In The Still of the Night [The Protectors 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (24 page)

“I brought you some milk. I’m sure it’s good for you,” he said.

He didn’t mention her lack of food. He didn’t want to upset her. Another thing he was sure of was that she shouldn’t get upset. If she were crying all the time, that would be difficult to stop, he surmised.

“Thanks. Water would have been fine.”

She rose up on her elbow. He held the glass for her. She frowned at him, so he relinquished it to her. She took a few sips then started to put it on the nightstand.

“Whoa, that’s not enough. You’re going to drink at least half of it,” he admonished.

“Don’t get bossy with me,” she said, but she drank a few more swallows.

“I’ll put it back in the fridge.”

He returned a few minutes later and took off his boots. He was going to hold her while she slept. He hoped she wouldn’t balk at the idea, but he had missed her so much.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m going to rest awhile with you. I’ve missed you, Jenna. I want to hold you.” He sat on the edge of the bed and gazed into her startled eyes.

Jenna moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue and nodded. He let out a soft sigh of relief. He needed this. The bed sank as he rolled over to curl around her. She didn’t balk when he placed a hand over her abdomen. To think that their child rested there. It amazed him to even consider it. It humbled him to contemplate the huge responsibility their having a child entailed.

“Riley?”

“Yes, baby?” he answered.

“How are we going to do this?” she asked

“Do what?” He was almost afraid of her answer.

“Live. The two of us and a baby?”

Riley closed his eyes and relaxed. She was including him.

“One day at a time, Jenna. One day at a time.”

This seemed to settle her since she relaxed, as well. He rested on his elbow so he could see her face and where his hand cupped her abdomen. Slowly, her facial features smoothed out, and the frown lines disappeared. Once he sensed she was asleep, Riley carefully rolled out of the bed and padded into the living room, carrying his boots. After pulling them back on, he wrote a note telling Jenna he was going grocery shopping. Leaving it on the kitchen counter where she could see it, he borrowed her key to the house, the one he had left that day three months before, and locked the door behind him. He rolled his bike to the end of the drive before cranking it up in an effort not to wake her.

Nearly an hour later, he was back with two bags of groceries. He hadn’t been able to fit much in his saddlebags even without the spare helmet. He had enough for a couple of days. They would go shopping together on Saturday and use her car. It was important that she keep food on hand, and he would assure she did. He was appointing himself her personal caretaker.

Riley planned to cook baked chicken with steamed vegetables and rolls. He’d also picked a few oranges and bananas for her. He had feared for the safety of the bananas, but they fared well on the ride back.

When he checked the door, he found it unlocked. His heart leapt in his throat that someone could be in the house with Jenna. He flung the door open only to find her reclining on the couch reading a magazine.

“Why is the door unlocked?” he all but demanded.

“I heard you ride up, so I unlocked it for you.” She frowned at him. “Don’t go getting bossy on me.”

“Get used to it. I’m going to boss you nonstop,” he said as he carried the bags through the living room and into the kitchen.

Jenna followed him and took a seat on one of the bar stools. “What did you get?”

“Food, of which you had none in the house. No wonder you’ve lost so much weight, Jenna. Are you trying to starve yourself?” He cringed. So much for not upsetting her.

Jenna’s brows furrowed as anger replaced the curious look from earlier.

“I haven’t been hungry, and when I am, I eat. Forcing something down my throat only makes the nausea worse,” she complained.

“Well, you’re going to get healthy food from now on. I’ll make sure you have what you need. All you have to do is eat it.”

They stared at each other, each as stubborn as the other. Finally, Jenna huffed out a breath and shook her head.

“I just haven’t felt like shopping, Riley. Thanks for getting the groceries.”

He relaxed and smiled at her from across the bar.

“We need to go in your car next time. I couldn’t fit more than a couple of days’ worth of food in the bike. I figured we would go Saturday when you feel up to it.” Riley reached across the bar and brushed his knuckles across her cheek.

Jenna nodded. “I’m usually okay by about nine. Until then, I wouldn’t be able to stomach the idea of food much less shop for it.”

Riley turned to the sink and washed the chicken breasts under the faucet.

“I’m cooking baked chicken and steamed veggies. Does that sound okay to you?” He asked.

“Yeah, right now it does. I never know, though, until I start to eat how it will go down.”

“This will go down great because I’m cooking it.”

A great weight lifted at the tinkling sound of her laughter. The sound lightened his heart. It had been heavy ever since he realized how sick she had been.

“Pretty confident in your cooking skills, are you?” Jenna watched as he prepared the chicken.

“I can cook a few things or at least enough not to starve. I think I can handle a few meals for you.”

