Love in the Rockies Page 8

  But, with Kirsten, her new best friend, she’d developed a repertoire of edible dishes like the hearty beef stew with dumplings currently scenting the house with the aromas of a secret blend of herbs and spices—okay, stew seasoning mix in an envelope—to delight her small family’s taste buds.

  She glanced at the clock and out the window. After five and the winter sun hovered at the horizon, flickering through the snow flurries. Unlike in the City, her husband would return before five-thirty. And unlike in their penthouse—she grinned to herself, wiping a clear spot on the steamy pane to see out better—he would be greeted by a happy wife and a hot meal. She sat down at the desk in the corner and clicked on her work e-mail. Yes, she still worked. As financial advisor to some of the richest people in the country. But she did it from home. And for eight hours a day. Not fourteen.

  Scanning the messages from people in her old office and clients, she considered whether Roy’s idea she go free-lance might not be a good idea. What did the company offer her to merit the healthy share of her earnings they retained?

  But business plans could wait for another day. None of the e-mails required immediate answer, and she would have a few hours in the morning to tidy up any that couldn’t be handled when she returned from her dream trip.

  Pregnant.

  Maybe.

  Clicking off the computer, she returned to the window again. When the days were warm, she’d spent more time outdoors mingling with the neighbors. It seemed the snowy landscape drove them inside, and she missed Roy more than usual when her only contact on an average day consisted of local merchants, like the grocer, and those she saw for a moment dropping off and picking up Ben at pre-school. She’d home school him just for the company—but he loved his schoolmates and his teacher and she had no viable excuse to do so. In the City, she would have had good reason, but, of course, she would have been too busy there anyway.

  No, he deserved his friends, and he’d be in kindergarten in the fall. The urge for a baby intensified as he grew up at lightning speed. She lifted the framed photo from the windowsill and kissed Ben’s little boy grin. What a precious gift her sister had left her—and at what cost.

  The front door slammed, and she shook her head and glanced outside to see the little car parked in the driveway. She hadn’t had time for wool gathering in the City either—a waste of time.

  “Teri?” At Roy’s deep voice, she flew into the hallway and tipped her head back for his kiss. Roy hung his coat and scarf on the rack by the door and wrapped his arms around her. He dropped kisses on her forehead, cheeks, and nose before Ben arrived from his room, bouncing and demanding his own hugs.

  Her family.

  Roy finally finished satisfying his wife and son’s needs for affection and sniffed the air. “Stew?”

  Teri nodded. “Yes, and I have homemade biscuits to pop in the oven while you change.” Even with dumplings, she liked giving them something warm from the oven. She hadn’t tackled scratch breads yet, but the boys loved the doughboy’s products anyway. Giving Roy a little push toward the stairs, she giggled. “Hurry up, honey, or your dinner will be cold.”

  He glanced over his shoulder at her and arched an eyebrow. “Demanding wife!”

  She winked. “Little bit, yes. But it’s too cold to go out in search of pizza, so I don’t want dinner to burn. Now go!”

  “We can’t get anything past Mom, can we?” He patted Ben’s head and chuckled, the rich sound rolling over her. Tonight they were a family, all together, but tomorrow…tomorrow she’d have her sexy husband all to herself. She’d miss Ben, but they’d never had a honeymoon and the Colorado winter froze her bones like New York never had. A little sunbathing and spanking would be good for them both.

  Ben followed his dad up the stairs, chattering about school and his friends. As their voices trailed off, Teri returned to the kitchen and whacked the can of “homemade” biscuits on the counter. Laying them out on the tray, she counted her blessings. Ben. Roy. Corbin’s Bend. Free time.

  I miss you every day, sis…but I hope you know the tremendous gift you gave us when you left us behind. I’ve never believed in heaven, but somehow I know you’re watching us and maybe…maybe it’s from there.

  By the time she had the bowls and spoons on the kitchen table, the starving crowd had descended. Roy opened a bottle of merlot while she filled Ben’s stemmed wine glass with cold, foaming milk. His “grownup” drink at dinnertime. The men settled in their seats, and Teri fetched the slightly-burned-on-the-bottom biscuits from the oven and joined them.

