Mary Wine (22 page)

* * * * *

He
was coming.

Roshelle felt her heat accelerate as Jared closed the distance between them. She hurried to wash the soap from her hair. She was always so vulnerable to him. Even now, her body was rejoicing at the idea of being able to fling herself into his embrace.

She couldn’t do that. There were too many things unsettled. Too many horrible possibilities of what might happen to her son once he was born. Too high a chance that Jared would disappear. Protecting her heart seemed the only thing she could do for herself. So Roshelle shoved a wall up to keep her dream specter out.

“Roshelle?” Jared stood in the doorway and aimed his emerald eyes at her. Her body leapt in response to the solid appearance of the man she’d fallen hopelessly in love with. Her emotions rolled as she struggled to keep him from ripping her fragile defenses aside.

Jared drank in the sight of her. He’d sat on the edge of the bed and just watched her sleeping because it filled in the empty hole he’d carried around since she’d been taken from him. Roshelle turned large eyes up to his as she thrust a wall up to keep him out.

The rejection slapped him across the face with its ugliness. Roshelle would accept him, if it took the rest of her life to make her see it.

“I’m going to smash that wall of yours into bits.”

Jared caught her hand firmly clasping it with his large one. He curled each digit around her flesh ‘til a solid connection bound them together into a circuit that began to carry energy between their bodies.

“You don’t have to like what I am, honey, but you’re going to get comfortable with it.”

A twist of his wrist pulled her, baby and all, against his body. His mouth settled onto hers in firm conquest as Jared sought to reunite with his mate. Her scent wove itself directly into his brain. Separation was far too desolate, having Roshelle back in his embrace called up a hunger that Jared was ravenous to feed.

But there was one thing that he needed to do first.

She actually felt the ache when Jared pulled their lips apart. Her eyes sprang open to find his emeralds probing into them. His face tightened just seconds before he bent to scoop her off her feet. He held her stare just as firmly as his arms carried her body. The door to the bedroom was kicked shut with far more strength than needed. Roshelle jumped, as the wood door slammed shut. Jared’s mouth rose up in pure pleasure. That grin rose to a menacing smile as he settled on body on the surface of his bed.

“Welcome home.”

Any comment she might have voiced never made it past her lips. Jared renewed his possession of her mouth as he pulled her towel. Roshelle didn’t care. The garment was a barrier that abraded her skin. Her flesh was screaming for the contact of his and she refused to be patient! Pulling at his shirt, she sent the buttons flying into the dark corners of the room. She moaned in pleasure as her hands found the body that she so needed right now.

His tongue thrust into her mouth. The kiss was a deep penetration. Roshelle twisted as he caught the back of her head and held it still for his lips. His mouth trailed over her chin and down her neck.

He nuzzled against her breasts for a moment before pulling one of the nipples into his mouth. Roshelle gasped as sensation spread from her nipple to her belly in a hot wave of need. She was suddenly desperate for him. Inside her passage an ache speared her, making her hips twist with desperation.

He could smell her. Jared felt his body jerk as the scent from her passage rose up. His staff throbbed as he found her other nipple and licked its swollen point. He thrust a finger into her body and groaned. She was flooded with moisture. Pulling his finger free, he spread the fluid over the folds of her sex.

He rose above her like a primitive beast. Roshelle stared at the hard cut of his jaw as he fit the head of his staff against her body. He cupped her cheek as he deliberately pressed into her mind before entering her body.

Emptiness dissipated as he joined them together. His body thrust forward as Roshelle eagerly tilted her hips for the invasion. She needed the stretching of her body, craved the mingling of their minds. Pleasure spilled from every corner of mind and body as his hips drove her towards climax. The merging of their minds magnified it ‘til they both cried out with the explosion of rapture.

* * * * *

A fist landed on the bedroom door. Roshelle jerked awake as the door pushed in. A soldier, complete with helmet, poked his head into the room.

“Ma’am, we lift off in twenty minutes.”

He was gone before his voice finished bouncing off the opposite wall. Roshelle blinked and looked behind her. She knew Jared was gone but couldn’t resist the urge to check. She stumbled from the bed and ran for the shower. Whatever the day held, it would be better with a clean head of hair.

She found herself in a helicopter exactly ten minutes later. Noise bounced around the inside of the machine, making conversation limited to the helmet communication links. There was nothing to say that she needed an audience for and every member of the flight crew wore a helmet.

This time Jared blocked her out. Roshelle watched as miles dropped behind their helicopter and searched for the man that had spent the night with her. Her body ached slightly and her son kicked but there was nothing else to remind her of Jared.

They touched down outside the house that Roshelle had come to know so well. Her door was pulled open. She stepped out and searched again but even Jared’s men were eagerly hiking up to their own homes.

Roshelle stared out at the wooden steps that led up to Jared’s house. She cast her eyes about the compound. In an odd sort of way, she felt very much the same way she did the first night Jared brought her here.

Where was he?

Roshelle climbed a couple of the steps to see over the truck but the night covered anyone that might be standing about. Oh, but
he
was here! She could feel her dream specter. Jared was once again merging with the night. Melting into the forest like a dreamspun creature.

