He followed her inside, going to the air conditioning unit in the living room to turn it on. The apartment was dark and stuffy from non-use. He opened the tan drapes and flooded the room with sunshine, making Rachel feel a little better.
She surveyed the room and liked what she saw. The room was sparsely furnished but held two immense, overstuffed beige couches and one comfortable recliner. She walked over to one of the couches and sat down, smiling as she sank into its softness. She rubbed her hand across the soft material and willed herself to relax.
Sam watched her silently. He placed the garment bag carefully on the back of the couch that was facing Rachel, walked over to her, and knelt down before her. She looked so small as she sat on the huge couch. Flashes of his dream loomed before him, and he saw the two couches in the home that he had seen in the vision. When she looked at him, she smiled, reaching out to touch his hand gently as it rested on the couch beside her. His strong fingers wrapped around hers and he squeezed her hand gently.
“I’m glad you’re smiling,” he said finally, the memory of his dream making him suddenly content. “You didn’t look very well when I picked you up at the store.”
“I saw someone in the elevator that reminded me of Richard,” she told him quietly, looking down at the couch cushion, not wanting to get into it further.
“And?” he asked quietly.
She looked at him with fear in her eyes. “I think it was the smell of his cologne that made me panic.”
“Scents often trigger memories,” Sam said quietly.
Rachel nodded. “Everything flashed through my mind. I guess I had a panic attack. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.”
Rachel looked down at his hand and touched it gently with the fingertips of her free hand. She could not believe that these hands would ever be raised in violence against her. She brought his hand to her lips and kissed it tenderly. When she looked at Sam, she was touched by the concern that she saw on his face.
“Sam,” she said quietly, holding his hand gently. “I thought that Richard really cared about me when I went out with him. We went to a very expensive restaurant in New York City. I knew at dinner that I had been wrong, but I just sort of got swept up in his determination and ended up at his apartment. I’ve kicked myself over and over again for letting him take me there. I keep thinking that I should have done something to get away before anything happened.”
Sam watched her face silently and felt sadness and frustration clutching at his heart. He saw the pain on her face and heard the anguish in her voice. He sat down beside her on the couch, placed his free hand behind her at the small of her back, and drew her into his arms to hold her against him.
“Rachel, it wasn’t your fault,” Sam told her softly, his voice strong with conviction despite its gentleness.
“I tried to fight him,” she continued as if in a trance. “He was too strong. He hit me twice. He threw me down on his bed.” She looked up at him and saw the pain in Sam’s eyes as he listened to her.
“Rachel,” Sam whispered, shutting his eyes at the thought of the violence that she had been subjected to.
“I scratched him. I hit him,” Rachel continued, wanting to tell him everything and unburden herself from the weight of the memory of the attack. “I was afraid that he would kill me, Sam, so I pretended to go along with what he wanted.” She couldn’t help it. She started to cry.
“That was a smart thing to do,” he told her quietly, leaning back to look at her.
“I hit him with his clock radio and knocked him out,” she whispered between sniffles.
“Good girl!” Sam told her proudly.
Rachel laughed at his enthusiasm. She reached up and touched his face gently. “I was afraid to tell you. I didn’t want you to blame me for being so stupid,” she told him honestly.
“Of course I don’t blame you,” he told her, squeezing her hand tightly. “I’m proud of you. I’m also afraid for you. I don’t ever want you to go through anything like that again.”
“He can never hurt me again.”
“Damn right he can’t,” Sam said angrily.
The strength of his words surrounded her just as the power of his body enveloped her. He held her to him tightly, making Rachel feel protected and cared for. She kissed his chest lightly and hugged him.
She could feel the anger leaving his body and smiled at the tender way that he held her and caressed her back. She looked up at him and found her lips captured in a gentle kiss. She didn’t feel panicked, she felt protected. She pulled back and smiled.
“I haven’t thought about Richard for a while,” Rachel whispered, touching Sam’s shoulder and brushing an imaginary piece of lint from his black T-shirt.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you, Rache.”
Rachel raised her eyes and saw the look on Sam’s face. She knew down to her very core how sincere he was. Her eyes were filled with tears and her throat was tight with emotion because of his caring.
“Rachel, if I ever frighten you or hurt you when I touch you, please tell me,” he whispered, leaning back to face her seriously.
“Sam, when you touch me, I can barely think at all.”
“You like it when I touch you?” he asked her quietly, all anger gone. His eyes sparkled with mischief and passion.
“Can’t you tell?”
“Maybe just a little.”
Rachel laughed and wiped away the tears that were helping to wash away her ugly memories. She looked at him seriously then, searching his face and smiling at the devilish glint in his eyes.
“Do you like the way I touch you?” she asked him, running her hand down his chest to pull his shirt from his jeans and reaching underneath it to tenderly touch his body.
Sam covered her hand through his shirt and closed his eyes. “Rachel, if you only knew how your touch drives me crazy,” he told her honestly.
“I think the feeling is mutual.”
Sam opened his eyes and looked deeply into the brown softness of her eyes. They held tenderness, caring, and passion. She was such a gift. His heart felt full with the happiness that she gave him.
“We’d better start getting ready for the dinner tonight. You can shower first,” he offered gallantly
.
Rachel reached out to touch his lips softly with her fingertips, leaning forward to cover them with her own. They kissed gently for just a moment before Sam pulled away and looked at her intently, desire lighting his eyes.
“We could share the shower,” Rachel offered, smiling at the way Sam tightened his arms around her and hugged her against him.
