Curtis (28 page)

“Shh,” he whispered. “Don’t say a word. I’m going to slide inside you right here and now.”

Okay, now that was hot. Knowing that she was naked and he wasn’t…

The head of his erection pressed against her entrance and she panicked. She tried to shake her head, scared that she wouldn’t be able to keep quiet, but he didn’t pay her any mind, his erection nudging her entrance, then slowly filling her.

Her hands gripped the blanket as the intense pleasure made her head spin.

What if they got caught? What if one of those ranch hands came up here for some reason?

Curtis’s teeth nipped her ear. “Do you know how fucking hot this is? Me fucking you like this while they’re down there working?”

She shook her head, but she did know. It was hotter than she ever could’ve imagined.

The voices grew louder, and she knew there were men in the barn now, yet Curtis continued to slowly penetrate her, over and over, his breath soft against her ear, his body still covering hers.

“Remember to keep quiet,” he reminded her when she whimpered.

The warmth of his body disappeared at the same time his hands gripped her hips and he began thrusting deeper, harder, faster.

Her climax was immediate, slamming into her, stealing her breath. It took every ounce of control she had not to cry out his name as she splintered into tiny pieces.

Curtis didn’t stop; he continued to thrust into her, filling her, pulling another orgasm from her while the men downstairs continued to work. She had no clue what they were saying, only that they were there. But it didn’t matter, because she knew Curtis would take care of her as he always had.

She allowed herself to succumb to the pleasure once again, and moments later, Curtis’s hips thrust forward, once, twice, and one final time before she felt him release inside her before his body again covered hers.

He pulled her down with him, wrapping his arms tightly around her as they both came down from that incredible sexual high while the men downstairs went about their business, none the wiser.

chapter FORTY-FOUR

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1977

I want to cry, I want to laugh, I want to dance … and I’m so, so scared. But at the same time, I’m so, so happy. The one thing I am going to do … talk to my husband.

“Hey, baby!” Curtis called w
hen he walked into the house. He’d been out in the barn when one of the ranch hands had told him that Lorrie was looking for him. He was told it wasn’t urgent, but he knew if Lorrie had asked one of them to find him, it was important.

So, here he was.

“I’m in the bathroom!” she called back.

Well, that sounded peculiar.

“What’re you doin’ in—” Curtis turned the corner to see Lorrie standing in the bathroom, fully dressed, staring at a hodgepodge of crap on the bathroom counter. “Is that…”

“Pee,” she said, a smile on her face.

Well, okay. Definitely awkward.

“Do I even wanna know?”

She turned to face him. “I would think so, since, according to this”—Lorrie waved her hand to encompass the little dropper and tubes sitting before her—“it means we’re pregnant.”

Out of all that, he heard only one word.

Pregnant.

When she turned to look at him, he held his breath, forcing the words past his dry lips. “We’re having a baby?”

She nodded, and as she did, tears began trickling down her cheeks. “I’m scared to believe it. But I wanna believe it.”

“We should get you in to see the doctor,” he blurted.

Again, she nodded. “I’ve already called and scheduled an appointment. They can see us on Friday.”

“Oh, my God, baby,” he whispered, grabbing her and pulling her into his arms. He didn’t know the first thing about all the crap spread out before him, but if Lorrie said she was pregnant, he believed her. But along with his joy came a shit load of trepidation.

It had been almost five years since…

“We’re gonna have a baby,” he rasped, willing it to be true. He wouldn’t think about the bad things, only focus on the positive. That was how he had to handle it. For all of their sakes.

Lorrie had woken up that morning with her heart set on taking this pregnancy test. It was a new thing she’d read about in an advertisement. She’d picked it up at the drugstore last week—a full week
after
her period was supposed to start. Once she had the test at home and had read the directions at least two dozen times, she’d then waited what seemed like forever, wanting to ensure enough time had passed. According to the test instructions, it was best to wait at least ten days after her missed period, so she’d waited another week. It had been fourteen days as of yesterday.

Which was the reason she’d come to the bathroom this morning both anxious and excited.

Then, careful not to mess anything up, she had done everything exactly as the little paper had instructed, and now, two hours later…

Based on the results (which the box warned were only ninety-seven percent accurate) they were going to have a baby. As excited as she was, Lorrie was also terrified.

Terrified that the test would be wrong even though she’d missed her period.

Terrified that they’d have to relive what they’d gone through before.

Yep, she was scared to death, but the only thing she could do was hope and pray for the best. If this was God’s plan, it would be.

Turning to Curtis, Lorrie smiled. “Oh, and one more thing.”

His eyebrow quirked.

“I think it’s time you quit smoking.”

chapter FORTY-FIVE

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1978

That husband of mine is as stubborn as they come. Doesn’t he know that when a woman asks for sex, she really wants it? I can see it in his eyes, he wants it, too, yet he’s so hard-headed. Hmm. I’ll have to think of a plan.

Curtis had finished the dishes, helping out because Lorrie had mentioned her ankles were swollen, and rather than let her steamroll right over him and do the dishes herself, he had forced her to go sit down and put her feet up.

“Curtis!”

At the sound of his name, Curtis dropped the dish towel and ran through the living room and down the short hall to their bedroom. Throwing open the door, he came to an abrupt halt when he found his wife sitting on the bed, looking…

“Where’re your clothes?” he asked, bewildered.

Lorrie nodded toward the floor. “Down there.”

“And why did you take them off?”

“Because if you’re not gonna willingly make love to me, then I’m not gonna willingly wear clothes anymore. See how you like that.”

He grunted, then moved toward the pile of clothes she’d discarded on the floor.

“Don’t you dare touch those,” she huffed.

“Woman.” He took a deep breath, doing his best not to look at her beautiful, very naked body.

