Beach Reads Boxed Set

by Marie Force

  “In Paris, after my first season with the Mavs,” he recalled. “You tricked me into eating it before you told me what it really was.”

  She grinned at the memory. “I wish I had a picture of the face you made when I broke the news to you. It was priceless.”

  “I’ve learned to like it as long as I don’t think too much about what it is I’m actually eating.”

  “You’ve learned to like a lot of things you’d never tried before. Escargot, pate, paella...”

  He fiddled with the stem of his wine glass.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked, taking a sip of her champagne.

  “Do you ever feel like you, you know, married down?”

  Her eyes narrowed with confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

  “You had money growing up. You were even a debutante. I was just a hard-knock kid from Dallas who could throw a ball farther than anyone else. I didn’t even know what a debutante was until I was your date to your coming-out thingy.” He laughed. “Hell, I don’t even know what you call it.”

  She stared at him with disbelief. “Are you serious? You have more money than anyone I know.”

  “It’s not the same as growing up with it.”

  “Where’s all this coming from?”

  “I was just wondering.” He had decided not to upset her by telling her about his visit with Henry. “Forget about it. I didn’t mean to ruin the mood.”

  She got up and came around the table to straddle his lap. “I don’t know where you’re getting these foolish ideas, but let me set you straight.”

  He took advantage of the opportunity to reach inside her robe and fill his hands with soft buttocks.

  “Now, you have to promise me this won’t go straight to your fat head...”

  His chuckle died in his throat when she ran her tongue up his neck.

  “I’m the envy of every woman I know. Not only did I land a rich, successful football player for a husband, but he also happens to be People magazine’s most recent pick for sexiest athlete alive.”

  He winced. “You saw that, did you?”

  “Oh, yes, I saw it. I was sorry I wasn’t with you to bring you back down to earth—”

  “As only you can.”

  “As only I can.” She turned her attention to his ear. “So I don’t want to hear any more talk about marrying down or any other such craziness.”

  “How about no more talk at all?” he asked with a hopeful smile.

  She moved provocatively on his lap, drawing an agonized groan from him. “While I can see—and feel—the merits of that suggestion, next on our agenda is gifts.”

  He brightened. “Can I pick which gift I want?”

  “Unfortunately, no.” She got up and went over to where she had left one very large and one very small gift. “Let’s see, which one first?” She picked up the larger of the two and brought it to him. “This one.”

  “That would not have been my first choice. I’d like that to be reflected in the minutes.”

  Her throaty, sexy laugh only added to his discomfort. “So noted.”

  The package, wrapped in shiny gold paper, was three feet tall and two feet wide. He couldn’t begin to guess what he’d find inside. Since she was all but bursting with anticipation, he decided to give her a taste of her own medicine. He shook the present lightly.

  “Just open it, will you?”

  “I am. It’s my present. I should be able to open it any way I want to.”

  She sighed with frustration. “You won’t get any others unless you hurry up.”

  He tore off the paper and found the front page of the day’s newspaper framed and matted in Mavericks’ yellow and purple. “Susie! This is great! How did you get it done so fast?”

  “I have a few connections of my own in this city.”

  “I can see that.”

  “I figured you’d want it for your collection.”

  He nodded. “I love it. Thank you.”

  “Where is all your football stuff? I thought you would’ve taken it to the cabin.”

  “It’s at my place here in town.”

  “I never did anything with that room after you moved out, so you can bring it all home now,” she said with a shy smile. “If you want to, that is.”

  “I want to.” He reached out a hand to her. “I want to very much. Thank you for my present. There’s nothing you could give me that I’d love more.”

  “Oh, we’ll see about that,” she said with a coy smile.

  He turned her hand over and pressed his lips to the palm. “Not only is she beautiful and incredibly sexy, but my wife is also very mysterious this evening. She’s got me so turned on I couldn’t tell you my own name right now, and still she torments me.”

  She glanced down at his lap, which only served to make his situation worse. “That looks kind of uncomfortable.”

  “Do you think?” he asked in a strangled tone.

  “I’m reluctant to deviate from the agenda, but I want you to relax and enjoy your celebration.” She urged him to his feet. “Why don’t we take care of your little problem, so we can get back on schedule.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Little problem?”

  “I meant big problem,” she giggled. “Huge.”

  “Better.”

  She reached up and began unbuttoning the light blue shirt he’d worn with khakis for his meeting with the attorneys. “You’re overdressed for this party anyway.” Pushing the shirt off his shoulders, she nuzzled his chest hair and dropped hot kisses along his collarbone.

  He groaned. “Is that supposed to be helping? Because it’s not working. My problem seems to be getting bigger by the second.”

  When she tugged on the button to his pants, he had to grit his teeth to keep from exploding on the spot. He grasped her hand. “Give me a second, baby,” he said with a deep breath.

  She gazed up at him with eyes so blue he could drown in them. “You look like you’re in pain. I wanted you to enjoy this.”

  “Oh, trust me, I am.” He held her tight against him. “I don’t ever recall enjoying a celebration more.”

