Chapter Nine
Macy let him have his recovery time while they talked and laughed and rehydrated. Then she took him on a long, slow ride that lasted until she collapsed over him in an exhausted, trembling heap, her sweat mingling with his as he held her and stroked her damp hair. Even as she contemplated sl eep right there on top of him, she knew from the spark deep in her belly every time he moved inside her that she wasn’t done with him yet.
“Jesus,” he groaned in her ear an hour later, “you’re gonna kill me, but I’ll die happy.”
Macy giggled and licked her dry lips. They lay with her back to his front, her leg tossed back over his hip, because neither of them had strength enough to move any more than that position required. “Sleep,” she agreed, wiggling free of him before turning and grabbing a drink of water off the nightstand. Once he had a drink himself, she settled on his chest, and he drew the covers up around them.
She was absolutely spent, and more content than she could remember being in a long time. Peace suffused her, but it was fragile, and there were still some things she had wanted to say before hormones had clouded her mind. Macy knew if she didn’t say them now, the moment would pass. She would never say them in the morning once the events of the night were a fading memory in the light of day.
She drew a path on his chest, tracing lines of his ink lightly with her fingertips. “I know you don’t want to talk about Raina, but she told me something I thought was…interesting.”
His chest rose and fell with his sigh. “All right, what?”
“She’s married,” Macy told him, carefully waiting for any reaction. “She’s pregnant.”
“Well, good for her.”
Relief went through her. She wasn’t sure what kind of reaction she’d been waiting for from him, but virtually none was the best one he could’ve possibly given her. “I thought so. She seemed…better. Much better.”
“I knew something had to be going on with her. It would take more than a new hairstyle to change her, and I’m still not convinced it’s possible. She has it in her to be a good person, though. I’ve seen it. I saw how happy it made her when she got pregnant before.”
With him . “I’m jealous of her,” Macy admitted softly.
“Fucking hell, why ?”
She lifted her head and looked him in the eyes, because she needed to see how he reacted to this, needed to know that he was with her, really with her. For some reason, the words came simply, as if these hours with him had removed the cobwebs from her mind and heart so that she could see clearly again. “Because however badly it ended, she still had something of yours that I’ve never had.”
“Baby,” he murmured, stroking her cheek as the incredulousness in his eyes softened. “I love you so much. And that’s something of mine you have that she never did.”
“I know.” She dropped a kiss on his chest. “I guess I’m being selfish. I want everything.”
“I like when you’re selfish over me. And I’ll give you everything I possibly can. That’s all I want to do, Mace, every damn day. Plus, you know…maybe I did it tonight.”
“Maybe,” she said, settling her cheek back on his warm skin and lacing her fingers through his. The thought brought a smile to her face, sent a little flutter of excitement through her stomach.
“She shouldn’t even be a factor,” he told her, sounding the slightest bit troubled.
“I realize that. I don’t even think I knew she was a factor until I saw her tonight. I guess she was kind of a loose end floating out there. I always wondered in the back of my mind what she was doing, where she was, and sometimes I felt some guilt over her. Can’t help it.”
With his free hand, he tickled her behind her neck, while she cringed and giggled and fought him. “Answer me this. If we did it tonight, if we made the kid, or whenever we finally do it, will you chill out? I mean, is that everything? Or will there be something else you need?”
Once she finally subdued him beneath her, his wrists pinned harmlessly at his sides even though he could break her grip with a twitch, she grinned down at him. “Baby number two, maybe.”
“Oh, Jesus. I’m not your fucking stud horse, woman.”
Macy nibbled at the tip of his nose. “Yes, you are,” she drawled. “My big, strong, virile—”
“Maybe you ought to see how baby number one goes before you start thinking about baby number two, yeah?”
“My grandmother had twins. My aunt had twins. Maybe we’ll have babies one and two.”
Pure horror dawned in his expression, and Macy tossed her head back and laughed.
“Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” he asked. “You should have disclosed this information before I signed on. I want out.” Teasingly, he made a move as if to get up, but she fought him back into submission beneath her…only because he let her.
“Honestly, I would probably have a heart attack if that happened. But you never know, right?”
“Eh.”
“Oh, come on, cheer up, you big baby.”
“Thought I was your big stud horse.”
“Prove it.”
He rolled her beneath him so easily a thrill shot down her spine. “Macy, honey, all you would get out of me at this point is a little puff of dust.”
She burst out laughing. “You’d better buck up. Start chugging water, or maybe a protein shake. You’re all mine for the next two to four days.”
“Just let me have some sleep and I’ll be good to go.”
“Quitter,” she teased.