The Christmas Proposition (12 page)

Rachel longed to run her hands over his body and feel the coiled strength of skin and muscle beneath her fingers. She yearned to taste the salty sweetness of his flesh. Most of all, she wanted to feel him inside her. Now.

Once admitted, need became a stark carnal hunger. “Naked,” she said.

He lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss in the palm, letting her feel the soft stroke of his tongue.

“Agreed,” he said.

It quickly became a race to see who could get rid of their clothes the fastest. Rachel beat him by several seconds. As a reward, she let her gaze slide over him. Her lips lifted with female appreciation. The lean build, the muscles in his arms and legs sculpted from years of
sports, the light dusting of hair on his chest. Her eyes, which seemed to develop a mind of their own, dropped lower.

Rachel swallowed once…and again. Derek was definitely an All-Star.

He cleared his throat.

She jerked her gaze to his face and found him grinning.

“This—” he gestured to their nakedness “—is what parents worry about.”

With a thudding heart, Rachel stepped close, placing her hands on his shoulders. She looked into his eyes, her gaze steady. “We’re adults. We’re alone. And I really, really,
really
want you inside me.”

Rachel didn’t remember moving, but the next thing she knew, she was in his arms and they were lying on the soft rug before the hearth.

He kissed her lips over and over while one hand cupped her breast and a thumb rubbed across the swollen tips. Fire shot through her, diving down low in her belly. Her heart hammered and her tightly held control unraveled when he substituted his mouth on her breast and moved his hand between her legs.

She caught her breath as he slid two fingers inside. Her muscles tightened around them.

“Oh,” she moaned, pressing herself against his hand, wanting more, needing more.

He kissed her again and brought his thumb into play, brushing it lazily back and forth.

Rachel opened her legs wider in an invitation as old as time. “Please, Derek. Please.”

She didn’t need to ask again. Seconds later, he plunged inside her.

At the first intimate stroke, a shudder raced through her.

He froze. “Did I hurt you?”

“Only in the very best of ways.” She looked into his eyes. Her gaze held his. “Don’t you dare stop.”

He grinned and slowly began to move in and out until the tightness eased and her entire body throbbed with pleasure.

“More,” she said in a voice she didn’t recognize. “Harder.”

He stroked hard and fast and she stretched and undulated in rhythm with him until their bodies were slick with sweat. She loved the way he felt inside her, filling her completely, rubbing her intimately.

The scent of him, the feel of his body was all that mattered. The pressure inside her grew. He must have sensed her mounting need because he pumped harder, faster, until every nerve ending in her body burned like fire.

“I love…the way you make me feel.”

Had he spoken? Or had she? Did it matter?

The shuddering began deep inside her midsection and worked its way out. Her thighs trembled, her hands shook. The passion she’d kept buried fireballed. She never felt anything so intense before. A long deep moan vibrated in her throat and she clutched him tighter, wrapping her legs around his hips. She felt Derek’s release, heard him cry out her name as he drove deeply inside her one last time.

Still intimately joined, she lay beneath him, wrapped
in his arms while their racing hearts beat as one. Finally she spoke. “I have one question for you.”

He lifted a brow.

“Want to do it again?”

He smiled and let his actions be his answer.

“N
ot that one.” Mickie stood in the doorway to Rachel’s bedroom and shook her head. “It makes you look like an old lady.”

Rachel gazed into the mirror at the dress she’d pulled on to wear to church. She’d gotten the dark floral print on sale several months ago but hadn’t worn it. Because Derek would be escorting them to church, she wanted to look her best.

Old lady.

She stared into the mirror with a critical eye. Perhaps Mickie was right. “Okay, I’ll find something else.”

“Wear the blue dress. The one made out of that stretchy material,” Mickie urged from her position on the bed. “It makes your boobies look big.”

“Now why would I care about that?” Rachel asked in surprise.

“Because boys like girls with big boobies,” Mickie said. “And you want Mr. Rossi to like you, right?”

