Chirp(88)
“You always sleep naked, and you’re not. You want to move the wedding up. Are you afraid you’ll back out?”
He loosened his hold, tilted her face to his, kissed her, and snugged her against his chest. “The day I got out of prison was the best day of my life, until you accepted my marriage proposal. The next day you climbed on my bike, wrapped your arms around me, and held me all the way home—and that was the best day. Now, with you next to me, breathing my air, this is the best. Tomorrow, when you become my wife, that will be the best. You’re one best day after another, Chirp. Back out? Never.”
“Okay.”
“Okay. Now, about going to Hanna’s. I want you to stay here.”
“You’ll see me in the morning. That’s bad luck.”
“You trust me?” Rance asked.
“Yes.”
“I promise I won’t look at you. It’ll be fine. Now close those pretty green eyes. We got a big day tomorrow.”
She snuggled closer. “Can’t we have sex first?”
“Nope. We’re abstaining until we’re married.”
“You’re being mean. An orgasm or two would help me sleep.”
He chuckled. “This might be a good time for me to watch you get yourself off. I’ll even talk dirty while you do it.”
“No.”
He laughed harder. “Okay, but I’m going on record right now—that’s what I want for my next birthday.”
“Stop laughing. Do couples do that? Watch each other?”
“Baby, anything a couple agrees to do together is okay. It isn’t perverted.”
“So if I wanted you to tie me up and spank me—you would?”
“I said if both parties agreed. Want to make love in strange locations? I’m your guy. Try different positions? Hell yeah. But I don’t swing, swap, or do fifty shades of anything. You submit because I get you so hot you can’t help yourself, not because I demand it. If I do something you don’t like, say so, and I won’t ever do it again. My job is to keep you satisfied. And believe it or not that plays a big part in my satisfaction. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Uh—you don’t really want to be tied up and spanked, do you?”
“No. But I have a list of places where I want to have sex.”
He bolted upright. “You’re shitting me.”
“No.”
“Like where?”
“Airplane. Boat. Car. Deck. Elevator.”
“Stop! Let my brain catch up.” After the motorcycle sex, he should have seen this coming. Of course she’d have a list, and it would be in alphabetical order. “Okay, between the two of us, we have those places. Go on.”
“Float.”
His hand went back into the air. “A parade float?”
“Yeah.”
“Damn, that’s a problem.”
She smiled. “Garage. On a horse. You think Toby is big enough to hold both of us?”
“I’ll buy a bigger one.”
“That’s the first eight places. Should I get my list?”
God, the woman drove him nuts. “No, and we’re done talking about this because I’m getting a bitching boner.”
She flashed the innocent look he recognized as fake.
“If you want to get yourself off, I’ll watch and talk French while you do.”
“You wicked woman. Right now, spanking you sounds tempting.”
Wren
Wren opened her eyes and let them adjust to the dark. A low rumble of thunder announced the threat of rain. Her stomach knotted at the thought of stormy weather on her wedding day.
She glanced at the clock. In four hours Rance would be her husband. Then she remembered last night and how she’d gotten the best of him. But even if she’d turned him on, he’d stuck to his guns. No sex.
She needed to leave before he woke and saw her. As she scooted away, he touched the small of her back. “Where do you think you’re going?”
She pulled the sheet over her head. “Don’t look at me!”
“Relax. I can’t.”
She lowered the cover and stared at him. He’d blindfolded himself with his bandanna.
Moving closer, she ran her fingers over his lips. “Do you have any idea how sexy you look?”
He pointed to his eyes. “Duh. Blindfold.”
“Oh—yeah. I want to take your picture.”
“Is it going to end up in a gallery?” Rance asked.
She jumped out of bed and grabbed her phone. “Maybe.”
“At least I won’t be nekked. That’ll be an improvement.”
As she snapped, he continued to talk. “Have you thought about what you’ll tell our kids when they see all the naked paintings of Daddy?”
She froze in place.
“Chirp? You still here?”
“Yes.”
“What’s wrong?”
She eased onto the mattress next to him. “Kids.”
He felt his way up her arm to her throat, then cupped her face with both hands and kissed her. “You want kids, right?”
“If I don’t, will you still marry me?”