Falling Softly: Compass Girls, Book 4 (13 page)

By the time Viho carried Sterling to the Jeep and buckled her in, she was done in.

“Sleep, Sterling.” He cupped her cheek in his hand and kissed the tip of her nose. “I’ve got you. We can talk tomorrow, okay?”

Her response garbled as she drifted off, safely in his care.

Chapter Eleven

Sterling blinked as she floated from deep sleep into consciousness. The first thing she was aware of was having to pee. The second—a much nicer revelation—was that a full-length combination pillow and radiator transformed her comfy bed into the ultimate sleeping palace.

“Viho.”

“Good morning,” he rumbled with the sexiest not-quite awake voice she’d ever heard. Had he slept as well as she had?

Thank goodness it was Sunday and he had the day off. Not that her family would hold him to his schedule considering the drama of the day before. Still, she knew that if it had been any other day, he’d have dragged his ass out of their cozy haven and gone to work, making the most of each minute that ticked by in the dying year.

When he committed to something, he did it right.

“Hey.” She smiled up at him, then allowed her eyes to flutter closed once more as he swept her hair from her face with long, gentle passes of his broad palm. The tips of his fingers traced the arch of her brows, smoothing them into place too. If he kept going, she was pretty sure he could put her entire world in order.

“How are you feeling?” He dropped butterfly kisses on her forehead then cheeks, waking more than her mind in the process.

She stretched, testing the soreness of her muscles, happy to report none. The medicine they’d given her to combat early pregnancy discomfort seemed to have kicked in too. For the first time in weeks, she felt fabulous. What had women done before these groundbreaking drugs had been invented? “Terrific.”

How could she be anything else when she had Viho by her side and their baby growing safely inside her? It hadn’t taken more than an instant yesterday, when she’d feared losing one or both, to understand what she craved, even if it scared her too.

Sterling rolled fully onto Viho, nuzzling his neck and breathing deep of his rich, earthen scent. It made her calm, yet excited. Soothed and inflamed all at once.

“I like waking up with you in my bed.” She nibbled her way across his jaw to his lips. Her thumbs brushed his collarbones while her fingers curled around his powerful shoulders, kneading what she could reach.

“You don’t hear me complaining about it, do you?” He glided his hands along her ribs to land on the upper swells of her ass, covered by a long sleep-shirt. “You snore a little less loudly than the guys in the bunkhouse too. Bonus.”

She laughed as she lifted up to tweak one of his nipples. “Hey, I do
not
snore.”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t know. I haven’t slept that hard in years.” Viho squeezed her bottom as he craned his neck for a kiss.

She obliged him, tipping her head forward so that their lips could meet. Gently and slowly. They teased each other with tender licks and the prodding of tongues. Sterling could have made out with him all day.

Except after a minute or five, it wasn’t enough. She wanted to be connected to him.

After everything that had happened, it felt like they needed to rejoin each other. Make up. The old fashioned way. Sterling inched her nightgown up until it wadded around her waist, revealing her lacy panties. She got to her knees with her thighs splayed on either side of Viho’s. The new angle pressed her against him deliciously.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” His eyes pinched at the corners.

“Yep. And I don’t have to ask if you are.” A wiggle of her hips confirmed it. He was tempting her with the thick bulge in his briefs.

“A boner won’t kill me, Sterling.” He shifted, as if that would make his arousal less obvious.

“The doctor cleared me for loads of steamy—but gentle—sex.” She grinned. “No joke, I asked. Didn’t want to deprive either of us if I didn’t have to. I mean, if that’s what you want. I was hoping, after yesterday, we might be back on that track.”

“Seriously?” Viho stripped her shirt over her head, threw it to the floor, then wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck. A sound suspiciously like the purr of a jungle cat came from his throat when their bare chests pressed together. He held her as he kissed her, more deeply and fully than he ever had before.

“Yeah.” A breathless rasp would have to suffice as a response. “Except…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing major. I just have to use the restroom.” She ducked her head, embarrassed. “I’ve never lived with a guy before. This is going to take some getting used to.”

Viho froze. “Is that what’s happening here? Am I moving in?”

