Golden Trail (The 'Burg #3)(203)
She stared in his eyes, her body still, her eyes getting bright and her nostrils quivered. She was going to cry and to fight it back, she served up attitude.
“What?” she whispered back, “Are you growing an army?”
Layne laughed, rolled her to her back, rolled right on top of her and buried his face in her neck.
“You didn’t answer,” he said into her neck.
“Layne, you’re messing up my hair.”
He lifted his head. “Sweetcheeks, answer my question.”
She glared at him, pure bullshit, he could see she was happy and his chest squeezed at the sight.
“One, if it’s a boy. If it’s a girl, two but only with the hopes of having another girl.”
“Evening out the numbers?”
“No.”
Layne’s brows went up. “You don’t like boys?”
“Little boy clothes aren’t as cute as little girl clothes.”
Layne stared at her and saw she was being serious, basing her desire of what gender child she wanted to have on shopping.
Then he muttered, “Jesus.”
“They aren’t,” Rocky defended.
“Girls means I’ve got Cal’s headaches and gotta pray every night they meet a boy like Jas, when Jas is into them, that is. Boys you just give condoms.”
Her body locked under his and she snapped, “Layne!”
“It’s true.”
“Boys means I have to hope they don’t pay a lot of attention to their badass Dad and don’t want a career where they sleep with a gun under their pillow.”
He grinned. “You caught that?”
“Hard to miss when I put your pajamas on it, Layne.”
His voice softened when he assured her, “It’s just a precaution.”
“Against your enemies or the pissed off fathers of Jasper’s pre-Keira escapades?”
He grinned again. “You caught that too?”
“Kids talk and, by the way, that’s reason two, no boys.”
“Why?”
“How many more reasons do you want?” she asked.
“Twelve,” he answered.
“A girl…” she stopped, her eyes unfocused and her body got tight and when she spoke again he knew into his soul, it wasn’t to him. “A girl I can teach, I can tell her things, I can show her the way, I can explain the stuff that will happen in her life.” Her eyes refocused and her body relaxed under his. “A girl I can give all that my Mom never got the chance to give me.”
“Girls it is then,” Layne whispered instantly and he watched Rocky blink, her face startled before that surprise died, hope filled the space it left and she smiled.
“Is that a guarantee, Tanner Layne?” she whispered back.
“Nope, but I’ll see what I can do.”
Her hand came to his jaw, her thumb sweeping his cheek then his lips before it slid across to wrap around his chin, she lifted up and touched her mouth to his.
She dropped her head back to the bed and whispered, “I have to get to work, baby.”
“Yeah,” he replied then dropped his head to kiss her and he did it a lot harder and a lot longer and Layne’s kiss was wet.
Then he rolled off her, watched her roll off the bed and walk to the closet.
Girls.
The first one they’d name Cecilia.
* * * * *
Tuesday, 6:53 p.m.
Layne jogged up Rocky’s steps, slid his key in her door and walked in to soft lighting, soft music and candles lit around the room.
He closed the door and turned toward the kitchen where Rocky was standing wearing a purple t-shirt with a snarling white bulldog on the front and she was looking at him.
“Sweetcheeks, I appreciate the effort but I gotta tell you, I’m a sure thing.”
She grinned but planted her hands on her hips. “A house doesn’t always have to be filled with the sounds of shoulder pads crunching and grunting and the smell of stale beer,” she returned.
“Nope,” he agreed, shrugging off his jacket and walking to the armchair. “Sometimes it has to be filled with the sounds of shoes skidding on a court and whistles blowing and the smell of nacho cheese.”
He tossed his jacket on the chair and turned just in time to brace because Rocky had run from the kitchen and was in the act of launching herself in his arms.
He caught her at the ass, she wrapped her arms and legs around him and dropped her head, her mouth hitting his, opening, his opened in return and her tongue slid inside.
He let her kiss him then he growled and took over the kiss until she mewed and then her head came up and she looked him in the eye.
“Catch any bad guys?” she whispered as he walked her to the kitchen.
“Unfortunately… no,” he whispered back.
Her brows went up. “Any bad women?”
“Ditto on the no.”
“Damn.” She was still whispering and he set her ass on the counter, she kept her limbs tight around him so he moved in close and wrapped his arms around her.
Layne changed the subject. “What’s for dinner?”
“Mushroom risotto.”
It was Layne’s turn to lift his brows. “Does that have meat in it?”
She smiled. “Um… no. It has mushrooms in it.”