Chapter Twenty-Three
Wes passed awayquietly in his sleep another four days later. Although Wes hadn’t asked for anything special, Grace wanted to bury him in the cemetery near their family home in Ontonagon, away from Rice Lake, where he’d grown up.
Jake loaded them all on the private plane again to return to Ontonagon for the funeral, and after attending a small burial service for Wes at the cemetery and saying their goodbyes, they hung around town for a few days and were introduced to Grace and Johnny’s friends.
Much to Shanna’s relief, Grace would be returning with them to Crystal Rock to stay for a while until Johnny adjusted to the move. So along with Rick, who Jake had insisted should remain with them for now in case there was trouble, they settled in as a family at the large cabin on Pebble Lake. Jake took care of all the details of enrolling Johnny in school, and Rick decided that he would drive him back and forth for a while so he wouldn’t have to ride with strangers on the bus. Once he made friends, things would change.
There was plenty of room at the cabin, and even an apartment downstairs, where Grace had insisted she’d stay so that she could give them all some privacy. While Shanna spent as much time as possible with Johnny, Grace was more than happy to do the shopping while they both took turns cooking.
Rick was working with Jake full time, officially attached to AFOSI. Apparently, there was concern about some of the names of service members who were listed as financial contributors to the most prolific trafficking organization ever discovered. Every single name that was listed in those notebooks would have to be investigated independently.
While Shanna was living in the luxurious master suite upstairs, Rick slept in the bedroom at the end of the hallway. It had been getting more difficult by the day living with Rick, barely having any physical contact with him anymore. She was beginning to think he was avoiding her, and one night, after Johnny had fallen asleep, she decided it was time for them to talk.
When she knocked on the bedroom door, Rick opened it quickly. All he was wearing was a pair of shorts, and her eyes ran over him heatedly.
He looked impatient as he ran his hand through his hair. “Shanna. What’s wrong?”
Suddenly, she started to cry. Spinning on her heels, she ran back to her room.
Rick had obviously followed her, because he tugged her into his arms once he reached her room. “What’s wrong?”
“Why are you ignoring me?” she asked, resting her head on his chest beneath his chin as tears fell from her eyes.
“Don’t you know what you do to me, when you look at me like that?” he growled.
“No.” But actually, she did. She could feel his impatience growing as he held her in his arms.
He snorted, pulling away. “I thought you needed some time. You haven’t even had your first session with the psychiatrist.”
“I don’t care,” she said, stomping her foot. “Don’t you realize that I’ve never known what it’s like to be with someone who wants me for me—and not just as some kind of sex object?”
“You really feel like you’re ready for this?” he answered, seeming slightly nervous as he held her gaze.
“I’ve been ready since the day you showed up downstairs at the front door. It’s like I’ve been waiting for you to come and rescue me my entire life,” she said unevenly.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said softly, pulling her into his arms, holding her, nibbling at her ear, and running his lips gently against her chin before covering her mouth with his.
They kissed, and it went on endlessly until they finally had to gasp for air.
Determinedly pulling away, Shanna approached the door, snapping it shut. Turning, she let the robe she was wearing slip to the ground, exposing the sexy little nightgown that Rick had thrown into the cart at Walmart when they’d gone shopping.
“I figured you’d like to see this on me since you were the one who picked it out,” she said in what she thought was a sultry voice.
Much to her surprise, Rick started laughing. “I love you, you know.”
Picking up her robe from the floor, she threw it at Rick and began laughing along with him.
“I love you, too,” she finally said softly.
“Come here,” he growled, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Yes, I did pick that out because I thought you’d look sexy wearing it.” He kissed her again, tugging her into his arms when she sat beside him on the bed. “And geez was I right.”
He took her mouth in a slow strong motion that opened her lips and left her vulnerable to the penetration of his tongue.
Suddenly, the kiss turned deeply intense, and Shanna clung to Rick as soft moans sounded from her throat. The strong movement of his mouth opened her lips, and she felt his body quicken again as a warm tide of contentment surged through her when he pressed himself tightly against her, letting her feel his obvious need.