“You don’t want to?” Sterling sat up, slipping off of him. With her knees tucked under her, she hugged a pillow to her like a shield.

“I didn’t say that.” He propped himself on his side, supported by a bent elbow and with his head in one hand. “I’m afraid to make any moves here, Sterling. To assume anything. I don’t want to scare you away or take more than you’re offering. But if you’re asking me to shack up with you…”

“I am.” She worried her lower lip between her teeth.

“Then yes, I’d love to.” A smile crossed his face. “You’ve got to be tidier than my current roommates. Do you think your dad and uncles…or, hell,
my
dad…are gonna come through here with pitchforks and rifles when they find out? Mind you, that won’t make me change my mind. I just want to brace myself, you know?”

“I’m pretty sure they’re aware of how babies are made.” Sterling shrugged. “What’s the harm in it now? I think they’ll respect us more for working on our relationship than if we had a one-night stand and washed our hands of each other. Besides, it’s empty here lately with the rest of the Compass Girls off doing their own thing. They won’t like me being alone, in case something happens… I could take care of myself, but they are a teensy bit overprotective. If you haven’t noticed.”

Viho laughed. “Yeah, I think I got that impression.”

“Anyway, maybe there’s a perk to being the last Compass Girl to find her guy. I’ve inherited the house by default.” She shrugged. “It’s a nice starter home for our family, right?”

“It’s perfect.” Viho took her fingers, kissing her knuckles. “I’ve never had a place of my own before. Not that I consider your house mine or anything.”

“You should.” She smiled. “Ours.”

“If that’s so, then you’d better go take care of business so we can celebrate properly.” He waited until she’d slipped from the bed, then snaked his palm around her thigh, halting her. “Thank you, Sterling. For being so adaptable and generous. You have no idea how much you’ve given me already. More than I dared to dream of.”

She couldn’t find her voice, so she nodded instead, blinking back tears.

Refusing to cry on such a glorious morning, she rushed into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, Sterling poked her head out of the bathroom door. “I think I’d better grab a quick shower before we get to the good stuff. I can feel the hospital grime on me still.”

“Hang on.” Viho rose from the bed, flashing acres of dark skin and flexing muscles beneath. “I have a better idea.”

It felt a little strange, more intimate than fucking on the side of the road, to allow him into her personal space. But still, she stepped aside and made room for him to join her. When he spotted the garden soaking tub that had been one of her only insistences in the building of the house, he perked up.

“Room enough for us both. Excellent.” He flipped on the water, testing the temperature with his finger. When satisfied, he asked, “Do you have any bubble bath?”

She shook her head no.

“Epsom salts?”

“Ah, yeah, actually. I think Sienna kept some around for when the hands asked her to treat random bumps and bruises.”

“Great. Hop in here.” He held her elbow as if she might slip and fall when she’d soaked in this tub a million times before. “I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?”

“Nowhere far.” He grinned as he headed out.

She guessed that was the truth, since he didn’t even have pants on.

In under a minute he returned with a handful of purple blossoms. “Hope you don’t mind. I noticed this hybrid lavender out front. It seemed to be growing mostly wild.”

“I didn’t even know that’s what it was.” Sterling shrugged. “It’s pretty and it smells nice—that’s about the extent of my knowledge.”

“It’s also good for relieving stress, making your skin soft, increasing circulation and a bunch of other stuff.” He wrung the plant in his hands, then sprinkled the blossoms into the water. Some floated and some swirled in the current. The scent grew stronger too.

“You could be on to something there, Viho.” She sighed then patted the space she’d left behind her. “But I think I’d feel even better if you were in here with me.”

“That I can do.” He dropped his underwear, allowing her to stare at him nude for a bit. Then he stepped into the tub and slid his legs on either side of her. Even in the oversized soaker, he had to bend his legs to fit comfortably.

Sterling rested her arms on his legs and snuggled into his chest. Breathing deeply, she filled her lungs with lavender steam.

Viho used her loofa and began to wash her. She felt like a pampered member of a harem where he was the sultan. It was a nice feeling to be taken care of so well. To surrender control and enjoy the treatment.

“A girl could get used to this.” She hummed when he paid special attention to her breasts. They must have been extra dirty.