“I’m sorry,” she said.

He stopped what he was doing and frowned at her. “Sorry for what?”

“For complicating your life so much. I’ve been a constant burden ever since you met me.”

Riley wiped his hands on a cloth and walked around the island to stand in front of her. He pulled her into his arms. It had never occurred to him that she would see herself as a burden.

“You’re not a problem to be endured, Jenna. You’re a woman who’s had a rough life. None of it was your fault.” He leaned back and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “And as for complicating my life, it’s a good complication. You’re giving me a child. I honestly never thought to have one.”

Jenna sighed. “And now I’ve taken the decision out of your hands.”

“Let’s get one thing straight here. I’m the one who didn’t use a condom. You were on birth control. It wasn’t your fault it didn’t work.”

“The doctor said it was because of all the antibiotics I had been on. It weakened the pills,” she explained.

“See. It wasn’t your fault. Now go read or watch TV or something while I cook. I’ll come get you when it’s ready.” Riley kissed the top of her head and helped her down from the stool.

He watched as she walked into the other room. She had thought he would blame her for getting pregnant. He didn’t blame her. Hell, he didn’t even blame himself though clearly the blame rested on him. The thought of a child with her eyes warmed him. He’d never considered settling down and having children. Something inside him thought he’d wander from place to place the rest of his life. Settling down seemed to be out of his reach.

The early part of his life had been spent in foster care, and he’d never stayed in one longer than a few months. He fumed. No child of his would ever feel unloved or alone. He knew Jenna would love and care for their child with all her heart. He would make sure she had everything she needed to be happy. Somehow, he would be there for her no matter what. Time would tell how he handled being in one place. Right now, he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

Forty-five minutes later, he found her dozing on the couch with a magazine lying on the floor. He smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek. Startled eyes met his. She smiled up at him and attempted to sit up. Riley helped her.

“Dinner is ready.”

“Smells good. I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep. You would think after a nap I would be rested,” she said.

Riley helped her to her feet then followed her to the kitchen. He wanted to be sure she ate as much as possible. When she was seated at the bar, he filled her plate with chicken and the steamed vegetables. If he read her facial expressions right, she looked hungry. That was a good sign.

“I can’t possibly eat all this.”

“Just eat what you can.” He fixed his plate and stood across from her, waiting for her to take her first bite.

“Mmmm, it’s delicious,” she said after taking a fork full of broccoli. “It’s cooked just right.”

“Let’s see how much of it you can put away. Then I’ll know if it was really that good or not.”

Riley watched as she ate, marveling at the faint glow about her. She looked lovely despite the weight loss and dark circles under her eyes. Her skin shone in the light.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” she asked, nodding at his untouched plate.

“Yeah, I was just watching you. You’re so beautiful,” he said.

She blushed and ducked her head. He reached across and lifted her chin with two fingers.

“I mean it, Jenna. You’re so beautiful sitting there with your hair mused and your skin glowing. I can hardly take my eyes off you.”

“Stop it. You’re making me uncomfortable.” She shifted on the stool.

Grinning, Riley began to eat so she would. More than anything, he wanted her to clean her plate. She needed the food desperately.

When she said she had eaten all she could, Riley nodded and cleared the dishes. He wished she could have eaten a bit more, but she managed to eat over half of what he’d put on her plate. It was a start. She started helping him, and he shooed her away.

“I’ll get this. There isn’t much to do. It all goes in the dishwasher anyway.” He demonstrated by adding a plate to the rack.

She walked over and leaned against him. Her breasts pressed into his chest. She rested her head against his shoulder. He dropped his chin to the top of her head. He drew in her scent. He liked that she touched him despite their separation. He could almost think nothing had changed. Almost.

Chapter Eighteen

Riley followed her into the bedroom. She planned to take a shower. But then she looked at him again and wanted him more. Jenna found she couldn’t resist him. She wanted to be close to him, wanted to touch him and be touched by him. How could she possibly live with him without being with him? Of course, he might not feel the same way despite his asking her to marry him. Surely that was a product of finding out she was pregnant with his child. What decent man wouldn’t ask the mother of his child to marry them? Riley was a decent, honorable man. He just wasn’t the type to stick around. She sighed.

When he reached for her, Jenna found herself going to him. He pulled her into his arms and held her almost loosely as if he were afraid of hurting her, or their child.

“You know, I’m not going to break.”

“You look so fragile right now. It feels as if I could break you in half just by holding you,” he said.

“Nonsense. I’m not different now than I was three months ago.”

“But you are,” Riley said.

