Chapter Six
Finn didn’t want Kenzie to go.
But he knew that she would go. She had that look. Vulnerable…and a little bit rattled.
Tonight had been spectacular—for him, anyway.
But she’d told him more than once that she wasn’t looking for a real relationship. Being friends and temporary lovers was about as far as she would go.
He was holding her close, right there in his bed, feeling absurdly, deliriously happy, when she whispered, “I should get going.”
He kissed the tip of her pretty nose. Stay… The word was right there, pushing to get out.
But he didn’t say it. Her eyes had already answered that question and the answer was no.
So they got up. He pulled on his jeans as she collected her scattered clothes and put them on.
“Thank you,” she said softly when they stood together at the front door. “The dinner was amazing and—” her big eyes were locked with his “—so are you.”
Damn. He wanted…
A whole bunch of things she wasn’t going to give him. At least not right now.
And if he hoped to have a prayer for any kind of a chance with her, he was going to have to be careful not to crowd her. She had that look—hungry for more. And also absolutely unwilling to admit it.
If she wouldn’t stay tonight, would she say yes to getting together tomorrow?
Yeah, big guy. Good luck with that.
He tried, anyway. Because she needed to know what he wanted even if she wasn’t going to give it to him. “Come on back over for breakfast in the morning,” he said.
Her eyes lit up…and then she looked down. He waited. She seemed to be studying the toes of her boots. At last, she lifted her gaze to him again. “The thing is, I have a lot of stuff at home I should take care of.”
He only smiled and said mildly, “Okay, then. See you at practice Monday.”
“Absolutely.”
He wanted to kiss her. And she was staring up at him as though waiting for something. He hoped it was a kiss, so he went for it, settling both hands lightly on her shoulders and then bending close.
She neither turned away nor pulled back. He took that as permission. Slowly, carefully, he covered those soft lips with his. She sighed. He pulled her closer. As he deepened the kiss, all he wanted was never to let go.
But he did let go. And then he opened the door for her. Somewhere out in the dark, crickets chirped and a night bird let loose with a sweet trill of song. “Monday,” he said.
“See you then.”
He watched her walk down the front steps and along his front walk to her waiting SUV. Two minutes later, with a last wave out her open window, she drove away.
* * *
The next morning, he was standing at the kitchen window staring blindly out at the waving grasses and the pretty red barn when his phone buzzed with a text. It was Kenzie.
I really did have a wonderful time last night.
Nine words. They made him bold. So, then. Breakfast?
He held his breath as he waited for her answer. Finally, the words appeared.
It’s Sunday. Nothing’s open.
Now, he was grinning. Come here to my place. I’ll cook breakfast. Hardly daring to breathe, he waited for her answer. Several endless seconds struggled by. He just knew she was framing excuses.
But then, she wrote: My turn to cook. Can you be here in twenty?
He grinned at the phone in sheer happiness. On my way.
* * *
Kenzie planned to feed him, maybe visit for a while over second cups of coffee…and then send him on his way. She honestly had the best of intentions.
But then, she pulled open her door and found him standing there on the welcome mat. He wore faded jeans, rawhide boots, a Western shirt, a tan Stetson and a grin that managed to be both devastating and kind of shy.
Just the sight of him had her thinking of last night, of his big bed and his warm hands, his kisses that used to drive her wild as a teenager…and still did as a grown woman.
Go for it, whispered a yearning voice inside her head. The days were flying by. She would hold her baby in her arms in no time.
Why waste a minute? she couldn’t help thinking. They were in this now and it wouldn’t last forever.
He swept off his hat. “Hey…”
Melting inside, she grabbed his arm, pulled him over the threshold and shoved the door shut.
His breathtaking smile got wider and those sky-blue eyes made promises she intended to make sure he kept—and before breakfast, too. “Glad to see me?” he asked.
She moved close enough to put her hands on his chest. “Call me shameless,” she advised.
“Happy to.” Eyes locked with hers, he stuck out an arm and hooked his hat on the coat-tree there by the door.
She kissed him. Because she wanted to. Because it felt so good. Because by then, he had wrapped both strong arms around her. And because the way he looked at her made her feel like the most beautiful woman on Earth, a woman both fascinating and deeply desired.
When she sank back on her heels, she grinned up at him and asked, “So exactly how hungry are you?”
“Is this a trick question?”
His shirt had snap buttons. She fiddled with the top one. “I just want to know how soon you need to eat.”
