by Geri Krotow
“Are you going to keep staring at me, or give me some warmth?”
Patience jumped in surprise with a squeal. He opened one eye, his mouth curving.
She dumped the blanket on him. “There you go.” But instead of leaving him be, she sank down onto the floor. “You know, this is a sleeper sofa. You didn’t have to be so uncomfortable all night. Why didn’t you take the guest room?”
“I need to have an uninterrupted sight line to the front door.”
“Oh.” Of course. He took his job seriously, protecting her. She looked down from the loft and saw Greta had moved to lean up against the oak door, a definite hindrance to anyone trying to enter the cabin. “It looks like Greta knows her business.”
He rubbed his eyes and sat up, dragging the blankets with him. “Greta, at ease.” When Greta cocked her head, as if trying to figure out why he was releasing her from her post, he added, “You’re a good dog. Jeez, it’s freezing in here.”
“I fixed that. I turned on the heater on my way up here.” She was in long johns and a heavy bathrobe, but he’d slept in...his underwear from what she could see. She noticed his grin. “What’s so funny?”
“You. In a good way. This is the most rustic setting for a cabin and yet you’ve managed to outfit it with the latest in technology and convenience.”
“If you’re expecting me to apologize for that, don’t hold your breath.” She leaned her back against the sofa. Greta stood up, stretched and slowly climbed up the loft stairs. The huge dog placed her head in Patience’s lap, and she buried her fingers in the thick, dark fur. “She is the biggest snuggle bug, aren’t you, Greta?”
“Did you get enough sleep?” Nash asked.
She turned to look at him and his eyes blazed across the short distance between them. She glanced away. It was too easy to think he was looking at her with more than professional interest. She peered into Greta’s liquid black eyes instead.
“Yes, thank you. I don’t know the last time I went that long without sleeping. Do you realize we’d been awake for the better part of twenty-four hours by the time we got here?”
He chuckled, the sound low and sexy. “I sure do. Man, am I glad that my aunt and uncle are with the kids. I love my brothers and sisters, but it’s nice to have to only worry about work, too.”
“That’s fair.” Besides the constant sexual tension, the silent topic of the baby hung between them and she wondered when he’d talk about it again. If he’d mention the baby on his own.
“Is there coffee?”
“Yes, I’m sorry—in the kitchen, on the counter. I made a whole pot, but if you don’t like regular dark roast there’s a single-cup maker there, too. Help yourself.”
He stood and she did, too, ignoring the part of her that wished she’d woken him up with something other than coffee. As he meandered down to the kitchen with the blanket wrapped around him she followed, as did Greta. She didn’t see any skin but his muscular calves. Was it the baby hormones that made her want to touch said calves and maybe get more of a peek of what was under his blanket?
They stopped in the kitchen and she was transfixed by how much he filled the space. His scent overrode the coffee aroma and she had to remind herself for the umpteenth time that her sexual journey with Nash had ended almost three months ago.
“Are you able to have full caffeine? I mean, is the baby? Patience?” Damn it, he’d caught her staring and was making fun of her.
“I’m not in some kind of daze, you know.”
He shrugged and then dug in the cabinet for a mug. He chose a dark green ceramic one she’d received gratis from a veterinary drug company. The most masculine cup in her cabinet. Of course he did. She couldn’t blame him for being such a guy, but then again, he was. So. Incredibly. Hot.
Frustrated, she left the kitchen and took a seat in the living room’s easy chair, next to the sofa.
“Patience?”
She shook her head. “I’m still a little groggy, I suppose. I don’t usually sleep for twelve hours.”
“Is it grogginess, Patience?” He padded into the living room with his cup of black coffee and sat on the sofa. When he leaned forward, his knees were a scant inch from hers, and his scent again transported her back to their night together.
“Nash, I’m not looking for a relationship any more than you are. We’d agreed that our night, that one night, was a onetime deal. I don’t expect anything more from you. Honest.”
“What if I’m looking for more? What would you say then?”
“That you’re only doing this because of the baby. And in case I didn’t make it clear, I’m raising it on my own. I won’t ever ask you for anything. I told you because it was the right thing to do.” She prided herself on always keeping things aboveboard. It was how she’d kept her identity as a child in a family of billionaires and the accompanying lifestyle.
“If you think for one minute that I’m going to say okay to the Patience Plan, you don’t know me very well.”
She knew him enough, though. “You’re already raising four kids.”
“I am. And the two oldest will be out the door to college within the next two years, one right after the other. The boys could benefit from having a baby brother or sister. Nothing better for teenage birth control than seeing the responsibilities that come with a child.”
“We didn’t set a very good example. I mean, with the birth control part.”
“So the condom didn’t work. They usually do. And to be honest, were we as careful as we could have been? I saw you down at least two champagne cocktails that evening, and I know I had a few beers. Not that drinking is an excuse.”
“But it sure let our inhibitions down.” As soon as she said it, she grimaced. “Sorry. I tend to forget my mental filter when I’m tired. To be truthful, I would have done it all stone-cold sober.” And she would have. She wasn’t under the influence of anything now but the nearness of Nash, and she wanted to jump his bones.
