A River Bend Wedding Page 2

  She smiled and he used the opportunity to sweep in and claim every last bit of her mouth. Her knees trembled and she clung to him, hands wound in his t-shirt to keep herself from melting into a puddle on the new floor.

  “What do you say…” He slipped one hand between their melded bodies and tugged down the zipper on her coat. “…we break in the kitchen like we did the rest of the house?”

  “Mmm, I’d say you’re onto something.”

  He laughed and, with lightning fast hands, stripped her. First the coat, then the boots and jeans. Finally, he whipped her sweater over her head and replaced the soft fabric with gentle, but work roughened hands.

  “Jesus,” she murmured when he palmed one breast over the thin lace of her bra. Her nipple pebbled beneath his hot skin without effort and the slightest of movements—the heel of his hand rubbing over the sensitive nub—sent jolts of pleasure zipping straight to her already-wet core. “Wow…”

  “You forget how to speak in full sentences, baby girl?” He tugged the cups of her bra down with a wicked smirk, swiping both thumbs simultaneously over her distended flesh.

  “Godddd.” Her low moan echoed throughout the empty house, and she closed her eyes, letting him take her to the place only he could. “So, so good.”

  “Yeah? You want me to keep teasing you or are you ready for my mouth?”

  A throaty laugh rose in her chest, but words escaped her. Who needed them anyway, when she had his hands doing delicious things to her body?

  “I get so fucking hard just touching you like this,” he said, his voice thick with lust. “And watching you squirm? Jesus fuck, woman.” He lowered his head and nipped at her ear. “Makes me want to bend you over this counter and fuck you senseless.”

  “Do it then.”

  His chuckle vibrated off of her skin as he bent lower yet and trailed his tongue along her collarbone. “I’m still dressed, babe.”

  “I can fix that.”

  And she did, until he stood before her, nothing but miles of hard muscle, sexy ink down both arms, and a thick erection pointing north.

  “Touch me again,” she whispered, taking him in hand and wrapping her fingers around his wide girth. “Show me what forever feels like.”

  A slow, sly grin spread across his face and he spun her around, planting both of her hands on the counter, his hips slamming hard into her ass.

  “Fuck,” she cried, as he shoved her panties down to her knees and notched his cock between her cheeks. From the front, he played her clit like a fine instrument. So skilled and knowing, like only he could do. Within moments, she was breathless. Needy. So freaking ready.

  “Still as thirsty as the first time,” he growled into her ear, a wicked smile in his tone. “Think it’ll always be like this?”

  “God, I hope so.” This and so much more.

  “You want to feel forever, baby?”

  She nodded and he lifted her leg, sliding home and filling her, one slow inch after another.

  “So fucking good.” Groaning, he hug one set of fingers into her hip while the others splayed across her lower belly, holding her tight. So protective. So tender. So…everything.

  “I love you,” she whispered, a whirlwind of emotion gathering in her chest and spreading like wildfire throughout her body. She didn’t just love him with her heart and her mind—she loved him with every part of herself.

  “I love you, too, babe. So damn much.” His brushed her hair off her shoulder and leaned them both forward, his face in the crook of her neck.

  Being taken by him, giving him all she had, spending the rest of her life with him…it was too much to comprehend. Too big and wonderful to grasp even a little part of. So she closed her eyes and rode the waves of pleasure and completion that washed over her, one by one, until she was drowning and the swell of orgasm began to crest.

  “I’m gonna come,” he grunted, his fingers finding her clit once again. “Go over with me, baby.”

  Oh, yes. She was already there. So, so ready. He tweaked her once…twice…and she rose high, only to crash down hard, her sex fluttering around cock, beckoning his release. He came a second later, grunting, cursing, and losing himself deep inside of her.

  “Fucking amazing.” His breathless words tickled against her ear and she smiled.

  Fucking amazing, indeed.

  Chapter Three

  Only a lunatic bride-to-be would dream about getting married by a priest who looked like Cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation. Therefore, it was official—Carissa was certifiably out of her mind.

