me? A little bit of teasing wasn’t at all what she needed.
Deciding to take matters into her own hands, she began twisting her body for him.
He stopped her. “Uh-uh. Not like that.”
“No?”
With a wolfish grin, he replied, “No.” And then leaned her back slowly.
She planted her arms behind her to keep from falling, while her heart lit up with a million little sparks of joy.
Never leaving her gaze, he moved into her with an almost excruciating slowness, pushing his cock to the brink of her ecstasy and then pulling back again, allowing her to feel every inch of him riding in and out.
She flung back her head, her chest heaving toward the night sky as he drove into her with the most sensual rhythm. She fought the need to come by focusing on his breath, on the view of his thick biceps flexing as he pushed his body into her. But the moment his pace quickened, the table dancing inch by inch across the patio with each hard thrust, she couldn’t hold on.
Her orgasm hit her with crippling waves of erotic convulsions, deeper, harder, more intense than she’d ever experienced. Was it the heightened levels of hormones or the fact that she was with the man she loved? She didn’t know, and it didn’t matter.
He bowed over her body with his large, muscular frame and pumped hard. Then he froze as he thrust himself into her one final time, triggering yet another mind-blowing orgasm. Shivers erupted over her skin, and his cock twitched inside her, spilling his hot cum.
After a moment of their hearts and lungs moving together as though they were Olympic athletes who had just finished the decathlon, Bennett let out a little “Fuck” under his breath.
She froze. “What. What’s wrong?” she asked as he continued to hold her tightly, his erection deep inside her throbbing walls.
“I think I got you pregnant.”
“Oh.” She let out a little laugh and smacked his brawny shoulder. “Funny boy.”
He laughed and looked into her eyes. “Hit me again, Ms. Wade, and I might need to spank you.”
Her eyes went wide. Heck no. Me first. “You can spank me if you like, but I’m not taking your name.”
“Why the hell not?”
She smiled. “I never want to stop being Ms. Reed.”
“Why?”
“It’s just too fucking hot when you say my name.”
He raised a dark brow. “I can still call you Ms. Reed anytime you like, Ms. Wade.”
She grinned, enjoying the feel of their bodies joined together. “I’ll think about it.”
If she was lucky, he’d give her another round of persuasion-sex.
CHAPTER 22
“So this was your important dinner tonight?” Bennett asked from behind the wheel of his brand-new black Land Rover with all-terrain tires and state-of-the-art traction control. All right, it was really one of those soccer mom SUVs, but to him, anything that didn’t go fast or climb a muddy mountain was not respectable. He felt better pretending it was an off-road vehicle.
What does it matter? You bought it for Taylor anyway. He hadn’t told her yet, but he would. He wanted to give her time to adjust to her new lifestyle, to let her settle into the notion that she now had more money than she could spend in a lifetime. No, he hadn’t been joking about signing his wealth over to her and the baby. He really hadn’t seen the point of having all that money if they weren’t there to share it with him.
“Yep,” Taylor said, staring out the window at the three-story Victorian with the big garden and white picket fence, overlooking the San Francisco Bay, “dinner at your mother’s house. I hear she’s making meatloaf.” Taylor smiled, her flushed face a vision of sexy, feminine beauty. Everything he loved about her—that fire in her eyes, the way she looked at him and made his soul tingle—only seemed amplified by her pregnancy. Or perhaps it was because she was happy.
Or maybe it’s because you just gave her five of the most incredible orgasms known to mankind.
He mentally patted himself on the back. Making love to her and getting over his little mental block had been quite the victory, but it paled in comparison to receiving her forgiveness. He still found it difficult to believe what an asshole he’d been, but everything around him had been tainted by pain. However, the moment he had heard Taylor was pregnant, he had seen everything with such clarity. Happiness was right at his fingertips, being offered on a silver platter. Yet he’d pushed it away. He’d wanted to suffer. He’d wanted to live in the past.
And then, just like that, he didn’t.
He wanted her.
The day following Ms. Luci’s party, he went to work, clearing the dark pain from his old life off the shelves to make room for Taylor and the baby. His proposal to Mary Rutherford took all of two minutes to make over the phone and thirty seconds for her to accept. It was meant to be. The next part, trying to find the perfect home near her brother Jack—something Taylor had told his mother was important—proved a bit more difficult, but Robin and Candy both pitched in. They said he shouldn’t be allowed to pick the house because poor Taylor would end up with some sterile, modernist palace unfit for a child. Anyway, it had all worked out beautifully. There was one piece left unsettled.
He looked at Taylor in the sexy blue dress she’d thrown on before they’d left. Her long brown hair hung loose over her shoulders, prompting him to lean over and kiss her. Her lips were like luscious little pillows meant for kissing and touching and…
“Can we go in?” she said. “I’m really hungry after that workout.” She grinned.
He smiled back. “Absolutely.”
They exited the car and strolled up the walkway. Music and voices poured out from an open window.
Taylor stopped on the porch and gave Bennett a suspicious look. “Wait. Your mother didn’t say anything about guests,” she said.
Oh, now that was what he loved about her. She could see right through him. He’d never be able to BS her. Or surprise her. She figures everything out.
He flashed her a guilty little smile. “I guess she changed her mind?”
Taylor huffed and rang the doorbell. “You’re up to something, Mr. Wade. I can feel it. You and your mother are sneaky folk.”
She was right. In a moment, that door would open, and Taylor would find her father—a very large man with a scowl to equal Bennett’s; her three very large brothers—who had made him promise to never hurt their sister again or risk losing his legs; Taylor’s two best friends—he was pretty sure they were undressing him with their eyes every time they spoke; his mother, and the handful of people in his life he truly trusted, including Robin and Candy.
Taylor would also find a very big ring and a reverend waiting by the fireplace.
Bennett looked down at Taylor’s beautiful face. I hope she says yes. Because she’s got all my money. And my baby. And my heart…
The door opened, and Ms. Luci stood there in a pale yellow dress next to her bug-eyed manservant, Sebastian. His mother had insisted they come because she actually believed that Bennett’s relationship with Taylor was entirely attributable to the cookies.
But that was crazy. Cookies, he mentally hmphed.
“Taylor, my dear, you’re late,” said Luci with a warm smile.
Taylor flashed a little glance at Bennett and then looked back at Luci. “Late for what? What are you doing here?”
Ms. Luci shrugged. “You owe me a wedding. With that young man.” Her eyes went to Bennett.
“Is she serious?” Taylor asked Bennett.
He nodded, waiting anxiously to see what she’d do. This entire event had been a huge gamble. She could’ve refused to give him another chance.
Taylor laughed sweetly and looked back at Luci. “Yeah, I think I’d like that.”
See. You’ll never lose if you bet on Taylor. Bennett let out a sigh of relief.
“Excellent,” Luci stepped aside to let them pass, “I baked your wedding cake myself.”
Taylor turned and threw her arms around Bennett’s neck, planting a lingering kiss on his lips. She pulled back and looked in his eyes. “I love you, Bennett.”
“I love you, too.” More than she could ever possibly understand.
She moved to go inside, but paused for a moment, a devilish smirk on her face. “Hey,” she whispered, “let’s make sure all our friends and family get one of those cookies. Those things are awesome.”
Ms. Luci must’ve overheard. “Why do you think I baked the cake, child? Now get in here and let’s get you dressed.”
Taylor laughed. “Coming, Ms. Luci.” She gave Bennett a happy wink. “See you at the altar, Mr. Wade.”
He gave her a quick nod. “Take all the time you need, Ms. Reed. I’m not going anywhere.”
THE END