Chapter 11 #2
“This time.”
Her words struck his heart like an arrow laced with fear. “We are never, ever, ever doing that again. In fact, we may never, ever, ever again do the thing that led to it.”
“We’ll see,” she said, full of her own power. “We’ll just see about that.”
“David,” Janey said as the group headed downstairs to announce Hailey’s arrival.
He stopped at the landing and turned to her.
She looked up at him, so familiar after thirteen years together.
His dark hair was mussed from the long night, his eyes rimmed with fatigue and his jaw rough with whiskers.
Seeing him that way reminded her of waking up with him on hundreds of mornings in another lifetime.
“Thank you.” The words seemed so inadequate in light of what he’d done for them.
“Sure.”
“The baby . . . She wasn’t breathing, was she?”
He shook his head.
“You saved her.”
“I just did what I’ve been trained to do. I’m glad I was here when you needed me.”
“I won’t forget this. None of us will.”
“Thank goodness they’re both okay.”
“How about you? Are you feeling well?” He’d been treated for lymphoma a year ago.
“Still in remission. Fingers crossed.”
“I’m so happy to hear that.”
“The wedding went well?”
Janey’s face heated under his intense gaze. “Yes, it was very nice.”
“Good. Congratulations, Janey. I’m happy for you.”
“Thank you for coming when I called.”
He surprised her when he bent to press a kiss to her forehead. “It was the least I could do after all I put you through.”
Catching him in bed with another woman had been among the most shocking moments of Janey’s life, but it had led her to Joe, and she could never regret that.
“I’ll let you get back to your family,” he said. “Take care.”
“You, too.”
She watched him go down the stairs, where he was thanked with a hug from Linda and a handshake from Big Mac. Even though it no longer mattered, it was still nice to see him gain some redemption with her parents.
After David went out the sliding door to the deck, Janey shifted her gaze in search of her husband and found him looking up at her, his face marked by displeasure.
No doubt he’d seen the kiss David had bestowed upon her and was not at all happy.
Time for damage control, she thought as she headed down the stairs.
She went right to Joe and took him by the hand. “Let’s go.”
“Where?” he asked, resisting her directive.
With quick hugs for her parents, she led him out the sliding door and down the stairs to his Gansett Island Ferry Company truck.
“Janey—”
“Don’t talk, just drive.”
He scowled at her but did as he was told.
As they made their way along roads scattered with branches and flooded with deep puddles that slowed their progress, the first inkling of dawn stretched across the sky. The light pink hues did battle with the dark storm clouds in a riot of color over the Great Salt Pond.
After the incredible experience of helping to bring her niece into the world, Janey was filled with euphoria and energy that she planned to put to good use once she got her husband alone in their hotel room. The thought made her giggle.
“What’re you laughing about?” he said with a growl that indicated he was still annoyed.
“Nothing. Everything. Life is good.”
Joe didn’t reply to that as he pulled into the parking lot and turned off the truck. They ran through the wind and rain, using their key to gain access to the back door of the hotel.
She followed him up three flights to the top-floor honeymoon suite.
He took off his coat and started to turn to her, but Janey was one step ahead of him.
Dropping her wet coat on the floor, she launched herself at him.
Joe had no choice but to catch her.
She peppered his face with kisses, her lips skimming the whiskers on his jaw.
“Wait a minute,” he said. “I’m still mad at you.” His playful tone told the real truth.
“He saved our niece’s life,” she said between kisses. “She came out blue. She wasn’t breathing. So whatever you’re thinking or feeling, get over it. I love you. I married you. He saved her.”
“Thank God for that,” he said, capturing her mouth for a kiss that nearly blew her head off her neck.
She gripped his short sandy-colored hair in a savage hold that had to hurt, but she knew he didn’t care. “Take me to bed, Joe. I want you. Right now.”
As they tore at each other’s clothes, a button came flying off his shirt, making her laugh at the sheer joy of being alive and in love. Her family was safe, her niece was beautiful, and Janey had never been happier in her life.
“God, I love you,” he whispered, his tone fierce and sexy against her ear. “I love you so damned much.” With his jeans caught around his ankles, he lowered her to the bed and tugged her jeans and panties off with one big yank.
“I love you, too.” She dragged him down on top of her. “Now, Joe. Right now.”
He plunged into her, and Janey cried out as an orgasm seized her, stealing the breath from her lungs.
“Christ almighty,” Joe muttered as he kept up the frantic pace.
Janey wrapped her arms and legs around him, urging him on. And when she bit his earlobe, he came with a mighty roar that sent her into a second, equally intense release.
Breathing hard, he rested on top of her as she soothed him with loving caresses through his hair and down his back.
“Are you still mad at me?”
He grunted out a laugh as he finally withdrew from her. “Maybe.”
She pushed him onto his back and went up on one elbow to leave a trail of kisses from his neck to his chest to his belly.
“I can’t have you mad at me two days after our wedding.
” As she kissed him and let her hair glide over his belly, she watched him harden once again.
Smiling, she turned her attention to his erection, running her tongue over the head. “Forgive me yet?”
“Not quite,” he said, sounding breathless.
Janey laughed and set out to ensure that he had no doubt—no doubt whatsoever—that she loved him with all her heart.