseless.
“I’ve been wanting you to. We don’t have many chances with little boys around, do we?”
“I don’t mind. I’m a very resourceful guy.”
“That you are. I have a question for you.”
“Hit me.”
“How’d you hurt your leg? It’s a great story, right? Everyone in town talks about it.”
“I can’t tell you. You’re not worthy.”
“I’m worthy! I’m worthy!”
He shook his head doubtfully. “Normally I require a signed confidentiality agreement. My lawyer’s out of the office, though.”
“James! I promise I won’t tell anyone. Ever.”
“I can only tell you if you take a solemn vow of secrecy. Not a mere promise.”
“So vowed.”
He took a deep and dramatic breath.
“I tripped on my untied shoelace when I was walking to class in college. Busted my kneecap.”
She blinked and rewound that explanation through her mind, certain she’d misheard.
“That’s it?” She raised her brows. “No wonder you never tell anyone!”
“I know, right?”
They laughed together and he kissed her again, savoring her mouth as though they had all the time in the world.
“Have I mentioned,” he said when he let her up for air and she went to the kitchen, “that you make a mean chili. Almost as good as mine.”
She laughed. “I believe mine is much better than yours, sir.”
“You keep living in that dream world of yours.” Still grinning, he glanced toward the stairs, but there was no sign of the boys’ return just yet. “Do you think they suspect anything?”
Miranda brought the popcorn in from the kitchen and set it on the coffee table, which was already strewn with confetti and streamers. A bucket of sparkling apple cider iced on top of it.
“Those two knuckleheads? If it doesn’t have to do with food, superheroes, a Disney movie or a video game, they don’t notice anything.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. And we have a good plan: I spend more time around here, they get used to seeing us together and then we tell them about us.”
“It is a good plan,” Miranda said. “I thought of it myself.”
“You’re very smart. It’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with you.”
“Yeah? And here I spent all this time thinking that my stellar
black coffee attracted you to me.“
“I’m attracted to pretty much everything about you, but, trust me, your black coffee was never on the list.“
“Shocking,“ she said, laughing as he reeled her back in and nuzzled her neck. “I have the feeling this is going to be a great year.”
“Indeed,” he murmured against her skin.
The boys reappeared at the top of the steps, raced back downstairs and charged into the living room, giving Miranda and James just enough time to spring apart and resume their seats on opposite ends of the sofa. The twins, who now had their Christmas quilts in hand, flopped down between them and arranged their quilts with painstaking care. Noah reached for the popcorn bowl and quickly knocked Jonah’s hands away when he grabbed for his share.
“Hey!“ cried Jonah.
“Noah,“ Miranda warned. “If you start terrorizing your brother, you won’t be having any s’mores tonight. Understood?“
“Understood,“ Noah said glumly, extending the bowl to his brother. Jonah grabbed a handful of popcorn and the boys munched happily and messily, with Frank snuffling up the kernels that fell to the floor, while Miranda started the movie with the remote and grinned at James across the top of the twins’ heads.
“I love you,“ James mouthed.
“I love you, too,“ she mouthed.
“Hey, James?“ Noah smashed a fistful of popcorn into his mouth, losing half of it down the front of his pajamas. “You know about women, don’t you?”
James froze; Miranda’s jaw hit the floor.
“I’m not sure any man knows much about women, my young brother,“ James answered solemnly. “Why do you ask?“
Noah frowned. “Well, I like this girl in my class, Naomi. And I think Mom should get me some aftershave so I’ll smell good at school, but Mom says no. What do you think?”
“Well,“ James said, scrubbing a hand over his jaw. “I think you have to listen to your mother. Plus, I think if a girl likes you, she’ll like you as long as you’re fresh and clean. You probably don’t have to wear aftershave at this stage.“
“Maybe.“ Looking doubtful, Noah leaned into James’s side to get comfortable. James, looking pleased, slung his arm around the boy’s shoulders. Noah turned his face into James’s armpit and sniffed deeply. “But Mom loves you, and you smell good, right?”
Miranda stiffened.
“Noah!“ Jonah cried, outraged, before Miranda could gather her wits enough to respond. “I told you not to say anything! You promised!“
Noah shot his brother a disdainful look. “Yeah, but you know I can’t keep a secret. You shouldn’t have told me.“
“Noah!“ Jonah screeched.
Miranda recovered from her amazement long enough to raise a finger to silence Jonah’s gathering fit and ask a question.
“What are you boys talking about, if I may ask?“
Jonah stared her in the face. “We’re talking about you and James hooking up.“
Miranda gaped at him. "Hooking up?”
“Yeah,“ said Noah. “Now that you guys are together, and all.“
Miranda looks to James for help but his mouth was an O of astonishment.
“And how do you know that?“ Miranda demanded.
“You guys were all kissy-kissy in the dining room before,“ Jonah said. The boys exploded with laughter and mimed kissing and groping each other with soap opera theatricality.
“Oh, my God,” Miranda muttered, smacking her forehead. James covered his mouth with his hand and tried to pass off his laughter as a sudden bout of coughing.
