In The Still of the Night [The Protectors 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (26 page)

She had just gotten her jeans on and the blouse over her head when Riley walked out of the bathroom totally nude and looking completely edible. She sighed and couldn’t help licking her lips. Though he’d dried off, there was a drop of water here and there that raced down his smooth skin. She ached to lick a path up his bare chest to nip at his nipples. Jenna took a step toward him. Something must have shown in her eyes because he grinned and put up both hands to ward her off.

“Whoa, baby. I need to get dressed, and you don’t look like you’re going to let me.”

“Just one lick. Please?” she pleaded.

He narrowed his eyes. “Where?”

“Your chest.”

“One lick,” he said with a growl.

Jenna crossed to him and put her hands on his shoulders before leaning in and licked a line from one nipple to the other. She stopped only to suck at the nipple until he was holding her pressed to his chest. She grinned. She would be able to control him if need be.

He pulled her away from him and wagged a finger at her nose.

“Uh, uh, uh. cheater.” He pushed her gently away and grabbed clothes from his pack.

It hit her then that he needed room in her dresser and chest to put his things. Hell, he needed things to put there. She doubted he had more than three changes of clothes to his name. The thought made her a little sad. Riley must have noticed her frown because he walked over and put his arms around her. She snuggled into him and rested her head against his chest. She pulled lightly on his chest hair.

“What, baby?” he asked.

“There’s plenty of room in the chest of drawers for your clothes. Do you have anything anywhere else that you need to bring here?”

He stilled around her. She feared she’d said something she shouldn’t have.

“Are you saying I can move in with you?” he asked, his voice quiet.

“Of course you can. I thought you already knew that.”

“I wasn’t sure what you wanted after you said you wouldn’t marry me.”

“I want you here with me. I…I love you, Riley. I just can’t marry you right now. You weren’t expecting to have to deal with a baby, and that’s the only reason you asked me to marry you right now. Maybe later, if you still feel the same way…” She let it trail off then pulled out of his arms.

“I’m going to read while you finish getting dressed. Tina wanted us to come over anytime around six, so whenever you’re ready, I am.” She walked out of the room and escaped to the living room.

So much for playing it cool and not pushing him, Jenna thought. She’d screwed that up. What would she do if he refused to wait around for her to make up her mind about marrying him? What if he had some things at another woman’s place that he needed to go get? The thought of another woman in his life pumped up her blood pressure until she realized she was gritting her teeth and curling her nails into her hands. She drew in one deep breath after another until she had calmed down. Whatever he did before her, before now, didn’t matter. All that mattered now was what came after. But she didn’t feel very convinced.

The sound of Riley walking into the room stirred her from her musings. He stopped and frowned down at her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I was just thinking about something at work.”

His lips thinned, but he didn’t challenge her on it. Instead, he pulled her to her feet. Warm arms wrapped around her, and he settled his chin on her head.

“Let’s run by the liquor store and get a bottle of wine to take with us. Do you mind taking your car?”

“Of course not. I have a spare pair of keys I’ll give you so you can drive it whenever you want to.” She pulled from his arms to hunt for the spare keys in the kitchen drawer.

She also grabbed the spare house key. They would need to get another made to have in case of emergencies. She returned and handed them to him. He looked deep into her eyes before his hand closed over the keys in her palm. He pulled out his bike key and slipped them all on the same key ring. Something inside her clicked when he shoved the keys into his pocket. It felt like a piece of her heart fastening in place. She refused to dwell on it. Instead, she grabbed his arm and tugged on him.

“Come on, let’s go. I’m getting hungry.”

It was evidently all she would ever need to say to get him in gear. He fairly carried her outside and into the car. She laughed when he fastened the seatbelt for her.

“I can do that myself, you know.”

“Humor me,” was all he said as he backed out of the drive.

They stopped by a liquor store, and Riley bought a bottle of white zinfandel as well as a sparkling grape juice for her since she couldn’t indulge in alcohol. Then he drove them across town to Tina and Logan’s house.

Tina still kept her house next door, but they were making plans to sell it soon. It was larger than her little place. She only had two bedrooms, but Tina’s had four. Maybe she should think about selling hers and buying Tina’s. She kept that thought to herself for the time being. She would talk to Riley about it after she discussed it with Tina. She wasn’t sure how Riley would feel about living next door to them. She would love being so close to her best friend, but there was no telling how men thought.

The moment they pulled into the drive, Tina was running from the house to open Jenna’s door. Logan was right behind her and exchanged a quizzical look with Riley. Jenna smiled. They probably wondered why they would be so happy to see each other when they’d only been together the day before. So much had happened, though, since then. They would have a lot to talk about.

“I wasn’t sure when you would come. I know you take a nap in the afternoons,” Tina was saying.

“I took it earlier today since I knew I was coming here for dinner.” She turned to grab the bag from the seat only to find Riley already had it.

“I’ve got it. I’ll go put it in the fridge,” he said.

“We brought wine and some grape juice for me,” she explained to Tina.