He lifted a hand, caught a lock of her hair and rubbed it between his thumb and the tips of his fingers. “I have an idea…”
“Oh, do you, now?”
He nodded. Slowly. And then he slid one arm behind her back and the other behind her knees and lifted her off the floor. “Let’s discuss this in your room.”
She wrapped an arm around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. “Okay,” she whispered. “Let’s do that.”
“Kiss me,” he commanded.
She kissed him. And kissed him again.
And then, he carried her to her room, set her down on the turned-back bed and sat beside her. She toed off her sandals and watched as he took off his boots and socks.
The past—their past—was so close right then, or so it seemed to her. She still remembered their first kiss. It had happened under the bleachers during freshman year after the second game of the season. He’d been shy and so had she. Their teeth had knocked together and they’d both jerked away.
She remembered her own embarrassment and how wide his eyes were, the way he’d whispered desperately, Kenzie, I’m so sorry…
He bumped her shoulder with his. “What is going through that mind of yours?”
She bumped him back. “Our first kiss.”
He groaned. “Anything but that.”
“Oh, come on. We were adorable.”
“Kenz…” He kissed her and she kissed him back. It felt so good, so right, the two of them, just sitting here, kissing and then kissing some more.
Eventually, in the middle of yet another, slow, tender, perfect kiss, they fell back across the mattress. That kiss went on for quite a while. When it ended, they were lying on their sides. She stared at him, grinning, and he crossed his eyes.
“Oh, stop.” She whacked him lightly on the shoulder the way she used to do when they were at Tenacity Elementary and he would chase her around the playground and then stick his tongue out at her when he caught her. “Grow up,” she grumbled.
“What fun is that?” he teased. And then he was kissing her again, so sweetly at first, but then deeper, harder.
Finally, she framed his face between her hands. “Finn…”
“What?”
“Everything off. Now.”
They were both naked in a matter of seconds. He grabbed his jeans, pulled a condom from a pocket and set it on the nightstand.
She sat in the center of the bed, arms crossed over her ever-expanding middle, staring up at him, thinking that he was the finest-looking man she’d ever known, bar none. “We should talk.”
He gulped. “About?”
“Protection. Do you always use a condom?”
“Yes, I do. Every time, except for you and me way back when…”
She smirked up at him. “Learned your lesson, did you?”
“Yep.”
“As an RN, I’m an enthusiastic supporter of safe sex.”
He looked slightly pained. “Okay…”
“However, in this case, I think we’re good to go without the condoms. I mean, I’m already pregnant. And I got tested after I found out what my ex had been up to. Tate’s a cheater, but he didn’t give me any diseases.”
“Alright.” Finn stuck the condom back into the pocket of his jeans and rejoined her on the bed. Wrapping her up in his warm arms, he guided her down to the pillows.
She gazed up at him, amazed to be here in her own bed with him. Until very recently, she never would have guessed such a thing could ever happen.
But it had happened. And she was loving it.
His gaze steady on hers, he turned on his side. She did the same. Stirring lovely shivers in his wake, he skated his palm up over the swell of her hip and then downward along the back of her thigh. Gently, he guided her bare leg up to wrap around him.
He entered her slowly, staring right in her eyes.
Neither of them said a word. They didn’t need to. It was so good between them, so natural and right. Her body shimmered with arousal as they moved together. She felt the pleasure rising, a giant wave in a great blue ocean, rearing up high as it raced for the shore.
When she reached the crest, she cried out. Lost in the wonder of that moment, she held Finn tight and whispered his name as she came.
* * *
Finn never wanted to leave.
Their Sunday morning was perfect. After a couple of unforgettable hours in bed, they moved on to her kitchen, where she poured him coffee and then cooked eggs over easy with pancakes, link sausages and blackberries she’d picked herself. He ate everything on his plate and then said yes to more.
Back in her bed, they took up where they’d left off. Her mouth tasted of maple syrup and berries. He couldn’t get enough.
His phone started ringing around one o’clock. He sent the first few calls to voicemail. But there were more—texts, too. He had appointments and he was stalling, because he wanted to cancel everything and spend the rest of the day with Kenzie. Sunday night, too, if she would have him.
But she figured out his game. “You’re supposed to be working this afternoon, aren’t you?”
“Don’t remind me,” he grumbled. “I’m always working. It never ends.”
His sulky expression made her laugh. “Oh, Finn. I don’t have to remind you. Your phone is already doing that.”
As if on cue, his cell buzzed again. “Whoever invented the cell phone should be benched for the season.”