"It’s cool,“ Jonah said, snuggling against her side again once the hysterics died down. “You could do worse than James.“
“Thank you so much for that overwhelming vote of confidence,“ James said dryly.
Jonah stretched out a small fist. Grinning, James bumped it with his.
Miranda stared at him, her breath lodged in her chest, trapped somewhere behind her swelling heart.
“What’s wrong?” James asked.
“Nothing’s wrong. You have an amazing smile. I’m still getting used to seeing it so oft—”
“Will you two knock it off?” Noah yelled. “The movie’s starting!”
James’s smile widened. He hooked his arm around the boy’s neck and pulled him into a headlock. Noah squealed with laughter. Jonah piled on. Frank jumped to his feet, barking his encouragement.
James wrestled both boys into submission, one in each arm. “I have a question,” he asked. “How come all the males in this house have a great quilt except for me? How can I watch a movie under these conditions? Why is that fair?”
“What?” Miranda asked, arrested by the sight of the males in her life sitting so comfortably on her sofa, as though they’d done it millions of times before.
“You have to make James a quilt, Mom,” Jonah said.
“Yeah, Mom,” Noah agreed. “If you love him and he’s going to be hanging around with us, he needs his own quilt. So does Frank.”
Frank, who’d stuck his paw into the popcorn, tipped out a small pile onto the floor and was crunching it, looked up at the sound of his name, ears perked.
“Well,” Miranda said, her gaze locking with James’s. “I do love him.”
James opened his arms to her. She leaned in, across the squirming boys, and kissed him.
“And you do plan to be hanging around with us, right?” Miranda continued.
James gave her a pointed look. “Frank and I plan to be fixtures here, don’t we, Frank?”
Frank finished up his popcorn, licked his chops and barked.
“Well, then,” Miranda said, beaming, “I’ll get started on those quilts right away.”
Also by Ann Christopher
JOURNEY’S END Small-Town Contemporary Romance Series
“Book” 1: A JOURNEY’S END Novella
Book 2: LET’S DO IT
Book 3: ON FIRE
“Book” 4: LET’S STAY TOGETHER Novella
Book 5: UNTITLED (Daniel & Zoya)
DEADLY Romantic Suspense Series
Book 1: DEADLY PURSUIT
Book 2: DEADLY DESIRES
Book 3: DEADLY SECRETS
IT’S COMPLICATED Series
RISK
TROUBLE
The Davies Legacy: TWINS OF SIN Series
Book 1: SINFUL SEDUCTION
Book 2: SINFUL TEMPTATION
Book 3: SINFUL ATTRACTION
Book 4: SINFUL PARADISE
WARNER FAMILY SECRETS & LIES Series
Book 1: TENDER SECRETS
Book 2: ROAD TO SEDUCTION
Book 3: CAMPAIGN FOR SEDUCTION
Book 4: REDEMPTION’S KISS
Book 5: REDEMPTION’S TOUCH
Single Titles
CASE FOR SEDUCTION
THE SURGEON’S SECRET BABY
SEDUCED ON THE RED CARPET
JUST ABOUT SEX
SWEETER THAN REVENGE
Novellas
TAILS OF LOVE
GIFT OF LOVE
BELLA MONSTRUM Young Adult Horror Series
Book 1: MONSTRUM
To Richard. And to M and V.
You three are the loves of my life.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to my editors, Maria Ribas and Martha Trachtenberg, who helped me polish this baby up.
To my writing BFFs, Kristi Cook, Lori Devoti, Laura Drewry, Caroline Linden, Sally MacKenzie and Eve Silver, all of whom offer encouragement and help keep me sane on a daily basis.
© Copyright 2013 by Sally Young Moore Writing As Ann Christopher
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This is a work of fiction. All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone, living or dead, bearing the same name or names. All incidents are pure invention from the author’s imagination. All names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to a
ctual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information or retrieval system, is forbidden without the prior written permission of both publisher and Author copyright owner of this book.
For information, contact:
Blue Iris Press LLC, 7350 Montgomery Road, #36476, Cincinnati, OH 45236
www.BlueIrisPress.com
Book Cover Designed by Damonza.com
Excerpt From Let’s Do It © 2015 by Sally Young Moore Writing As Ann Christopher
ISBN: 978-0-9910664-0-7
If you enjoyed A Journey’s End, stay tuned for a sneak peek at the next entry in the series, Let’s Do It (Edward & Reeve), which is now available!
Reeve Banks savored a fleeting life is good early July moment.
With the windows open, she drove north on a winding highway along the Hudson River, where the views were spectacular in every direction. Glittering blue water. Rolling mountains in vibrant green. The occasional pop of color from wildflowers growing along the road.
She sighed with contentment.
Sarah Vaughan, who’d been keeping her company, was halfway through wondering when her lover man would show up, and Reeve sang along with gusto, remembering every lyric but massacring the melody with her faulty pitch. A kitty carrier full of an irritable and flinty-eyed fifteen-pound orange tabby cat named Muffin sat facing Reeve in the passenger seat. Every now and then, when Reeve hit a particularly high and admittedly painful note, Muffin, whose disapproving face was visible through the wire door, would yowl his dismay.
Naturally, she ignored these rude interruptions with dignity.
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