Reunited with His Runaway Bride

by Robin Gianna

  “Have you fed him?” he asked, as much to get her attention, still fixed on the darn book, as he needed to know.

  “I was about to, but he went back to sleep.” She finally closed the book and set it aside. Lifted Will to hold him close against her, which seemed to partly wake him up as he began to nuzzle his face against her. She looked down and smiled, slowly stroking his face with her knuckle. “Looks like his tummy woke him up again. Do you want to go ahead and feed him? I’m going to head out. By the way, when it got so late, I ordered a pizza for you—I hope that’s okay. Figured you’d be hungry when you got home. Should be here any minute.”

  “Sure. I appreciate it.” He shoved his hands into his scrub pockets. All day, he’d been thinking about how he might not have told Bree often enough how much he appreciated her help. Had a feeling he’d let the stress of the situation get in the way of that. Now was as good a time as any, and maybe afterward she’d be a little more friendly. Why that felt so important, he wasn’t going to try to analyze, but it had to happen now if she was ready to leave. “Listen. I want you to know how much I appreciate you helping so much with Will. And I know Emma does, too. Even not feeling too great yourself, you’ve stepped up and been incredibly generous with your time. I’m sorry if I haven’t been clear on that.”

  Seconds ticked by as the green eyes staring into his seemed to suggest she was considering what he’d said. As though she wasn’t sure he meant it, and how she could wonder that, he didn’t know. He’d never apologized unless he meant it. Truth was, he probably hadn’t apologized a lot of times he should have.

  The silence dragged on. He was about to open his mouth to say something, anything, to break the tension in the room, when she finally spoke. “You have thanked me, and there’s no need to say it again. I know all this has been difficult. With Emma in such serious condition and figuring out how to take care of Will and your mom gone. And...and all this time we’ve had to spend together. I know it’s been hard for me. And I’m sorry, too, if I’ve managed to make it worse. It’s been my privilege to be here for you and Emma and Will.”

  The strange sensation filling his chest almost felt like months ago when they’d kissed and made up after a fight. “No way have you made it worse. I’m not sure how I’d have survived it without you pitching in.”

  A real smile touched her lips and eyes, and he had to curl his fingers into his palm to keep from reaching for her to kiss her, as he would have done before. As he’d done when the temptation of her skin all oily and soft had sent common sense out the window. Which reminded him of her bruises, and he stepped closer to look.

  “Your eye hasn’t gotten much worse.” He moved her hair aside, sliding it behind her ear to look at her cheekbone, too, and taking his time doing it because he wanted to keep touching her. “Maybe that oil actually did something good for it.”

  “Maybe. And here I was hoping to look really black-and-blue so everyone would feel sorry for me. Give me a chance to milk the sympathy as long as possible.”

  “As if. I know you too well. You covered it with makeup to avoid that.”

  “Maybe.” The curve of her lips had him nearly leaning down to kiss her after all, and it was a good thing Will began to wriggle against her breasts and complain or he might have.

  Getting the baby fed was a good plan to distract him from her skin and body and lips and all the things he wanted to do with them, and he looked away from her beautiful eyes to take the child. Then was genuinely distracted when he saw what the kid was wearing.

  “What is this...this sack thing?”

  He heard her soft chuckle and turned, and the mirth in her eyes had him feeling better than he had in hours. “It is a sack. Since we both are pathetic getting clothes on and off him, I asked one of the nurses how she did it, and she told me about them. It has a drawstring at the bottom. No messing around with pants and socks.”

  “That’s genius! Why didn’t the store send some of these with all the other stuff?” He held the kid up and examined the thing, and there was no doubt it would be a lot easier to dress him now. Thanks to Bree, but that didn’t surprise him. When faced with a problem, she always found a solution.

  Except it had been impossible to find one that would fix all the problems between the two of them.

  “And guess what else?” She pointed at the book she’d been reading. “The baby manual we’ve needed! See, it really does exist.”

