“No.”
“I’m glad,” she whispered.
“Rachel, my mother gave you something that was very important to her. She told me that no one was to ever take this from you. I promised her I would make sure it would always be yours.”
Rachel nodded, not trusting her voice to speak because of the deep emotions that filled her. She watched as Sam let go of the stone and raised her hand to his mouth to kiss it lightly. Reaching up, he traced her jawline with his index finger then reached down to once again cradle the beautiful blue stone in his right hand.
“My mother told me when I turned eighteen that the girl I was going to marry would receive this.” He looked up at her seriously. “When she gave it to you I thought she had changed her mind. I thought she had given it to you because she thought of you as her daughter. I realize now that she actually did give it to the girl I was going to marry. I just didn’t see it back then. I guess we both had to go through a lot until we finally found our way back to each other.”
Rachel was speechless. She had no idea that the necklace she wore carried such significance. Joanna McCoy had foreseen this event. She remembered how Joanna had told her to give Sam time. Joanna had told her that Sam would someday realize Rachel’s worth.
“It’s been a lot of years, Sam. I don’t know if what you are with me is the real you. You might have changed. You’re on your best behavior right now,” Rachel argued halfheartedly.
Sam’s bark of laughter took her by surprise. He kissed her lips quickly and hugged her to him. She was unable to do anything but go along with his enthusiasm.
Yeah, it’s a real hardship to let him hug and kiss me
, she told herself sarcastically.
“If you think this is my best behavior then you’ll only think I’m getting better,” he told her, smiling. “I haven’t exactly been very nice to you. I seem to remember you ready to pummel me to death with your mallet the first night you were here.”
Rachel laughed despite her efforts to remain serious. “That’s different.”
“Why is it different?”
“Because we were both a little…” she began, searching for the words.
“Ornery?” he supplied for her.
“Yes,” she agreed, smiling. “But since then you’ve been tender and caring and responsible. Just as you always were. You’re really a nice guy.”
“Go ahead, insult me,” Sam whispered, kissing the top of her head to hide the happiness that her words gave him.
Rachel turned to face him and kissed his shoulder before resting her head against his chest. “I think you’re a wonderful man,” she whispered. “I’ve always thought so.”
“Then marry me,” he told her, reaching down to touch her chin to tip her face up to meet his and draw her gently toward him.
“Your father hates me,” she reminded him.
“Who cares?” he shrugged. “He’s not crazy about me, either.”
She couldn’t help but smile, but she was also wary of the possibilities of Edwin McCoy’s wrath. Sam’s warmth was melting away any reserve that she had. Before she realized it, she found herself leaning toward him, accepting his kiss and his embrace.
They kissed tenderly, each holding the other gently as their arms encircled each other. They both had years of untapped emotions to give to the other. Rachel couldn’t protest any longer. She wanted and needed to be a part of this man’s life.
“Marry me, Rache,” he asked her again, kissing her gently.
“Yes,” she finally whispered against his mouth.
He crushed her to him then, kissing her passionately, pulling her toward him, and lifting her across his body to gently lay her back down on the bed beside him. He drew the covers around them to ward off the chill of the cold night air. He lay back on his pillow and drew her head against his chest. She could feel his heart pounding and was happy that his desire for her was so strong. When he leaned over, releasing her for a moment to extinguish the lantern, she felt such an incredible sense of loss that she was amazed. When he returned to her and drew her once again into his embrace, she settled back and smiled, contented at last.
“Thank you,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head and breathing in the clean smell of her hair. She made him feel so good.
They lay quietly for so long that Rachel found herself relaxing and drifting off. She pushed aside any concerns that she had about her decision. She was very content to be exactly where she was—in Sam’s arms. Just knowing that she would remain there for the rest of their lives beckoned a sense of peace that enveloped and relaxed her. She could feel her body surrendering to the calm.
She turned and snuggled against Sam’s body, draping her arm across his stomach and kissing his chest lightly as she drifted off. Her forehead furrowed in confusion as she tried to distinguish the words that she heard him whisper against the top of her head. She couldn’t tell if she was dreaming or if she had actually heard Sam whisper,
I love you
.
Rachel opened her eyes and saw Sam’s beautiful blue eyes looking down at her. She couldn’t help but blush at the moment that they were sharing, knowing that she was thinking decadent thoughts about the gorgeous man lying next to her.
“Good morning,” he whispered.
“Morning,” she answered, smiling shyly as she looked up at him.
She suddenly found herself more than a little nervous. She wasn’t sure if the clarity of the morning would change the events of the night before.
“What size ring do you wear?” he asked her quietly, reaching down to lift her hand and place it gently on his chest.
She looked up at him and smiled. He had been serious last night. He hadn’t been swept away by the events of the evening to say things that he would regret the next morning.
“Seven,” she told him, still smiling.
“I’d better get it a little bigger in case your fingers swell when you’re pregnant,” he said, more to himself than to her.
Rachel laughed and pushed at his chest until he was lying beside her then sat up and rested her body across his chest. “You’re awfully sure of yourself, aren’t you?” she teased.
Sam couldn’t believe how happy he was. He reached up to gently pull Rachel’s face toward his and kissed her. His slid his hands beneath her shirt and gently stroked the softness of her back. She leaned back and allowed his hands to slide around her waist and caress her stomach. When he covered her full breasts, he groaned softly as he caressed them. His eyes closed at the sheer pleasure of touching her. When his thumbs rubbed across her nipples, and she gasped in excitement, he opened his eyes and saw the desire that she had for him.
“Your touch drives me crazy,” she whispered breathlessly.