  To her amazement, Ben folded his hands and bent his head. Roy stared a moment and bent his head as well, and, unwilling to be the poor sport in the group, she followed suit. Ben mumbled a long string of words under his breath followed by a shouted “Amen, let’s eat!” and Roy shrugged and passed him a biscuit.

  “Where did you learn to pray, son?” he asked, peeling away the blackened layer and buttering one for himself.

  “At Suzanna’s house, her dad always says thank you for the food and some other stuff that I can’t hear too well and then everyone says amen.” He cocked a brow, remarkably like his adopted father’s. “You didn’t say amen.”

  His understanding might be limited, but his heart dwelled in the right place. “Amen,” Roy said.

  “Amen,” Teri echoed, buttering Ben’s biscuit for him. Sis…you never even went to church when we were kids unless Mom dragged you. Are you sending a message? Wherever you are, I plan to be someday. I miss you. But other than that…yes, we have so much to be thankful for.

  * * * * *

  After dinner, Roy gave Ben his bath while she finished packing her bags for the cruise. She planned to flesh out her wardrobe in Florida before boarding the ship. Her previous lifestyle of work suits and her current one of jeans and comfortable tops did not lend themselves to a glamorous cruise. Unzipping Roy’s big case to see if she could fit anything else in after shopping, she shook her head. Men couldn’t pack. For an organized lawyer, he couldn’t fold his shirts to make them wearable. Teri dumped the case on the bed and a brown, unmarked cardboard box fell next to the shirts and underwear. About a foot-and-a-half square, it was taped closed but on one side, a fresh piece of packing tape had been applied. It had been opened, her detective mind determined. What would Roy be carrying in a box like that? There’d be more room for sundresses and shorts without it. Even something fragile could be wrapped in a shirt to take up less space. In the name of efficiency, she would do that. What on earth was it? She grabbed a corner of the box just as it was yanked out of her hands.

  “That’s mine,” Roy growled. Thwarted!

  She stared up at him, eyes as wide as she could make them. Innocent as the driven snow…wait, something wrong in that thought. “Of course, it’s yours, honey.”

  “What are you doing in my bag?” He towered over her, clutching the box to his chest with an accusing expression on his face.

  Guilt assailed her. She just wasn’t sure why.

  “I…um…was looking to see if I could fit any of my things in here. The new ones I plan to buy in Florida.” Licking her dry lips, she eyed him, trying to determine what line she’d crossed. “And I noticed your clothes were a mess and wanted to fold them for you.” His flushed cheeks seemed out of line with her touching a box or his suitcase.

  He scooped up his things and piled them—and the box—in the suitcase and zipped it closed. “I will pack for myself. As I have done for every business trip and family visit in our marriage.”

  She scanned his face for clues, suspicious of his overreaction. DD or not, she’d never been cowed by him yet. “What’s in the box, Roy?”

  He pressed his lips together, but one corner quirked. “That’s for me to know and you to find out…on the cruise.” Roy stood the case on end by the door. “Don’t touch, Teri.”

  Her curiosity surged out of control. The bag loomed large and its subtle maroon fabric seemed to glow. “Oh”—she moved closer, drawn to it—“you can
’t do this to me.” How could she stand it?

  Roy stepped between her and the bag and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I most certainly can. Leave it alone.”

  She leaned right and left, as if by seeing past him she could use x-ray vision to peer inside the closed case and the box itself to find the contents. “Is it a present?”

  He tightened his grip. “I am not saying another word. You’ll have to wait.”

  Sucking in a breath, she blew it out between her teeth. “I can’t.”

  Roy tilted her chin up, and she lost herself in his deep blue eyes and her love for him, tinted only a little by annoyance at his stubbornness. “If you peek, there will be consequences.”

  She squirmed. “A spanking?”

  “Paddling, I think,” He released her and gave a sharp swat to her backside. She jumped. “I came to tell you Ben is ready to say good night. I already read him a story.”

