Page 47 of Prince of Tides
“I think you should stay the night,” I said. “I’d feel more comfortable not driving in that.”
“Stay?” Rip said, uncertain.
“Yes, stay here. We should talk anyway.”
“We should? About what?”
“Lots of things,” I said, glancing around to make sure no eavesdropping ears were nearby. “For starters, our thoughts on how to raise a child. Maybe some names. All sorts of relevant things. We still don’t really know one another.”
Rip nodded with each point. “No, I suppose we don’t. I’d like to fix that, though,” he rumbled throatily. “I hope you do, too.”
My throat constricted at the sudden change in his tone. I glanced up at his face, noting how it was focused so directly on me all of a sudden.
“Yeah,” I managed to whisper, my skin suddenly on fire, craving his touch. “I would like that.”
I had to wonder what sort of “getting to know one another” he had in mind, though. Then again, the way my body was reacting all of a sudden, I wasn’t so sure I cared.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rip
Itook her hand in mine as we walked. It was a risk, given we were in her family house and could be seen at any time, but I took it anyway. She was my mate, and I needed to start letting her know that.
Laurie glanced down at the touch, but she didn’t fight me on it or make it difficult. Instead, she spread her fingers, letting my much larger hand swallow hers.
“We can talk in here,” she suggested, gesturing toward an arched entryway into a room full of chairs and sofas. A lounge of some sort.
“No.” I shook my head.
“No?” Laurie questioned. “Why not? Do you no longer want to talk?”
“I’ll talk to you until the sun rises,” I told her. “But I don’t want tojusttalk.”
“Rip …”
“This is a large house. You must have a game room of sorts, no?”
She relaxed, realizing what I’d meant by doing more than talking. Not that I would clue her in that I had hope for that as well. I could tell her body was already coming alive just from our holding hands. Her breathing was a little shallower, and her heart was beating a hair faster as well.
Just like mine. I had to continually flex my stomach and quads simultaneously to try to drain off some blood from my cock so that it didn’t pull my pants even tighter. While I wanted to rip the clothes from her supple body right then and there, I knew Laurie wasn’t necessarily ready to be taken by me again, no matter how much she wanted it physically.
I had to take my time.
“How’s this?” she asked, leading me to a room in the basement.
“Now,thisis better,” I said. Arcade machines of all types covered the back and halfway up the side walls, while the middle of the room was focused on a large, ornate pool table. Air hockey and ping pong sat to the left, while on the right was a poker table and a fully stocked bar in the front corner.
“Boys and their toys,” Laurie muttered, but she immediately beelined to a beautifully restoredMiss Pacmanand began to play. “So, let’s talk.”
“What would you like to talk about? Baby names?” I teased.
“What’s wrong with that? Have you never thought of it?”
“No,” I admitted honestly. “I’ve generally never thought that far ahead.”
I didn’t bother sharing why that was. Laurie didn’t need to know the harsh brutality of the world I’d grown up in. Not yet, at least. There would come a time when that was appropriate, but it wasn’t then.
“Oh,” she said, sounding a bit disappointed.
