They were both getting what they needed.
Bailey came awake and shifted in Walker’s arms, recalling how they’d made it out of the kitchen to the sofa in his living room. She eased up and tried to move off him when she remembered his leg.
His arms held tight around her like a band of steel. “Where do you think you’re going?”
She looked down at him and remembered why he was down there and she was on top. Upon his encouragement, she had shown him that she wasn’t only a good shot. She was a pretty damn good rider, as well.
She glanced at the clock. It was close to eight. They had slept almost through dinner. Okay, she would admit they hadn’t slept the entire time. They had slept in between their many rounds of lovemaking.
“Your leg,” she reminded him, holding his gaze.
He had a sexy, sluggish look in his eyes.
“My leg is fine.”
“It’s after eight and you didn’t take your medicine at five.”
A smile curved his lips. “I had another kind of medicine that I happen to like better.”
She shook her head. “Tell that to your leg when it starts hurting later.”
“Trust me, I will. Making love to you is better than any medicine Doc Witherspoon could have prescribed for me.” And then he pulled her mouth down to his and kissed her in a slow, unhurried fashion that clouded her mind. She was grateful for the ringing of her cell phone until she recognized the ringtone.
She broke off the kiss and quickly scooted off Walker to grab her phone off the coffee table, being careful not to bump his leg. “Dillon! What’s going on?”
“Hey, Bay. I was calling to check to see how Walker is doing.”
She glanced over at Walker who was stretched out naked on the sofa. She licked her lips and then said to Dillon, “Walker is doing fine. Improving every day. The doctor is pleased with his progress.”
“That’s good to hear. And how are you doing? Is it cold enough there for you?”
“Yes, I’m doing good,” she said, glancing down at her own naked body. It was a good thing Dillon had no idea just how good she was doing. “There was a bad snowstorm here.”
“I heard about that. You took plenty of heavy clothing didn’t you?”
“Yes, I’m good.”
“You most certainly are,” Walker whispered.
She gave Walker a scolding glance, hoping Dillon hadn’t heard what Walker had said.
“Do you have any idea when you’ll be coming back home?” Dillon asked.
She swallowed hard and switched her gaze from Walker to the window when she said, “No, I don’t know when I’ll be back. I don’t want to leave Walker too soon. But when the doctor says Walker can handle things on his own, I’ll be back.”
“All right. Give Walker my regards and tell him the entire family is wishing him a speedy recovery.”
“Okay. I’ll tell him. Goodbye, Dillon.”
“Goodbye, Bay.”
She clicked off the phone and held it in her hand a second before placing it back on the table.
“What did Dillon want you to tell me?”
“That the family is wishing you a speedy recovery.”
He nodded and pulled up into a sitting position. “That’s nice of them.”
She smiled and returned to the sofa to sit beside him. “I have a nice family.”
“I’ll have to agree with you there. You didn’t say how the wedding went.”
Her smile widened. “It was wonderful and Jill made a beautiful bride. I don’t know who cried the most, Jill, Pam or their other two sisters.” She paused and then added, “Ian, Reggie and Quade hated they didn’t get the chance to meet you.”
“And I hate I didn’t get the chance to meet them.”
She couldn’t help but remember he’d left because of her. She looked at him. “Do you think you’ll ever return to Denver to visit?”
Walker captured the back of her neck with his hand and brought her mouth closer to his. He nibbled around her lips before placing an openmouthed kiss on her neck. “Um, will you make it worth my while if I do?”
She closed her eyes, loving the way Walker ravished her with his mouth and tongue. Desire coiled in her stomach. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll see what I can do.”
He pulled back slightly and she opened her eyes and met his gaze. She saw a serious glint in the dark depths as he said, “Dillon asked when you were coming home.”
He’d presented it as a statement and not a question. “Yes. I told him when you got better.”
He nodded, holding fast to her gaze. “I’m better.”
Bailey drew in a deep breath, wondering if he was telling her that because he was ready for her to leave. “Have I worn out my welcome?”