When she grew restless, he moved on and circled her belly.

Was he imagining the changes that were coming? She was.

And for a second, her bliss slipped away as if it were swirling the drain between her feet.

“Viho?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you be here with me now, like this, if I hadn’t gotten pregnant?”

“I know you’re afraid this is about the baby, but it’s not, Sterling.” He held her against his chest, creating a waterfall of silky lavender water by cupping his hand and spilling it over her repeatedly. “I would feel this way about you even if we’d hadn’t gotten lucky by some fluke of nature. Hell, I spent weeks trying to resist you. I’ve seen you care for Mrs. Compton. Heard the Compass Boys brag endlessly about how cool you are. I admire your drive in your business and the connection you have with nature’s beauty. How you bravely go for what you desire when you see it. I care about you because you’re the woman you are, not because of the child you’re carrying. That’s just icing.”

Sterling didn’t realize how strongly she’d harbored that doubt inside her.

Until his sweet reassurance unknotted her worries.

Tears splashed into the tub as they fell from her face. “Thank you, Viho.”

“I didn’t do anything. You’re amazing all on your own.”

Utterly relaxed, Sterling let herself veg in his care. She hadn’t realized the water had cooled until Viho drew a line with his finger down the goose bumps on her arm.

“Time to get out.” He sounded as reluctant to leave as she was. Still, he shifted, lifting her from the tub and standing her up on the mat long enough to dry her with a fluffy towel. Then he did the same, much more hastily, for himself before carrying her into the bedroom.

He set her on the bed, then nudged her hip.

“Roll over.”

Wondering what he had in mind, she complied, hoping it was something kinky.

Except it was even better.

Viho climbed on top of her, straddling her ass. He snagged a tube of lotion off her nightstand, then warmed it between his palms before slathering her back with the fruity-scented cream. Rubbing it in bit by bit, he proceeded to give her a massage that beat the one she’d had at Compton Pass’s new spa for her birthday treat from the Compass Girls, who’d really just wanted an excuse for a girls’ day out.

Sterling moaned when his thumbs pressed along either side of her spine, loosening the last of the lingering tension that hadn’t been obliterated by his lavender infusion. He worked every muscle within reach, including some she hadn’t realized were so taut.

When the heels of his hands released knots in her ass and upper thighs, she sighed. Her legs splayed open as she went completely floppy.

Viho whispered praise as he diverted for a moment and rubbed the valley between her thighs, brushing her pussy with his knuckles. But then he was gone, sitting on his heels at her feet as he rubbed the arches and even each toe in turn.

But it wasn’t until he’d worked his way from her shoulders down her arms to her hands, that she realized exactly how erogenous the palm and fingers could be.

If he didn’t move on to making love to her soon, she would die. She was sure of it.

So when he told her to flip over and seemed like he would start all over again, she took matters into her own hands.

Sterling grabbed his forearm and tugged, toppling him beside her on the bed.

He chuckled and scooped her up to avoid squashing her with his gargantuan frame.

Spooning her, he naturally fit against her in all the most sensational places. His hard-on sprang between her legs, where he allowed his cock to nestle into the valley of her pussy, thrilling them both with the almost-penetration of his thick erection.

On fire, Sterling flexed all her muscles, then released them, rocking a bit against him.

And when he dipped the slightest bit inside, they both moaned. He held her tight, pinning her torso to his with one forearm locked above her breasts. His other hand was free to roam her body, toying with her breasts then traveling along until he could strum her clit in time to the advancement of his cock within her with each successive arch of her body.

He proved over and over that he had far more control than she did.

And he wasn’t afraid to employ it to enhance her arousal.

“Please, Viho. I can’t wait any more. I want you inside me. All the way. Please.”

“I can’t resist you begging like that.” He angled her head toward him so he could kiss her as he slid inside her fully, binding them.

Sterling moaned her appreciation into his mouth, and he swallowed her cry of desire.

Only then did he begin to thrust inside her. Maddeningly slowly, fucking her with strokes that took his blunt head all the way to the ring of muscles guarding her opening before he sank inside her balls deep once more.

Over and over again.