Surrender (21 page)

“Okay. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.” Because of his help with Jada’s rescue they’d spent very little time together during the entire week he’d been in town.

“When was the last time you visited Chicago?” he asked, looking down at her as they continued walking.

“It’s been quite a few years. Probably at least five.”

“Would you come visit me if I were to send for you?” he asked in a husky voice.

Without hesitation she said, “Yes.”

“How soon?”

She smiled. A part of her wanted to think things were moving too fast between them but she immediately dismissed the thought. “How soon do you want?”

“How about this coming weekend?”

She lifted her eyes to study his. “You sure?”

“Yes. I don’t think I can wait any longer than that.”

“Me, either.” She could tell her response pleased him.

His hand on hers tightened. “Knowing I’ll see you
again this weekend won’t make it so hard.” He stopped walking and didn’t say anything for a long moment as his dark gaze probed deep into hers. Finally, he spoke. “I know this sounds crazy, Rainey, but I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Rainey blinked. They were standing in the middle of the airport terminal. People were coming and going all around them. But her complete attention was on the man standing in front of her who had just confessed to having feelings for her. She felt something for him as well, and had from the first. But she had convinced herself it was nothing more than a strong physical attraction, pure and simple. Now she knew that wasn’t true because of the depth of her feelings for him. “No, it doesn’t sound crazy, Howard, because I’ve fallen in love with you, too.” She looked into his eyes, saw the smile that extended to his lips. Then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Long and thorough.

Afterward, out of breath, she stood before him smiling. “Saturday seems like a long time away.”

“Then come with me now.”

“What!” She pulled out of his arms.

“You’re off work this week, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” Nettie had given her some extra time off because of all the extended hours she’d worked at Sisters when Nettie had been in Oklahoma with Ashton and then at Deadpan Hollow awaiting Jada’s rescue. “But I don’t have a ticket.”

“That won’t be a problem.”

“I don’t have luggage, which means I don’t have clothes or toiletries.”

“We’ll buy anything you need when we get to Chicago.”

Rainey looked up at him. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

His gaze met hers. “Yes. I’m very serious.”

The desire that flamed from the dark depths of his eyes touched every part of Rainey’s body. She caught herself wringing her hands together understanding the implications of what he was asking her to do. While in Houston he had stayed at a hotel, but she knew he was asking that she come to Chicago and stay in his home…and sleep with him in his bed. She finally dropped her hands to her side. Hadn’t she preached to Nettie the importance of not only finding love but holding on to it? And about surrendering your feelings to the man you loved? “All right, I’ll go to Chicago with you, but I need to call Nettie.”

Howard nodded. “I’ll get your ticket while you’re doing that.”

Rainey again studied his features. “Are you sure about everything? Are you sure about us?”

Howard pulled her back into his arms. He rubbed his knuckles softly against her cheek. “Baby, I’ve never been so sure of anything in my entire life.”

Rainey found the weather chilly in Chicago. After arriving in the city Howard had taken her shopping for
the things she would need over the next few days. Then he had taken her to his apartment. He gathered her into his arms the moment the door closed behind them.

“I want you, Rainey.” The tone of his voice was husky, deep and filled with desire.

It made her heart thud in her chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “And I want you, too.”

Without wasting any time he picked her up into his arms and walked directly to his bedroom. She only took a quick glance around before Howard joined her on the bed. Seconds later, they were naked and in each other’s arms after he protected them both.

After long moments of sensuous foreplay they were both shuddering and moaning with an intense need. Every muscle in Rainey’s body felt alive, full of desire. Finally, Howard gripped her hips as he rose over her, ready to put a tantalizing finish to what they had started. Slowly he entered her body while both of them quivered in anticipation. She braced her arms on his shoulder, letting her manicured nails brand him as they dug into his skin.

He looked down at her. His eyes were covered in a fevered glaze of desire. “Ready?”

She looked up at him, loving the feel of him buried deep inside of her. Never had she felt this connected to any man before. Smiling, she answered breathlessly, “Yes.”

His hands held her lips tight as he proceeded to make love to her, hard, fast and thorough, giving them both what they wanted and needed. His eyes
locked on hers, and they knew that somehow they had found love in its purest form.

When their world exploded and they shuddered together in ecstasy, Rainey and Howard knew at that very moment the love they shared was too precious to lose and silently vowed to keep it always.

Back in Houston, Rome took Jada home to her apartment after leaving Trevor and Corinthians’s baby’s christening party. Just as he’d done the previous nights, he watched television while waiting for her to finish taking her shower so he could take his. His heart was overjoyed that she had finally agreed to marry him, and he intended to make her feel safe and well loved for the rest of her life.

After his shower he had taken all the things he needed out of the linen closet to sleep on the sofa when he heard her call his name. He turned and saw her standing in the doorway to her bedroom. Dressed in a long flowing blue nightgown, she looked too beautiful to be real, but then at the same time she looked unsure about something. He walked over to her and took her hand in his. “Yes, Jada? What is it?”

She met his gaze and smiled shyly. “I was wondering if…”

When she stopped in mid-sentence, he asked, “What were you wondering?”

She inhaled deeply. “I was wondering if you wanted to sleep with me tonight?”

Rome studied her features. Even before her abduction he’d moved at a pace that she would find comfortable. “What do you want, Jada? Do you want me to share a bed with you tonight?” He wanted her to be open with him and share her feelings with him.

“Yes. I want you to make love to me, Rome. When I was in the Hollow I thought about you making love to me. Thinking about it helped me make it through the days as well as the nights. I had to believe that no matter what, that you loved me and would always love me.”

“I do love you, Jada. Don’t ever doubt my love.”