“Goodness, I hadn’t even thought about that. I have Diet Coke and milk. I forgot you wouldn’t be able to drink beer or wine coolers.” Tina looked worried.

“Riley thought about it and bought the grape juice for me. I’ll be fine.”

Jenna followed Tina inside. They relaxed on the couch as the men disappeared into the kitchen. She could hear them talking seriously about something, but they were too far away for her to eavesdrop. Not that she would of course. She looked over at Tina and realized they were both trying to do the same thing and burst out laughing. Tina grinned, as well.

“They’ll go outside in a minute to work on the grill then we can talk,” Tina said.

Sure enough, the men reemerged from the kitchen with beers in their hands and slipped outside through the sliding glass door.

“Now, spill it. What’s going on?” Tina asked.

Chapter Twenty

“So she’s still refusing to marry you?” Logan leaned back against the picnic table and took a sip of his beer.

“Yeah. She seems fine with my living with her but balks at making it official. I don’t get it.”

“What exactly did she say?”

“That I wouldn’t have asked her to marry her if she hadn’t been pregnant. You know that isn’t true. I was planning on asking her as soon as I found a job.” Riley shook his head.

“Well, start small. Move in and get her so hung up on you that she can’t say no.” Logan’s idea was almost funny.

“Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to help. She told me she loved me earlier. That’s as good as it gets.” He lifted the beer to his mouth.

“Yeah, it is.” Logan was silent for several minutes then a thought seemed to occur to him. He stood up and looked Riley straight in the eye.

“Have you told her you love her yet?”

“Huh?” Riley just looked at him, his beer temporarily forgotten.

“She’s told you she loves you. Have you told her you love her?”

“Well, of course I have. I told her I couldn’t live without her.” Riley shoved his hands in his pockets, uncomfortable with the turn of conversation between him and Logan.

“It’s not the same thing. You need to tell her, use the words.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope. I’m serious. Tina didn’t believe me at first because I told her sooner than she expected me to. You haven’t said them soon enough. You need to tell her.” Logan put his hands on his hips.

“Okay. I’ll tell her right now and get it over with.”

Logan grabbed him before he could walk inside. “No you don’t. This is something private. You tell her when you get her back home. Make it romantic.”

“I’ll lose my nerve, man. Telling her I love her will be tough enough. Thinking about telling her the rest of the night is going to be pure hell.”

Logan just laughed and shook his head. “You don’t have a clue what all is going to happen in the next few months, and you’re nervous about telling the woman you love that you love her? Man, you’re twisted.”

Riley grinned. “Yeah, guess I am.”

Logan lifted the lid of the grill and started arranging the grates.

“So, what about you and Tina? Are you getting married any time soon?” Riley asked.

“She wants to wait until the first of December. I’d rather go ahead and get it over with, but that’s a no-no with women. You don’t want to ‘get it over with’ because that sounds like you really don’t want to get married at all. Don’t make that mistake with Jenna.”

Riley grinned. Evidently, poor Logan had already learned a thing or two the hard way. He’d use all the help he could get from his friend.

“So what are you planning to do about Tina’s house?”

“She plans to sell it eventually. I think she wants to wait until after the wedding to actually put it on the market. I guess she’s nervous about it actually happening.” Logan closed the grill.

“I was thinking about maybe buying it and moving Jenna over closer.” Riley didn’t look at Logan when he said it.

“No shit! That would be great. The girls would be happier than pigs in a mud bath.”

“I never could figure out where you got your sayings, but I really doubt they would like to hear that you compared them to pigs.” Riley chuckled.

“And don’t you go telling them, either.” Logan pushed the electric start on the grill, and a whoosh could be heard as the burners fired up.

“So you honestly think it would be a good idea?” Riley asked.

“I sure as hell like it. You and I can hide when they go on the war path.”

“So, let me talk to Jenna about it before you say anything to Tina. If she isn’t planning to put it on the market till December, I have some time to talk Jenna into it. The house she has now is nice but too small for a family.”

“I doubt you’re going to have to do much to convince Jenna to move next door to her best friend,” Logan said.

“So when are you and Tina going to have a baby?”

Logan spewed out a mouthful of beer. Wiping his arm across his mouth, he stared at Riley as if he were the son of Satan.

“What? You’re cursing me now?” Logan blurted out.

“Hey, I just think it would be nice if my little guy has your little guy to play with,” Riley said without looking at Logan.

If he did, he would end up laughing his ass off. He looked over at Logan. The other man was sheet white. He’d only meant it as a joke, but come to think of it, it would be nice if their kids grew up together. Living next door to each other would help that.

“Some friend you are, wishing something like that on me. I mean, in a couple of years maybe, but right now?”

“You’re not getting any younger. You better think about how you’re going to handle a teenager when you’re fifty years old.”

Logan wiped his eyes with one hand. “Good point.”

* * * *

“He still wants me to marry him. I told him maybe later but not right now. I still think the only reason he even asked is because I’m pregnant,” Jenna said.

Tina shook her head and sighed. “I really think you’re wrong about that. I think he loves you. He looks at you as if he can’t stand the thought of losing you. He’s crazy about you, Jenna.”