Still, he pulled her tighter into his arms. She breathed in his scent, all masculine. His musky smell aroused the woman in her. That deep down, wanton siren who ached to feel him inside her. Did he feel the same way? Did he still want her?

The T-shirt he wore stretched tight over his muscled chest. She dragged her nails across the outline of his nipples. He growled. It warmed her to hear the sound. The evidence of his arousal lay pulsing against her belly. Her hips undulated against his, wanting more of him.

“We’ve got to stop this, Jenna.” He swallowed hard.

“Why? You want me, don’t you?” she asked, just a little scared he wouldn’t.

What if he said no? Could she bear the thought of him not wanting to make love to her?

“You’re in no shape for my loving. I’d hurt you.”

“Bullshit. I’m not the fragile doll you are making me out to be. Either you want me or you don’t. Tell me now so I stop making a fool of myself.” Jenna pushed away from him and crossed her arms as anger welled up in her.

“It’s not that I don’t want you because I do. I want to lay you across the bed and bury my cock inside you, but you’re weak right now. Pushing me will only hurt us both. I’m not a gentle man, baby.”

“You’ve never hurt me before.” She swallowed hard around the lump forming in her throat. “Does my body turn you off now that I’ve lost a little weight?”

“No!” he exclaimed. “I want you just as much if not more so than ever. But you’ve lost more than a little weight, Jenna, and I’m worried about how weak you are. I don’t want to make it worse.”

Jenna sighed and walked across the bedroom to the bed. She peeled off her T-shirt and unbuttoned her jeans. His eyes never left her body. Hers remained on his eyes as she slowly slid the jeans down her legs. She bent over and stepped out of them. He took a hesitant step forward then stopped. She unclasped the front closure of her bra and let it slide down her arms and drop to the floor. She smiled a triumphant smile when his hands went over his head to grasp his T-shirt and pulled it over his head and off his body. She remained where she stood, waiting on him to come to her.

Riley sat on the bed to take off his boots. When he stood back up, his jeans soon joined his shirt on the floor.

“You’re a temptation that should be banned,” he said with a low growl.

“I can’t help it that being pregnant makes me horny,” she said with a smile.

“Is that the excuse you’re using?” He stepped closer to her without touching her.

She licked her lips, and he groaned. The sound ramped up her arousal.

“It’s no excuse. The pregnancy books talk about it.”

One of Riley’s hands slid down her arm from shoulder to fingertips and back up again.

“You’ve been reading baby books.” He made it a statement.

“Of course. I need to know what to expect.” Chills ran down her spine as he trailed his hand in the same fashion along the other arm.

“I think I need to read these books and be sure you are interpreting them correctly.”

Jenna laughed. “Somehow I can’t see you reading baby books, motorcycle magazines, maybe.”

“Careful or you’re going to hurt my feelings,” Riley teased.

Jenna thrilled at the easy banter between them as he simply touched her. The atmosphere around them was relaxing. She waited to see what he would do next. His hands rubbed up her arms and over her collarbone to cup either side of her face. Riley leaned in ever so slowly and sank into her mouth. The kiss started out slow and sensual, his lips sipping at hers, his tongue licking along the seam of her lips. A sigh left her when he nipped at her lower lip then laved it with his tongue. When she opened her mouth, he delved inside to explore and taste her. Their tongues twined and danced until she was forced to pull back for air.

They stood there panting, staring into each other’s eyes. Mirrored in his was the lust and arousal she craved. It warmed her inside and out knowing she could do this to him. If only he loved her. She pushed that thought aside. She didn’t need that right now. What she needed was him.

“I want you,” he said.

Their foreheads met as each leaned against the other.

“I want you, too.”

He pressed his erection against her belly and growled as she added her own pressure to his, trapping it between them.

“Baby, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Riley, you’re not going to hurt me. I’ll hit you if you do. Will that make you feel better?” She was fast losing patience.

Jenna wanted him to fuck her and do it now. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in the curve of her neck before biting gently down on her shoulder. She shivered. Riley leaned down and drew in one nipple, laving it with his tongue then nipping it. He drew in more of her breast and sucked, rolling the nipple around in his mouth. She sighed and held his bald head to her. He moved to the other breast and treated it equally. A thrill traveled down her spine to her core. Heat built deep inside her. The thread between breast and womb tightened until the last tingle trilled along it.

Riley gently pushed her back toward the bed until it hit the back of her knees and she sat down. Going to his knees, he nudged her legs apart with his broad shoulders. She lay spread before him, the wanton woman open to him. Only now, she didn’t feel so confident. If he noticed her unease, he didn’t show it.

