A Texas-Sized Secret (Texas Cattleman's Club: Blackmail 6)

He tore his mouth from hers, and for one horrible second, Naomi thought he was going to pull away from her again. To back off from what was happening. Breath catching in her lungs, heart pounding in her chest, she looked up at him and knew she needn’t have worried.

“That’s it,” he muttered thickly and bent to scoop her up into his arms.

“Toby!”

“Quiet,” he ground out through clenched teeth. “We’re too far gone to stop now, Naomi. I swear I will stop, though, if you say no,” he added. “So don’t say no.”

She shook her head, cupped his cheek in the palm of her hand. “I’m not. I’m saying hurry up.”

“That’s my girl.”

Eight

He marched through the living area and straight into the big bedroom. There were two in the penthouse suite, and last night they’d been in those separate rooms. Not tonight, though, Naomi thought. Tonight, things would change. He walked to the wide bed, reached down and tugged the silky gray duvet off and let it slide to the floor. Then he set Naomi on her feet but kept a firm grip on her as if half-afraid she’d disappear if he stopped touching her. But she wasn’t going anywhere.

Naomi turned in his grasp, pulled her hair to one side and said softly, “Help me with the zipper?”

He did, his fingertips trailing along her spine as the material fell open. She shivered when he bent to kiss the base of her neck, and an instant later, her dress was sliding off her body to lie on the floor like a puddle of sunlight. Wearing just her cream-colored bra and panties and a pair of three-inch taupe heels, she stood in front of him, letting him look his fill.

She was a little nervous, because her body was so different now. Naomi had been so careful for so long, counting every calorie, watching every bite, but since Toby’s proposal, he’d been coaxing her to eat more. Now Naomi was rounder, fuller, and the mound of the baby was distinct enough that she actually thought to cover it with her hands.

He stopped her, though, holding her hands in his and tugging them aside. “No, don’t hide from me.” Shaking his head, he let his gaze sweep over her, top to toe and back again. A slow smile curved his mouth. “You make a hell of a picture, Naomi.”

What she saw in his eyes made her feel beautiful. Desirable. She released a breath she hadn’t known she was holding and reached for the buttons of his shirt. Then she pulled the tie from around his neck and tossed it onto a nearby chair. “You’re wearing too many clothes,” she whispered.

“Yeah, we can take care of that.” He did. In what felt like a blink, he was undressed, laying her back on the bed and covering her with his body.

She sighed at the first contact of skin to skin. God, it felt good. Right. The cool sheets at her back, Toby’s hot skin against the front of her. Sensations swarmed inside her, and she fought to breathe past the rush of them.

She smoothed her palms across the broad expanse of his chest, and he hissed in a breath in reaction. Naomi smiled, loving how much he was affected by her. Knowing that he was as swept away as sh

e was. She rubbed her thumbs across his flat nipples until he groaned deeply, then dipped his head to take one of her hard nipples into his mouth.

Her smile slipped away, lost in the rising tide of heat enveloping her. His tongue swirled across her sensitive skin, and he ran the edge of his teeth across her nipple as well. Naomi moaned softly and arched her back, moving into him. When he suckled at her, she whispered his name, threaded her fingers through his hair and held him to her.

She didn’t ever want him to stop. Naomi’s eyes closed on a wave of heat swamping her senses. She’d never known anything like this before. The feel of his mouth on her was incredible, and when he ran one hand down the length of her body, she shivered. His hands, so scarred and callused from years of hard work, touched her skin with a rough tenderness that left her breathless.

He lifted his head, and she nearly whimpered at the loss of his mouth against her breast. But she stared up into his eyes and felt herself falling into that churning aqua sea of sensations. How had she gone so long, never knowing what they could create together? Never knowing what it felt like to have his hands on her skin?

“I’ve wanted this for a while now, Naomi,” he whispered, stroking one hand across her breasts, down her rib cage. “But you’ve gotta be sure.”

She actually laughed a little, to think that he was giving her a way out this time. But no, they were through turning from each other. For tonight, for now, all that was important was the two of them. She didn’t even want to think about tomorrow, but there was one thing she had to reassure herself on.

“I’m absolutely sure. But, Toby—” She paused and took his face between her palms. “Remember what we promised each other. No matter what else happens, we stay friends.”

“Honey, right now I’m feeling real friendly.” He grinned, took her mouth in a long kiss that had her insides melting into a puddle, then said, “Yeah. Friends. Always.”

She nodded, because she was too full of emotions to speak. Naomi couldn’t even identify everything she was feeling. All she knew was that in this moment in time, she was right where she wanted to be. But neither of them needed words right now. All they needed was to feel. To explore. Experience.

As if he heard her thoughts, he slid one hand down her body to stop over the curve of the baby she carried. Naomi went perfectly still, wondering what he would do, what he was thinking. Pregnant women couldn’t be very alluring, right?

“Stop thinking,” he ordered in a hush.

“What?”

“You’re worrying. About how you look, of all things.” Toby shook his head as his gaze met hers. “Can’t you tell that I think you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen?”

“Toby—”