“Where did you hear that about boys liking girls with big boob—er, breasts?”

“Aunt Amy used to say that all the time,” Mickie said. “She wore those push-up things to make hers look bigger.”

Rachel paused. There were so many directions she could take this conversation, but the service started in less than thirty minutes, so she decided to keep it basic. “Honey, what men are really looking for is women who love them for who they are, who will stand beside them in good times and bad. Someone who not only makes their heart beat faster, but who will be their best friend. Understand?”

Mickie appeared to consider the words for several seconds, then shrugged. “You’d better hurry. Mr. Rossi will be waiting for us.”

“Give me five minutes.” Rachel’s fingers flew as she unfastened the floral print, then let it drop to the floor.

“So which dress are you going to wear?” Mickie asked as Rachel opened the closet.

“The one you suggested, of course.” Rachel shot Mickie a wink as she pulled the dress from its hanger. “I love the way it makes my eyes look.”

Derek cast a sideways glance at Rachel while everyone else was praying. He wondered if she realized how sexy she looked in that blue dress.

It didn’t surprise him that his thoughts had turned to sex. Since he’d left her place yesterday, all he’d been
able to think about was her, what had happened on that living-room rug…and how he’d almost blown it.

Saying “I love you” would not have been a smart move. She wasn’t ready to hear those words from him. And he wasn’t sure he was ready to say them.

Letting him get so close had been a huge step for her. Although encouraged, Derek wasn’t a fool. The love she felt for her deceased husband hadn’t vanished. And she was still wearing Tom’s rings. But yesterday it felt as if she’d given him a small slice of herself. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to give him hope. Enough to make him believe he had a fighting chance.

From the time he’d picked up his first ball, he’d been a competitor. But this time the prize wasn’t a championship or a pennant race—it was her love. Because yesterday he’d realized he didn’t just like Rachel, he
loved
her.

That was why losing her wasn’t an option.

After church, Rachel and Derek headed straight to The Coffeepot. It seemed odd to walk through the door without Mickie. But the girl had asked if she could ride with Addie and her family to the café. This left Rachel alone with Derek.

“Sometimes I get the feeling that Mickie— No, that’s crazy.” Rachel chuckled and sat down.

Once she was seated, Derek claimed the chair beside her.

“Tell me.”

“It’s silly.”

“Please.” He grasped her hand. It was almost as if he’d been looking for an excuse to touch her, which was
okay with Rachel. All through church she’d fought to keep her hands off
him.

“It’s like Mickie wanted to give us time alone together,” Rachel said when she realized he was waiting for an answer.

Derek brought her fingers to his mouth. “Remind me to thank her.”

A shiver of desire traveled up Rachel’s spine. The touch brought to mind memories of the pleasure those lips could evoke in other places.

Not that those sensations had ever been far from her mind. In church, his leg pressing against hers had made it difficult for her to concentrate on the sermon. The only words she remembered hearing was that Christmas was about promises fulfilled.

That same pastor had come to visit her after Tom had been killed. He’d promised that God would walk with her through the darkness and pain. He’d assured her that one day she’d be happy again.

Rachel cast a sideways glance at Derek. She was certain Pastor Schmidt hadn’t been envisioning her having sex with Derek Rossi when he spoke of happiness. But Derek did make her happy. In bed. And out.

That didn’t make her disloyal to Tom. She and Derek were just FWB…friends with benefits. It was as simple as that.

Derek, her FWB, was still holding her hand when the waitress brought their water and coffee. She pulled it from his grasp when her friends—now his friends, too—began trickling in and filling in the seats around the large table. First Lexi and Nick with the girls, then
David and July with baby Adam. Finally Mary Karen and the terrible trio. The waitress had almost made it all the way around the table when Travis strolled in and dropped into the last empty chair.

“You look like hell,” David said to his friend.

“We can’t say hell,” Caleb said.