“You’ve said nothing but the truth.” He leaned over and placed his cup on the coffee table. But instead of settling back onto the sofa, he got down on his knees and placed his hands on hers, their faces level.
Patience’s breathing slowed as her heartbeat sped up. It was as if they were in their own sensual bubble whenever he was around, and certainly when he got this close to her. She knew she should at least grasp at a semblance of professionalism, show him that she wasn’t the same woman he’d been with that night. But she was that woman, and more.
“Nash.”
He raised his brows very slightly and inclined his head, making his intent clear. But he wouldn’t follow through until she said yes.
Instead, she closed the distance between them and kissed him first. His lips were firm but so soft, and at the smallest flicker of her tongue he opened his mouth to her. Patience let the chaos of the last two days go as she gave in to her need.
Nash’s arms came up and he cupped her head, more firmly sealing his mouth over hers. They parried for the lead, their tongues waging battle, and she remembered at once why they’d been so good together.
So good it had made a baby.
She pulled back.
“What?” His eyes were still closed and he landed a kiss on her jawline, her throat.
“Nash, we’ve already agreed that last time was—”
She groaned as he kissed his way back to her lips. Just a little more, she promised herself. When his tongue filled her mouth, she wasn’t sure why she’d ever resisted him.
* * *
Nash didn’t allow himself to think of anything but the taste of Patience’s lips as they continued to kiss like sex-starved teenagers. He wasn’t going to suggest they go to bed again since he didn’t have any condoms with him. But there were other ways to please her. He paused, pulled back from the kiss reluctantly, looked into her very liquid brown eyes.
&nb
sp; “I want to taste you again, Patience. All of you.” She answered him by shimmying out of her pajama bottoms and long johns, throwing off her hoodie as if they were in a cabana on a tropical beach and not in a cabin in the mountains.
Her heavy-lidded eyes opened far enough for him to see her want, her need. “Nash.” She breathed his name as if she’d come to the end of a long search.
He knew he had. The taste of her lips, her skin, made him need more. Her moans and sighs guided his tongue, told him what she liked best, what turned her on.
His erection strained against his boxer briefs, but this wasn’t about his release—this was all for Patience. He kissed his way down over her rounded abdomen, where he dipped his tongue into the indentation of her belly button. She cried out in need and he chuckled. “Not so fast, babe. Enjoy each—” he licked her hip bone “—and every—” he sucked on the skin just above her bikini panties “—bit.” He kissed her through the flimsy fabric, purposefully blowing his breath into her, the satisfaction of making her squirm in response filling him with something he couldn’t name.
She helped him get her panties off, then lay on the sofa, her legs spread wide. Nash paused, stunned by her beauty.
“Don’t make me beg, Nash.”
He worked his way back up her legs to the insides of her thighs, taking his time, leaving wet kisses where he knew she liked them. He’d memorized her every response and preference that night they’d shared, and still there was so much more to learn about her. He wanted to know all of Patience.
Every last bit.
* * *
Patience delighted in the contrast of the cool sofa beneath her and the white-hot heat of Nash’s mouth on the insides of her thighs. Her nipples tightened, as taut as the need she had for this man.
For Nash.
“Don’t stop, Nash. Please.”
“Babe.” He placed his mouth over her sex and swirled his tongue over her most intimate parts, swollen for him. Because of him. Her entire body was inflamed, aware of only Nash’s skillful lovemaking and her urgency for release. She tried to hang on, to make it last, but like the relationship building between them, and the unborn child that they’d made, her response kept growing.
The initial waves of her climax began, and when Nash slid one, then two fingers inside her, the internal counterpressure catapulted her into a strong, breath-stealing orgasm. Her cries echoed about the cabin and she gasped for breath. As soon as she came down from the climax, Nash surprised her. Instead of stopping, he kept going, kept stroking and licking until she came again. And again.
He didn’t let up until she begged him to.
Nash looked at her, his eyes glazed with the same feelings she had—but how could this be? He hadn’t enjoyed the release she had.
“Babe, I can do this all day.”
“I could let you, but I want to please you, too. While I still have the strength.” She laughed then, a long, low rumble that reflected the depth of her sexual satisfaction.
“This was for you, Patience.” He sat up and gently covered her with the blanket. “You’re going to get cold.”
She sat up and sidled closer. “Never. Not next to you.”
* * *
He shook with his need for her and fought his instinct to move over her, to take her fully and completely. He wanted her so badly. He’d savored every last lick, every last taste of her. And still he wanted more.
“We don’t need to use a condom anymore. I’m already pregnant. As long as you’re clean? You said you were that night.”
“As did you. And yes, I’m clean. But, Patience, we don’t have to do this. We moved so quickly last time.”
“By agreement.” She leaned over and kissed him. The kiss was sexy and full of both their scents, with her musk still on his lips. Her hands reached down and stroked him, and he stopped worrying about consequences. He needed Patience, had to be inside her.
