Blossom Street Brides (Blossom Street #10)(99)

He certainly didn’t seemed impressed with her efforts. “What else did you do?” he asked … demanded.

She made flopping motions with her hands. “I baked oatmeal-raisin cookies.”

“I hate oatmeal.”

His words felt like an accusation, as if she’d purposely set out to bake something he would dislike. “They’re in the freezer …”

“The freezer?”

“I tend to eat when I’m upset, and so I removed the temptation.”

He hadn’t moved one step closer to her. Lauren had waited for this moment for days, her heart in her hand, and nothing was turning out the way she’d hoped … the glorious reunion she’d envisioned.

“What are you doing here?” he asked next, and again it was more demand than question.

The lump in her throat made it impossible for her to speak. Apparently, she’d made a huge mistake, and Rooster wasn’t willing to give them another chance. While he’d been away, he’d cleared more than his head; he’d cleared his heart of her as well.

Rather than even attempt an answer, she swallowed hard and nodded, letting him know that she received his message loud and clear and she would leave. Tears clouded her eyes. They both remained stock-still.

“You want me to leave, don’t you?”

He didn’t answer.

His action told her that was exactly what he wanted, but his eyes claimed just the opposite. His gaze remained intently focused on her, as if he couldn’t make himself look away.

It was that small encouragement that she clung to, that tiny hope that all wasn’t lost.

“I won’t do it,” she whispered, doing her best to keep the trembling out of her voice. “I’m not going away.” Ignoring the hard set of his mouth and the unwelcome in his stance, she moved toward him, not stopping until she stood directly in front of him. Right away she noticed that he couldn’t look at her. He closed his eyes as if some great battle was taking place inside of him.

Standing on tiptoes, she brushed her mouth over his. Her lips were soft, light, and gentle.

Rooster remained frozen, unyielding.

Refusing to be thwarted, she kissed him again, this time with more feeling, slanting her mouth over his, letting him know she wasn’t going without a fight.

She felt him weakening, opening to her, but it lasted only a moment before he jerked his head away. He took a step back, putting some distance between the two of them.

“What are you doing here?” Rooster asked again.

Lauren rocked back on her bare feet, accepting now that it simply might be too late and she might have already lost him. Tears pooled in her eyes and she bit her lower lip.

All at once Rooster swore under his breath. Within the space of a single heartbeat he came to her, taking hold of her by the shoulders, half lifting her from the floor. “I don’t care … I don’t care why you came … It doesn’t matter … I’m just glad you’re here.” He held her tightly against his upper body as though to absorb her right through his clothes and into his skin.

Lauren looped her arms around his neck and clung to him. And then he was kissing her as if he was a starving man who’d stumbled upon a Thanksgiving feast, as if he couldn’t taste enough of her fast enough. With her hands framing his face, she kissed him with the same hunger, with the same intensity, until they were both panting, nearly oxygen deprived.

When he finally broke away, Lauren swayed off balance. His hands on the curve of her shoulders were all that kept her upright. His own shoulders heaved as he held her at arm’s length.

After several moments, he seemed to regain his breath. “I need a shower and a shave.” He paused long enough to kiss her and added, “Then we can talk.”

“I’ll make coffee.”

Rooster nodded, and Lauren started to turn away, but her husband caught her hand and stopped her and raised her fingers to his lips, kissing the back of her hand.

As though it pained him to be away from her longer than necessary, he headed into the bedroom while Lauren went into the kitchen. She had just pulled out the coffeemaker when she heard Rooster call her name.

“For the love of heaven, woman, what did you do with my underwear?” he called out.

Hearing him opening and closing drawers, Lauren rushed into the bedroom. “Sorry, I forgot to tell you I changed a few things around in here as well.”

“So I noticed.” He looked about the room and shook his head. The bed was on the opposite wall and the dresser was where the bed had once been.

“You moved the bedroom furniture around on your own?” he asked with a frown.

She nodded. “I had a lot of energy to burn off, and, according to what I learned in the feng shui book, there was no balance in the room.”

Rooster simply shook his head.

“You’ll find your things in the middle shelf in the bathroom.” It made sense to Lauren, as that was where they should be.

“And towels?”

“Hall closet.”

“Anything else I should know?”

“Just one thing,” she whispered. “I’m crazy over you.”

Rooster reached for her, his large hand at the base of her neck as he pulled her mouth to his. The kiss was deep and filled with weeks of longing. When he broke it off, he braced his forehead against hers. “I won’t be long.”