Page 81 of Wyoming True

Finally, he rolled away, breathing heavily, sweat beaded on the thick hair that covered the hard muscles of his chest.

Ida sat up, no longer embarrassed about her nudity, and looked at him boldly. There were more scars, some on his upper, muscular thighs. She only smiled. “Marks of honor,” she whispered.

He smiled, surprised at the comment. She didn’t seem to mind the scars at all. He brought her down to him and turned her, so that he could see the scars on her hip, where the surgery had been performed.

“It’s ugly,” she said.

“It’s not,” he replied. He pulled her close and curved her into his body. “I don’t want a platonic marriage.”

“Neither do I,” she whispered. She moved even closer. “Jake...”

“What?” he asked, his big hand smoothing over her hair.

“I want a baby,” she whispered unsteadily.

His arms contracted suddenly as the words washed over him like fire. “So do I,” he said, his voice deep and rough with hunger. The words kindled a sudden, unexpected reaction in his body.

She felt it with wonder. She rolled onto her back and looked up at him. She moved sinuously, her hips arching, as if he’d asked a question and she was answering it, without words.

He moved onto her, his silver eyes holding hers as he roused her all over again. It was the most poignant few minutes of his life, even more intense than their first intimacy, because he was thinking about a child, and so was she.

At last, he cried out from the pleasure, biting into him like nails. She sobbed, her own body contorted with the force of sensual fulfillment. They clung to each other in the aftermath, comforting each other.

“In all my life,” he said at her ear, “I’ve never tried to make a woman pregnant.”

She laughed softly. “Until just now.”

He lifted his head and looked into her soft, drowning blue eyes. “Until just now.” He smiled.

She reached up and drew her fingers over his handsome face. “I was afraid, just at first.”

“But not anymore?” he asked tenderly.

“Never anymore,” she replied solemnly. “I...” She hesitated and tried again. “Jake, I...”

But before she could get the words out, the phone rang noisily, the base phone in the living room.

“Oh, damn,” he muttered. “I cut off my cell phone...”

He got up, slid on his pajama bottoms and, with a gentle smile, went to see who was on the other end of the line.

Ida, content as a cat after a saucer of cream, stretched and reluctantly got back into her yellow gown. She’d never dreamed that she could feel passion after Bailey. But Jake had been everything she’d ever dreamed of, tender and patient. She was aware that he’d been a long time without a woman, but she hoped that his reaction to her wasn’t just that.

He said that he wanted a baby, too. She sighed and closed her eyes, imagining a baby in her arms and Jake at her side, looking down at her with loving eyes. Well, affectionate eyes, she amended silently. He might never love her, but he wanted her. That would have to do for now. Perhaps if she worked at it, very hard, he might come to love her back one day.

He paused at the bedroom doorway, his chiseled mouth pulled to one side. “A deal’s about to go awry because the prospective partner has decided that he only wants to do business face-to-face.”

She sat up, her blue eyes curious. “Where is he?”

He made a face. “Texas.”

Her heart jumped. It was a long way away. Her face reflected the sadness she felt.

He sat down beside her, his hand smoothing back her disheveled black hair. “I don’t want to go,” he confessed. “But I’ll have to.”

She almost asked to go with him, but there was something odd in his expression, something that hinted of confused emotions and doubts. She didn’t dare push.

“Okay,” she said softly. Her blue eyes twinkled. “Make sure your pilot is sober,” she said in a stage whisper.

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