Dream Wedding(46)
Who was this woman who had made a place for herself inside of him? Was he crazy? They couldn’t get involved. She was three different kinds of home and hearth. He’d never lived anywhere longer than six months at a time and he had no intention of changing his ways. He didn’t want to settle down. Except for the occasional loneliness, he liked his life. Especially tonight.
He shifted until he was facing her, then he kissed her. The passion flared more slowly this time. Her arms wound around his neck as she opened her mouth to him. As if she read his mind.
Connected, he thought, distracted by the need building. They were connected. Maybe the thought should send him running for cover. It usually did.
“I want you,” he murmured against her mouth. “I want to be in you. I want to feel you under me.”
Her breathing quickened as her body responded to what he’d said.
They were well matched. She was tall for a woman, and he liked that. He liked the feel and smell of her skin, the brush of her legs against his. He liked her small, tight breasts and the tautness of her nipples. He liked the way her long hair spilled over her breasts, both exposing and concealing them. He liked her.
Something had happened between them. He knew that now. He didn’t want to get involved, but he couldn’t walk away from her. Not yet. Not tonight and maybe not for a couple of days. He wanted her too much.
As he reached for another condom, he told himself he was risking a lot. Maybe he should back off now.
He tried his surefire method for disconnecting. He pictured Chloe about thirty pounds heavier with a baby in her arms and another clinging to her skirts. He imagined a house, a yard and a minivan in the driveway. In his mind’s eye, he saw the suburbs, his nine-to-five job and a medical and dental insurance plan. Then he waited.
But the arousal didn’t go away and the vision didn’t make him cringe. When she reached her hand between them, he allowed her to guide him inside her. They both groaned as he slid home.
As he began to thrust into her, he moved his hands all over her body. He liked her like this, but the thought of her with rounder hips, gently aging, didn’t distress him as it should have.
He reminded himself that he came from a long line of men who got love all wrong. His grandfather, his father and him. He would never settle down, so this was just make-believe. Not love. Never love.
As her legs encircled him, he told himself this was all he was ever going to have. And for now it was enough.
CHAPTER TEN
DESPITE THE HARD ground, Chloe found herself drifting off to sleep. Perhaps it was a result of the physical exercise from hiking all afternoon. Or maybe it was because her body had been so thoroughly satisfied by Arizona’s lovemaking. She decided she didn’t much care. As long as he snuggled next to her, his arms around her making her warm and keeping her safe.
She lay on her side with him behind her, spooning against her. One arm rested heavily on her waist. She placed her hand on top of his and savored the feel of him. Her mind drifted and images formed. Images of Arizona. They hadn’t know each other very long, but already the man was very much a part of her life.
She slept dreamlessly until well after midnight. Then she sank deeper and deeper into the dreaming place. Unrelated bits and pieces flitted through her mind until they came together to form a picture. Chloe found herself walking toward a vehicle. But instead of her sleek, sporty convertible, she unlocked a Suburban.
“Come on, you two,” she called over her shoulder. “We’re going to be late.” But she wasn’t angry as she spoke. The scene had been played out a hundred times before and they’d never once been late, although the children did love to dawdle.
A girl of maybe six or seven and a boy of four trotted after her, then climbed into the truck. Chloe stepped in after them. She checked to make sure they were wearing their seat belts, then carefully adjusted her own so that it encircled her very pregnant belly.
As she backed out of the driveway, she glanced up and saw the Victorian house where she’d lived her entire life. An upper floor curtain moved and Aunt Charity waved at her. Chloe waved back. Aunt Charity would take care of making dinner tonight, as she had for the past couple of weeks. Chloe was running behind on her book deadline, and she wanted to get the project out before the baby came. Plus there was the party on Friday, for which she wasn’t close to ready. Her daughter needed a costume for the school play; she and Arizona had to make plans to celebrate their anniversary. It was overwhelming.
As she turned onto the main street, she found herself smiling. Yes, at times life overwhelmed her, but she’d never been happier or more content. She and Arizona were so right together. As if they truly were each other’s destiny.