Quade's Babies - Brenda Jackson [38]
Her mind shifted to dwell on that, when she suddenly felt something warm and wet between her legs. She opened her eyes to find Quade standing there, wiping her with a warm cloth. Instinctively, she closed her legs.
“No, don’t close yourself from me. Let me do this, Cheyenne. I want to do this. Open up again for me.”
The kind, gentleness of his tone made her do just what he asked and he continued to wash her with the most tender of care. “You don’t have to do this, Quade.” He had done the same thing before. Their first time together in Egypt.
He glanced up and met her gaze. “I know, but I want to.”
So she lay there, willing, complacent, at ease in placing herself in his hands. And they were big hands, tender hands, gifted hands. And when she thought about all those hands had done, how they had made her feel, she knew they were skillful hands.
“Feel better?”
Actually she did. Given the intensity of their lovemaking, she knew she would feel some soreness, but it had been worth it. “Yes.”
He nodded. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
She figured he was going into the bathroom to wash himself and she wished she had the strength to do that for him, return the kindness. But she doubted she had the strength to move. So she lay there and closed her eyes again.
Moments later, she felt herself being lifted from the table and cradled into strong arms. “We’re going to bed now.” She heard his deep, masculine voice whisper close to her ear. “And I will let you sleep for a while.”
She knew he was letting her know they would be making love again and she had no problem with it. When they reached the bedroom, he placed her in the middle of the bed and she glanced up at him. He had put his jeans back on, but had not snapped them back up. Nothing about him had changed. Stripped naked he looked good; with clothes on he looked good. He was awesome and she knew as strange as it would seem to some people, she had fallen in love with him.
If the truth was known, she had probably fallen in love with him on sight that first night, but had put the thought out of her mind as ludicrous, especially when she’d believed she would never see him again. But the moment the doctor had told her she was pregnant, some kind of torch had lit inside her, and she’d known she wanted a baby. His baby, which would always be a way to connect with him. A baby where their combined blood would flow through his or her veins.
She hadn’t counted on triplets, but when she’d given birth to their babies, she had felt connected to Quade threefold. The only thing that kept her from accepting his proposal of marriage was the fact that she knew he didn’t love her. He had an obligation, a sense of responsibility, but he did not love her. She couldn’t have that kind of marriage with a man. Especially this man.
“Is there anything I can get you?” he asked in a soft voice, standing next to the bed.
“Um, yes, there is this one thing.”
She scooted closer to the edge and stared at his erection that was pressing hard against his jeans before reaching out to slide her hand down his stomach, liking the feel of his hair there, past his navel to insert her hand inside his jeans to grab hold of his throbbing member. He hadn’t put on his boxers. She smiled when she heard his sharp intake of breath while she used her other hand to pull his jeans past down his knees.
“Careful.” Quade eased the word from between tight lips when Cheyenne’s fingers curled around him. He doubted that she heard what he’d said since she looked so preoccupied at the moment. Her main focus was him and she seemed content to stroke him in a way that was driving him mad with desire.
“You like torturing me, don’t you?” he asked when she continued her stroking, hoping and praying that she didn’t stop. She certainly had a way with her fingers.
He heard her soft sigh and then she said, “No more than you like torturing me. I love touching you this way, and thinking this, in all its engorged glory, is responsible for my babies.” She glanced up at