The baby moved inside her. Jared was a man! He wasn’t made of moonlight, but of flesh and blood. Their son proved it!

The night was cool and the wind was picking up. Lifting her chin, Roshelle climbed the remaining stairs and entered the house.

She still loved this house. There was a simple serenity that the place seemed to radiate. Just like her grandmother’s house. But it was different. In Abba’s house, Roshelle was wrapped in the comforting care of loving parents. Jared’s house surrounded her in an embrace that was defiantly male. Dominating, aggressive but completely protecting.

When the house stood dark it didn’t bother her. Jared was so much in tune with the night that it just seemed natural for his home to sit in darkness.

But the house wasn’t dark tonight. A fire was slowly burning in the fireplace. It wasn’t a roaring blaze but one that had burned its way down to slow, licking flames and glowing coals. The heat filled the room with a welcoming feel.

So why was he hiding?

The question tore at her heart.

Maybe the decision wasn’t completely his. Tears once again pricked her eyelids. Jared obviously led a very dedicated life. Roshelle wasn’t fool enough to miss the fact that he didn’t exactly have the options of just quitting and walking away. No, she doubted the Army units sitting over the hill in his mother’s front yard would take that action very kindly.

Besides, Jared belonged here. It was bred straight into him. A man like him would wither and die in a civilian world.

And she couldn’t leave her life behind, either.

But Jared hadn’t asked her to, either. Why did she have to love the man so very much? It was consuming her. Right now she’d willing pledge herself to a life of nothing but housewife duties if Jared asked her to.

Her feet were pacing as she turned circles inside her head. Roshelle stopped and stared at the light spilling out from the back room. The message smacked her clean across the face.

Once again she was being moved into the guest bedroom. Turning her head she looked at the double door entrance of the master room. Both doors were firmly closed without a hint of light to be found.

Coward wasn’t a word that Roshelle had ever thought of in connection with her
dream specter
. Right now it was springing up in bold letters. So, the man couldn’t find the guts to banish her in person? Well, she wasn’t going to be that easy to discard!

With her back ramrod straight, Roshelle walked down that hallway. She would sleep under his roof and if Jared Campbell thought for one second that she was just going to slip away into some corner and hide until their baby was born…the man had an awakening coming!

The second her foot crossed the threshold, Roshelle stopped in shock. Her mouth actually dropped open. Her mind raced as it tried to read Jared’s current message.

The room was still furnished. Wall to wall this time. Even curtains and a valence adorned the window. Tiny details declared a level of attention that floored her.

It wasn’t a guestroom, it was a nursery.

Chapter Fifteen

Perfect in every detail. This nursery lacked not a single feminine desire. The crib was outfitted with a colorful sheet and comforter set. Printed with hot air balloons, red, blue, yellow and green all gave cheer to the bed. A mobile of matching balloons was hung over the crib and wooden wall decorations were hung on the wall opposite the window.

A changing table stood under the window with diapers stacked neatly along side it. Her eyes fell on the stockpile of baby products on the shelf under the diapers. Baby powder, rubbing alcohol, diaper wipes and all of the things that modern society marketed to make a mother’s life easier.

An easy glide rocking chair was in the corner. Not the bargain model either. This one was top of the line with plump cushions and even a footrest that glided as well.

“I guess I should have asked you what colors you prefer.”

“It’s perfect.” Roshelle turned to face Jared. She forced her tears back. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest with his eyes on guard against her. His wall stood firmly in place. Roshelle nodded in defeat.

Her desolation cut him to the core. Jared clenched his teeth together in frustration. His body shifted as he tried to comprehend her mood. Jesus! He was never nervous! Only Roshelle could reduce him to a pile of uncertain doubt.

“Just tell me what you need, Roshelle! I swear I’ll find a way to make it happen!” The man charged at her like a bull. His mind cut into her in brutal possession. Roshelle found herself flooded with a surging need that rivaled her own longings.

Jared curled his hand around the back of her head. That spicy scent of her wove around his face and he closed his eyes with a groan. “We will find a way to make this work!”

Roshelle stared at the emerald intensity of the man in front of her. The heat of his determination seared her skin. “All I need is you.”

“Then why are you crying?”

She shifted away from him. Jared snorted with frustration. She moved away from him just like the first time he’d faced her down in this room. She came to an abrupt stop and spun about to face him. Her brown eyes lifted to his as decision set her features.

“I love you, Jared Campbell. I know that doesn’t change your feelings but I can’t change the way I feel, either.”

The curse he let out turned her cheeks scarlet.

“Don’t love you? Good God, woman! I can’t make it a single hour without thinking about you.” Jared followed her across the room and caught her chin in his hand. “You can feel it, lady.”

“But…you’ve never said a word…anything.”