“You’re not gonna hurt me. The doctor said it’s perfectly okay to have sex at this stage of the pregnancy.”

He knew that. She’d told him that several dozen times, but now that he could see the slight protrusion of her belly, he was scared that he was going to hurt her or the baby. Why it had been different before she was showing, he couldn’t explain, but it had.

“If you don’t find me attractive anymore, just say so,” she said, a slight hesitation in her tone.

He met her gaze, frowned. “Baby, trust me, that ain’t it.” The evidence was throbbing incessantly behind his zipper. Even fully clothed, the woman aroused him with a simple smile. Without a stitch of clothing… It was highly likely that he was going to bust a nut in his jeans.

“Then what is it?” she questioned.

Figuring she wasn’t going to give up until he explained, Curtis walked around to his side of the bed, then climbed on beside her.

“I don’t wanna hurt you or the baby,” he told her honestly, lying on his side and facing her.

“You won’t.”

“You don’t know that,” he argued. No one knew why she’d miscarried their first baby, but he did not want to be responsible for doing something that might cause that again.

“Curtis.” Her tone was no longer soft and sweet. “I’m pregnant, which means my hormones are all over the damn place. I’m horny, and I’m tired of you thinking I’m gonna break. I’m sixteen weeks. The doctor has assured me that everything is going well with the baby. We can make love.”

He found her rant adorable. So adorable that he couldn’t resist kissing her just to get her to shut up. That was his first mistake, because kissing her had always driven him stark raving mad. This time was no exception.

When she managed to crawl on top of him, straddling his hips, he knew he was done for. Resisting her these last few weeks had been hell. He’d been jacking off repeatedly, always thinking about her when he did. Before she was pregnant, Lorrie had been stunning. Now that she was … she was the most beautiful, radiant woman in the world, and he wanted nothing more than to make love to her every minute of every day.

Lorrie reached for the button on his jeans, then worked it free before lowering his zipper.

He groaned, pretending that he wasn’t enjoying every second of it.

When she started to work the denim down his hips, he helped her along, and the next thing he knew, she was once again straddling him, only this time there was nothing between them. He slipped a hand between their bodies and grazed his knuckle against her clitoris, loving the soft moan that escaped her.

“Feels good,” she whispered, pressing more firmly against his finger.

With his free hand, he pulled her head down, pressing his lips to hers once more. He savored the sweet taste of her, his tongue gliding against hers while he worked her into a frenzy.

“More,” she said against his mouth. “Inside me, please.”

For the love of God. There was no way in the world he could resist this woman.

Before she could ease down over him, he gently shifted her to her back and positioned himself between her legs.

“Promise you’ll tell me if I’m hurtin’ you?”

“I promise,” she whispered.

As he slid into the hot depths of her body, he was overcome by sensations, so many that he thought for a moment his head was going to explode.

“What’s wrong?” Lorrie asked when Curtis stilled inside her.

“Nothin’.”

“Doesn’t sound like nothin’,” she said, laughing at the strangled sound of his voice.

“Don’t laugh,” he warned.

That only made her laugh harder.

“I’m gonna come, Lorrie. Keep it up and I’m gonna come before you ever get yours.”

That hushed her right up. She’d been waiting too long for this. For several weeks now, Curtis had been finding one way or another to put her off when she mentioned sex. She knew he was worried. She’d been worried, too. For the first few months, she’d spent every minute of every day scared to death. Because of her previous miscarriage, she was seeing the doctor more regularly than if she hadn’t lost a baby, and each time she’d gone, the doctor had assured her the baby was doing just fine. In fact, the baby was on target to be as big as Curtis eventually, which, honestly, was scary in its own right. She wasn’t all that big, so having a big baby…

Okay, so she’d have to think more about that later.

“Make love to me,” she whispered, framing his face as he hovered above her. “Slowly.”

His hips began to rock, and Lorrie relaxed, holding on to him although he kept his arms locked so that he wasn’t pressing against her belly. It was more proof that he was scared he would hurt her or the baby.

“Turn over,” she insisted when it was clear he was trying too hard not to hurt her.

“What?” he asked, his hips stilling.

“I said turn over. On your back.”

Shifting her legs, she forced his erection to fall from her body, which resulted in a disappointed grunt from Curtis, but he did what she asked. Finally.

“Now don’t you dare move,” she commanded, once again straddling his hips.

She leaned down, kissing his lips, trying to get him to focus on her.

“Touch me, Curtis. Put your hands on me.”

His hands slid up her back, and she was surprised she didn’t purr like a cat, they felt so good against her skin. While she kissed him, her tongue stroking his, she tried to control the urgency. With Curtis, it wasn’t easy. She wanted him so badly, needed him to do all those naughty things he’d done to her before, but she knew that would be pushing it.

When he was good and distracted, she slid her hand between their bodies and guided him home.

“Oh, baby,” he groaned into her mouth. “I love bein’ inside you.”

Lorrie sat up, her hands on his chest as she began to rock her hips, doing all the work while he watched. The man was so damn sexy. All that sun-bronzed skin covering sleek muscle, her name tattooed proudly on his chest. He was a work of art.

At thirty-two, Curtis was even sexier than he’d been at nineteen, and back then, she hadn’t thought it possible.

“So beautiful,” he breathed, his hands on her hips.

Lorrie began rocking faster, taking him deeper, until she knew he wouldn’t be able to handle slow and easy anymore. He urged her forward, and she leaned down, her breasts crushed to his chest as he began to thrust into her from beneath. It didn’t take much before she was hanging on the razor-sharp edge of bliss, wishing he would go over with her.

Lorrie met his gaze, hanging on as long as she could. “Come for me, Curtis.”

He groaned, thrusting harder, faster, until her orgasm detonated, nearly leveling her at the same time he grunted his release.