She smiled. “I don’t anymore.”

“But you did?”

“Yes. After I was rescued I convinced myself you couldn’t possibly still love me after all the trouble I’d caused, and what you actually felt for me was nothing but pity. Now I know differently. I truly believe in my heart that you love me, Rome, and because I believe that, I want to show you how much I love you, as well.”

“Jada, you don’t have to show me anything.”

“I want to. I have to.” She stood on tiptoe and whispered, “Make love to me, Rome. Please make love to me the way a man is supposed to make love to a woman. His woman.”

Jada’s heartfelt plea touched Rome. “I will, Jada, and for the rest of your life you will be cherished and loved.” He picked her up in his arms and crossed the room to her bed. After placing her in the center of it, he came down beside her and gathered her to him and
kissed her. He wanted to remove her clothes, and his, but at the moment he continued kissing her over and over, again and again, while thanking God for returning her to him safely.

When they needed more than just kisses, he pulled away and removed his clothes, then hers. After putting on a condom he went back to her and kissed her again until he felt sensations burn through her right into him. It was only then that he let his body cover hers. She gripped his shoulder as he slowly entered the enveloping warmth of her body. He moaned at the intense pleasure being inside her brought him. Gradually he began moving in and out at a slow, easy rhythm, and her body moved with his, meeting each and every downstroke. His mouth continued to feed off hers in a kiss that was destined never to end.

But it did. He released her mouth when glorious, rapturous pleasure burst upon them, and they moaned out their fulfillment and sexual gratification. Jada gave a small whimper as tears slid down her cheeks. Rome kissed the tears off her face.

“I love you, Jada. For the rest of my life I shall love you.”

Jada looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “And I love you, too, Rome. I thank God for you, your family and your friends. Tonight you showed me a beautiful side of making love. You’ve proven just how special things can be between a man and a woman. I’ve never known such tenderness, such fulfillment and such joy.”

“Then let me show you those things some more, baby,” he murmured, close to her ear and with all the love he had in his heart as he gathered her back into his arms.

Three months later

D
r. Gilroy beamed radiantly at the couple sitting across from him in his office. “Congratulations, Colonel and Mrs. Sinclair. The tests have been confirmed. You’re having triplets.”

Ashton raised his eyes to the ceiling. “Tell us something we don’t know, Dr. Gilroy, like how my wife is doing.”

Dr. Gilroy frowned, clearly confused. “You knew before the tests were done that your wife was having triplets?”

“Yes.”

“How did you know? Triplets run in your family?”

“No, just single births.”

He glanced across his desk at Netherland. “What about yours?”

“No. In fact, I’m infertile.”

Dr. Gilroy shook his head. “Whoever told you that must have been mistaken, Mrs. Sinclair. An infertile woman can’t get pregnant, least of all with triplets.”

Netherland shrugged. This had been her first appointment with a civilian doctor, and she decided not to argue with him. Her being pregnant had come as a big shock to everyone who had known about her medical condition. She’d had a hard time explaining to them that she’d been given the gift of fertility the night Ashton had married her the Indian way. “So how am I doing? And are the babies healthy?”

“Yes. From the sonogram it seems both you and the babies are fine. However, I’d like to do another sonogram in a few months. By then we’ll be able to tell you the sex of the triplets if you want to know.”

“We already know. They’re all boys,” Ashton said easily.

The doctor frowned at him. “Well, yes, er, we’ll see.”

“No, you’ll see, doctor. I already know,” Ashton said, looking at the man without cracking a smile.

A few minutes later Ashton and Netherland had left the doctor’s office and were on their way home. Netherland glared over at her husband. “Did you have to scare the wits out of Dr. Gilroy, Ashton?”

He shrugged. “I couldn’t help it. You know how I
feel about civilian doctors. The only reason I’m letting you get checked by one is that you wanted a second opinion. Now are you satisfied?”

“Yes. And the only reason I wanted a second opinion by a civilian doctor is that all my life I was treated by military doctors.”

“Military doctors are the best, and Marine Corps doctors are exceptional.”

Netherland shook her head. “Why doesn’t it surprise me that you’d think that?”

“Because it’s the truth. Just ask Sir Drake. They’ve pulled more bullets out of him than he can count.”

Netherland knew she couldn’t ask Sir Drake anything. Last they’d heard, he was working undercover for the CIA, somewhere in Russia. “I talked to Rome and Jada today.”

Ashton smiled. “How are they doing?”

Netherland smiled, thinking of the couple who had gotten married before Rome had to return to California. “Fine. Jada loves California.”

“Glad to hear it. And I understand Rainey is planning to get married and that Clayton is back at work,” Ashton said as he brought the car to a stop at a traffic light. “The next thing on the agenda is names for the babies. Have you thought of any?”

“No, what about you?”

“No, but I have thought of something else.”

“What?”

“That weekend in New Orleans we never did take. How about going away with me for the weekend?”

Netherland smiled. “If I don’t go willingly, will you kidnap me and take me anyway?”

Ashton shook his head, grinning. “That night I was desperate. You can’t blame me for taking such drastic measures. I had to get you off your turf and onto mine. It worked, didn’t it?”

She glanced at her husband with love shining in her eyes. “Yes, it worked. In no time at all I had surrendered, which makes me wonder how the cowboys ever won a battle against the Indians.”

Ashton grinned over at her. “They didn’t. And the same holds true today. That’s why the Washington Redskins usually whip the Dallas Cowboys’ behind big time.”

Netherland shook her head, grinning. “I can’t win with you, can I?”

“No, but I can win with you. You’re the best prize I could ever have, and for the rest of my life, I’m surrendering my heart to you gladly.”