  She awoke with a groan the next morning, trying to erase the image of Father Joseph standing before her and Josh in nothing more than a robe, boots, and a fur hat. Good Lord. The thought alone made her stomach protest like a mob of angry rioters.

  Throwing back the blanket, she got to her feet…and the room spun.

  “Whoa.” She dropped back down, her rear-end bouncing on the bed. “Get a grip, body. Father Joe isn’t even the fur hat type.”

  She tried again and managed to get halfway across the bedroom before all hell broke loose. Then it was nothing but a blur of walls and flailing limbs until her knees hit the bathroom floor and the pizza from last night relocated into the toilet.

  “Babe?” Josh knocked on the door moments later, as she lay curled up on the rug in front of the shower, wondering what she’d done to deserve this wrath. “You okay?”

  No. Absolutely no. “Yes. Fine.”

  He opened the door, his dark hair standing up on end and his face still heavy with sleepiness.

  “Don’t look at me. I feel like hell.”

  “I see that.” He lowered to a squat before her, pushing her hair from her face. “Flu bug?”

  “I hope not.”

  He nodded, but the worry didn’t leave his face. “You know, I talked to Maddie the other day.”

  Ugh. “I figured she’d get to you.”

  “She’s right, babe. Between work and the wedding, you’re killing yourself. Getting married is supposed to be exciting, not lethal.”

  A small smile curved her dry lips. “I’m not dying, Josh, but if you’re trying to tell me I look like death, then you’d better get your smart ass out of here. I’ll never be too sick to kick your butt.”

  “I’ll take my chances.” He winked and offered her a hand, which she took because she wasn’t stupid. No way was she getting her rear end off the floor without his help.

  Still, she taunted him. “You’re brave, Marine.”

  His grin stretched wide as he wrapped his big hand around hers and hauled her to her feet. “You mean smart.”

  “No, but—Josh!” she yelped when he dipped down and swung her up and off the ground like she weighed nothing. “I. Am. Not. Dying!”

  “Maybe not, but this is my job now, isn’t it? To take care of you?”

  “Ugh.” She stabbed a finger into his chest. “You’re such a caveman.”

  “You keep telling me that,” he chuckled, hauling her toward the bed.

  “Wait, I need my purse. I have to take my pill before I forget.”

  “Alrighty then.” He whirled around toward the kitchen and she blindly clutched at his bare chest, trying to ground herself against the spinning. It didn’t help and a new wave of queasiness whirled in her belly.

  “Oh, God.” Maybe if she buried her face in his neck. And closed her eyes.

  “Sorry.” He shifted her onto the kitchen counter, but she didn’t let go. Couldn’t. The room…her head… Where the hell had this tornado come from?

  “I’m going to be sick again,” she mumbled and he thrust a bowl into her hands just in time.

  “Jesus, Car. You’re starting to freak me out.”

  “I’ll be fine,” she whispered when she was done, too exhausted and out of breath to say more for several seconds. “I think.”

  Josh’s eyes narrowed at the same time the curious thought formed in her head and she shook her head carefully.

  “No,” she said as a
damantly as her spinning head would allow. “Don’t even go there.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s not possible.”

  “We’ve had sex, babe. I’m pretty sure it’s possible.”

  No. Just…no. “My purse, please.”

  He grabbed it off the table, his fingers curling reluctantly into the caramel colored suede. “It wouldn’t be the end of the world, you know.”

  The hell it wouldn’t. She had a wedding to plan. A dress to fit into. “Josh, please. I need my pill.”

  “What if you throw it up?”

  “I won’t.”

  “You should take a test first. I can run out—”

  “Stop it already!” She set the bowl aside and hopped down, nearly hitting the ground when her knees buckled beneath her. Josh swept in to catch her like always, but she barely registered the slide of his big arms around her waist. Why the heck was she so weak?

  “Then I’m taking you to the clinic so we can figure out what’s going on.”

