“Yet here we are,” he said, his thumbs gently brushing over her cheekbones. “And the Futurity is still almost two weeks away. What do you want me to do?”
All her fine words and grand plans crumbled at her feet. Doubts rushed in. She was a crappy seductress. “What do you want to do?”
“You planned this party,” he reminded her. “You must have given some thought to how you wanted it to go.”
She tried for a teasing smile, but the muscles in her face wouldn’t behave. “This is as far as I got. I figured the rest would take care of itself. Any ideas?”
“A few.” His beautiful green eyes seemed to darken with intent. “What I want to do is lay you down and run my hands over your beautiful body. I want to sweep away all the hurt and doubt in your mind. And I want to hold you and love you and make you want me as much as I want you.” He smiled, slow and sweet, his gaze traveling over her face, coming to rest on her mouth. “But mostly, I want to hear you say the words you’ve been afraid to say. How about we start with that?”
“We could. But . . .”
A hurt look crossed his face. He took his hands from her face. “But what?”
And suddenly, all her confidence returned. She felt beautiful and daring and very much the tease he accused her of being. “I’d rather start here.” She unwound her towel and let it drop to her feet. While he was distracted, she pulled his towel loose from around his hips, then took him in her hand. “And with this,” she said, stroking gently. “Later, while you rest up, we can talk. It’s going to be a long night, I fear.”
He didn’t argue.
And it was very much a long and incredible night. Until five o’clock the next morning, when the alarm on Dalton’s phone went off.
“What the hell?” Raney muttered, bolting upright, thinking it was time for another baby feeding and wondering why it was so cold.
“Rise and shine, sweetheart,” a gravelly voice said.
She looked over, saw Dalton sprawled on all of their pillows and under all of their covers, yawning and scratching his head. No wonder she was cold and had a neck ache. They had set the AC on the coldest setting in the middle of the night because they’d gotten sweaty from their exertions and now the room was freezing. With a shiver, she flopped back down beside him and started grabbing blankets. “Why are you up so early?”
He grinned. Something moved under the covers and he did that waggly thing with his eyebrows. Apparently, he thought it was sexy at five in the morning. “I’m up like this every morning. Want to see?”
How could the man joke at this ungodly hour? “Just give me a blanket and go back to sleep,” she muttered, snuggling against his side, locking him close with an arm across his chest and her cheek on his chest. The smell of him, his warmth, the strength of the big body against hers gave her a sense of wholeness and comfort and safety she had never felt before. This was where she belonged. Smiling, she burrowed closer and closed her eyes. But couldn’t sleep now that her body was fully awake. “I suppose you want to fool around,” she said hopefully.
“Course I do. But I can’t.” His voice rumbled through his chest to vibrate in her ear. “I’m meeting some of the other trainers for breakfast. The lodge better serve regular-sized food, and not that itty-bitty stuff Mrs. Renfrew set out.”
Raney yawned. “I’m not going.”
“You weren’t invited.” She felt him kiss the top of her head. “But you could give me a proper send-off, if you wanted.”
“Can’t. I have a headache. Someone stole my pillow.” She gave a long, contented sigh. “I just want to snuggle a while longer. These last weeks, I’ve missed you so much. It felt like my day wasn’t compete without a smile or a kiss from you.”
“I felt the same. A hundred and twenty-eight.”
She tilted her head back and looked at him.
“Days since I told you I loved you.”
“At the Roadhouse? If I remember correctly, you only thought you loved me.”
“Fifty-one, then. That’s when I promised I did. As I recall, you still weren’t ready to hear it.” He watched her. Still waiting. Even after all this time.
“Oh, Dalton.” Ashamed that she had been so fearful, she scooched up his chest and put her hand along his jaw. His whiskers felt like sandpaper against her palm. “You dear, sweet, patient man.” Leaning closer, she pressed her lips to his. Not in a teasing kiss like those in the shower the previous night. Or openmouthed and demanding like the ones that had come later.
A solemn kiss. Gentle. So full of emotion her heart felt too small to hold it all. Then she drew back so she could look into his beautiful green eyes through the tears forming in her own. “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to say it, dear heart. I wanted to be sure. No doubts or hesitation. And I am.” She let out a deep breath and gave him a wobbly smile. “I love you, Dalton Cardwell. I love your honesty. Your strength of character. Your kindness. And especially your patience while I fought my way to this moment.”
“Not my brains?” The man couldn’t help himself. Even now, he had to made a joke.
She laughed, adoring his goofy, irreverent, wry sense of humor, loving that he found joy in everything and didn’t take himself or her foolishness too seriously. “Of course, your brains, too. And your incredible green eyes.”
“What about my muscles? Your sisters seemed to like my big muscles.”
“Well, naturally, I admire your big muscles. Almost as much as your modesty.” She tipped her head to the side and pretended to give it some thought. “But there’s one muscle I’m not quite sure about.”
He lifted the covers. “This one?”
She
