Chapter Eight
SALLY WOKE WITH a smile on her face after the best sleep she’d had in ages and the best sex…ever. Being cradled within the confines of Gage’s body was nothing like she’d imagined. He was a big man, and she’d thought he’d cuddle her for a little while and then he’d fall into whatever was his natural sleeping position. But as the sun crept in, Gage was still wrapped around her. The hair on his legs tickled the backs of her thighs. His chest was hot, his arms heavy and comforting. Safe. Loving. He hadn’t moved all night, save for the warm kisses he’d pressed to her shoulder, which she thought he’d done in his sleep. She would pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, but she didn’t dare move. He felt too good to risk waking him. Besides, what if their lovemaking wasn’t as good for him as it was for her? She’d gone so long without, her ability to decipher good from bad might be off. Although for her, sex with Gage wasn’t just good. It was unfreakingbelievable. And she was sure it was because she’d loved him for so long before they’d crossed that line.
His arms tightened around her, and she felt him go hard against her bottom. Heat and ice wound together inside her as she recalled every perfect moment of the night before. She’d imagined making love with him so many times, but when their bodies came together, it was nothing like she’d thought it would be. He smelled more masculine, and his touch was rougher, more controlling, in the very best way. And his laughter? She’d never laughed during sex before, at least not that she could remember.
There was nothing predictable about Gage, and when they were making love, she felt things she never had before. A trickle of guilt accompanied that admission, but she and Dave had been so young, she’d had no idea how to have an orgasm, much less how to move her body to help get her there. Truth be known, she’d never really thought about or discovered the nuances of the big O until after Dave had died. A few months after Dave’s accident, she’d been lonely, desperate for human touch, and only then had she explored her own body. She’d taken it further, researching to find out how to best pleasure herself. She’d been amazed by what she was capable of feeling, and she’d felt guilty for not knowing how to enhance her pleasures when she’d been with Dave. He’d never complained about their sex life, but she couldn’t help wondering if he’d missed out on something, too.
“How’s my wife?” Gage asked in a sleepy voice.
“Good,” she said nervously, suddenly peppered with worries. Are we still okay? Was it good for you? Oh God! Did I taste okay?
“Breathe, bird. You heart is beating too fast.”
“Shh. You’ll make me more nervous.”
“Turn around, sweetheart.”
She turned in his arms and he gathered her against him, seemingly either unaware of, or at least not bothered by, his erection.
“Talk to me, Sal.”
No way could she voice her worries. “How about if I just go get ready for work? We both have a long day of interviews ahead of us.”
“Is that what you want, Sal? To fly away and pretend this never happened?” He kissed her softly. “Because if you’re overthinking last night, please don’t.”
She touched her forehead to his chest, wishing she could crawl beneath his skin and hide until all her worries were put to rest.
“Sally, talk to me. Are you having second thoughts?”
She shook her head, and she nervously glanced up at him. “Are you?”
“No, babe, so don’t panic. Making love to you was the most incredible feeling in the world.”
“So…I didn’t suck?”
“Unfortunately, not last night,” he said with a wolfish grin. “But if you want to…” He flipped the sheet off them, exposing their naked bodies, and just like that, her questions were silenced by desire.
“Gage!” She tugged at the sheet and he covered them up again, chuckling.
He moved over her, pinning her to the mattress beneath him, an easy, reassuring smile on his handsome face. “Did it suck for you?”
“What? No!”
“Was I too pushy?”
“No.”
“Was it the stockings?”
She laughed. “No. That was funny, though.”
He nipped at her lower lip. “Then what is it, bird? What’s got you all tied up?” He arched a brow. “There’s an idea.”
She loved that he knew how to ease her worries. “Actually, I’ve never been tied up.”
“Good. Something to look forward to.”
Her insides flamed. “So, it wasn’t bad? Really? You weren’t lying there thinking I’m…I don’t know. Not fun enough in bed? Not exciting enough? I’ve had a baby, things might not be, you know…” She whispered that last part.
He pressed a kiss to the center of her chin. “Baby, you’re fun and exciting. And as far as your body goes, you’re perfect. Didn’t it feel good to you?”
“Yes. But what do I know? I’ve only been with one man in my entire life.”
“Two,” he reminded her. “Any other questions?”
She was quiet for a beat, drawing her courage. “Just one…”
“Anything.”
She gave in to the smile tugging at her lips and said, “Can we do it again?”
“God, I love you.”
His mouth came down over hers, and she felt the broad head of his arousal at her entrance.
“Protection,” she said urgently.
He groaned and reached into the open drawer. Perched on his knees, he tore the condom open with his teeth.
“You know,” he said with a hopeful grin. “We’re married. We could just throw caution to the wind and start our family.”