“If we do that, we’ll never leave this apartment,” he said finally, his voice husky. “I’ll keep you here forever, making love to you until they have to take me to the hospital due to exhaustion.”
“Promises, promises,” Rachel teased.
“Don’t tempt me, Rache,” he told her seriously.
Rachel smiled up at him and allowed him to pull her to her feet. He held her hand and guided her to the room that led to the right of the living room.
Rachel followed and found herself in his bedroom. Her eyes immediately traveled to the bed and couldn’t help but blush at the memory of the way that he had touched her just that morning. When she faced Sam, she saw him watching her knowingly.
“I just may be the one who keeps you here making love, Sam,” she whispered, watching as his beautiful blue eyes sparkled with desire.
“You’re great for my ego, but bad for my control,” he said finally. “Go on and shower. I’ll go and get the rest of your things.” He kissed her lips quickly before turning to leave her alone in the bedroom.
Rachel smiled as she watched him leave then went to the windows and opened up the drapes to allow the room to be filled with the afternoon sunshine. She reached up, turned on the air conditioner, and stood in front of the cool breeze as it blasted from it.
She was feeling better already, but she was tired. She looked at her watch and saw that it was nearly two o’clock. She gazed at the bed hesitantly then walked to it tiredly and sat down on it. She lay back, rested her head on Sam’s pillow and closed her eyes.
“When Sam comes back, I’ll take my shower,” she whispered, relaxing against the softness of his bed.
When Sam returned to the room a few minutes later carrying Rachel’s suitcase, he hesitated as he took in the sleeping form in his bed. He put down the suitcase and walked over to her quietly. Kneeling down beside the bed, he placed his hand on her hip as she lay on her side facing him. She turned restlessly onto her back and his hand slid to cover her stomach.
The sweet scent of cinnamon and sugar filled the room. It was a familiar scent that soothed him immediately. He looked down at his hand as it was splayed across Rachel’s stomach and he saw a flash of a vision that filled him with happiness.
He was touching her swollen belly and smiling as their baby moved within her body. It was just a slight wisp of a movement but it was there. He looked up at Rachel and saw her smiling in her sleep.
“You see our baby, too,” he whispered gently, leaning forward to lift her pink shirt to kiss the warmth of her skin. “I want you to be pregnant with my baby.” He hummed against her abdomen and smiled as she touched his head lightly and threaded her fingers through his hair. “Maybe we’ve already made our baby. I would like that, sweetheart.” He eased away from her stomach and settled his head against the pillow so that his chin rested on her shoulder. He kissed her neck lightly, nudging her ear with his nose. “What about you, baby? Would you be happy if you were pregnant?”
Rachel turned toward him and smiled as she slept. She didn’t have to answer him. He could see her happiness at his whispered words. When she sighed softly and leaned into his arms, he knew that she wanted to be with him as much as he wanted her to be with him.
Pulling away from her carefully, he stood and walked toward the bathroom. He removed his clothes and stood silently in front of the shower stall. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Everything about his time with Rachel made him happy. The dreams he had about her and the life they would have together gave him complete peace and happiness. He was looking forward to making those dreams their reality.
He reached forward to slide open the etched glass shower door. Stepping inside, he pulled the door closed and leaned forward to turn the water on. When it was warm enough, he turned on the shower and stood under it, allowing the cascading warmth to relax him.
It had been a long day. He had asked Gwen and Stan to keep an eye on things at the campground for him. The memory of the two of them smiling knowingly at him and Rachel as they had stood before him had made him realize that he was proud to have them think that Rachel was his wife. It would only be a matter of days before that would be true. He was looking forward to it.
The past week with Rachel had been nothing short of incredible. He had never enjoyed spending time with and talking with a woman so much in his life. It was as if the time that they spent apart had disappeared. The easy friendship they had was still there and brought with it a comfort level that eased his sadness. She amazed him. She made him laugh. She impressed him with her knowledge and opinions. She made him crazy with desire.
Their shared intimacies each night in the camper were stuff fantasies were made of. Rachel was a giving and tender lover. He loved every touch, every caress, and every whispered word of affection that she gave him. He had never felt so completely in love before. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and never let go. He wanted to possess her completely—body and soul. Her gentle love for him made him understand that what she felt for him, and what she gave to him, came from her heart and called to his soul. She was his. Soon, they would have a baby to share. He was looking forward to making that baby if they hadn’t already created him or her.
He smiled as he dropped his head forward and allowed the warmth of the water to saturate his hair. Reaching for the bottle of shampoo on the shower ledge, he poured some into his hand then rubbed it into his hair, scrubbing it vigorously. Lathering his body with soap, he began to wash himself thoroughly, only passing the cloth lightly over his hard cock and swollen balls. He should take care of that, but the thought of making love to Rachel and filling her body with his seed was too much of a temptation.
Memories of the way Rachel’s body opened to him and took him deep made his breathing quicken and his cock harden even more. Desire flooded him, and he had to lean against the wall of the shower unit as his knees threatened to buckle underneath him, his body painfully excited.
“Rachel, baby, you have no idea how much I want you,” he whispered to himself. “You have no idea how much I love you and the life you’ve already given me.”
Rachel opened her eyes slowly and smiled at the sight before her. Sam was standing in front of his bureau, clad only in a large navy bath towel that hung casually around his waist. His black hair was dripping wet and his body was glistening with water. His body was tight and muscled and screamed controlled strength. Her breathing quickened with intense desire at the sight of him. She couldn’t help but want him desperately.
“You look nice,” she told him quietly.
He turned to face her in surprise then put down the clothing that was in his hand and walked toward the bed to kneel down on the floor beside her.