  “How about that? You were right.” His fingers again itched to bring her close and kiss that smiling mouth, but he managed to reach for the book instead. “I’ll look at this after I feed Will. Thanks for getting it. And for the clothes. I’ll reimburse you.” His voice was rough, he knew. But talking was better for his sanity than kissing her, which at that moment he felt as if he needed more than breathing.

  “Don’t be silly. I got the stuff because I wanted to.” Maybe she could see in his eyes the internal struggle he was having, because seconds after their eyes met she turned away. “I’m going to pack up my things.”

  He watched her go to the guest room, her silky hair loosening from the untidy knot she’d tamed it into. He got Will’s bottle ready and, the whole time he sat feeding the boy, found himself wondering what was taking her so long. Not that he wanted her to rush out the door. His mom coming tomorrow morning meant no more Bree in his house ever again, and even though it was beyond hard being around her again, his bashed-up heart still wanted her there anyway. Pathetic.

  Then he knew why she hadn’t emerged yet. His ears picked up the distant spray of the shower, and he groaned out loud. This was definitely not good for his mental health or his common sense.

  Picturing her naked under that stream of water, sudsy and slippery and gorgeous, was so erotic, so tempting, it was nearly impossible to not just throw all caution and sense out the window and go in there to join her. The torture of it actually had him standing to put a now sated and sleeping Will in his bassinet then going outside to get a grip on himself. To stare at the bay and breathe in the salty air, thinking about all the ways she made him feel. Wired. Alive. Immeasurably sad. Long enough to get his body and mind back to some semblance of normalcy, and hope her shower ended before he went back in the house.

  After about ten minutes, his hyperawareness of her wasn’t gone, but it was at least under control when he heard the squeak of his screen door open, then close. He turned to see Bree moving toward him, back in sexy shorts instead of her wrinkled scrubs. Even in the low light of dusk, he could see she was flushed and rosy from her shower, her hair still damp, with little wisps drying in loose curls around her face.

  “I wanted you to see the other thing I bought today. A baby monitor.” She held up a white thing that looked a little like a radio. “You or your mom can be outside, and if he wakes up, you’ll hear him.”

  “That’s great.” Her reminder that this was probably the last day he’d see her, with the possible exception of being there when she said goodbye to Will and his sister, felt the polar opposite of great. It felt like an emptiness he wasn’t sure would ever be filled.

  “I wrote down my schedule for the next two days before I leave, just in case your mom is delayed somehow.”

  “Good idea. I’ll do that, too, so we’re on the same page.” With at least one thing, anyway, and the thought made his gut twist even more. “Mom seemed sure she’d be here tomorrow. Though it wouldn’t be the first time travel connections got messed up.”

  “Yeah. Hopefully, though, I won’t have to come back.”

  “Hopefully.” For her sake, to not disrupt her life anymore, and for his, to not be feeling this complicated push/pull from being around her again. This fire that kept sparking to life inside, smoldering and flaming whenever she was near, completely oblivious to the reality that it was over between them.

  The doorbell chimed, and when he came back into the kitchen with the pi
zza, Bree had her backpack over her shoulder, obviously ready to walk out the door. How could the heavy weight in his chest at that reality feel almost as bad as the day she’d called it off between them? He had no idea, and a sane man would have thanked her again and said goodbye.

  “Aren’t you going to stay for some pizza?” Obviously, he was not that sane man, and food was the only thing that came to mind to keep her there a little longer. Just watching her eat would be better than how empty his house would feel when she left, even with little Will staying with him for a while.

  “Thanks, but I better go. Um, good luck with everything, okay? Can you let me know when you have Will with Emma, so I can see him before I leave?”

  “Yeah.” He stared into her eyes and managed to just answer her question, instead of begging her again to stay and eat some pizza with him one last time. “Will do.”

