With the sound of the rain masking his footsteps, Alex came up behind her and slipped his hands around her bare waist.
Squealing, she whirled around and the second she realized it was him, the shock on her face turned to a happy smile.
Rising on her tiptoes, she reached to hug him. “Hello, Counselor,” she said.
Having Sierra back in his arms was like along cool drink after a broiling hot day. He bent his head and murmured against her ear. “Hello, yourself. Did you miss me?”
“Terribly,” she teased. “I cried all day.”
He gave her bottom a playful little pinch, then before she realized his intentions, he stooped down and scooped her up in his arms.
Her gasp of surprise was smothered beneath the hungry kiss he planted on her lips.
“Where’s Bowie?” he finally whispered.
She pointed toward the living room. “In his bassinet. Asleep. Why?”
The half grin on his face was wicked and tempting, the glint in his eyes making all sorts of delicious promises and Sierra’s heart began to chug with heavy, rapid beats.
“Because I can’t wait to make love with you. Turn off the stove. We’ll eat later,” he ordered huskily.
Since they were already standing close to the range, Sierra reached down and switched off the burner beneath the jambalaya. As soon as that was done, Alex carried her to the bedroom and left the door open so they could hear Bowie, just in case he cried.
Shadows darkened the bed and the rain had left the room cooler than normal. Alex placed Sierra in the middle of the mattress, then starting with his loosened tie began to shed his clothing.
Sierra watched him for a few moments until he reached to pull down his trousers and by then she was aching for him so badly she hurried to remove her own clothing.
“Oh, darling,” she whispered as he lowered himself down next to her. “Hurry! I can’t wait.”
Spurred by her pleas, he covered her lips with his and plunged his manhood deep within her. The sudden sensation of being inside her tight, moist folds rocked him like an explosion and his head fell back as a rough groan rumbled up from his chest.
Somewhere in his heated daze, he felt her legs wind around his, her hands clasp his hips. He began to thrust fiercely as the need to possess her, to become a part of her, overrode everything.
Sierra matched the rhythm of his body and soon their skin became slick with sweat, their breathing raspy and uneven. His lips clung to hers as he pushed his tongue past her teeth and tasted the sweet, intimate cavity of her mouth.
Sliding one hand beneath her back, he lifted her slightly from the mattress so that her breasts would touch his chest, her tight nipples would tease his skin. She moaned and slid her hands upward so that she could hold on and keep the contact of their upper bodies.
Outside, rain continued to drum on the roof and, like the rain, Alex wished he could go on and on, making love with Sierra until his mind was blank, his heart content.
But the richness of her body was almost too much for him to bear and before long he felt the pressure in his loins building, building until he couldn’t hold back his release. With a guttural cry, he grabbed her buttocks and lifted her even closer.
Like a vortex of whipping winds, he felt the room around them begin to whirl, the breath being sucked from his lungs. He heard her desperate cries and knew that he could wait no longer.
Burying his face in the side of her neck, he felt the very essence of him pour into her body.
Afterward he rolled away and tried to quickly fill his empty lungs. Inches away, Sierra waited until her own breathing had calmed before she turned on her side to face him.
“Are you all right?” she asked quietly.
He didn’t answer immediately and she passed a hand over his damp chest. The soft hair curled around her fingers and she pulled it gently as she waited for his response.
“Sure. Why do you ask?”
A worried groove appeared between her brows. “I don’t know. You just seem—a little desperate tonight.”
Funny that she should use that word, Alex thought. Because that was exactly how he was feeling: fraught, anxious and desperate to have her.
“I’m okay, Sierra. Don’t worry about me.”
Rolling closer, she snuggled her cheek upon his chest. “You’re not feeling ill, are you?”
He stroked her back and savored the velvet smoothness of her skin. “No. But Pauline thinks I’m sick. I didn’t tell her that making love with you every night is wearing me down.”
She studied him for long moments as she waited for him to say more. When he didn’t, she decided to tell him about the letter she’d received from Mrs. Rollins.
“That’s good,” Alex said once she was finished. “At least now you know the Rollinses won’t be yelling for custody anytime soon.”
Hopefully they would never yell to get custody of Bowie, Sierra thought. But she didn’t say more on the subject. Right now she was more concerned with Alex’s melancholy mood.
She trailed her fingers along his damp abs and up along his rib cage. “Hmm, tomorrow night when you come in, I’m sending you straight to the recliner and I’ll carry your supper to you.”
A soft chuckle shook his chest. “Sounds like you’re going to try to spoil me.”
“You’re worth it,” she said gently. Then, lifting her head, she began to press slow, moist kisses over his shoulder and up the side of his neck.
With a groan, he reached for her and wrapped her body next to his. “Baby, baby. The things you do to me.”
Her lips reached his jaw and she paused long enough to slide her tongue against the faint stubble of his beard. “Well, we could get up and eat jambalaya.”
Turning his face into hers, he whispered against her lips, “The jambalaya can wait.”
The next morning, Sierra drove to San Antonio to shop at Babies Unlimited, a boutique on the river walk that sold everything from clothing and diaper pins, to baby beds and infant swings.