  “And we’re just getting started.”

  “Am I going to be able to walk out of here under my own steam when you’re through with me?”

  She cracked up. “I guess we’ll find out. How’s it going down there?”

  “The crisis has passed. Feel free to proceed.”

  She quickly divested him of his pants and backed him up to an easy chair.

  “Let’s go to bed,” he pleaded.

  “Not yet,” she whispered, kneeling in front of him.

  He almost launched out of the chair when she dragged her tongue over his inner thigh. “Susie...” he gasped. “What’re you doing?”

  “While I was waiting for Pam today, I read the new issue of Cosmo.”

  “Oh, sweet Jesus,” he groaned. “What did you learn this time?”

  She stroked him through his boxers.

  He closed his eyes, rested his head against the back of the chair, and exhaled another long deep breath.

  “Did you know,” she asked, as she freed his straining erection, “that men are most sensitive right here?” She used her tongue to make her point.

  “Susannah,” he hissed.

  “I had no idea. I would’ve guessed it to be more sensitive here.”

  Ryan broke out in a sweat as his heart hammered in his chest. “Susie, please...”

  “Is this what you want?” While continuing to stroke him with her hand, she took him into her mouth.

  He clutched handfuls of her soft hair in a futile attempt to regain some control over an out-of-control situation. Hanging by a thread, he almost lost it completely when she added her tongue to the mix.

  He bit down hard on his lip in an effort to detract some attention away from the fire building in his lap. “Susie, that’s enough...Susie!” The orgasm hit him hard as one tidal wave after another pounded through him until he was so spent it was all he cou
ld do to breathe.

  She kissed her way up his belly to his chest. “Feel better?”

  “Yeah,” he panted, his eyes still closed and his fingers still buried in her hair. “I need to retire more often. You’ve never done that before...the whole thing like that...”

  Her cheeks turned to a fetching shade of pink that was in sharp contrast to her sex goddess outfit. “Did you like it?”

  “No, I hated it. Couldn’t you tell?”

  Laughing softly, she asked, “Can we get back to my agenda now?”

  “You’ve wiped me out. I might need a nap first.”

  “Really?”

  She sounded so crestfallen that he forced himself to rally. “Nah. Just stay here with me for another minute. Since I have no idea how long it’ll take to get my hands on you again with this damned agenda of yours, I’m afraid to let you go.”

  “We have just a few items left before we get to new business.”

  “Is that when I get to take a closer look at what you’ve got on under that robe?”

  “If you’re good.”

  “You missed your calling as a dominatrix.”

  Her face lit up with what might’ve been pleasure. “Do you think so?”

  “I’m terrified to answer that question.”

  She chuckled as she got up to get the other present. When she returned, she snuggled onto his lap.

  “What’ve you got there?”

  “Just something I found today at the Sixteenth Street Mall.”

  “You got around this afternoon, didn’t you?”

  She became serious. “Open it, Ry.”

  He tore off the paper and found what had to be the tiniest Ryan Sanderson jersey in all of Colorado. “Very cute, but I don’t think it’ll fit.”

  “It’s not for you.”

  “Then who...” He stopped and stared at her. “Susie?”

  She nodded.

  “Really?” he asked, his eyes filling with tears. “Already?”

  “It probably happened that first time at the cabin.”

  Tears rolled down his face as he clung to her. “I told you my boys were well rested.”

  She laughed through her own tears. “Now we know the secret: no sex for a year, and then bam, pregnant.”

  He rested a reverent hand on her belly. “If that’s what it takes, I hope this guy doesn’t mind being an only child, because there’s no way I’m ever again going without for a year.” He held her tightly as he struggled to absorb the news. “Is this why you had the doctor’s appointment today?”

  “Uh-huh. I’ve been waking up every morning starving and was feeling some other signs that reminded me of when I was first pregnant with...Justin.” Her voice had faded to a whisper by the time she said his name. “Just like then, I could tell almost right away.”

  Brushing the hair back from her face, he asked, “Are you scared, baby?”

  Her chin quivered. “Petrified,” she said with a brave smile even as her eyes glistened with new tears.

  “Me, too,” he confessed.

  “Pam said everything’s fine, and we have to believe it’s going to stay that way.”

  “She’s right, of course.”

  “It’s going to be a long thirty-nine weeks,” she said with a sigh.

  “Agonizing.”

  “But at the end of it, we might just have a baby.”

  “We will have a baby.”

  “Yes.” She toyed with the tiny shirt. “But until we do, this is the only thing I want either of us to buy, okay?”

  Remembering the painful dismantling of Justin’s nursery, he understood exactly what she was asking of him. He nodded. “Whatever you want.”

  “I also don’t want to tell anyone until I start to show. That way there’s no one to tell if, well...I don’t want to tell anyone.”

  “That’s fine. It’ll be our secret until we decide to share it.”

  “Thank you for understanding.” He watched her make a huge effort to pull herself together and not let her fears take over their special evening. “Next on the agenda is more champagne.”

