He closed the door, and moved toward her.
“Do you think all I want from you is sex?” he asked.
She chuckled. “Is that supposed to be a trick question?”
“No, it’s not. It’s not what I want from you. I think you’re an amazing woman.” He kissed her lips again and moved toward the bed.
Maddie watched as he lay down and patted the bed beside him. “Come, lie down. I will prove to you that I enjoy spending time with you.”
She rolled her eyes, but did as he asked, moving toward the bed and lying beside him. Closing her eyes, she placed a hand on her stomach. Cramps were the worst during this time. She tried to hide the pain, but most of the time at night, she usually held onto a pillow to help her deal with them.
His hand landed on her stomach and pushed her hands out of the way. “Is it hurting?”
“Yes.”
Caleb moved her so that he spooned her, with his much larger hand pressed against her stomach.
He rubbed in soothing circles, and she relaxed against him. “That’s nice,” she said.
“You don’t have to worry about how you treat Paige, or if you’re showing her a lot of love. Ivory never showed her any, and I know sometimes the kids say nasty things at the school.”
“She’s got friends though,” Maddie said. “It has taken her some time to get them, but some kids do take time to fit in.”
His breath was hot against her neck, and she closed her eyes, enjoying his attention. Their shared moments really did mean a lot to her. In fact, their time together had given some of the best moments she’d ever shared with anyone. She didn’t know if that was pitiful for a woman of twenty-nine, but she also didn’t care.
Caleb awakened a part of her just by being in his company. She adored him. In fact, she knew it was more than adore, but she wasn’t going to put a label on their feelings, or at least her feelings.
“Do you like it here?” he asked.
She smiled. “You know I do.”
His hand stopped stroking, and he pulled her in close, pressing a kiss against her neck. “I never want to let you go.”
She snuggled against him, sleep coming thick and fast. “Then don’t.”
Chapter Eight
“What are you doing?” Maddie asked.
Caleb smiled and rubbed down his horse. “It’s simple. I want to take you on a trip around the ranch. It will take all day, and I figured with Paige having a sleepover with her cousins, you and I can go and explore for the day.”
“Why do I feel like there’s a catch with this?” she said.
There was, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. “Would you like to come and see where you live?” he asked.
He’d asked Mike how to romance a woman. The books he read were fine, but he didn’t have millions or billions of dollars to take her to fancy restaurants, and the diner in town wasn’t fancy. Besides, she always made the better burgers. Not only that, he didn’t want to risk her bumping into Emily and Chad. He wanted their time to be fun, and about the two of them, not about their past.
“I’d love to.” She glanced around the barn. There was only one horse. “Where’s mine?” she asked.
“You’re going to be riding with me.”
“Erm, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said.
He chuckled. “I heard you tell Paige that you didn’t know how to ride. Besides, this is not a lesson, and I want you to be comfortable.”
“You want me to ride with you?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t that, like, a lot of weight?”
“No, it’s not. Trust me.”
“I do, but that’s a lot of weight for one horse.”
He pulled her close, running his hand down her ass and gripping the flesh. “We can handle you, baby.”
There were times he knew her weight bothered her, and she tried to hide her body from him. He wouldn’t let that happen though. Caleb loved watching her, and he’d even looked into installing more mirrors around his bedroom, just so he could watch her. She made him ache in all the right places, and fuck, he was falling for her.
He didn’t say anything though as he didn’t want her upset. They had a good thing going, and he didn’t know how she felt about him, and he wasn’t used to feeling this way. Not about a woman or anything.
“I have no doubt of that.”
Once he’d rubbed his horse down, he took Maddie’s hand. “Ladies first.”
“Wow, okay, erm, are you sure about this?” she asked.
“I’m really sure.” He winked at her, and he saw that didn’t help and in fact only made her nervous.
She released a breath, and then followed his direction, climbing up onto the horse. She held onto the reins, and he saw she was incredibly tense. “Try to relax.”