For the past week, she’d been slowly attempting to transform the bedroom next to hers into a nursery. She’d papered the walls with a clown print, dressed the windows with blue-and-white checked curtains and used the same material to skirt the bassinet. All she lacked now to make it usable was a baby bed and she wanted the crib to be a special one.
After the rainstorm that had swept through the night before, the morning had turned clear and gorgeous. Hot sunshine beat down on her arms and neck as she slowly pushed Bowie along the water’s edge in his new stroller.
“Sierra! Sierra, is that you?”
Hearing the female voice some distance behind her, Sierra stopped to look and was surprised to see her sister Gloria waving at her.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as she sauntered gracefully up to Sierra.
As usual, Gloria was dressed adorably in a snappy green spring suit and her makeup was as perfect as her hair. Compared to her older sister, Sierra felt dowdy in her casual jeans and ponytail. But Alex thought she was beautiful. At least he told her she was and that was all that Sierra needed.
“I’m going to Babies Unlimited. What are you doing?” She glanced at her wristwatch. “Why aren’t you at work?”
Gloria’s nose crinkled playfully. “I am at work. But I had an assistant take over for a few minutes. I wanted to see what sort of nursery furniture Babies Unlimited had to offer. Can you believe the two of us had the same idea this morning?”
Her sister rounded the stroller and squatted down to Bowie’s level. “Aw, Sierra, he’s getting more precious every day.” She picked up his tiny hand and kissed it. “He’s really going to be a handsome guy.”
Sierra’s heart swelled with love and pride. “I think so.”
Rising back to her full height, Gloria motioned toward an empty park bench that was shaded by the drooping limbs of a nearby willow. “Let’s sit down a minute,” she suggested. “Before we walk on to the boutique.”
Sierra followed her si
ster and once they were settled on the bench, Gloria reached for her hand and squeezed it. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately, sis. How are things going? Has having Bowie around helped you to get Chad out of your system?”
Sierra very nearly laughed. If only Gloria could see how her life had changed since Alex had been spending some of his nights with her. For the first time, she felt like a woman, she felt important to someone.
“Chad Newbern is just a wisp of a memory. I’m doing—great. Really great,” she added with a smile.
“That must be true,” Gloria said as she inspected Sierra’s glowing face. “You must be sleeping better these days.”
Once again, Sierra felt a laugh bubble up in her throat. What would her sister think if she told her about the wickedly delicious nights she’d been spending in Alex’s arms? Sleep had been the last thing on her mind.
“Oh, much better. I can’t understand it, but it’s been days since I’ve had to get up and drink a cup of warm milk or read a book,” she said as normally as she could.
“That’s good to hear. It must be the baby,” she reasoned. “I don’t have to ask. I can see how much you love Bowie. And that’s what I’ve been thinking about—wondering what you plan to do about him.”
Sierra frowned. “Right now, he’s my foster child.”
Gloria nodded with concern. “Yes. But is that enough for you? What if social services wants to place him elsewhere?”
“They could. But I don’t see any reason for them to do that.”
“You’re a single mother,” Gloria reasoned. “They might find a regular family to take him.”
She and Alex were a regular family, Sierra thought. At least as regular as a man and woman could be without being married. But she wasn’t yet ready to confess to her sister that Alex had been staying part of the time with her or that she could fall in love with the independent lawyer.
Glancing down at the sluggish flow of the narrow river, Sierra said with a thread of defiance, “I can give Bowie everything he needs.”
“Okay. So what if his mother decides she wants him back? You would be crushed.”
That scenario had gone over and over in Sierra’s mind and each time she thought about Ginger trying to reclaim Bowie, she shook with fear.
But she had Ginger’s note and Mrs. Rollins’s letter, she tried to assure herself. Both of which voiced their wishes to have Sierra be Bowie’s mother. That would surely carry some major weight with child care services or in a court of law.
Her expression troubled, Sierra looked at her sister. “What are you trying to say, Gloria? You think I should give Bowie up?”
Gloria quickly shook her head with frustration. “No, I’m not saying that. I’m saying if you love him, really love him, maybe you should start thinking about adoption. I realize it’s harder for a single person to adopt a child, but it can be done. Jack and I will help you all we can and I’m sure Mom and Dad would, too.”
“I’m not so sure of that,” Sierra said doubtfully. “They probably think I should be more concerned about having children of my own.”
“Sierra!” Gloria gently scolded. “You were always the sensible sister. But you’re not thinking clearly now. Mom and Dad understand that Bowie has become a part of your life and they also understand that he needs a home as much as you want to give him one.”
Sierra didn’t realize her emotions were working overtime until she drew in a deep breath and her whole body trembled from the effort. “I’m so glad to hear you say that, Gloria. I thought maybe my family would try to discourage me. And I have been thinking about adoption. It’s in the back of my mind all the time.”
Smiling brightly, Gloria squeezed her hand. “Then why don’t you go for it, girl? Bowie can grow up with his cousin.” She patted her growing tummy. “And who knows, maybe Christina and Derek will decide to have a family soon and they’ll be a threesome, just like their mothers.”
Sierra studied her sister as all sorts of joyous and doubtful thoughts mingled together to put a mixture of confusion on her face.