  “It’s just stress. I promise.”

  “Great. Stressed to sickness over planning our wedding. Yeah, that’s reassuring, babe.”

  “Honey, I’m fine. Really.”

  “Let’s take a pregnancy test then. Find out for sure.”

  She laughed. Feebly, but it was a laugh nonetheless. No way was she pregnant. No freaking way.

  “If that’s the assurance you need to know this is noth-ing…” She enunciated the last word and tried to stand on her own two feet, but the stupid room shifted again and she teetered right back into his arms. “I hate this,” she whimpered.

  “And I hate seeing you like this. So let’s get some answers, huh?”

  Fine. Whatever. As long as she could go back to bed when they were done. “Let me get dressed.”

  “Not a chance. If this is just a bug, you could be contagious.” He kissed the top of her head and she drooped a little more into his embrace. Eight hours of sleep and she was still exhausted. “I’ll run into town real quick.”

  “You?” She couldn’t imagine him hunting down an EPT. “Now?”

  “The seed is planted. I need to know.”

  “But people will see you.” Sexy, six-foot-two tatted guys didn’t exactly blend in in the pregnancy test aisle.

  “So?” He pulled back far enough to show his face. His quietly curious face. “If I’m man enough to get you pregnant, I’m man enough to buy a friggin’ pregnancy test.”

  “Josh…” She pinched her eyes shut again and counted to five. She was not having a baby. She just…she wasn’t. “Just go. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can put your paranoid mind at ease.”

  He nodded, his worried expression still firmly in place. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “I meant what I said. Nothing would make me happier than having a baby with you. Even if it’s sooner than we planned.”

  She pasted on a smile and squeezed his hand. “I’m not pregnant.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  ***

  Who knew there were so many kinds of pregnancy tests? Ones that showed pink lines, ones that showed plus marks, some that a woman could use before she’d even missed her period.

  Josh scratched a hand around his neck and thought back. Had Carissa missed her period? Normally he was on top of these things, because…well, he liked to know when he had to stock up on the nookie and when he had to bide his time.

  Unfortunately, he and Carissa had been so busy with work and the holidays, they’d hardly had time to enjoy each other. Which left him pretty much clueless.

  Playing it safe, he grabbed one of each and tossed them into his basket beside the Gatorade, chicken soup, and crackers he’d grabbed first. Whatever the outcome, getting her back on her feet was top priority.

  “Josh? What are you doing out and about so early?”

  He glanced up to see Maddie walking toward him, a curious expression on her face. Then she looked into his basket and gasped.

  “Oh, my God.”

  “No.” He held up a hand, his first instinct to try and talk her out of the assumption, but then he saw the tears building fast in her eyes and the lie died on his tongue. “Shit, Mads. We don’t know, okay? It’s just…” Crap. How to explain Carissa’s potential pregnancy—an accidental one, no less—to his unhappily unpregnant sister-in-law? “She’s been tired as hell lately, and now she’s throwing up. It’s probably nothing, but…”

  Maddie blinked back her emotion. “Yeah. I’m sure it’s just stress, but you need to know one way or the other.” She glanced at the rows of tests and bit her lip. “I’m not sure why I bother anymore.”

  Ah, man. What was he supposed to say to that? He knew how hard she and Dan had been trying and how emotionally wearing the lack of progress had been on both of them. But it was one thing to discuss the matter with his brother over a beer…and another with a teary-eyed Maddie in the middle of the damn pregnancy test aisle!

  “I’m not sure what to say, Mads. I know this past year has been really hard.” He touched her arm gently and she sniffed.

  “But we have to keep trying, right? Your little one is going to need a cousin.” She forced a smile so shaky, he swore the ground moved beneath his feet.

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Exhaustion and vomiting weren’t guaranteed signs of anything other than exhaustion and vomiting.