  Teri sighed. “Okay, on my way. I might be a few minutes. You know he’ll try to get a second story from me, the little scamp.” Brushing past him on the way out the door, she lifted onto tiptoe to rub her breasts against him. “Isn’t there anything I can do to convince you? A little peek?” She rested her hand on his chest. “A hint?”

  He laughed out loud. “Not going to work, this time. Go kiss our boy good night and get back here. I have plans for you.”

  She shivered in anticipation, distracted for the moment. “Be right back.” Once Ben slept, cuddled with his teddy bear, she could put all her feminine wiles to work to convince her husband to show her what he was being so secretive about. “And be prepared to be beguiled.”

  “Beguile away, wife.” He palmed her breast and her nipple peaked in response. “I shall not be swayed.” He might be right. But she planned to give it her best shot.

  Chapter Two

  Roy pulled his polo shirt over his head and headed for the shower. Paired with khakis, the shirt had become his office “uniform.” While he still wore suits for court appearances, the more casual atmosphere of Corbin’s Bend allowed him to dress in business casual most days. Comfortable. Happy. And free of the acid indigestion that had plagued him daily before their move. As the spray warmed away the last of the chill from outdoors, he pumped shampoo into his palms and rubbed it over his scalp.

  Nothing he enjoyed more than tormenting Teri’s over-the-top curiosity. He’d known she’d open his bag. Yes, he’d always packed for his business trips—and she’d opened his bag and repacked every time—never saying a word. Thank heavens or he would have been a slob in wrinkled shirts slob at meetings in Boston and St. Louis. And London.

  His new life required very little travel. The law practice he’d purchased from Sam Edger dealt primarily with local matters, in Corbin’s Bend or Denver. This would be, in fact, his first time on a plane in months. And he liked staying put, coming home every night.

  Turning to let the water sluice over his scalp and down his back, he soaped up and imagined how his wife would enjoy the surprise contained in the cardboard package on shipboard. Even if—when—she got into them the minute he left for his half day at the office in the morning, he would make her wait to play with their new toy until they were in their stateroom and out at sea. The next night would have its own activities, since he’d have to follow up on his promise to punish her when she peeked. Not a serious punishment—but lots more fun

  The shower door opened and Teri stood there, naked and lovely. “Want company?” He opened his arms, and she stepped into them. For a moment he simply enjoyed the armful of warm woman then she took the soap from him and began to wash him from top to toe, skipping his groin on the way down one leg, but pausing at the top of the other. Working up a lather, she grasped his hard cock between her slippery, bubbly palms and stroked up and down until he slumped against the wall, so close to coming…

  “Wait,” he choked out.

  Teri, down on her knees, tilted her face up at him with surprise. “You don’t want a shower hand job?”

  He guided her to her feet and kissed her, parting her lips with his tongue and exploring the familiar warmth of her mouth. “No, I want my wife in my bed…and, maybe a little advance bottom warming when we get there.”

  She trembled in his touch, and his cock bobbed against her abdomen. “Mmm, yes, I want to be warmed.”

  Scooping her up in his arms, he strode out of the shower, pausing while she grabbed an armful of towels on the way back to the bedroom. Roy set her on her feet and dried her off, patting droplets of water from her luminous skin, stroking over her nipples, watching them tighten, deepen in color, like ripe strawberries. By the time he rubbed between her legs, her chest rose and fell with panting breaths. His lovely, responsive wife.

  He wiped himself dry, sat on the edge of the mattress, and took her hands.

  Teri smiled down at him, copper hair in damp strands around her shoulders. Her jade eyes gleamed with tears. “I love you so much, Roy. When I think how close I came to losing you, I…”

  He shook his head. “I couldn’t live without you. I will never leave you.” But he knew it nearly happened, and so did she. He preferred not to remember the lonely, harried days before they’d moved to Corbin’s Bend. They’d been headed downhill on a steep path to divorce court even his unflagging love couldn’t have slowed. Or hers, for he had never doubted her affection, only her sense of balance. “Look where we are now.”