“I—I’m just not sure, Gloria. It’s a big step. And I don’t know—” She stopped as she realized she’d been about to say she didn’t know what Alex might think of the whole thing. He was a part of her life now and she wanted him to remain a part of it. His feelings in the matter had to be considered. But it was too early to explain any of her concerns to Gloria, so she tried her best to smile. “I don’t exactly know what sort of steps I’d need to take to be a candidate for adoption.”
Gloria’s smiled turned clever. “Darlin’, your friend Alex is a lawyer. If you ask him, I’m sure he’d be glad to help.”
Chapter Ten
Late that afternoon, Babies Unlimited sent a man out with the crib and matching dresser. Once he had the pieces of furniture in place and had driven away, Sierra quickly put the finishing touches to the room and closed the door. She didn’t want Alex to get even a tiny glimpse of the new nursery. Not until she was ready to share it with him.
She’d kept the project a secret in hopes of surprising him. Now that it was completed, she couldn’t wait for him to arrive home from work.
Alex finally arrived a little after six. She was in the bedroom changing out of the clothes she’d cooked supper in when she heard his footsteps heading toward the kitchen.
“In here, Alex,” she called out to him.
Seconds later, he paused in the open doorway of their bedroom and gave a low whistle as he eyed her in a lacy red bra and matching panties.
“Hey, hey, hey. You don’t need to dress for supper. You look fantastic like that.”
He strode into the room, and, laughing, Sierra quickly stepped into a blue cotton shift and pulled it up over her hips.
“You can see through the kitchen curtains and we do have close neighbors, you know.” As he approached her, she turned her back to him. “Would you zip me?”
“There’s nothing in the world I’d rather do,” he assured her, but before his hands pulled the folds of her dress together, he bent his head and pressed a kiss to the base of her neck. “Mmm. You smell delicious.”
“That’s steak,” Sierra corrected him.
He chuckled and slid his arms around her waist and drew her backside against the front of his body. “No,” he said against her cheek. “That’s you.”
“Losing your sense of smell along with your eyesight,” she teased. “Pretty soon your sense of touch will be gone.”
“If that’s the case, I’d better make the most of what little time I have left,” he murmured while running his hands up to her breasts and cupping his fingers around the small mounds.
“Oh, no.” Sierra grabbed hold of his misbehaving hands and twisted around in his arms. “I’ve made a special supper for you and I don’t want it getting cold.”
Alex was just as happy to have the front of her shapely curves pressing into him and he slipped his hands to her buttocks and drew the juncture of her thighs tightly against his manhood.
“What could be more special than making love?” he wanted to know.
“Steak and baked potatoes and strawberry shortcake.”
Alex shook his head. “Couldn’t hold a light to you.”
Sierra’s soft laughter was playfully mocking. “You’re a wicked, wicked guy, Alex Calloway.” She slipped her arms around his neck and, rising on tiptoe, placed a soft kiss on his lips. His hand slipped into her hair and cradled the back of her head so that his lips continued to hover over hers. Sierra was almost tempted to tell him they’d forget supper.
“I’m dying to show you just how wicked,” he whispered.
Woozy with desire, she inhaled deeply and turned her back to him. As she motioned for him to zip her dress, she said, “That naughty part of you is just going to have to wait until later tonight. I have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” That got his attention and he quickly zipped her dress and fastened the hook and eye at the neckline. Then, smoothing his hands over
her shoulders and down her arms, he said, “Don’t tell me you’ve invited our friends over.”
Her forehead puckered with a frown as she twisted her head around and looked up at him. “Why would I do that when our regular lunch get-together is tomorrow?”
Tomorrow? He’d forgotten all about it. Last week, the meeting had been canceled because Trey’s job had taken him out of town and Mario had been tied up at the hospital. Since then too much had happened to think about meeting his friends at the Longhorn.
“Oh. I forgot. Are we going?”
Wide eyed, she turned to face him. “Well, why wouldn’t we?” she countered with surprise. “They’re our friends. They’ll be worrying and wondering if we don’t show up.”
Alex shrugged and was surprised when he felt color springing to his cheeks. “I understand that. But it’s going to be kind of different now. With us—well, you know—together.”
“Why, Alex,” she scolded gently. “Are you embarrassed to let them know that the two of us are close?”
“Uh, no.” He dropped his hold on her and made a helpless gesture with his hands. “But they’re probably going to think it’s strange. Especially the part about Bowie. None of them have learned about you having the baby, much less about me.”
She watched as he reached up and pulled the olive green printed tie from around his neck and tossed it onto the bed. As his fingers moved down the buttons of his shirt, his gaze slipped away from her and Sierra felt a tiny chill pass over her.
“Alex, are you—ashamed for them to know that you’re with me?”
His green gaze flew back to hers. “Of course not!”
Uncertain, she stepped forward and curled her fingers over his forearm. “Well, something’s making you uncomfortable about seeing them. What is it?”
He shook his head, then rubbed the back of his neck. “You,” he said. “I don’t want any of them thinking badly of you. Your morals have always been high and I don’t want them getting the idea that you’ve lowered them with me.”
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