Jared bit his next curse back. He was going to have to learn how to talk around a lady. He stepped up in front of her again and framed her face with his hands. “I love you, Roshelle Marie Everitt, and I really hope you can find the patience to live with me because Christina insisted that I buy the most expensive ring the jeweler had in his case and my dad made me swear he’d get to see the ceremony.” She opened her mouth but Jared wasn’t finished. “And if you say no, I should warn you that I will take Shane’s suggestion and use a chain to keep you around while I soften you up. It could take years.”

“You went shopping with Christina?” The idea was so funny Roshelle almost turned purple trying to hold back her laughter.

“Hell, no!” Jared turned his head slightly. “I surrendered my credit card right after I got done begging her for help. And that friend of yours made me beg but my mother doesn’t know the first thing about shopping.”

Her laughter lit up the room. Damned if it didn’t light up the entire mountain. Jared glared at her a moment before a smile broke across his face. What was money worth in comparison to having Roshelle happy? “Buy what ever you want.”

“Money can’t buy what I need, Jared. Love isn’t for sale.”

An incoming aircraft shattered their privacy. The helicopter swooped down so low it shook the walls of the house.

“There might have to be some adjustments around here as long as we intend to have a baby in the house.”

A ferocious grin lit up his face. “I’ll be delighted to go explain that to your father!”

Jared was gone a second later. Roshelle followed him. Her father was here?

The noise rose to near deafening levels as Roshelle went out the front door. The helicopter hovered in the middle of the front drive, a man jumped from it before it even touched down.

Jared rounded on their company with complete fury. His arms uncrossed while his body braced for attack.

“Get back in your bird, Ross!”

“That’s my daughter.” Her father faced off with Jared. The two men looked like a pair of grizzly bears about to battle for territory. The night suddenly became alive with other people. Shane and his men stepped out of their hiding places to surround Devon’s escort.

Grace materialized from the night with Colonel Jacobs right behind her.

“It’s not up to you, Campbell! My daughter can leave with me if she chooses to!”

“It sure as hell is up to me! Because I love her and she is going to marry me and live with me right here!” Jared coupled his words with a solid right cross that sent Devon staggering backwards.

It really should have appalled her. Really. Instead Roshelle fought the urge to laugh. Her father growled before charging at Jared. The two began brawling in the front yard as the group around them looked on with amusement. Well, when you loved a man like Jared, you just had to take the whole package.

Lifting her chin, Roshelle walked right into the fight. Her father saw her first and drew his body back. Jared twisted about and she looked over the harsh cut of his face. Blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth and his eyes betrayed a rather primal enjoyment of the fight. Yes, she would take the entire package and, God willing, her son would become a man in his father’s image.

“While it is custom in some families to ask the father of the bride for permission first, somehow, I really don’t think this is quite the tradition.”

“I didn’t ask him. I told him!”

“Yes, you did.” Roshelle rubbed her belly before raising her eyes again. “And just exactly how much longer is it going to take you to finish explaining things to him?”

A grin appeared on Jared’s face. He sunk into her feelings and felt the weight lift from his shoulders. Her sprit was as light and full of that unique joy that seemed to live inside her. Her eyes were steady as he stared into them. The rest of the world could be damned because this had always been the way they touched each other. Their minds mingled in the purest form of intimacy.

“We are getting married, and tell your pilot not to buzz the house. We are going to have a baby.”

Her father laughed as his eyes roamed over her calm features. There was the clear brush of his mind against hers before he smiled at her. “I think you take after me, daughter.”

Her father stared past her to where Grace stood considering the group. A slow nod of his head was sent at Jared’s mother before the man turned back to look at Jared. Her father gently patted her large belly before pointing a finger at Jared.

“I think you’d better get around to marrying my daughter, before I have to kick your tail, Pup.”

Jared’s men broke into a chorus of groans.

“Another good man gets shackled!”

“Poor sucker.”

“The old nose ring!”

Roshelle fluttered her eyelashes in response. The groans returned as the men backed away from her. Her feet shifted and she caught her breath. The shell rock that lined the driveway was going to have to go!

Even the slightest amount of pain crossed over though their link. Jared frowned as he considered the reason. His eyes fell onto Roshelle’s bare feet a second before he lifted her off the sharp surface of the rocks.

He carried her straight into his house. Ignoring one and all, Jared sent the front door closed with a kick of his booted foot. He angled them through the master bedroom door and settled her onto the bed.

Her son sent a kick into the swollen mound of her belly. Jared’s fingers gently smoothed over her skin as his son kicked again.

Abba would have approved.

This family shared its love just as countless others across the globe did. Their names and abilities didn’t matter.

“I’ll be here at sunup, Pup!” Her father’s voice drifted through the open front window as Roshelle watched Jared grimace.

“Grandparents are a great thing for a child.”

A dark eyebrow lifted as Jared stroked the swell of her belly again.

“Guess I’ll have to let that old man live.”

The rough comment didn’t bother her. Jared was in his element and she wouldn’t have him any other way.

Roshelle felt a smile spread across her own face. They were both caught in the binding hold of love. The emotion moved between them ‘til Roshelle lost where she began and Jared ended. It went beyond the flesh of the body and maybe even beyond this lifetime.

Because it was love…