Lauren drained her glass and set it on the table. “I guess that’s one reason it hurt so much. Having me and being loved wasn’t enough to keep him alive. I’d already bought my wedding dress. I donated it to charity and went off the deep end for a while—as you know. But, yes.” A shadow crossed her beautiful face. “I’m a big girl. I’ll be all right.”
“It’s getting late. I know you’re tired.” He rose. “If you want to turn in, I can clear the table and load the dishwasher before I go.” There it was. Sky had laid down his cards. The call was hers to make. When there’d been nothing but sex between them, it would’ve been easy just to reach out and grab her. Now, with feelings involved, everything had become more complicated.
“We needn’t bother,” she said. “Miguel will be here in the morning. He’s used to cleaning up when he comes in, and he’ll enjoy what’s left of the wine.”
“You might want to lock the den so he won’t walk in on a surprise.” Sky turned toward the back door, then turned to look at her. “I’ll talk to my cleaner friend. Is it okay if I give him your number?”
“Yes, of course. . . .” She reached for the wall switch, then turned out the kitchen light.
He sensed her hesitation but knew he mustn’t push her. Not tonight. Steeling himself against the raw burn of desire, he took a step toward the door.
“Sky!”
He turned at the cry of his name. Back-lit from the hall, she stood with one arm reaching out to him. Even from the far side of the room, he could tell she was trembling.
Two long strides carried him across the floor. He caught her in his arms, molding her body against his. Through the thin shirt he could feel every curve of her, the smallness of her bones, the ripe tautness of her little rump, the firm breasts that seemed fashioned to fit his cupped palms.
Bending, he found her mouth. With a whimper she circled his neck with her arms, pulling him down, binding him close, as if she needed to keep him from leaving her.
His need was a bonfire, but he kissed her with a tenderness that astonished even him. Lauren could have died today when she flew across that desk to wrestle her father for the gun. Sky was just beginning to realize what he might have lost and how precious she was.
“Don’t go, Sky,” she murmured. “Stay with me. I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
He scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the hall. “Show me the way,” he said.
In her room he shed his clothes and slipped naked into bed beside her. She came to him, nestling like a child in the circle of his arms. Her lips skimmed his nipples as she pressed her face against his chest.
“I should have showered,” he said. “I probably smell like a stable.”
“No,” she whispered. “One thing I love best about you is the way you smell—like sun and wind and, yes, horses. I love having your scent all around me. It makes me feel safe. And tonight safe is how I want to feel.”
He cradled her close, kissing her hair, her closed eyelids, her willing mouth. She’d stripped off her leggings and was deliciously bare below the hem of her shirt. The awareness sent a jolt to his sex, which had sprung to full readiness. But even then, he couldn’t let himself forget what she’d suffered today. “We don’t have to—” he began, but she stopped him with a finger to his lips.
“Shut up and make love to me, Sky Fletcher,” she muttered.
With a rough laugh, he rolled her onto her back and lost himself in her wild, sensual sweetness.
Afterward Sky lay awake in the dark, his arm curled protectively over her sleeping body. He’d bedded his share of women, but never before had he felt as if he’d just made love. It was an experience he wanted to repeat again and again, and only with Lauren.
But making love to her was one thing—offering himself to her as a suitable husband and a father to her children was something else. The last thing he wanted was for this lovely, well-born woman to be ashamed of the man she’d married. Before he’d let that happen, he would walk away and never look back.
A heavy decision hung over him—one he couldn’t resolve until he’d found Jasper and learned all there was to know about his beginnings.
When Lauren woke the next morning, Sky was gone. She was disappointed but not surprised. Sky had pressing responsibilities on the Rimrock, and he’d missed part of yesterday taking her father to the hospital. She couldn’t expect him to slack off his duties again today.
Reaching for her cell on the nightstand, she called the hospital information desk and asked for the nurses’ station outside her father’s room. Yes, the nurse informed her, the congressman was awake and doing as well as could be expected. He was still on IV fluids and pain medication, but she was welcome to come and see him anytime.
With a sigh of relief, Lauren swung her legs off the bed and headed down the hall to the bathroom. The twinge at the apex of her thighs brought a smile of memory to her face. Last night with Sky had been heaven. But she’d almost had to rope and tie the man to get him to her bed. Tori had been spot on about Sky’s stubborn pride. How could she break down that wall and convince him that she wanted him—wanted to brew his morning coffee, do his laundry, and have his beautiful blue-eyed babies?
Twenty minutes later she was ready for the drive back to Lubbock. Downstairs she could hear Miguel cleaning up in the kitchen. A glance out the front window confirmed that the press hadn’t shown up yet, but she did need to alert the cook to what might happen today.
“Good morning, Miguel.” She strode into the kitchen, glancing around for the car keys, which Sky had left on the counter. She’d already decided to take the big white Cadillac. It was safer and had better air conditioning than her Corvette, which was almost out of gas.
“Good morning, señorita.” Miguel was a quiet, easygoing man of sixty, whose cooking skill
s made up for a general lack of organization. The less he knew, the better, Lauren decided.
“We had an accident yesterday with a gun in the den,” she said. “My father’s in the hospital. He’s going to be all right, but we’ll need you to keep an eye on things here. If a man comes to the back door and says he’s been hired to clean up the room, please let him in. But don’t go out front, and whatever you do, don’t talk to any reporters.”