  “Yeah, well…” She cast another wishful glance at the tests, but stepped away without adding one to her basket. “Dan’s waiting on me for breakfast, so I should get going. Look, don’t tell Carissa we ran into each other again, okay? It’ll just upset her and she’s got enough on her mind already.”

  Josh nodded, though he hated the idea of keeping this run-in to himself. Maddie needed Carissa right now. And Carissa might very well need Maddie, which was going to be fucking awful for both of them if any of these tests came up positive.

  “I can do that,” he promised. “But Maddie… If something comes of this…”

  His sister-in-law—and his fiancée’s best friend—faked another smile. “Then I’ll do what I’ve done through this whole fertility mess—I’ll put on a happy face and pretend it’s not killing me inside.”

  Chapter Four

  What were the chances? Realistically?

  Carissa locked her gaze on the woman staring back in the bathroom mirror. Dry, cracked lips. Pale skin, aside from the tear-stained cheeks. And puffy, bloodshot eyes. Even her hair, normally dark and glossy, had lost its luster.

  She looked like hell. Felt like it, too, and had for…how long now?

  Closing her eyes, she counted back. Thanksgiving maybe. Or shortly thereafter. With all the holiday hoopla, it was hard to say. Add in the wedding mumbo-jumbo and she wasn’t really sure of much these days.

  Well, except for the fact that Josh was currently at the store buying a pregnancy test.

  God.

  She’d been quick to roll her eyes at the idea earlier, but looking at herself now, it was hard to deny the possibility. Even harder to pretend that she hadn’t missed a period last month. And, in retrospect, that the one in November had been unusually light.

  Gripping the counter, she shook her head. How could she have been so oblivious? She was a guidance counselor, for Pete’s sake. She talked about these kinds of things with teenage girls all the time. Way more often than she liked.

  But she wasn’t a seventeen-year-old girl. She was a woman engaged to be married to a man she loved with every fiber of her being. She should have seen this coming. Should have known. Having a family with Josh was the one thing she wanted most in this life.

  Except giving him the perfect wedding. She wanted that pretty badly, as well, but doing so while roughly seven months pregnant kinda put a damper on things.

  Silent tears seeped from her eyes. This wasn't what she'd planned for the two of them. Sure, Josh seemed open-minded enough, but was this what he really wanted? They'd thought they'd have lots
of time to get ready for this.

  “Sick again?” A soft knock rapped on the bathroom door and she furiously swiped at her damp cheeks. How was she going to explain this?

  “No. Just a second.” Breathe, chica, breathe. You love this man and he loves you. It’ll be okay. Opening the door, she pasted on a smile. “Wow, that was fast.”

  “Figuring out what's going on with you isn't something I take lightly.” He held out a plastic bag full of boxes.

  “Josh, seriously. One would have sufficed.” Especially since was pretty sure she already knew what the result would be.

  His handsome face turned an adorable shade of pink. “Just in case.”

  She nodded and sucked in a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking…”

  “Yeah?” He leaned into the doorframe and tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “What about?’

  “Um…” How to say this? “I’ve been so busy lately. Had so much on my mind. I haven't been paying attention like I should.”

  He frowned. “Paying attention to what?”

  A bunch of things, including him and their relationship, but in this case... “You know what? How about I just do this and we'll talk after?”

  He nodded toward the toilet. “Okay.” But he didn’t move.

  “I can't pee in front of you, handsome.”

  The color in his cheeks flamed. “Oh, shit. Sorry.” He pulled the door closed behind him. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”

  She gave a shaky smile and waited until the door clicked shut. Then she tore into the first box like a mad woman. Earlier, she hadn't wanted to know at all, now she couldn't think about anything else. There was a very good possibility her life was about to change indefinitely.

  A minute later, she set the wand on the counter and blinked at it, waiting. Her heart thumped so hard in her chest, she could hear it in her ears. She even felt lightheaded, watching the sample creep slowly across strip.

  “Okay, I can't do this.” Throwing her hands in the air, she hurried out of the room and found Josh at the stove, making oatmeal.