He gently gripped her wrist and brought it to his lips, placing a light kiss on her skin. “I don’t think that’s possible.”
She decided not to remind him he was a loner. A man who preferred solitude to company. “In that case, I’ll stay another week.”
He flashed a sexy smile. “Or two?”
She tried not to blink in surprise that he was actually suggesting she hang around for two weeks instead of one. She glided her hand across the firmness of his jaw. “Yes. Or two.”
As if he was satisfied with her answer, he leaned in and opened his mouth against hers.
Twelve
Walker left his bathroom and glanced across the room at his bed and the woman in it. This was the third night she’d spent with him and it was hard to remember a time when she hadn’t. A part of him didn’t want to remember it.
He rubbed a hand down his face. Bailey in his bed was something he shouldn’t get used to. It was countdown time, and in a little less than two weeks she’d be gone and his life would return to normal.
Normal meant living for himself and nobody else. Garth often teased him about living a miserable life. Misery didn’t need company. He didn’t need company, but Bailey had made him realize that five years had been too long to go without a woman. He was enjoying her in his bed a little too damn much. And that unfortunately wasn’t the crux of his problem. The real kicker was that he was enjoying her...even without the sex.
He hadn’t gotten around to working until yesterday, and she had found what she claimed was the perfect spot in his office to sit and work on the laptop she had brought with her. That way she was still connected to her job in Denver.
They had worked in amicable silence, although he’d been fully aware of her the entire time. Her presence had made him realize what true loneliness was because he didn’t want to think of a time when she wouldn’t be there.
Forcing that thought to the back of his mind, he moved across the room to rekindle the flames in the fireplace. While jabbing at the wood with the poker, he glanced back over his shoulder when he heard Bailey shift around. She looked small in his huge bed. She looked good. As if she belonged.
He quickly turned back to the fire, forcing his thoughts off her and onto something else. Like Morris James’s visit yesterday. The rancher had wanted to meet Bailey after hearing all about her. Word of how she’d downed that bear had spread quickly, far and wide. Morris wanted to present Bailey with the ten-thousand-dollar bounty she’d earned from killing the animal.
Bailey had refused to take it and instead told Morris she wanted to donate the money to charity, especially if there was one in town that dealt with kids. The surprised look on Morris’s face had been priceless. What person in her right mind gives up ten thousand dollars? But both Walker and Morris had watched her sign the paperwork to do just that.
As he continued to jab the poker in the fire another Bailey moment came to mind. He recalled the day he’d stepped out onto his front porch for the first time in a week. While sipping a cup of coffee he’d watched in fascination as Bailey had built a snowman. And when she’d invited him to help her, he had. He hadn’t done something like that since he was a kid and he had to admit he’d enjoyed it.
For a man who didn’t like having his privacy invaded, not only had she invaded that privacy, but for the time being she was making privacy nonexistent. Like when he’d come downstairs for breakfast this morning to find all four of his men sitting at his table. Somehow she’d discovered it was Willie’s birthday and she’d wanted to do something special. At first Walker had been a little annoyed that she’d done such a thing without confiding in him, but then he realized that was Bailey’s way—to do as she pleased. He couldn’t help but smile at that.
But then he frowned upon realizing it was also Bailey’s way to be surrounded by people. Although he was used to loneliness, she was not. She had a big family and was used to having people around all the time. He figured the loneliness of Alaska would eventually drive her crazy. What if she decided to leave before the two weeks?
Why should he give a damn if she did?
He returned the poker to the stand, not wanting to think about that. He was expecting another visit from Doc Witherspoon tomorrow. Hopefully it would be his last for a while. He couldn’t wait to take out his plane and fly over his land. And he didn’t want to question why he wanted Bailey with him to share in the experience.
“Walker?”
He glanced across the room. Bailey was sitting up in his bed. Her hair was mussed up and she had a soft, sleepy and sexy look on her face. Although she held the covers up to her chest, she looked tempting. Maybe because he knew that beneath all those bedcovers she was naked. “Yes?”