“We can’t say
damn
either,” Connor added.

“Unca David is a bad boy,” two-year-old Logan said, and the girls giggled.

Mary Karen fixed an admonishing gaze on her brother.

“Sorry,” David said, then turned his attention back to Travis. “Let me say it in a different way. You look unwell, friend. Are you feeling ill?”

Laughter rumbled down the table.

Mary Karen lifted a brow.

“Don’t you ever get tired of all that partying?”

“Last night was no party.” Travis flashed the waitress a smile when she poured him a cup of coffee. “It so happened that three babies decided they wanted to be born within hours of each other and I was on call.”

“Were they okay?” Rachel asked, cursing the unexpected shakiness in her voice.

Derek’s hand closed over hers.

“Of course.” Travis grinned. “Thanks to the superb medical care their mothers received during the delivery.”

This time a collective groan rose up.

Nick leaned forward and looked down the table. “Before we order, I have an announcement. I’ve been given some complimentary passes to
A Christmas Carol
at the high school tonight. If you’re interested in going, let me
know. I have more than enough tickets for everyone who wants them.”

“Derek and I heard some of the actors singing yesterday. They were excellent.” Although no one seemed to find anything odd in what she’d said, Rachel paused.
Derek and I.
The words had flowed from her lips so easily that it was scary.

The ease with which Derek had become part of this group was equally frightening. He skied with Travis, and before they’d left church, he’d made plans to meet David, Nick and Travis at Snow King tomorrow afternoon.

It would never have been that way with Tom. Her husband hadn’t liked doing things with friends or with other couples. Being with her had been enough. It had been enough for her, too. Until he’d died and she’d discovered how awful it was to be truly alone in the world.

“—I know it’s last-minute.”

Rachel blinked. She leaned close to Derek, inhaling the intoxicating scent of his cologne. “What did David say?”

“Apparently some Christmas party is off,” Derek said in a low tone.

“Why?” she whispered back. She’d been looking forward to David and July’s Christmas party for weeks.

Derek shrugged.

Rachel’s gaze narrowed as July returned to her seat after a hasty exit to the restroom only moments before.

“Are you feeling okay, July?” Mary Karen asked her sister-in-law.

David and July exchanged a glance. She nodded and he slipped an arm around her shoulders.

“We’re pregnant,” David said proudly. “Adam will have a brother or sister in late June.”

“It was unexpected,” July added. “But we’re thrilled.”

Tears stung the back of Rachel’s eyes. Two babies
and
a loving husband. July was indeed blessed.

Derek leaned across the table and shook David’s hand. “You’re a lucky man.”

“Congratulations,” Rachel added her well wishes to the others at the table.

“I still don’t understand why you’re canceling the party,” Mary Karen said. “It would be the perfect venue to announce your pregnancy.”

“I know, but the fact is I’m not feeling the best,” July said, looking slightly green. “The smell of food makes me nauseated, so doing the preparation—or even simply having the smells in the house—would be a real problem.”

“Under these circumstances we didn’t think it was a good idea to go through with the party,” David said firmly. His tone said the discussion was over.

“My house is too small,” Mary Karen said. “Or I’d take it over.”

“We’re in the middle of packing,” Lexi said with a rueful smile. “After Christmas we’re headed for six months in Dallas.”

“Lexi and Nick make their home part of the year in Wyoming and the rest in Texas where Nick’s law practice is based,” Rachel said, filling Derek in.

“You can use my apartment,” Travis said. “But there’s not enough room for the kids.”

Even though Mickie was at the other end of the table,
Rachel heard her groan. The ten-year-old had been looking forward to the family-friendly party ever since Rachel had told her about it last week.

“We can have it at my place,” Derek said. “There’s room for everyone who wants to come and, thanks to Rachel and Mickie, it’s already decorated for the holidays. All I need is for someone to recommend a good caterer and I’ll be set.”

