the familiar haunting ballad. His voice wasn’t scratchy. It was rich, round, deep, and wonderful. “My God. Your voice is like velvet. Don’t ever tell me you can’t sing.” She rubbed her arms. “I’ve got goosebumps all over.”
“Let me see.” Reno captured her hands.
She followed his gaze and watched his eyes go straight to her nipples. As he stared at the way they poked up against the wet material, she felt them grow even harder, puffier. “Reno…” she whispered, unable to say more.
“Now, this is why I could sing.” He bent to place his mouth over one of her tempting nipples, kissing and tonguing it through the material. “Your beauty inspires me.”
She trembled and held his head in place. Unfortunately, they could hear muted voices, someone was coming near. Journey edged away, playfully splashing a bit of water onto him. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Reno.”
Despite their possible audience, he captured her in his arms. “Simple. You’re going to love me for a long, long time.”
She melted into him, happier than she’d ever been. “I already have, and I’ll love you forevermore.”
…Once they tired themselves out at the Slab, they headed into Kingsland.
“Don’t forget to stop at the convenient store, if it’s still open,” Reno reminded her.
“Oh, yea. Most are open twenty-four hours.” She gave him a teasing glance. “And it’s a convenience store.” She emphasized the different word.
“I know.” He cupped the back of her head and squeezed gently. “I was just playing with you.”
“I do enjoy our play time.” She kept her eye out for a place to stop. “Tell me what it will be like when we get to King’s Ransom.”
Reno rested his head against the seat and turned to look at her while she drove. “Well, I’ve been sleeping in the bunkhouse and that isn’t going to do for you.”
“Don’t worry about luxury for me, Reno. I’m not made of glass.”
He chuckled and reached over to tug a lock of her hair. “I’m going to enjoy worrying about you, but what I was getting at was privacy. The bunkhouse doesn’t provide adequate privacy for us to…you know.” He raised his eyebrows and gave her a meaningful look.
“Have sex, you mean. So, what will we do?” Journey felt an odd thrill course through her at the thought of all the unbelievable things awaiting her.
“I’ll get you all settled in with Fancy and King, they won’t mind putting us up until I can get our cabin ready. I think I told you of my intention to build a home for everyone. With you there, my home will have a heart. Now that I’ve seen how you live, maybe we could put in a few modern type conveniences. I’d love for you to jot down a few ideas.”
“Okay. I’d like that. Perhaps, we could look at a few house-plans together to get some idea of a layout.”
“Sure. I didn’t know those were available. On the internet, I guess.”
“You’re learning.” She put on the blinker and pulled into a small gas/grocery store. “Are you coming?”
He met her at the door to open it for her. “Lead on, Journey-mine.”
She led him to the aisle that offered personal and beauty items. “This store has a little of everything, not a lot of anything.”
“Except drinks.” He marveled at the coolers that covered three walls, containing dozens and dozens of different kinds of beverages. Everything from beer, sodas, energy drinks, juices. “This is crazy.”
“Pssst. Come here.” She motioned for him to come to her. “Here are our choices.”
Reno leaned into look, then he leaned in closer. “Glory Be Goodness. Mega-Boy, Intergalactic Prophylactic, Snug-Fit, Ribbed for her Pleasure.” He winked at Journey. “I like that.” He picked up another. “Night-Light.”
“Those glow in the dark,” she whispered.
He gave her a look of total disbelief. “No, they don’t.”
“Hey, you didn’t believe me about escalators.” She shrugged her shoulders.
Reno took a box of those and a box of Trojan Magnum. “These’ll do.”
Journey giggled as she stopped to get a pregnancy test. Just to be sure, she picked up the two-pack. When they got to the counter, Reno insisted on paying. While the clerk rang them up, he read the box for the pregnancy test. “This has to be wrong.” He looked over his shoulder to where she’d picked up the test. “This product can’t be for finding out whether you’re with child or not.”
“Yes, it is.” Journey spoke to him without looking at him. “Put the box down.”