  He’d never tire of the sight of Teri naked. From her oval face, down her graceful neck and past breasts with deep pink nipples, still peaked, to her slim waist, curving hips… She shifted.

  “Roy…can I sit down?”

  His gaze flicked back up to hers and in a surge of mischief, he tossed her over his lap. She shrieked, the pensive mood broken.

  “Sssh, you’ll wake Ben.”

  “Let me go, you beast!” She struggled, but her voice lowered, and a chuckle rose from his chest.

  “Beast, am I?” Pinning her with a forearm over the small of her back, he rested the other palm on her bottom, spanning one rounded cheek, letting her feel the weight of his hand. “I wonder if you’re right.” Bending, he nipped her fanny, pinching the skin between his teeth, and she squealed. “Yes, I may gobble you up.”

  She squirmed and whisper-wailed, “Someone help me!”

  “There’s no help for you. I think I am going to warm this fanny and then have my wicked way with you—as any self-respecting beast would do, my beauty.” Lifting his hand, he brought it down with a sharp smack and she jerked. “Yes, this tasty bottom needs a little heating before I make it mine.” Another spank on first the left then the right side left satisfying handprints, pink against her pale skin. A good start.

  “What are you suggesting, Mr. Beast?” She bucked on his thighs and he tightened his hold on her waist and let his fingers slide between her legs, dabbling in the cream already moistening her lady parts.

  “I think you know what I suggest, Ms. Beauty. I plan to fuck you here”—he slipped a finger into her channel and drew it back toward her anus—“and here, before the night is out. I may even make use of your sweet mouth first.”

  She gasped and he grinned, rubbing her juices around her rosebud.

  “I understand your virginal outrage, but prepare to be thoroughly fucked.” His cock hardened to iron. “As soon as you’re thoroughly spanked.”

  As he lifted his hand and rained a flurry of spanks on her bottom, she remained silent but her fingers tightened in the pile of the carpeting and her panting breaths provided a counterpoint to the cracks of his palm against her skin.

  Unlike punishment spankings, this one was pure fun, and passion, inspired by their upcoming frolic in the sun. He thought of the private island he’d arranged to spend an afternoon with her on and the contents of the box. Tempted to use some of the items therein, he remembered his wife’s curiosity and decided to keep it natural for the evening. She would snoop the minute he left for work in the morning.

  And he would be forced to ta
ke action.

  At the thought, he slowed his hand before her cherry red bottom suffered too much abuse. They had days of spanking and sex ahead of them and if he overdid it tonight, he’d hamper the other activities he had planned.

  Lifting his forearm, he helped her to her feet. While he’d future-tripped a bit, Teri’s sparking eyes showed him she was still in the moment.

  “Please, Mr. Beast, don’t eat me.”

  He growled and flipped her onto the bed, diving between her legs. She’d had a full wax for their trip, her smooth skin intensely erotic, and he parted her outer lips and buried his mouth in her hot sweetness. Her cream coated his tongue, and he drew her clit into his mouth and sucked on it, like a bit of candy. Eat her…mmmm.

  She writhed under him and he wrapped his arms around her thighs, pinning her in place, and nibbled at her, biting down just hard enough to add an edge of pain to mix with the pleasure. She moaned and rocked her hips, her body language showing him how close she was to the edge and he withdrew.

  “All right, my dear beauty, I will not gobble you up all at once.”

  “Nooo…eat me!”

  Torn between the lust zinging through his veins and an urge to laugh at the desperation in her tone, he rose to his knees, keeping her thighs on his shoulders, and drove into her sopping pussy. He intended to keep his promise and take her ass tonight—something they rarely did—but he wanted her riding the edge so she wouldn’t tighten up and have too much pain. Just enough.

  Roy fucked her pussy hard, slamming in again and again while she moaned her pleasure then he pulled out, ignoring her pleas. He grabbed the lube from the bedside table and coated his cock. Then dripped droplets over her pussy and let them run down to her ass.