Dimly, he thought of Heath and Teddy. He’d never knowingly allow them to be hurt. His folks mattered a great deal, too. But spending just one night in Grace’s arms suddenly didn’t seem that threatening. Maybe if he fulfilled his terrible craving for her, he’d be able to forget her.
Shutting out the voices in his head, he stepped back inside and closed the door. He wanted Grace too badly to listen to reason. Even his own.
The moment he reached for her, Grace dropped the shirt she’d been holding against her chest and went into his arms. She couldn’t believe it. Kennedy hadn’t left. He was still here with her.
They had tonight.
One hand came up to fondle her, and he sighed as if she felt better than anything he’d ever touched.
Euphoria filled Grace as she brought her lips to his. This was unlike anything she’d experienced before; this was heaven. Strange that she’d find it in Stillwater. Or maybe it wasn’t so strange. It was here that she seemed to experience every extreme.
“Grace?” he murmured, his mouth hot and wet as he kissed her deeply, hungrily.
She could hardly speak above the pounding of her heart. “What?”
“The only birth control I have is an old condom Joe stuck in my wallet a year ago.”
“You’re that sexually active, huh?” she teased, her skin hypersensitive, her knees weak.
“I haven’t been with anyone since Raelynn,” he said.
“That condom won’t do the job?”
“Don’t you have anything else?”
“No.” George had insisted she go on the pill, but she’d stopped taking it when he ended their engagement over a month ago.
“It’ll get us by,” he responded.
She laughed at his sudden conviction, because she wasn’t concerned. She certainly wouldn’t get pregnant on purpose, not without Kennedy wanting the same thing. But neither would she cry over an accident. She’d craved a baby for the past several years. She could support one, would absolutely adore it. Wanting a child was partly why she’d planned to marry George. Considering the way she felt about Kennedy—as if she’d simply die if he walked away from her now—she couldn’t imagine anything more wonderful than having his child. That would make her return to Stillwater well worth any cost.
“It’ll be okay,” she agreed and, taking his hand, led him upstairs.
Kennedy paused in their lovemaking to lean back on one elbow and admire Grace. He wanted her beneath him so he could finally bury himself inside her, take her with long, powerful thrusts that would end the torturous wait. But after the disregard and abuse she’d suffered as a child and then as a teenager, he wanted to be extra-gentle, to let her know that this meant something to him. He wanted it to mean something to her, too. If these few hours were all they’d have together, he was determined to make the most of them.
“What?” she murmured, staring curiously up at him.
Her skin seemed to glow in the moonlight streaming through the window. With her dark hair a halo on the pillow next to him, her expression one of trust and expectation, he knew he’d never seen a more beautiful sight. “You’re gorgeous.”
A sexy smile curved her lips as her fingers combed through his hair. “You’re nothing like I expected.”
“Knowing what you thought of me, I’m sort of glad to hear that.”
She chuckled. “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m the one who should be sorry, Grace. I was so…young and stupid. Tonight I just want to make you forget.”
Her hand slid over his chest, down to his navel and lower. “Now’s probably a good time for that,” she said and pulled him down on top of her.
Kennedy’s arms shook with anticipation as he supported the bulk of his weight while pressing inside her. The feel of her body accepting his was almost enough to send him over the edge. Especially when she groaned and arched into him, pulling him deeper.
“That’s it,” she said. “That’s what I want. For the first time in my life, that’s what I want.”
He knew there was something significant in those words, but he couldn’t focus on it. He was too overwhelmed by what he was feeling. “Incredible,” he whispered as he began to move.
She threw an arm over her face as though savoring each sensation, but he stopped until she lowered her hand and blinked up at him. He wanted to see the dreamy look in her eyes that had held him spellbound since he’d first touched her, wanted to witness every reaction. Then he rolled her nipple in his mouth before sliding into her again, and again, and again.
Soon the rhythm grew frantic and sweat slicked their bodies, but it was a perfect meshing of needs, of touching, tasting, seeking. A complete abandonment of individuality to become one.
“That’s…nice,” she whispered between breaths, her arms tightening around him. “So nice.”
He wanted it to be better than nice. He wanted it to be perfect for her. So he forced himself to slow down, to draw the pleasure out as long as possible. But it was only a few seconds later that she gasped out his name and shuddered in his arms. And then he couldn’t have held back for anything.
Grace listened to Kennedy’s deep, even breathing as he slept with his body tight against hers. Contentment flowed through her veins. She was warm and comfortable, complete in a way she’d never experienced, but she refused to succumb to sleep. She already felt as if she was dreaming. Staying in Evonne’s house, making love with Kennedy Archer. Was it even real?
She moved slightly, adjusting her pillow. His hand closed possessively over her breast, making him feel real enough. But she didn’t roll over as she wanted to. She knew if she gave him the opportunity, he’d want to make love again. They’d already tried several alternatives. Nothing else could compare to that first time, but they’d used their only condom, and she doubted he’d see anything positive in giving her the baby he didn’t even know she wanted.
“Grace?” he murmured after a moment.
“What?”
“I still think we should go to the fireworks tomorrow night.”
Grace wished she could agree, but she knew it wouldn’t be wise for them to go together. Like her, he just didn’t want their brief affair to end. “No.”
“What about Teddy and Heath? They’ll be disappointed.”
She hated the thought of hurting Kennedy’s children. But she couldn’t allow them to grow any more attached to her. “I’ll see you all there, I guess. I need to start weaning them from me.”