  The slow nod of her head sent those drying wisps of hair across her face and she shoved them back as she turned to the door. The movement sent her backpack sliding down her arm, to the crook of her elbow. The thing must have weighed a ton because a cry of pain left her lips as she straightened her arm and grabbed her shoulder, letting the bag slip to the floor.

  Sean tossed the pizza box onto the counter and picked up the bag before he saw how her face was scrunched up and that her white teeth were pressed hard into her lower lip.

  He dropped the bag and moved to put his hand on her biceps. “Your shoulder hurt?”

  She nodded but didn’t speak, and he cursed under his breath. “Where?”

  “It’s okay. They took X-rays of everything, remember? It just got twisted and bruised.”

  “Like I said before, it doesn’t have to be broken to hurt. Stop being so stoic and let me see.” He carefully shoved the short sleeve of her T-shirt up before she could protest again that it was fine. Then stared at the swelling beneath her tanned skin. Brown and green bruising covered a good six inches of it, and he swore. “Why didn’t you let me carry your bag? You need to be resting this.”

  “I keep forgetting.” The rueful half smile she gave him, the way the golden flecks in her green eyes twinkled even as she clutched her shoulder in pain, weakened him. Reminded him of how amazing she was and how she’d once been his, and that, no matter what, the love he still felt for her gripped around his heart like a fist. The squeeze of it made it hard to breathe. Sent his lips to her shoulder, gently kissing the ugly bruise inch by inch, savoring every silken touch of her skin against his mouth.

  “I think kissing the boo-boo is even less effective than Emma’s oils,” Bree whispered. Her face was turned toward the shoulder he was kissing, and he looked up to see the eyes looking at him through half-closed lids still twinkled, but something else was there, too. Something hot and alive, and he reached for the oil still sitting on the counter before he’d thought one second about whether it was a good idea or not.

  “Seemed to help your eye. Maybe kissing and oil together will be the magic cure.” Their eyes met again, and just like that he gave in to the need he couldn’t fight anymore. “We need to finish the experiment my nephew interrupted so rudely the last time. And here’s a confession I probably shouldn’t give. I’ve taken a sniff of this oil stuff about five times since, just to think about when I was rubbing it on you that day. Didn’t care that it turned me on every single time.” He lowered his mouth to her laughing one at the same time he backed her slowly to the sofa. Their lips separated an inch when he sat her down, and the sexy way she licked her lips had him moving in for more, until she pressed her fingertips to his mouth.

  “My mouth doesn’t have a boo-boo. So you don’t need to kiss me there.”

  “Trust the doctor. I do need to kiss you there, for maximum healing. As well as a few other places.” He covered her mouth with his again, then remembered he really did want to put that oil on her bruise. Right before he rubbed it everywhere else on her delectable body. Breaking the kiss, he pulled her shirt off over her head then poured a little of the oil in his palm.

  He massaged it into the bruise as gently as possible so as not to hurt her, then moved on to her neck, which had seemed to please her before. That look of ecstasy washed across her face and he stopped just long enough to get a little more oil. She tipped her head to the side as he smoothed it over her neck again, his other hand sliding down into her bra to cup her breast as he had last time.

  “I don’t think my boob is injured either,” she said, straightening her head to give him a teasing grin that morphed into a little gasp as he ran his palm back and forth across her nipple.

  “You’re supposed to be trusting the doctor, remember? But don’t worry. I’m heading to the next place I know you have a bruise.”

  He drew his hand from her breast, dropping it down to gently rub her knee. Slowly moving on up her thigh, he dipped his fingertips inside her shorts, and her legs parted in invitation.

  “Do you have to wear your shorts so tight?” He couldn’t quite get where he wanted to be, and had to withdraw to reach for the button and zipper.

  “You always liked the way I look in tight shorts.”

  “True. At the moment, though, I want to see them off of you.”

  “We shouldn’t be doing this,” she whispered.

  “I know.” He popped her button loose and reached for the short zipper.

  “But if you insist,” she said, tugging her zipper down and open.