She loved Gage so much, she was tempted to agree, but she knew better. “I can’t even think about having more children until we tell Rusty we’re married.” Rusty had been so angry at his father after he died, and while some of that was normal anger at losing him so unexpectedly, the aftermath of meeting Trisha and Chase had been overwhelming for both of them. She couldn’t expect her son to deal with news of their marriage and a child all at once.
Gage sheathed his hard length and came down over her as he kissed her tenderly. “I was only teasing, baby. I don’t want to make Rusty uncomfortable.”
“Thank you. I’m still a little in shock about being married, even if you’re taking it all in stride.”
“In stride? Hell, baby. I want to shout it from the rooftops.”
She mentally snapped a picture of the loving look in his eyes and tucked it beside her very full heart. “I’m sorry. I know this can’t be easy for you.”
“Relationships are supposed to be easy?” He kissed her again. “I love you, Sally. We’ll do whatever it takes to make sure we’re all okay, most of all, Rusty.”
“Good. Now please proceed in convincing me that this marriage is the best oops moment in the world.”
“Ah, birdie. What am I going to do with you?”
“Hopefully all those things you did last night. Especially that thing you did with your tongue.”
THE REST OF the day passed in a blur. Sally and Gage worked diligently through their schedules, stealing kisses every chance they got. Gage had caught Sally peeking into the gym several times, and it warmed him all over knowing how much his efforts had meant to her. He hated the idea of clearing it all away Friday afternoon, but every day that passed brought them closer to the date they’d see Rusty, and one step closer to building their future together. Sally had spoken with Sable Montgomery, and Danica was putting together a contract for Surge to play at the grand opening. Gage coordinated meetings with several youth groups for after the holidays, and after a string of disappointing interviews, he received a call from Sinclair “Sin” Vernon. They scheduled a meeting for Friday morning, right before Sally and Gage were scheduled to leave town. Gage knew Sin fit the bill perfectly, and hoped the position was what he was looking for.
By the end of the day, they were both ready for some time away from the office, and in each other’s arms. But first they hit the local shops to find presents for Danica and Blake’s baby shower and Blue and Lizzie’s wedding.
“I can’t believe we waited so long to buy their gifts,” Sally said as they headed into the mall. “It’s so unlike us.”
“You do realize, lovely wife of mine, that you sound like we’ve been married forever.” He draped an arm over her shoulder. “From the day we met, it’s always been us.”
“Whatever, pushy secret husband of mine. It is unlike us. We always make sure we have gifts well ahead of time, and Danica’s baby shower is right around the corner.”
“I think a spur-of-the-moment wedding and finally getting together is cause for forgotten priorities.”
She went up on her toes and kissed him. “Definitely. We should really find something for Chessie, too, so she doesn’t feel left out.”
“That big heart of yours is just one reason I adore you.”
They went into a gift shop and then a department store looking for gift ideas, but Gage had no idea what to get his brother. “Cash and Siena are getting them a three-week cruise.”
“Wow, that’s an expensive gift.”
“It’s something Blue and Lizzie would never treat themselves with, so it’s the perfect gift. What do you think we should get them?”
“Gosh,” she said as they left the department store empty-handed. “I have no idea. They didn’t register anywhere because they didn’t want gifts, but Blue should know better. Giving gifts is the best part of your friends getting married. What about something clever instead of big, like matching aprons that say ‘Kiss the Cook’ since Lizzie used to do the Naked Baker webcast? Or cooking classes for the two of them?”
“Hm, maybe. Those are good ideas. What are you going to want as a wedding gift when we have our real wedding?”
“We’re already married,” she reminded him.
“If you think I’m going to make you miss out on walking down a real aisle in front of our friends and family, in a beautiful wedding dress, you’re wrong.” He tipped up her face and kissed her until she went soft in his arms. “Besides, I want to feel my heart pound as I watch you walk down the aisle. I want to know that you’re sober and nothing could stop you from marrying me. So, tell me, my sweet bird. What would you want if it were your wedding?”
“You gave me that beautiful night in the gym. You don’t have to do more.”
“Baby, don’t you see? I want everything with you. When we’re old and gray, I want you to look back and feel like you never missed a thing.”
Her gaze warmed. “But I don’t love you because of how much you do for me. I love you because of the man that you are.”
“I know, but I’m going to do things for you, with you, to you…” He kissed her again. “Why don’t you think about what you’ll want for a wedding gift, and we can get Blue and Lizzie something Blue would appreciate, like lingerie for his new wife.” He waggled his brows.
“I guess I know what you’ll want for a wedding gift.” Her eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, that’s it! Let’s get sexy stuff for them to wear on their wedding night. We gave Lizzie some cute things for her bridal shower, but you can never have too much.”