“Being crazy about me is not the same thing as loving me.” Jenna sighed and leaned back against the back of the couch. “I should be happy and marry him. He treats me like a queen. He doesn’t hit me, and he is unbelievable in bed.”

Tina died out laughing. “You’ll have to tell me more about the ‘good in bed’ part later. If you want the words, then you should hold out for the words. I made Logan tell me. I knew he did in my heart, but I needed to hear him say it.”

“He’s going to drive me crazy, though, about eating. He keeps trying to push food down my throat,” Jenna complained.

“Someone needs to worry about your eating. I sure did. You’ve lost so much weight, Jenna. You really look ill.” Tina winced after she said it.

Jenna frowned. “Gee, thanks for the encouraging words, girlfriend.”

“You know what I mean. By the way, you must have gone shopping ’cause those jeans look good on you.”

“Yeah, Riley insisted I have some that fit. It is more comfortable than all that material bunched up around my waist.”

“How is the morning sickness?” Tina asked.

“Still there. Not any better really. The doctor said it should be getting better soon. I sure hope so. I’m tired of puking my guts up every morning,” Jenna said.

“Didn’t the crackers help you some?”

“When I wake up early enough to eat one, it works fine, but lately, I haven’t woken up before I needed to be in the bathroom. I guess I could set an alarm or something. Sheesh, how pitiful is that?”

“If it would help, I wouldn’t care how bad it sounds.

“How about something to drink?” Tina asked, standing up.

“I’ll take a Diet Coke,” Jenna said.

“Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

“Hey. Do you have anything planned tomorrow?” Jenna asked.

“Not really. What did you need?” Tina called from the other room.

“I want to buy Riley some things. He doesn’t have anything but a few changes of clothes. I don’t know if he has some somewhere else, but…” She let it trail off.

Jenna wasn’t sure she wanted to confess her worry that Riley might have some at another woman’s house somewhere. She really didn’t want him to go back and get them if he did.

“You don’t want him to leave and go get them. I don’t blame you. Sure, we can go do that. Do you know his sizes? If not, you need to check when he is in the shower or something,” Tina advised as she handed the can of Diet Coke to her.

“I already did. Do you think he’s going to get pissed at me for doing it?” Jenna asked.

“Probably, but he’ll get over it. Most men could care less about clothes, so once he gets it out of his system that you bought him stuff, he’ll forget about them.”

“There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about.” Jenna took a sip of the Diet Coke.

“Sure.” Tina eased down on the couch with her wine cooler.

“Have you decided yet if you’re going to sell your house?”

“Yeah, I plan to sell it. I was thinking about waiting till after the wedding, but now I’m not so sure about waiting that long.”

“You still have your heart set on a December wedding?” Jenna teased.

“Yeah, I don’t know why, but I’ve always wanted to get married then.” She smiled then grinned an evil smile. “We could make it a double wedding, you know.”

“Bite your tongue.” Jenna laughed. “Even if he were to tell me he loved me tonight, I’m not getting married with you. That’s your special time.”

“It would be even better if you were getting married with me,” Tina pleaded.

“No.”

Tina sighed and shook her head. “Okay, okay. So what were you wanting to talk about?”

“How would you feel about selling your house to me and Riley?” Jenna waited, holding her breath.

“You’re kidding, right? I would love for you two to move next door to us!” Tina jumped up and wrapped her arms around Jenna, nearly spilling her drink all over them both.

“Well, I guess that tells me how you really feel.” Jenna laughed.

“You can have it whenever you want it. I can move my stuff out in a couple of days.”

“No, don’t do that yet. I need to talk to Riley about it. I just wanted to know how you felt about it before I brought it up. I don’t know how he’ll feel about it. He might not want to live next door to Logan. Men can be weird,” Jenna said.

“You’re telling me, especially when you start talking feelings. You know and I know that Logan and Riley love each other, but tell them that and you’ve broken some sort of man rule.” Tina shook her head.

Jenna nearly burst out laughing at that. She couldn’t imagine Riley confessing his love for her much less Logan. Maybe she was asking too much of the man. He had lived on the streets for most of his life when not in the army. Revealing his feelings would come hard for him, Jenna knew. If she waited on him to tell her he loved her, she might be waiting the rest of her life with a man like Riley. It didn’t mean he was a bad man or that he cared any less for her. It just meant he didn’t express his feelings well. It gave Jenna something else to think about.

“So, let’s get together after work one night and talk about it. The house I mean,” she qualified.

Jenna nodded absently, still thinking about Riley telling her he loved her. He was there and hadn’t run off when he found out she was pregnant. That was saying a lot for a man like him. Jenna drew in a deep breath. Maybe she was asking too much of him. She loved him, and he treated her like gold. What more should she demand?

“I’ll talk to my real estate agent and see what needs to be done first,” Tina continued.

“Don’t go to any great lengths right now. I need to talk to Riley about it and see how he feels about it. I’ll talk to you more about it next week,” Jenna tried again.