Then he took that same hand in his and pulled her up from her seat. He didn’t take a step back as her body pressed tight against his. She dragged in a deep breath when he wrapped his arms around her.
“The girls? How much longer do you figure they’ll be sleeping?”
She felt the heat of his gaze touch her lips. “Why?”
“Why do you think?”
She really didn’t have to think. She knew. She had driven him to prove a point. Little did he know that she intended to prove one as well. In a bold move, she looped her arms around his waist. “I think we’re standing here wasting time. And don’t worry about the girls. They have another hour to go.”
“Good.”
And then he was kissing her, with the same urgency and hunger that he had kissed her on yesterday. And she returned the kiss, stroke for stroke. She held back nothing and heard his gasp of surprise when she pulled his shirt from his pants and took her hand and gently rubbed his back. His skin felt warm, manly. It felt right. As he kissed her mouth with a hunger that had her body throbbing, she couldn’t help but wonder how it would feel being skin to skin with him. How did his skin taste? Was it always this warm?
She then recalled once seeing him on the floor tussling with the girls. She wondered how it would be if he got down on the floor and tussled with her. And what if they were completely naked while doing it? Her body tingled at the thought.
He deepened the kiss and then she couldn’t think at all. She felt an outpouring of passion and desire all through her pores with the way Parnell was kissing her. He was milking her imagination for all it was worth and then some.
Moments later, he slowly drew back from her mouth. Paused a second and then leaned closer to her moist lips and said. “Trust me Rose, I do see your value. And I like tasting it as well.”
He slowly released her from his arms and took a step back while putting his shirt back into his jeans. “I need to get back to work, but I will take into consideration you moving in. In a way I kind of like the idea.” He continued walking backward.
She tilted her head back, placed her hand on her hips and asked saucily. “Do you?”
He stopped walking backward for a moment and looked at her. His gaze raked her from head to toe and she actually felt its heat. “Yes, I do.”
And then he walked back to her and held her gaze steadily when he said. “So I suggest you think good and hard about what you put in that proposal; and make sure it is what you really want.” He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers before turning to cross the kitchen. Before opening the door he turned around. “I almost forgot to ask if you’ll be able to stay a little later tomorrow. I talked to Gabe earlier and he indicated he was flying back tomorrow and that he and Christopher would be meeting with John Landmark around five in the afternoon. They want me to be a part of that meeting.”
“I understand and for me to stay late won’t be a problem.”
“Thanks. And since I don’t have any idea how long the meeting will last, you might want to consider sleeping over tomorrow night.”
She met his gaze. “And I don’t have a problem with that as well.”
He nodded and then he walked out the door. She sighed deeply and suddenly feeling weak in the knees, she dropped back down in her chair.
Eight
“Daddy’s home!”
Joya and Latoya’s shouts of joy had Rose’s heart thumping hard against her rib cage. She turned from the sink in time to see Parnell walk through the door. The girls didn’t give him a chance before they were all over him, and she wanted to join them and get all over him as well.
She wondered if this was how it would be if they were married. She would look forward to meeting him at the door and greet him with a kiss. She could see missing him during the day, even those times when he would surprise her and come home for lunch like he did today.
She watched as he picked both girls up into his arms and while they were giving him hugs, he glanced over at her. Memories of the kiss they had shared at lunch were sharp and painfully clear in her mind. She wondered if the same was in his. She believed they were from the way he was looking at her.
“Rose.”
His voice seemed to reach out and touch her. She thought that there was something seductive in his voice whenever he said her name. “Parnell.” She inhaled deeply before saying. “Dinner is on the stove and the -”
“You will stay to join us, won’t you?”
Rose felt a shiver pass through her. She hadn’t planned to do so. The look in his eyes was evident, quite unmistakable, that he wanted her to stay. “Yes, I’ll stay.”
“Good. There’s something I want to talk to you about later.”
* * *
Parnell closed the story book and glanced down at his girls. They had fallen asleep before he’d had a chance to finish the story. He sat in the chair and continued to study them and saw how peaceful they looked. Not for the first time he thanked Becky for giving them to him. Now he was glad that they hadn’t waited an additional year to start a family. He didn’t know what he would have done had he lost Becky and not have had the girls. Because of them he’d had no option but to be strong. They had given him a reason to go on when a part of him had wanted to just give up. When he looked at them, he was reminded of the one woman he had loved with all his heart. She was a woman a part of him would always love.
That was one of the reasons why lately, his emotions were sort of mixed. And if he was confused, he sure didn’t want to confuse Rose. He didn’t want to hurt her by giving her false hope that one day he would be capable of loving another woman. But he believed what they could share was a close friendship – a very intimate friendship.
If they were to marry that would be the foundation on which their marriage would be built. And as far as them having a child together, he didn’t have a problem with that. He would gladly give her one. He would give them one. A smiled touched his lips. And he would be giving the girls’ one, because he knew they would relish having a little sister or brother.
He stood and stretched his body, thinking he had been sitting in the chair way too long. Just like he could now admit that he’d been going without a female way too long as well. Before Rose, no other woman had peaked his interest. There hadn’t been any woman he had even thought about making love to. It wasn’t like he’d been too absorbed in Becky’s memory to engage in such an activity, there just hadn’t been any interest on his part. Not that there hadn’t been any women who hadn’t tried tempting him, mind you. At church, both here and in Detroit, things had gotten downright ridiculous with the number of women who’d come on to him. Some were more blatantly bolder than others. But the more they had tried coming on to him, the more he had gotten turned off.
It had been just the opposite with Rose. First of all, she had never tried coming on to him; although he could tell there were some interest on her part, just like he was sure she’d known there was interest on his. She had taken the job with only one agenda on her mind and that was to take care of his daughters.
He truly believed her proposal was a result of genuine compassion on her part, while at the same time a need to fulfill a dream of her own as well, which was to have a child. What he’d told her last week was true. Marriage to him could result in her losing the opportunity to meet Mr. Right. But according to her, she was okay with that and if she was, so was he.
He glanced at his watch. It was getting late and Rose had hung around for the sole purpose of talking with him and he appreciated it. Just like he appreciated the way she had graced his dinner table. The girls had enjoyed her dining with them, and he would have to admit that he had enjoyed her presence as well.
Sighing deeply, with a mixture of reluctance and anticipation, he headed for the door knowing it was time he met with Rose.
* * *
Rose stood by the living room window and looked out, seeing how clear the sky was tonight. Heavy snow fall was predicted for the weekend, which was fine with her; especially since she wouldn’t have to go out in it.
She couldn’t help but reflect on all the changes that had taken place in her life since resigning from her position with the Denmark Group and coming here to Anchorage to spend some time with Sage. Actually, she hadn’t planned to stay but a week or two at the most, and now she was going into her fourth week all because of Parnell.
Standing here alone, she could admit the one thing she had been afraid to admit before. She had fallen in love with him. Although it hadn’t been love at first sight eight months ago, there had been something that had stood out about him, something she had admired that she hadn’t seen in all those other men she had spent time with.
And after accepting the job of his girls’ babysitter, she had come to learn a lot about him. He was a man who could love relentlessly. Forever. He was compassionate all the way to the bone. He would honor the woman he claimed as his. He would treat her with respect. Like a lady. On the other hand, he could bring out her passion and appreciate it. What woman wouldn’t want a man like that? What woman wouldn’t find such a man easy to love?
She knew she had to be careful. No doubt if she mentioned the L word around Parnell, he would freak out. He was still in love with his deceased wife. He’d made that clear. She doubted he would want any part of anyone who felt those emotions toward him because they would be emotions he could not reciprocate.