Instead, he leaned in and licked from clit to her opening and back up again. She shivered at the cooling air once his hot breath left her. Deep within her womb, a spark built. His tongue licked along the seam of her pussy, separating the lips. He used his fingers to separate her farther and delved in deep with his tongue. She moaned and squirmed. He slid his hands beneath her ass and lifted her to his mouth. He dined on her.

That spark grew in size and heat. It burned from the inside out. With each lick and suck of his mouth against her pussy, she drew closer to climax. When he circled her clit with his tongue, she lifted her body closer to his mouth. He chuckled and pushed her back down with one hand splayed across her stomach. Then he froze.

“God, baby. Did I hurt you?”

“If you don’t put your mouth back down there and finish what you started, I’m going to hurt you!” she nearly screamed.

He looked sheepish then fucked her with his tongue, taking her by surprise. She squealed, undulating her hips in time with his tongue forging inside her. He circled her clit without touching it, leaving her wanting even more. Fire raced from womb to clit. She needed him to touch her there. No matter how she moved, he avoided the one spot needing attention. Frustration laced with a bit of fear left her growling and demanding he finish her.

“I can’t take anymore. Please, Riley. I need…”

“What do you need, baby? Tell me and I’ll give it to you.”

“I need to come. Lick my clit. Please. Hurry.” Jenna shuddered and whimpered at being denied.

Suddenly, Riley licked directly over her clit, sending her spiraling higher than ever. When he sucked the little bud into his mouth and held it with his teeth, she exploded around him. The more he licked it while he held it prisoner, the hotter she burned.

Was that her she heard mewling like a baby tiger? Jenna’s ears rang as she slowly came down off her high. His mouth continued to languidly lick, scooping up all the cream he could. He ate at her as if he were starving. Finally, with one last lick, he leaned back and looked up the line of her body to stare into her eyes. His were dark with lids half closed. His mouth was shiny wet from her core. He rose and leaned in to kiss her stomach. He lavished it with licks and kisses until she couldn’t stop the giggles from escaping her mouth. He was tickling her.

“Stop.” She laughed, throwing her hands up to hold his head away from her.

“You don’t like my kisses?” he demanded as he licked around her bellybutton.

“I love your kisses. Just not there.”

He smiled down at her before crawling up her body and laying down beside her. She turned to stare at him. His cock pulsed against her abdomen, but he looked relaxed and sated. She was anything but sated. She grinned at him and reached between them to grasp his cock in her hand. She squeezed. He closed his eyes and groaned. The feel of his hard flesh made up of satin skin in her hand caused her breath to hitch.

Riley threw back his head when she used her thumb to spread the drop of pre-cum around the mushroom head. She squeezed, relishing how he jumped in her hand. Jenna rose to her knees and scooted down the bed until her mouth was level with his hot cock. Saliva pooled in her mouth at the sight of it. She stuck out her tongue and licked him from root to tip. The heavy stalk jerked at her touch. Slowly, she enclosed him with her mouth and sucked all the way down until he hit the back of her throat. She swallowed and was rewarded with a curse and Riley’s hand in her hair.

“Fuck, your mouth is hot,” Riley said.

Jenna didn’t stop to talk. Instead, she sucked him hard and fast then slow and easy until he was fucking her mouth, his hand in her hair holding her still. She moaned around him, sending another groan from his mouth above her.

She tongued the slit at the top of his cock then twirled her tongue around the cap, paying close attention to the underside where he seemed to be most sensitive. She rubbed that spot with her tongue until he all but jerked her head from him. She stared up into his eyes, reveling in how his breath came in quick spurts. His raspy voice gave away how close he’d been to coming in her mouth.

“You’re playing with fire, baby. One of us is going to get burned.”

She crawled up his body and positioned her pussy over the top of his pulsing cock.

“I say we both get burned.” She dropped on top of him, taking him halfway before her tightness stopped her.

She groaned and lifted with his hands on her hips and tried again to fit all of him inside her. He felt enormous inside her. The slight burn to the stretch heightened her arousal to untold proportions. Surely she would explode if it got any hotter. He wiggled beneath her, and she sank another inch. Just a little more, she thought. Then he surged upward and buried himself inside her. The rasp of his pubic hair tickled her clit, sending another round of sparks throughout her body.

“Oh, baby. I’m not going to last if you don’t be still. Let me catch my breath.” His voice came out an octave lower than usual.

“I need you to move, Riley. I can’t stand this. Let me.”

Riley let go of her hips, and she rose on her knees until only the head remained inside her. Then she dropped back down, swallowing him within her. She rose and dropped, rose and dropped until she thought she would die from the rush of heat searing through her veins. Her movements became frenzied with need as her orgasm drew closer.