And Shanna felt alive, really alive , for the first time ever.
For a moment he paused, breaking away and breathing hard, as if he was having trouble staying in control.
It was exactly the way she was feeling herself.
“Shanna?” he whispered softly. “Are you sure?”
“Oh, yeah,” she answered, giving him a smile of reassurance when his eyes met hers.
Rick ran his finger gently along the side of her face, before raising his hands, cupping her face within . He stared into her eyes intently before lightly stroking her hair away from her face.
“Just a minute,” she said softly. “Let me get rid of this nightgown.”
“I’ll do it,” Rick muttered.
As she rose from the bed with him, he gently clasped the bottom of the flimsy nightgown, tugging it over her head and throwing it onto a chair beside the bed.
“You’re beautiful, Shanna,” he whispered softly, covering her mouth with his and lightly cupping her breast.
She fell back onto the bed beside him after Rick slipped off his shorts, tossing them on the floor.
And pulling her into his arms once again, he whispered, “I can’t believe I’m here.”
Every point of contact was hot as Rick caressed her, dragging his hands and mouth along from her lips and on to the smooth soft hollow of her throat, before moving down to sip at the nipple of her breast.
For a moment he moved off her, and she felt bereft. But then his mouth found her breast again, and she was alive with desire and sensation as his teeth pulled gently at her nipple.
Gradually, he moved his mouth lower, over her stomach and between her thighs, tasting and stroking, letting no single part of her go untouched or unloved.
And just touching him escalated her desire, she decided, running her hands up and down the length of his back and over his buttocks. Shanna just couldn’t believe that she was here with Rick. It was something she’d never dared hope for. All those years of feeling worthless absolutely needed to be put behind her. She could have never imagined how completely right it felt to be loved by someone who was in love with her .
The tension built to an incredible degree, finally spilling free with her soft explosive cry.
And when he groaned, she urged Rick closer, wanting – no, needing – to feel him inside of her.
It was the definitive connection they’d both been seeking since they’d met all those years before. And as he finally slid into her, this time, for the first time ever, everything in her world felt complete.
* * *
Rick had to search for breath. His upper body felt tight as his heart started pounding hard against his chest.
There was heat running feverishly through his body and straight to his groin. When his endlessly demanding kiss parted her lips, he slipped his tongue inside her mouth, so he’d be able to taste more of her. The sweet moist curve of her mouth had him envisioning all the places he’d just had the pleasure of tasting. He’d been trying to hold himself back until now – because he wanted her so much – but the desire was flooding past his defenses. He couldn’t stop the need that was running through him.
A need she obviously felt too. She was kissing him back, running her hands around him and across his buttocks. Her fingers were firing up the heat already coursing through his body.
He was hot and hard, and Shanna was on fire.
He thrust deeper, and harder, until she gasped as her body arched greedily under his.
He lifted his shoulders up a little further, enough to appreciate the way her beautiful body became hotter and more flushed with each powerful thrust. She absorbed his forceful penetration as he rode her and filled her, and Rick watched with satisfaction as he pushed her step by step closer to fulfillment.
Rick felt the tension inside her coil and tighten beneath him. Her thighs gripped his as he released and held. As their ragged breathing filled the air, hers was a softer sound overlaying the rasp of his own staggered breath.
She reached for him, trying to pull him down to her. Without breaking their rhythm, he shifted his hips, pressing more intimately between hers as his thrusts became deeper still.
Harder still.
Her body tightened beneath his, closing powerfully around his. The heat of her drove him on, taking him with her beyond his yearning and desire and into fulfillment.
As well as intense satisfaction
Until they fell, their hearts becoming one.
When he heard Shanna begin to cry, Rick pulled her into his arms because his own eyes were filled with tears.
“That was the most beautiful feeling I’ve ever experienced,” she said in a ragged voice.
“Ah, Shanna. It felt pretty much perfect, didn’t it?” Rick admitted hoarsely. “Like we were always meant to be.”
And for the rest of the night, Rick just held her.