  “Um, don’t hate me for asking, but should you be having that?”

  “It’s sparkling cider,” she said with a smile as she got up to refill their glasses. “I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.”

  “Very clever.” He took his glass from her and brought her back down to his lap. “What comes next?”

  “New business.”

  “Finally,” he sighed, hooking his hand around her neck to bring her in for a kiss that was gentle, possessive, and very, very thorough.

  Chapter 23

  Ryan lay with his ear pressed to Susannah’s stomach. “Hello, in there, it’s me, Dad. Sorry if we disturbed you, but you’re going to have to get used to it. I seem to have trouble keeping my hands off of Mommy, especially lately. Someday you’ll understand.”

  Her fingers combing through his hair, Susannah dissolved into quiet laughter.

  “Do us a favor,” Ryan continued, “and let us know if there’s anything we can do to make your stay more comfortable.” He kissed her bellybutton. “Just don’t check out without telling us.”

  “Ry...”

  He kissed a path to her lips. “Sorry.”

  She held him close and watched the flickers of light coming from the candles he had carried into the bedroom.

  After a long period of contented silence, he said, “I was wondering.”

  “About?”

  “Do you think it’s possible Justin suspected we weren’t ready for him?”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, startled by the question.

  “Well, it took us so long to conceive him.”

  She nodded. “Years.”

  “But this guy,” he said, running his hand over her belly.

  “Or gal...”

  “Or gal. He or she didn’t seem quite so reluctant to join our family. Perhaps it’s because we’re ready for him—or her—and we weren’t before. Mommy and Daddy still had some things to figure out.” He looked up at her with his heart in his eyes. “Is that dumb?”

  “No,” she whispered. “Not at all.”

  “Then we shouldn’t have anything to worry about. This little person was meant to be, and Justin was meant to teach us a few things.”

  Susannah hiccupped as she tried in vain to stem a flood of tears.

  Alarmed, Ryan sat up and brought her into his arms. “What, baby? I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

  “You didn’t,” she said between deep gulping sobs.

  “Then what’s wrong?”

  “You just...”

  “What, Susie? Tell me. What did I do?”

  “What you said...It gives his life meaning. He came into our lives to show us what really matters.”

  Ryan wiped away her tears. “Yes. That’s what I meant. It took us a while to get the message, but I think he’d be proud of us now.”

  “I think so, too.”

  “I’m sorry I upset you.”

  “These aren’t sad tears.”

  “No?”

  She shook her head. “Thank you,” she said, clutching his hand. “For helping me to see it that way.”

  He leaned his forehead against hers.

  “Do you remember when they made us hold him in the delivery room?”

  “Yeah,” he whispered.

  “I didn’t want to, but now I’m glad I did.”

  “So am I. They said it might take a while for us to understand why it was so important.”

  “It only took two years.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m good. How about you?”

  “Never better.”

  “You’re going to have to get used to the tears. Remember the last time?”

  He groaned and fell back against the pillow, bringing her with him. “I’d forgotten.”

  “And the heartburn and the cravings.”

  “Do I get to rub cocoa butter on your belly again? I liked that part.”


  “So did I.” She dragged a finger lazily over his chest and stomach. “Remember what I craved the most?”

  He smiled. “I sure do. Lucky for you, I’m retired now and available on a moment’s notice to satisfy any and all cravings.”

  “A moment’s notice, huh?”

  “Yep.” He yawned and stretched. “Are you hungry?”

  “No.”

  “Tired?”

  “No.”

  He glanced over at her and seemed startled by her expression. “What?”

  She crooked her finger at him.

  When he tilted his head closer to hers, she whispered in his ear.

  Shocked, he asked, “Now?”

  She nodded.

  He stared at her.

  “You said a moment’s notice...”

  “What is it about that outfit?”

  She laughed. “Apparently it came with an attitude.”

  “Do we get to keep it?”

  “The outfit or the attitude?”

  “Both.”

  “Bought and paid for. Now, quit talking and get busy. I’m not getting any younger over here.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Oh, I like that,” she gasped a moment later. “And that.”

  “We’ve turned The Brown Palace into a no-tell motel,” Ryan said the next morning as they prepared to leave.

  “Why do you say that?”

  He picked up the framed newspaper page. “Leaving in the same clothes we wore in, no luggage...It’s all very seedy.”

  “I have my luggage.” She twirled the Nordstrom bag on her finger. “So you’re the only one who’s seedy.”

  “I was lured here under false pretenses.”

  “You loved it.”

  Propping the frame on the chair that still held his hat and coat, he took her into his arms. “You’re absolutely right. I loved every sinful minute of it. Thank you so much for the most unforgettable night.”

  She went up on tiptoes to kiss him. “It was completely and entirely my pleasure.”

  “Do we need to check out?”

  “Nah, I paid by the hour,” she joked and was rewarded with the dimpled grin she so adored.

  “Have you got everything?” he asked.

  “I think so.”

  “No fishnets under the bed or anything else that’ll end up in the paper?” He was kidding, but they had learned to be careful.