“I like the way you think. But, babe, guys don’t really wear sexy stuff.”
She wrinkled her nose, and then her eyes brimmed with amusement. “True. She’ll probably have Blue wearing nothing but his leather tool belt anyway.”
“Tool belt?” He hauled her against him. “Are you thinking about my younger brother naked?”
“A tool belt isn’t naked.” She laughed, obviously enjoying torturing him. “It’s hot. Like a stripper.”
“That’s wrong on so many levels.”
“I’m only thinking of Lizzie, the same way you thought of lingerie for Blue.” She slid her finger into the waist of his jeans and fluttered her lashes. “Don’t you want to know what I think about you wearing?”
“I’m still trying to get the thought of you lusting over Blue out of my mind.”
She pressed her body against him and said, “I promise, I’ve got no interest in Blue beyond friendship. But I do love to see your jealous side come out.”
“You do, do you?” He wrapped his arms around her.
“Mm-hm.” She put her lips beside his ear and whispered, “The only man I want to see strip is you. But only for me. A private show.”
He laughed, but her pinked-up cheeks told him she wasn’t kidding. She was so adorable, all bundled up in her sweater, her hair cascading over her shoulders like spun gold, and those big blue eyes an alluring mix of sensuality and did-I-really-say-that? There wasn’t a thing he wouldn’t do for her. “You’re serious?”
She lifted one shoulder with a shy smile. “I’ve never actually seen a stripper. And I don’t have an interest in seeing a stranger do it.”
“Damn, baby. What other secret desires are you hiding?”
“I never knew I wanted to see that until right this second.”
Just the idea of stripping for Sally made him hot and bothered. “I’ll make you a deal. The day I’m allowed to tell the world we’re married, I’ll strip for you.”
“Really?” Her eyes widened—and heated. “That’s a lot of incentive to offer a girl who’s small on experience and big on wanting you.”
“Just the way I like you.”
They shopped for a while longer. Coming up empty on a gift idea for Blue and Lizzie, they stopped at a baby store to pick something up for Blake and Danica’s baby shower.
“Isn’t this gorgeous?” She admired a mosaic bowl that had designs of baby’s feet in the center.
“Didn’t you and your mom do mosaics together when you were young?”
“Yes. When we traveled she always found an artist who would let us work in their studio.” She looked at him thoughtfully. “I can’t believe you remembered. I haven’t thought about that since…”
“Since we went to that little shop in the Village, Jewels of the Past, when we bought Danica and Blake their wedding gift.” A day he’d never forget because it was the first time she’d opened up to him about her parents.
“That was so long ago. How on earth did you remember?” She set the bowl down.
“It’d be hard to forget. You got this look in your eyes like you missed it, and you went into so much detail about how connected you’d felt to your mother during those times.”
“I do miss it.” She looked at her hands as if she were remembering how it felt to work with clay. “That time with my mom was special.”
“Then you should do it again. Find a studio and invite your mom to go with you next time she’s in town.”
She rolled her eyes. “She’s never in town. You know that. They travel all the time now that they’re retired. But maybe I will try it again.” She lifted a tiny pink dress from a rack and her gaze softened. “Aw, look at this. I remember when I was pregnant with Rusty, I’d go through stores looking at all the infant clothes, dreaming of what it would be like to finally meet my baby. I didn’t want to know if he was a boy or a girl until he was born, so the poor guy was dressed in mint green and yellow for most of his infancy. I wish we knew if Danica was having a boy or a girl.”
Gage drew her in close, looking forward to one day shopping for their own baby’s clothing. “I bet you were the prettiest pregnant woman there ever was.”
“Hardly, and I wasn’t a woman. I was barely done being a girl when I became a mom.” She smiled and added, “But I remember when they put Rusty in my arms for the first time. He was so tiny and vulnerable and perfect. I couldn’t get over that he was part of me. To actually see this little person we’d created was overwhelming. I don’t know how I got anything else done the first six months after he was born. I swear I stared at him every second, marveling at how beautiful he was.”
“I want that with you, Sal. Not now. I know we have a while before we’re there. But I look forward to seeing your belly round with our babies and being right beside you when you give birth.”
She set the dress back on the rack and wound her arms around his neck. “Gage, you know there are risks involved with having babies after age thirty-five, right? Premature birth, birth defects, getting pregnant with multiples…”
“I know all about that. I’ve been in love with a cougar long enough to have thought it through.”
She swatted him. “I am not a cougar.”
He chuckled as they meandered through the store.
“Don’t you know you’re not supposed to talk about a woman’s age?”
He grabbed her around the waist and ducked into an aisle, out of view from the employees. “I like being your boy toy.” He began kissing her neck.
“You sure you don’t want someone younger? With years of possibilities ahead of them? Someone who could give you a baby a year for five years?”
