wanted to tell her he’d be thrilled if she wound up pregnant from tonight. Just the thought of seeing her carrying his child, getting to experience everything he’d missed out on with Reed, warmed him from the inside out. But he knew she wasn’t ready to hear that. Not yet.
“Plus,” she added. “I’ve been through every test under the sun and I can say for certain, that’s one part of my body that’s completely healthy. And I trust you. I’m not worried.”
He hated that they were having this conversation. That it was even an issue. “I was always careful. I want you to know that. If I had thought there was any chance, even a minuscule one, that you were still alive, I never would have been with anyone else.”
Her eyes darkened. “I believe you.”
He didn’t want her to believe it. He wanted her to feel it. To know she was the only one he’d ever wanted. He brushed a curl back from her face. “I would never do anything to hurt you.”
“I know that too,” she whispered.
He leaned in and kissed her, felt his heart swell when she kissed him back.
“I can do better,” he said against her lips, running his hand down the soft indent of her spine.
“Right now? Are you up for that already?”
“Babe, I’ve been up for it ever since you walked back into my life.”
When she laughed, relief swamped him. He pulled her down onto the plush, red comforter, rolled her over, kissed her again, then eased back just long enough to look down into her eyes. “Did you really think you could get rid of me so easily?”
“Too obvious?”
His fingers tangled in her hair. “You almost had me convinced, until I remembered your eyes could never lie. They still can’t.” He kissed her eyelids, slid down to her mouth, traced his tongue along her lips until she opened and drew him in.
“I’ll have to remember that,” she mumbled when they were both breathless.
“Tell me what you want,” he whispered as he ran his hand down her side, grazing his knuckles against the swell of her breast.
“I don’t want to think. I just want you to touch me like you did before. I want to forget everything but you.”
“Oh, babe. I think I can help you out there.”
“Good. Because right now, all I need is you, Ryan.”
And those were all the words he ever needed to hear.
***
Kate flexed her toes, stretching out her foot. She couldn’t remember a time she’d felt so relaxed, so sated, so calm. Every muscle in her body was loose and invigorated.
She glanced down at Ryan, and a smile slid across her face. His head lay pillowed on her chest, his arm draped across her waist, his legs tangled with hers. Even in sleep he didn’t seem to want to let go of her. Her fingers knotted in his hair, the silky blond tendrils tickling her skin. She’d never felt as desired, as wanted as she had the last few hours.
They’d made love twice more before he’d finally pulled her close and drifted off to sleep. Rain pelted the window outside, waves crashed against the shore in the dark, but in the confines of her little house, she was warm and content. And, for the moment, happy.
The kids were still with her parents, the phone was unplugged, and the nightmare that was her life shifted to the back of her mind. She’d deal with all that later. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy the moment, in case it didn’t last.
“Don’t,” Ryan said without moving.
Her fingers paused in his hair. “You don’t like that?”
“No, I love that. Keep doing it. Just stop thinking.”
She smiled wider. “How do you know that’s what I’m doing?”
“Babe, I can practically hear the gears grinding away in that thick skull of yours.”
“They were not,” she said playfully. “And it’s not that thick.”
A chuckle bubbled through him, one that vibrated in her own chest as he nuzzled her bare breast. “If you say this was a mistake I’m going to have to make love to you again until you stop thinking.”
“I wasn’t going to say that.”
“No, but you’re thinking it.”
“Well, of course I was thinking it. I’m a smart woman.”
With a smile, he skimmed his hand up her thigh and pressed his fingers into a pressure point in her hip. She giggled and tried to move away.
“Okay, you were warned.” His lips trailed across her chest, up to her neck. Warm hands slid up her body to