That's Amore! - Janelle Denison [14]
Her mother didn't reply, which was an answer in itself.
Drawing in a deep, fortifying breath, Leila met her mother's gaze and absently placed her hand over her still flat stomach. For the baby's sake, she had to get through to her mother somehow, to soften her up and make her realize she needed to compromise a bit, or she'd end up alienating not only Jason, but Leila as well.
"In three days I'll be Jason's wife, and the best wedding gift you can give both of us is accepting Jason as part of our family. I love Jason, and nothing is going to change that fact. So please try to be happy for me and support my decision."
That said, she left the kitchen in search of her fiancé. It was time to tell him about the baby.
AS SOON AS LEILA stepped out of the house, Jason couldn't miss her distressed expression. Obviously, things hadn't gone well with her mother, which wasn't a huge shock anymore.
Excusing himself from the conversation he was having with her brothers, he met up with Leila on the porch. One look into her soulful brown eyes and he knew they needed time alone.
"What do you say we go take a walk, just the two of us?" he suggested.
A grateful smile touched her lips. "I'd like that."
Grasping her hand in his, he led her toward the path that gradually gave way to the sandy beach just beyond Leila's family home. The sun had already set for the evening, and silvery moonlight guided their way as they walked quietly along the shore for a few minutes with their bare toes sinking into the damp sand. Catching sight of an area shadowed by large palm trees that would afford them some privacy, he headed in that direction.
Once they reached a secluded spot, Jason backed Leila up against the large trunk of the tree and dipped his head to nuzzle her neck, inhaling her sweet, womanly scent. His hands came to rest on her waist, and he pulled her hips snug against his. He was already hard with wanting her.
A delicate shiver coursed through her, and a soft sigh escaped her lips. "Jason … I need to talk to you."
"Ummm, talking is so over-rated," he said as he trailed warm, damp kisses along her jaw to the corner of her mouth. "Didn't you see that at dinner tonight?"
"Yes." Her voice was a soft, breathy whisper, and she turned her head so their lips met and touched in a gentle caress. "But there's something I need to tell you."
"In a little bit," he promised, not wanting talk of her mother to spoil their time together. Framing her face in his hands, he looked deeply into her eyes. "Right now, the only thing you need to tell me is that you love me as much as I love you."
Her eyes shimmered with emotion as she gazed up at him with pure adoration. "I do love you. More than I ever thought possible."
A slow, lazy smile curved his mouth. "Good, because you've made me a very happy man. Now hush and let me make you a very happy woman," he said as he unfastened the buttons securing the front of her dress, unhooked her bra once again, and filled his palm with her soft, lush breast. Slowly, he brushed her taut nipple with his thumb.
Her eyes closed on a barely restrained moan, and her head rolled back against the tree. "Jason…"
"Shhh," he whispered against her ear, refusing to let anything spoil this moment, or the pleasure he wanted to give her. "I want you to relax. No thinking about anything but you and me and how good I'm gonna make you feel."
Lowering his head, he kissed her soft and slow, until he felt her knees go weak and her body go slack. He pushed his hand beneath the hem of her dress, dragging the material upward as he skimmed his palm along her inner thigh, and gently urged her legs farther apart. Then, he slipped his fingers beneath the elastic band of her panties and touched her intimately.
She was all softness and wet warmth, and wonderfully aroused. He filled her with one finger, then two, and delved his thumb between her slick folds. He groaned deep in his throat, his erection straining painfully against the fly of his jeans at the thought of his shaft being enveloped in all that creamy, irresistible