Slope of Love (Love in Bloom: The Remingtons) (27 page)

Rush’s father placed a hand on his back. “I’m proud of you, son.”

Jayla understood from the look in Rush’s eyes, and the way he swallowed hard before responding, how much his father’s statement meant to him.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“I’ve always been proud of you, and if I don’t tell you that enough, I’m sorry. I’m learning in my old age that you and your siblings can’t read my mind, as I’d always thought.” He slid a smile to Jack.

Savannah reached for Jack’s hand. Jayla knew that Jack and his father had had a falling out right after Linda died and they’d come back together only when Jack and Savannah fell in love. Watching the love in Rush’s family made her long to be part of it.

“Thanks, Dad. That means a lot to me.” Rush embraced his father, and Jayla wondered if she was the only one who picked up on the way Rush’s voice cracked.

His father turned his attention to Jayla. “I’m proud of you, too, Jayla. I’ve known you since you were twelve? Thirteen?” He shook his head. “I can’t remember how old you were, but you’ve always been determined and very strong.” He nodded. “And you’ve always been good to my son, and that’s really all that matters in the grand scheme of things.”

“Dad?” Kurt laid a hand on his father’s shoulder. “Are you all right? You’re not terminally ill or something, are you?”

He ran his hand down his face and glanced at Joanie, who nodded and smiled. “No, Kurt. I’m just learning to be a better man.”

“Your father is just realizing that his message to his children to be better, be more, be…whatever…didn’t always allow his real message to come through.”

Rush smiled at Jack. “Well, we’re never too old to better ourselves.”

“Okay, that’s enough drama for one day,” Joanie said, moving toward the door. “Let’s give Rush and Jayla a little peace and quiet.”

Rush reached for her hand. “Mom’s probably right. I can order in something for us, or run over to the lodge to pick something up. You must be tired.”

She caught a hint of desire in his eyes and felt her cheeks flush. “Maybe a little,” she admitted. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to push you guys out.”

Jace kissed Jayla’s cheek. “I’m proud of you.”

Savannah rose to her feet. “Sounds good to me. Jayla, I hope you aren’t in too much pain with all this.” She waved at Jayla’s arm.

“I’ll be fine, thanks.”

“Rush, congrats, bro.” Kurt patted Rush’s back.

“Did you have any doubt I’d win?” Rush smirked.

“I meant congrats on being with Jayla.”

“Ass.”

“Boys.” Joanie shook her head and moved to gently hug Jayla. “Feel better, Jayla. Don’t let Rush keep you up too late.”

“He takes good care of me.” Jayla snuggled against Rush’s side. “When I let him.”

Jace pointed at her. “You’ve got a serious injury. Let Rush take care of you, or I’m coming back here and doing it myself.”

“Oh God, no. You limit my gummy bears. Rush,
please
take care of me.”

RUSH COULDN’T WAIT for everyone to leave. He’d been itching to talk to Jayla ever since she’d said they were
dating
. Yes, of course they were dating, but weren’t they so much more?

Jayla leaned against the counter by the front door. “I feel like we just pushed everyone out.”

“They know you need to rest.” He placed his hands on her hips and nuzzled into her neck. “I’m glad they’re gone. I missed you.”

“Mm…You’re kinda like gummy bears.”

He drew back and looked into her eyes. “Gummy bears?”

“Yeah, never get enough.” She lifted up on her tiptoes and kissed his chin.

“How’s your shoulder?”

“Hurty.”

“Complete and total adorable honesty. Who are you?” He ran his finger down her cheek, being extra careful to measure every movement to avoid hurting her. “Do you think a hot bath would help?”

“Only if you’re in it with me. I feel like I’ve been away from you for a year.”

He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her softly.

“I’ll get in the tub with you, but I can’t promise I won’t have wandering hands.” Maybe a bath would ease the tension that was mounting inside him. He wasn’t quite sure how to bring up the topic of their
dating
, but he knew if he didn’t, he’d be sidetracked by it all night.

“I can live with that.”

He filled the tub, then turned his attention to Jayla, first helping her to remove her sling, then removing her shirt and bra. He placed his hand over her heart and looked into her eyes.

“Your heart is going crazy,” he whispered.

“I know. I can’t help it. Every time we’re close, I want to be closer.”

The hunger in her eyes drew his lips to hers. She tasted so good, so sweet, so…
Jayla
.

“Love me,” she whispered. “All of me.”

He trailed kisses down her neck. She buried her left hand in his hair and brought his mouth to her breast. He loved when she urged him on. He kissed, licked, tasted her sweet skin before rubbing his thumb over her nipple and taking her in another greedy kiss. Rush took off his shirt, pressing his chest gently to hers, taking care to avoid putting pressure on her right side.

“I love the way you feel against me,” he whispered.

Jayla was breathing hard, her eyes half closed. He kissed her sore shoulder, then kissed his way down her arm, wishing he could kiss the injury away and somehow take it on as his own. Her skin was warm and he was hard. So hard.

“Bath,” he said between kisses. “Or I’m going to take you right here, and I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.”

“Take our pants off.” She bit her lower lip. A glint of mischief sparkled in her eyes, which drove him a little crazy.

He took off her pants, then stepped from his own. She held her left palm up to his mouth.

“Lick it.”

Holy hell
. He dragged his tongue along her palm. The erotic, unexpectedness of it made his balls tighten.

Jayla stroked his hard length, driving him out of his mind.

“Jayla.” His voice was rough, gravelly, and driven by lust that he had no intention of ignoring. Her touch was magical, tight and wet, slow, then fast. He fought against the need to come. “Jay…”

“Lift me onto the counter.”

