Caleb (52 page)

Her
eyebrows rose, but a little of that anxiety left her expression and no new
tears got in line behind the first. He took the towel out of her hand and dropped
it on the floor. He lifted her up. “Put your legs over mine.”

“Why?”

He
smiled. She knew damn well why. “Because I like the way you feel against me.”

Her
thigh slid across his as her arms came around his neck. “You do, huh?”

He
pulled her groin to his. She wiggled them into better alignment, notching his
cock into her heat.

“Oh
yeah.”

Her
head tipped back. “What else do you like about me?”

“Fishing?”

“Blatantly.”

He
chuckled and linked his hands in the small of her back, with his fingertips
pulling up the material bunched there so he could rest his fingers on the top
of her rear. “I love the way you lead with your heart.”

“You
think that’s a plus?”

“I
think it’s a big plus.”

Her
smile flowed more naturally. “What else?”

He
pressed her in, arching her back so her breasts thrust up and out. Beneath the
material of her dress, her nipples peaked. “I love the way you keep your head
in a crisis.” He kissed her forehead. “The way you can make me laugh when I’m
feeling my worst.” He let his lips linger on her eyelids before seeking the
softness of her cheek. “I love the way your eyes crinkle when you’re amused,
the way you bite your lip when you worry.” The corner of her mouth beckoned
next. “I love the way you curl your toes when you’re about to tell a joke, and
the way you blink to hide tears.” Her lips pursed against his, asking for the
kiss he’d give her in a heartbeat. He’d give her a thousand kisses. He skimmed
his fingertips up her back, over her shoulders. “I love the fact that you’re not
afraid to cry, to laugh, to kick up a fuss.” He cupped her face in his hands.
Her blue eyes were shining again, but the emotion behind the tears couldn’t be
mistaken for anything but happiness. “I love you, Allie Sanders, to hell and
back.”

He
caught the tear that fell with his lips, the salty flavor spicing his tongue
with the reality of how much he really did. “And if you don’t agree to throw
your lot in with mine, lock, stock, and barrel, I’m going to—”

“What?”
she interrupted, sitting up straight, all sass and irrepressible humor. “You’re
going to what?”

Ah, a
challenge. He mated his lips to hers, upper to lower, edge to edge. “I’m going
to keep you in bed until you agree to whatever I want.”

Her
eyebrows rose. Her tongue wet her lips, touching his, lingering in a tiny tease
before she pulled a fraction away. “And that’s my incentive to agree?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Sounds
like more of a reason to resist.”

He
shook his head. “Nah, I’m at my most inventive when I’m happy.”

“Now
that boggles the mind.”

Her
kiss didn’t indicate a boggled state. It was passionate, intense, and singed
his short hairs. But when he would have increased the depth, she pulled back,
slowly separating her mouth from his, her mind from his. He let her get as far
as his hand, his fingers naturally conforming to the shape of her head as he
held her in place. “No more hiding. Whatever it is, we deal with it.”

She
bit her lip and grew serious. Her hands dropped between them, cradling her
stomach. “Keeping me around is going to complicate things. There are people
still after me. People who won’t mind hurting your family and friends to get
what they want.”

She
still thought of herself as an outsider. “You still thinking you’re somehow not
family?”

“It’s
not the same.”

No.
It wasn’t. What he felt for her was stronger. Deeper.

He
cupped his palm over hers. “Baby, whether you choose to stay or leave, one
thing is for sure. No one gets to you without going through me.”

“If
the baby is healthy, it might be hunted, too.”

He
couldn’t do anything about her fears as to the baby’s health but share them.
Her other fear he could address. “They can try all they want, but they won’t
succeed. The Johnsons protect what’s theirs.”

“You’re
sure?”

He
slapped her exposed buttock, absorbing her start at the hot little sting,
smiling when she arched her back as the warmth settled into her center. He
placed his fingers deliberately over the spot. She jumped as if he’d spanked
her again; the flicker of disappointment in her eyes when she realized he was
just going to hold her nudged his libido up a notch. “I’m sure.”

The
worry faded from her expression. Her head canted to the side as mischief filled
the void. Her palms slid up his chest, their heat searing through the cotton of
his shirt. “So, pretty much, you’re saying I’m stuck with you either way.”

“Pretty
much.”

Buttons
came undone under her nimble fingers. “Forever?”

“Oh,
yeah.” A cross of her arms, a wiggle that had him dodging her elbows, and her
dress went flying across the room, a red flag of warning to anyone who thought
to repress that wild spirit. “I like the sound of that.”

He
stared at her breasts, fascinated as pink color flushed the plump mounds. “So
do I.”

She
spread his shirt wide. “Know what I like the sound of even better?”

“What?”
He closed his fingers around her right breast as he ran his tongue just inside
the edge of her lip, teasing the lining, absorbing her shudder in his palm as
she pressed closer.

She
caught her breath on a sweet moan. “Allie Johnson.”

“Hmm.”
He pretended to consider it as he nibbled her lower lip. “I kind of like this
living in sin thing. Adds a certain spice to the relationship.”

“Really?”
She tucked her breasts into his caress and wiggled that delightful ass as she
sat back. “I thought things had gotten a bit monotonous.”

“Then
I guess I’ll have to liven it up.”

“With
what?”

He
reached into his back pocket and felt the small circle of gold he’d taken from
his dresser earlier. His mother’s ring. Another bit of his past. Not much to
look at, just a simple band carved with care, but imbued with all the love and
hope of his parents. Hope for the future that had set them journeying across
this country with little more than the clothes on their backs. Hope they’d
passed on to their children. Hope he’d carried in his heart for two hundred
fifty years despite the logic that said it was impossible. Hope that Allie,
with her irrepressible humor and belief, had brought into the light and made
shine again. He took the ring out, keeping it tucked into his palm as he took
her left hand in his. She bit her lip and met his gaze, the blue of her eyes
deepening, her expression softening.

“I
love you, Caleb.”

There
weren’t words to express what hearing those words meant to him, what she meant
to him. And that just made what he was doing more right.

They
couldn’t be more committed to each other, and the words of a preacher weren’t
going to make them any more bonded, but Allie was right in her insistence on
the traditions that married past with present. Keeping them alive kept
everything in perspective. He slid the ring on her finger, smiling when she
just had to help him get it over the knuckle even though he wasn’t experiencing
difficulty. Not because it was too small, not because she didn’t believe he
couldn’t do it, but because she needed to be an active part of things. It was
who she was. A big part.

The
ring settled into place. He rubbed his finger over the gold, a smile tugging at
his mouth as she realized what she’d done, looking unnecessarily embarrassed
when he wouldn’t have her any other way. Caleb squeezed her fingers before
easing her back into his embrace as he brought her closer to his kiss, to his
heart. His lips brushed hers. They parted on a sigh. A soft feminine welcome
that he took into his soul, letting it bond with the bone-deep desire welling
out of soul-deep contentment. This was his woman. The other half to his soul.
The missing part he never thought he’d find. He tilted her head a fraction to
the right with a touch of his thumb, giving her his kiss and his heart as he
breathed, “Marry me, Allie.”

THE
END