Pulling her shirt up over her head, he leaned forward and kissed her breasts, humming against her softness and breathing in her scent. Holding on to her firmly, he turned them both so that she was lying on her back and he was covering her body with his. He hugged her to him almost desperately then released her and caressed her shoulder lovingly.
He reached down to hold her hand in his, gently rubbing the pad of his thumb across her knuckles. Eventually his breathing slowed and he was able to think beyond the hardness of his body.
“We can drive into town and get the marriage license and blood test today,” he told her quietly, looking into the warmth of her eyes.
“That’s a little quick, don’t you think?” she asked, surprised.
“Do you want to change your mind?”
“No, do you?”
“No, I don’t.”
Sam looked down at her silently for a minute. His eyes held hers as he leaned forward and kissed her lips gently. His mouth parted slightly and he tenderly kissed the corner of her mouth, pulled back slightly then kissed her once again, settling softly against her lips as she met his kiss with equal tenderness. He felt her fingers in his hair as she pulled his head toward her, intensifying the kiss. Their breathing became slow and even as they settled in to an achingly beautiful joining of heart and flesh. He covered her left breast with his right hand and caressed it lightly as his kisses grew more passionate.
Rachel found herself losing herself to the passion and kindness that was this man. He was exactly as he seemed, exactly as he had always been—kind, gentle, and loving. There was no turning back. Her heart had already made the decision to love him forever.
“If it’s okay with you, we can get married when we get back from Denver,” he told her quietly. “We can have a nice, quiet ceremony. I’d like to have Kay, Roy, and Paulette there, if Paulette is up to it. And Jarod, too.”
Rachel smiled and squeezed his hand. “I would like that,” she said happily. She touched his cheek gently before sliding her hand around his neck and pulling him toward her to take the kiss she wanted. She held on tightly, growling into his mouth as he opened to her and slipped his tongue into her mouth. She sucked on it carefully, loving his taste. She wanted him desperately.
Sam kissed her thoroughly, laughing softly at the sexy growl that left her lips as their kiss deepened. Covering her body with his, he settled in the cradle of her hips and pressed his groin intimately against her. His hard cock pressed against her mound, and he damned the material of her sweatpants for keeping him away from her. He needed to sink his shaft deep inside of her and feel the wetness and the warmth of her body.
“Rachel, you don’t know what you’re doing to me,” he told her, his voice husky with emotion. “I want you, honey.” He whispered the words, unable to say them any other way.
“I want you, too,” she told him, leaning forward to kiss him deeply.
“I want you so much, I can barely think.”
Rachel smiled as she tipped her hips and pressed against his erection. “I can tell,” she said, teasing him.
“You women have it easy,” he told her, laughing. “You can always tell when a man desires you.”
“You can tell that I desire you pretty easily, too,” she told him very seriously.
“I can?”
“Check for yourself.”
Sam growled at her soft demand. Easing back, he pulled her sweatpants and white lace underwear down very slowly, loving the way her body was revealed to him in tantalizing increments. When she was completely naked before him, he kneeled before her and reached out to place his hands on her inner thighs. He pressed lightly, smiling when Rachel eased her legs open to him without hesitation.
He touched the dark, trimmed curls of her mound and smiled as she moaned softly when he used his thumbs to spread her lips and slide them along the glistening pinkness of her folds. Slipping his thumb inside of her, his cock throbbed at the warmth of her body and the wetness that soaked him.
“So wet, baby,” he whispered, removing his thumb from her body and bringing it to his mouth to suck her juices from it.
“I think you should check deeper,” Rachel told him, smiling up at him.
“Do you?” he asked, smiling at her boldness.
“Yes. And I need you to check with something much longer and thicker than your thumb, Sam,” she told him, loving the expression of surprise that crossed his face just before he growled. “Take off your pants and make love to me.”
He didn’t need to be told twice. Pushing down his sweats and underwear, his cock bounced free. For a brief moment, he didn’t move, wanting to capture this incredible moment in his mind forever. When he saw Rachel open her arms to him, he leaned forward and held her gently, kissing her neck as his cock nudged her pussy.
She adjusted the position of her hips, moaning softly as the head of his cock nudged against her and slid inside of her. She moved slightly, matching his press and retreats, unable to keep the soft noises of pleasure from escaping as he slid deeper and deeper inside of her with each gentle movement.
When he was finally as deep as he could go, she sighed and caressed his back, scraping her nails down the hard, sexy muscles there. She loved the way he felt in her arms and inside of her body. He filled her completely, his length and girth stretching her deliciously. She could feel the fresh rush of cream that eased his way inside of her.
“You feel incredible inside of me, Sam,” she whispered, gasping with pleasure when he pulled almost all the way out of her then pressed back inside of her slowly.
“Rachel,” he groaned. “So good, baby.”
It was the first time in his life he had ever gone without a condom. He was glad it was with this woman who was meant to be his. He felt their connection, a warmth spreading through him as their souls merged. He didn’t know how he knew this, but he did.
He wrapped his hands beneath Rachel’s body to cup her shoulders and hold her in place while he pumped into his beautiful woman’s body over and over again. The way she matched his rhythm with the cant of her hips was perfect. He pressed against her, rubbing against her mound with each thrust and retreat, determined to stimulate her clit as he moved.
He spread his legs slightly to lift her legs up onto his thighs and tip her hips to angle her so he could peg her G-spot with his thrusts. At her gasp of pleasure, he knew that he had put her in the perfect position.
“Good, honey?” he asked as he looked into her eyes and watched her as he increased his tempo and pressure.