  He had to chuckle at her instant about-face, which was exactly what he’d mentally done a matter of minutes ago. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He forgot about being amused as she stepped up the heat, her mouth devouring his. He groaned and pulled her closer with one hand, the other wanting to touch her now, and to hell with getting the shorts off her first. His fingers found her warm leg again, moved up her skin, to finally reach the slick heat he craved.

  It felt so good to touch her there. She was so wet, the sweet scent of her mingled with the smell of the oil, and he parted her more, delving deeper. Caressing her soft folds until she was wriggling and pressing against his fingers, kissing him harder, making little mewling sounds into his mouth that had him feeling as if he might just combust with all his clothes on.

  He wanted to see her face. Wanted to see the look he’d loved so much when she’d orgasm, and he pulled his mouth from hers to stare into eyes gone the dark green of a bottomless lake.

  “Feel good?” he managed to murmur. “I want you to forget about what hurts. Want you to feel so good all that goes away.”

  “It does feel good. You always make me feel good. I think this kissing and oil therapy is really working.”

  Her whisper, her smile, and the way she was looking at him were all a serious distraction. As if she was about to orgasm after just moments of the kind of intimacy they’d sometimes enjoyed for hours in the past. Her eyes were half closed. Glazed, and staring at him the way she used to—as if he meant everything to her—and it added another layer of unsteady emotion to the insanely intense pleasure of getting to be with her this way again. Her lips were slightly parted, wet from his kisses, and she spread her legs a little farther apart to give him better access to the heaven between them.

  “Sean. Sean.” The sound of his name whispered from her lips reminded him how much he’d loved to hear it. How much he’d missed it. He watched her gasp, her eyes closing before she let out a soft cry. He could feel her muscles swell and tighten around his fingers. Watched the ecstasy slide across her face, and it filled him with a deep satisfaction that he’d made her feel good, made her forget her pain, made her come just by kissing her and caressing her. That in this most primal of ways, at least, she was still his Bree, so responsive to his touch, the way he was to hers. He didn’t want it to be over. Didn’t want it to ever end.

  He kissed her again, slipping his wet and oily fingers to her thigh, sliding around inside
her shorts to cup her sweet rear in his palm. The fog-filled lust in his brain had him about to pull her shorts off all the way to take it all to the next level, until one of her hands grasped the back of his head to deepen the kiss while the other reached to squeeze the raging erection tenting his scrub pants. “Your turn,” she whispered against his lips.

  “How about we share this one together?”

  “I like that idea.” Her mouth devoured his as she slipped her hand inside his scrub pants. It had been so long...too long, and the feel of her fingers squeezing and touching made him groan and pull at the waistband of her shorts before he embarrassed himself.

  “Yoo-hoo! I’m here, Sean! I managed to get an earlier flight. Can you help me with—”

  Hearing the voice was like a hard yank on his hair, pulling his mouth from Bree’s. Dazed, Sean turned to see his mother staggering in with the ridiculously massive suitcase she always hauled on trips, then stopping dead to stare at them from across the room. Which was hardly a surprise, considering he was between his ex-fiancée’s legs, her shirt was off, half of her skin was gleaming with a sheen of oil, and his hands were intent on getting her completely naked.

  He tumbled from his crouched position onto his rear, trying to come up with a coherent thought. “Uh, hi, Mom.” He cleared his throat and got to his feet, keeping his back to her until he could adjust the obviousness of his erection and wipe the oil down his scrubs at the same time Bree hastily pulled her T-shirt back over her head. “Can’t believe you’re here already. You’ve had a long trip. Obviously good, though, since you got here early, yes?”

  She ignored his comment, instead sending a long, laser look at Bree before asking, “What are you doing here?”

  The utter rudeness of his mother’s tone brought him fully alert and had him firing right back. “Bree is here because you freaked out at the idea of me hiring a nanny to take care of Will until you got here, and I’m on call and had an emergency surgery. She’s generously helping babysit, despite having also been in that car wreck, in pain, and still having worked all day.”