Done.

His heart beat so hard, so full of love for her that he thought he might come apart. He brought his hand to her wet center, then brought his fingers to his mouth and licked the taste of her from them. Her eyes went wide, then narrowed as she brought her lips to his and kissed along his bottom lip, then across his jaw, and nipped at his earlobe. He could barely restrain himself from driving into her. She guided him to her center and wrapped her legs around his waist. He pushed slowly into her, careful not to jostle her shoulder, until he was buried deep, and they both stilled.

Heaven
.

“Are you okay?” He searched her eyes for a sign of discomfort.

“More than okay.”

“Am I hurting your shoulder?”

She shook her head, then used his arm for leverage as she inched forward, taking him in deeper and drawing a moan of pleasure from deep within him. He held her hips still as he withdrew, then pushed in slowly again, hyperaware of every sensitive inch as it slid into her and she tightened around him until he was buried to the hilt again and again. They both went a little wild, their muscles tight, corded, as they panted for breath and Rush moved harder, faster, deeper. Heat coiled low in Rush’s belly as Jayla began to suck in tiny breaths.

“Rush…More…Oh God.”

He captured her pleas in his mouth and breathed air into her lungs as she went over the edge, taking him right along with her.

When he was finally able to breathe again, he buried his hand in her hair and kissed her lovingly. It wasn’t enough. With Jayla, nothing was enough. His heart opened in a way he never imagined possible, and he wanted her in every aspect of his life. So much emotion welled within him that he was nearly driven to tears for lack of knowing how to channel it.

He carried her to the tub and placed her in the warm water, then settled in behind her. She leaned back against him with a contented sigh. Rush gathered her hair over her left shoulder and kissed the crest of her sore one. He didn’t want to think about how much pain she must be in, but he’d never turn his back to appease her again—not when it meant she was in danger or hurting in any way. He also didn’t want to think about her going to her own apartment just outside of New York when they left Colorado, or dating her a few nights each week. He didn’t want to worry about whose place they’d stay at or where their clothes were in the morning. He didn’t want to think about spending a single night without her ever again.

“Move in with me.” The words came out and instantly felt right.

She turned in the tub, and he helped guide her legs around his waist. Her eyes flitted over his face, as if she were assessing his seriousness.

“Move in with me,” he repeated. “You said we were dating, and I feel like we’re so much more, so much bigger, than
dating
.” He didn’t give her time to answer. “Do you feel it, too? Or is this what it feels like to just date? Do I have it all wrong? Because I’ve never felt like this before.”

“It’s way bigger than dating. More,” Jayla said with a smile.

“I don’t ever want to wake up without you in my arms, and I want you snuggled against me on the couch eating gummy bears and wearing your flannel pajamas. I want to be the guy who you get mad at when I’m overprotective and the one you whisper
more
to when you come apart in my arms.”

She blushed. Rush was a stoic athlete through and through, and yet he was powerless to calm his emotions for Jayla. They swept through him with the strength of a blizzard and left him craving more of her.

“I love you, Jayla.”

“I…” She was shaking. “I love you so much I can barely stand it.” She blinked against tears that welled in her eyes.

Her fingertips found his belly, and he lowered his forehead to hers and closed his eyes for a breath. When he opened them, a tear had slipped down her cheek and his chest tightened.

“Marry me.”

“Rush…”

“I don’t want to be your boyfriend. I want to be the father of your children, and I want to watch our kids fall in love like our parents have watched us. Marry me, Jayla.” He couldn’t stop himself from telling her how he felt. “I know it feels fast. But fifteen years isn’t fast at all.” He paused long enough to realize she was really shivering. He grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around her. The edges dipped into the water and he held her close.

“Do you love me?” he whispered.

“I’ve loved you since I was thirteen,” she said against his neck.

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“Look at me.” She leaned back and searched his eyes. “How do you know that in six months you won’t be sick of me?”

“Because in fifteen years I have never spent one hour being sick of you. And the thought of not being with you makes me sick to my stomach.”

This earned him a smile.

“And how do you know that if I can’t compete after the surgery and the rehab, you won’t see me differently?”

“Because when I saw you on that stretcher, I knew that even if you could never move again, I wanted to be right there with you, taking care of you, every second of every day. You’re my everything.”

Her eyes jumped from right to left, and she smiled again. “I’m your…You are telling me the truth. Every word of it. I love that.”

“Do you love me enough to want to wake up next to me every day? Do you have doubts about me or my love for you?”

“Yes. Not at all. Next question.”

He smiled. “Do you want to have my babies? Eventually?”

She swallowed hard, and another tear slid down her cheek. “Yes.”

“And will you share your gummy bears with me?”

“Always. Maybe. Probably.”

He laughed. “And would you rather just date me?”

“I’ve never wanted to just date you. I’ve always wanted to marry you.”

She touched his cheek, and he reveled in her touch and in the love in her eyes.

“Is that a yes?”

“It’s most definitely a yes. Yes, Rush. God, yes.”

The End

THE TIDE LAPPED at the sandy shore beyond the deck of the cedar-shingled bungalow where Kurt Remington sat, fingers to keyboard, working on his latest manuscript.
Dark Times
was due to his agent at the end of the month, and Kurt came to his cottage in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, to hunker down for the summer and complete the project. He lived just outside of New York City, and he wrote daily, sometimes for ten or twelve hours straight. In the summers, he liked the change of scenery the Cape offered and was inspired by the Cape’s fresh air and the sounds of the sea.