He stood up and they both got him out of his T-shirt and briefs. Patience grasped his buttocks and without preamble took him in her mouth. Her tongue teased and flirted before her lips closed around him with the perfect amount of pressure.
“Babe.” He stroked her lush, sexy hair, held her to him as long as he dared. Reluctantly, he gently pulled back.
She looked up at him, puzzlement in her eyes. “Tell me, Nash. What do you want?”
He eased her back and lowered himself over her. She opened her legs again, this time to receive him. “As much as I love your mouth on my cock, I need to be inside you.”
“Then do it, Nash. Take me.”
He prayed there’d be another time to take it slowly, to spend all day and night with her. But not now. He entered her in one swift stroke and groaned with the sheer ecstasy of her tight heat wrapped around him.
“I’ve missed this, Patience.” He began to move, and her hips met his as she gasped in pleasure. He didn’t know where or when, but they became one, seeking a common goal: totally unity.
His climax came at him like a Mack truck on an empty highway, with little warning before the huge spasm of total abandonment hit.
This...this was what had been missing from his life. Not the sex, not the release, but the completion with Patience.
* * *
They lay together, Nash atop her, for several minutes as they both caught their breaths. Came down to earth. Only when Patience’s thoughts turned back to why they were here in the cabin together did she nudge Nash to sit. As soon as he left her she missed him, and he was only inches away. But the omnipresent fear of being killed chased away her afterglow.
She stood and ran her fingers through her hair. Hair that his fingers had turned into an unholy mess. She couldn’t keep the grin from her face. It’d been worth it.
Except now they had to face reality again. Only after she’d increased the distance between them by several feet and two easy chairs did she stop and face him.
“Nash, we’re playing with fire here. With our emotions. There’s no future for us, and we’d both do best to stick to our original agreement.” She watched him as he stood and wrapped the blanket around himself. A pity, as his naked body was heaven-sent.
“Plans change, Patience. We weren’t planning on you getting pregnant. Yet you are.” Nash’s face revealed no frustration, no recrimination. Just openness, honesty.
“Of course, we didn’t plan for the baby. But facts are facts.” She didn’t like it that they couldn’t be friends with benefits, either. This time had been a mistake. But it didn’t feel like a mistake to her body. In fact, she’d never felt so at ease with a man as she did with Nash.
That enough was reason to guard her heart.
* * *
Patience looked at him, her hair mussed from their lovemaking, and it was all he could do to not kiss her again, let the desire build until they were making love on every surface in the cabin.
He stood, naked under the blanket he’d wrapped around himself. “I need to shower. When I come back, we’re going sit down and hash this out.”
But when he came back into the kitchen, after a quick shower and putting his jeans and flannel shirt on, the time to talk had passed. Patience was engrossed in a phone conversation and pointed at the fresh coffeepot as she spared him a quick glance.
He helped himself to a large mugful and added in some of the milk she had in her fridge. It was almond milk, but it would do. Paige had taken to almond milk the last year and he had to admit it wasn’t the worst thing on the planet. He looked out the kitchen window and saw two deer meandering through the trees out back. The kids would love this cabin.
Crap. When he was with Patience it was easy to lose track of time. He needed to check on them. He took Greta with him and let himself out the side door.
“Hey, Uncle Jim. How are you and Aunt Clara doing?”
“We’re great, the kids are fine. Paige and Maeve helped us
get the boys out the door on time. Those two will fiddle about all morning, won’t they?”
Nash laughed. “Yes, they will, but don’t take any guff from them.”
“Oh, they’re polite. They just like to sleep a lot. I remember feeling tired when I was their age, but sleeping in was never an option.” Uncle Jim and Nash’s mother had been raised on a cattle ranch and had been expected to perform their share of chores from a young age.
“They’re not having the same upbringing as you and Mom did, that’s for sure.”
“That’s okay. It’s not a bad thing to be able to be a kid a little longer. How’s your case going?”
“I don’t know—I’m about to head back into town and check it out for myself. I’m going to be on this assignment until we catch the bad guy. He’s threatened our K9 vet twice. Greta and I are keeping an eye on her.”
“I didn’t realize your duties included bodyguard.”
“They don’t, not normally. But since Patience Colton is the department’s K9 veterinarian, I’ve stepped up. The RRPD takes care of its own.”
“I hear you. Dr. Colton took care of Sleepy, you know.” Uncle Jim referred to the cocker spaniel he and Aunt Clara had had for almost fifteen years. They’d never had kids of their own and the little dog had been like a child to them. They’d had to put her down last spring after a cancer diagnosis.
“I didn’t realize Patience was the vet who’d cared for Sleepy.” He remembered his aunt and uncle’s ordeal over the dog when it took ill, and how they’d brought it into Red Ridge after hearing about the K9 clinic being open to civilian patients, but he hadn’t connected the dots.
“Dr. Colton was, and is, excellent at her job. She was also single at the time and very attractive.” Uncle Jim was as subtle as a landslide.