“But the baby…”
“Did you feed her at ten?”
“Ten-thirty, actually.”
“Then she won’t wake up until five or so. Perfect timing.”
He led her to the bedroom. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he pulled her into his lap. The first kiss was a delight. But Izzy was still tense, as if waiting for something bad to happen. Russ continued to kiss her. Gradually she began to respond, became as eager and hungry as he was.
Soon they were stretched out on the bed. He unbuttoned her blouse enough that he could occasionally drop a kiss on her warm skin, but he made no attempt to remove her clothes.
Finally she sat up and gave him a puzzled frown. “Is there something wrong with me?”
“Nothing at all,” he replied.
“Look, I know we have to get naked. Are you afraid you’ll shock me? Because I…I want to.”
Russ smiled a big smile. “Well, I’m ready. But I wanted to wait until you were.”
“I like kissing you,” she volunteered.
“Good. I like kissing you. Shall I help you undress?”
She looked alarmed again. “No, I can manage.”
She headed for the bathroom. He stopped her. “Honey, did your husband send you to the bathroom to get undressed?”
She nodded.
“Then did he go to the bathroom to undress?” When she nodded again, his eyebrows shot up. “I’m afraid I’m going to shock you.”
“How?”
“I want to undress you and I want you to undress me. But there’s no hurry. I want you to enjoy it.”
She looked as if that was a novel concept. “Enjoy undressing?”
“Yeah. Come here and I’ll show you.”
The next half hour was a revelation to Izzy. And Russ was right. She did enjoy it. So much so that she got a little impatient with his dillydallying….
In the end she found making love with Russ to be incredibly enjoyable, incredibly satisfying. So much so that she wondered what her first husband had been doing. It certainly wasn’t making love.
When her trembling had stopped and she lay peacefully against his chest, he stroked her bare back and asked her if she was all right.
“All right? I’m feeling wonderful. Can we…can we do that again?”
Russ chuckled. “Now? It takes me a little while to recover, honey.”
“How long?”
He laughed. “A couple of hours.”
“Oh. I was afraid you would say a week. That’s usually how often my first husband—”
“I think we need to wash him out of your memory. I don’t think he was a good husband.”
“Mmm, me, neither.”
“So you’re willing to stay as long as we do this a lot?”
Her cheeks flushed, but she met his glance. “Yes, but really, Russ, if you think I need to go, I will. I mean, I don’t want to, but I don’t want to ruin your life.” She snuggled closer. “If it weren’t for the snow, I would’ve been gone this morning.”
“Not permanently.”
“Yes, Russ, I was seriously going to leave.”
“I know. But I wasn’t going to seriously let you go.”
“You wouldn’t have known. I was all packed and everything.”
“But you wouldn’t get far.”
“Why not?”
“Because I siphoned most of your gas out of the SUV.”
She sat up, startled. He didn’t think he’d ever seen anything as beautiful as Isabella at that moment, the covers gathered around her waist, her breasts full and rosy, her hair tumbling over her shoulders.
But her mind was on other matters. “You did what?”
“I wanted to make sure I didn’t lose you.”
“But that wasn’t fair!”
He was still smiling, but his voice was serious. “When it comes to you and Angel, sweetheart, fair isn’t what matters. Holding the two of you close is what matters. I love you, and I love Angel, too. I want to share my life with you.”
“I love you, too, Russ. I didn’t know men like you existed. I don’t ever want to leave.”
“Good.” He reached for her. “You know, Izzy, you inspire me. I seem to have recovered faster than I thought.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you,” she said, concern in her voice.
“The only way you could hurt me would be to leave, sweetheart. Don’t ever leave,” he said, pulling her back to his side, kissing her.
“No, Russ, I won’t,” she promised, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Then we’ll be happy forever, Izzy, my love.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5875-8
RANDALL WEDDING
Copyright © 2002 by Judy Russell Christenberry.
All rights reserved. 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 storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
Visit us at www.eHarlequin.com
*Brides for Brothers
*Brides for Brothers
*Brides for Brothers
*Brides for Brothers
*Brides for Brothers
†Tots for Texans
†Tots for Texans
†Tots for Texans
†Tots for Texans
†Tots for Texans
†Tots for Texans
†Tots for Texans
*Brides for Brothers
*Brides for Brothers
*Brides for Brothers
*Brides for Brothers
Randall Wedding Page 18