He bit her lower neck.
“Hey!” She scowled.
“Don’t even start that with me, Sally Tuft—Ryder.” Holy shit. How did he not put that together earlier? By the look on Sally’s face, she hadn’t put two and two together either. “What do we have to do to change your name?”
“Um…”
“What? Not this second. After we tell Rusty.”
“But Rusty’s last name is Tuft. And he’s my son.”
“And I’m your husband. I’m not asking you to forget Tuft. But I think Sally Tuft-Ryder has a nice ring to it.”
“If Rusty freaks out—”
He silenced her with a kiss, unwilling to entertain the idea of not being married, much less of Sally not taking his name. Maybe that made him too possessive or old-fashioned, but he didn’t care. He was proud to be with her, and he wanted the world to know it.
When their lips parted, he touched his forehead to hers and said, “I love you, Sally. Please tell me you’re not going to walk away from us.”
“Never,” she said quickly.
“Thank God. Then what…?”
“I’m just thinking about the best way to handle Rusty. Does it make more sense to ease him into it? Tell him we’re dating and eventually move on to being engaged and then married?”
“Not unless you’re talking speed dating, an hour engagement, and immediate elopement.”
AFTER BUYING BABY gifts and a special doll for Chessie, Gage and Sally grabbed dinner in the food court. On their way back toward the exit where they’d parked, Sally stopped to admire a long red dress in the window of a clothing store. It was the most gorgeous shade of crimson she’d ever seen. Lace-capped sleeves decorated with rose and pearl appliqué gave the dress an air of elegance. The sweetheart neckline and empire waist would be slimming and comfortable, and the crinkled chiffon gave it a hint of shine.
Gage took Sally’s hand and dragged her into the store. “You need that dress.”
“No, I don’t,” she insisted as he made a beeline for a rack where several sizes of the gorgeous dress were displayed.
“Then I need you to have it. I need to see you in that dress.” He fished through them and his shoulders slumped. “What is this? A children’s store? Six? Ten? Twelve?”
She laughed. “That’s how women’s sizes run. I have no place to wear a dress like that, Gage. It’s too glamorous. Let’s just go.”
He pulled every dress off the rack and flagged down the salesgirl. “She needs to try these on.”
The salesgirl couldn’t have been more than twenty years old. She smiled at Sally, laughing softly. “All of them?”
“Just sizes eight and ten, please,” Sally said, glaring at Gage as he sifted through the sizes of the seven dresses in his arms. She lowered her voice as the salesgirl unlocked the dressing room. “Gage, I really can’t wear it anywhere. This is silly.”
He held up two dresses, victory written in his beaming smile. “It’s perfect for Christmas, bird.” He shooed her into the dressing room and stepped in with her. “I can’t wait to see you in it.” He was like a kid in a candy store, unzipping the back of the dress as quickly as he could. His enthusiasm was contagious. Sally wanted the dress to look as good on her as it did on the rack just to see his reaction.
The salesgirl’s face was pinched. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, like she was trying to work out how to tell him that he couldn’t stay in the dressing room.
“Um, Gage?” Sally touched his arm as he slipped the dress from the hanger.
“Yeah?” His gaze moved from Sally to the salesgirl, who pointed to a plush armchair meant for waiting customers. “Oh. Right. Sorry.”
He handed Sally the dress, gave her a chaste kiss, and plunked himself down in the chair, anxiously tapping his fingers.
As Sally closed the dressing room door, she heard the salesgirl say, “That’s the prettiest dress in the store.”
Sally stripped off her top and heard Gage say, “The perfect dress for the perfect wife.”
She reveled in his admiration as she changed into the dress. The length was ideal for a pair of low heels, and the satin lining felt heavenly against her skin. She turned to look in the mirror, momentarily awed by her reflection. She’d never owned anything so glamorous. The crisscross bodice and empire waist were flattering. It was the type of dress that belonged on a red carpet, not a holiday dinner. As she turned to open the dressing room door, she was suddenly nervous again.
She peeked out of the dressing area, and Gage leapt to his feet, adoring eyes drinking her in as she turned for him to zip the back.
He zipped the dress and turned her by the waist, his gaze remaining on her face. “Jesus, Sal. You’re stunning. Beyond stunning. Exquisite. That dress was made for you. We’re getting it.”
She flipped up the price tag and gasped. “Gage, it’s four hundred dollars.” She headed for the dressing room.
He caught her around the waist, turning her in his arms again. “You’re worth a hell of a lot more than that. It’s the perfect dress for the holidays, and I’m buying it, so be careful when you take it off.”
“Gage, you don’t need—”
He silenced her with a kiss.
“You can’t keep shutting me up with kisses.”
“Try me.”