“I’ll be happy to help,” Rachel said. “If you need me, that is.”

Derek smiled. “I’ll take all the assistance I can get.”

“See, honey—” David gave his wife’s shoulder a squeeze “—I told you it would be okay.”

“Thank you so much.” July’s gaze shifted from Rachel to Derek. “I hated to back out at the last minute, but—”

“Your health and the health of your baby is the most important thing,” Rachel said, fighting off a pang of envy.

“Don’t worry about the caterer,” Lexi said. “Rachel and I can go shopping for the ingredients tomorrow and between us we’ll whip up a feast.”

“I’ll come over Tuesday and help,” Mary Karen said.

“Just don’t let her near the food.” A lazy grin lifted Travis’s lips. “I want to be able to eat it.”

Mary Karen stuck her tongue out at him. Her lack of culinary skills were legendary in Jackson Hole.

July brought a finger to her lips, her gaze thoughtful. “You could drop off the children at my house. I could watch them while you’re cooking.”

“How about we take them skiing with us instead?” Nick said, earning a big smile from Addie. “If it’s okay with the other guys.”

“Fine with me,” David said.

“Don’t worry about my boys,” Mary Karen said. “Mom is off this week. She can watch them.”

“But I want to go skiing with Uncle David and Travis,” Connor said.

“Me, too,” Caleb called out in such a loud voice that an older couple at a nearby table turned and smiled.

“Me, me, too,” Logan added.

A resigned look crossed Travis’s face.

“Okay by me,” Derek said and Mickie cheered.

“Then it’s settled.” Lexi smiled at Derek. “Prepare yourself. Tuesday, your house becomes
our
house.”

After breakfast everyone scattered. Rachel and Mickie rode home with Derek. With the Escalade’s radio tuned to the all-Christmas station, it wasn’t long before she, Derek and Mickie began singing a respectable three-part harmony.

Rachel caught Derek’s eye during the chorus of one of her favorite Christmas songs and they shared a smile.

He reached over and took her hand. She laced her fingers through his and continued singing about Grandma getting run over by a reindeer.

Rachel heaved a sigh when her town house came into view. She was having so much fun that she hated to see the drive end.

They’d barely pulled to a stop in the driveway when Mickie took Rachel’s key and hopped out. She hurried to the front door, eager to see Fred.

Rachel remained in the SUV with Derek. “I need to speak with you about something.”

“Will ‘I couldn’t help myself’ work as an excuse?” A smile teased the corners of his lips. “Somehow it seemed wrong not to sing to ‘Frosty the Snowman’ and ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.’”

“Yes. No. I mean, the singing was great.”

Really, was there anything the man didn’t do well?

“The hand-holding,” he said. “I admit I forgot for a second about Mickie being in the backseat.”

“That was no biggie.”

His gaze grew puzzled. “Then what?”

“Your offer to host the party.”

The joy that had been in his eyes disappeared.

Darn. Darn. Darn.

“This party won’t just be a small intimate group of friends,” she warned. “David and Mary Karen’s parents were planning to come as well as Granny Fern. John and Kayla will still be out of town, but Ron is coming as well as Coraline, Lexi’s old boss. People from the hospital have RSVP’ed. The guest list is quite extensive.”

Derek leaned back in his seat, seemingly unconcerned. If anything his smile had widened. “The more you talk, the more I realize what a blast this is going to be.”

“Didn’t you hear what I said? Think of all the people that will be in your house.” Tom refused to host a small dinner party. He’d never have gone for a full-fledged Christmas party.

“The More the Merrier is my motto.” Derek shot her a wink. “Besides, Christmas parties mean mistletoe.”

And for a handsome unattached man like Derek, that
usually meant kissing lots of pretty women. Rachel’s heart clenched at the thought. But she told herself who he kissed was not her concern. Derek was a free agent. One night in her bed—or rather on her floor—didn’t make him hers, which was why feeling the pinch of the green-eyed monster made no sense.