Southern Secrets (The Southern Series Book 2) Read online

  A few moments later, he bounded back down the stairs to find my eyelids drooping.

  “Here, I’m sorry. You’re exhausted.” He pulled the heels from my feet, rubbing my feet between his hands. I watched his eyes darken, and I found myself wide-awake.

  I smiled seductively and hooked a finger at him, sliding off the sofa onto the plush fur rug. Joining me there, he reached around my neck to draw me into a long, slow kiss, tugging the zipper down on my dress. He worked the dress down carefully, tracing his fingers down my arms, following the descent of the fabric. Turning my back to him, I wriggled out of it. His hands slid around my ribcage and then moved over my breasts. The soft, gentle breath of his kiss on my neck brought my head back on his shoulder. While he reached to undo the hooks on my bra strap, I turned and unbuttoned the waist of his pants, unzipping them slowly as I watched his eyes.

  Moaning softly, he moved his lips back to mine. I slid his briefs down, and the heat of his body flowed through the thin fabric of my lacy low-cut bikinis. I lay back on the fur, watching him methodically slide my silk stockings down, bending to remove each one from my feet. Kneeling over me, he slowly kissed his way back up my body--first the instep on my foot, then my calf, the inside of my thigh…and as he slid his fingers under the lace at my hips, I gasped. Removing the fabric down my thighs, he dropped it behind him and then carefully enveloped me, pulling me underneath him. I slid my hands over his muscular shoulders and slid my foot up to caress his backside. Grasping my hips with his hands, he slowly entered me, his lips finding mine. He gently explored the inside of my mouth, moving ever so slowly over me.

  “What is it?” I whispered.

  “I’m a little afraid. I just want to take this slow. I don’t want to hurt you. Is this…..all right?” He stroked my abdomen with his thumbs, his eyes wide as he grasped my hips

  “Perfect. It’s perfect. Just…please, make love to me.”

  He kissed me again and again, drawing back to look into my eyes, watching my reactions as we made love for the first time since the attack. He took his time with me, and it was as it had been before--both inside each other, intently watching each other and then feeling the fulfillment flow over us both.

  I breathed a contented sigh. Everything was as it should be on our wedding night.

  Banton reached up and dragged a warm blanket from the arm of the sofa, wrapping it around us as we snuggled down into each other’s arms.

  We whispered in the dark.

  “I still can’t believe I’m going to be a father,” he wondered aloud, his touch soft, caressing my tummy.

  “You’ll be a wonderful father.” I gazed lovingly at him in the firelight.

  “The doctor said to take things slow and easy. I don’t think that was slow…” he smirked. I pulled myself higher on his chest to kiss his lips.

  “It was fine. More than fine…” I whispered. Pulling me over on top of his large, muscular torso, he wrapped his hands around my hips. “And you won’t be able to do this much longer…” I trailed off, troubled at the thought of how big my tummy would be farther into the pregnancy.

  “Wanna bet?” He kissed my neck, and then pulled my lips back down to his.

  “Well, it might be a little difficult in three or four months.”

  “I can’t wait. When will I be able to feel them?” he asked, and I pulled back to look at him curiously. “Feel them move, I mean,” he clarified.

  “I think I should feel them moving in about another month or two, from what I’ve read. It will probably be a little longer for you.”

  He grinned, affording me a glimpse of his dimple in the firelight.

  We lay for a long time, wrapped around each other, whispering in the firelight and finally drifting off to sleep. Again in the night I woke to his warm hands on my body, and in my half-wakened state he had me at a fever-pitch. His touch had me aching with a need for him to fill me. I’d never felt this way…I wanted him more than anything, more than air. I turned to him, giving myself to him fully as his lips found mine. We made love all night in the firelight and then drifted to sleep, our bodies connected while dawn broke over the mountains, and the pink light of a crisp, Colorado morning crept through the windows behind us.

  * * *

  I slowly opened my eyes, and placed my hand over them as bright sunlight broke into my consciousness.

  “Hey, beautiful. Are you hungry?”

  My eyes came fully open. I still lay on the fur rug, wrapped in the blanket off the sofa. Banton stood behind the sofa, bathed in sunlight, in a pair of flannel pants hanging provocatively off his hips. He moved closer, greeting me with a steaming cup of coffee in his hands and a large grin on his face.

  “What time is it?” I asked groggily.

  “Noon. Are you hungry? I can whip us up some eggs,” he offered.

  “Noon! I never sleep this late! Why didn’t you wake me?” I sat up, and then stood, wrapping the blanket under my arms.

  “You absolutely deserve to sleep all day, if you want. You’re exhausted.” He walked over and handed me the cup of coffee, placing a kiss on top of my head. I took a couple of sips of the strong brew and then looked up into his smiling face.

  “I need a shower, I think. Point me in the right direction.”

  “I’ll do better than that.” He took the coffee from me, placed it on the sofa table and then swept me up in his arms. Carrying me up the staircase to the second floor, he placed kisses on my neck and face.

  He’d already placed my make-up and necessity bags in the master bathroom, and had my suitcases opened on the dressing table and large ottoman.

  “You have to stop waiting on me. You’re going to spoil me, and then I’ll be such a brat you’ll want to divorce me,” I stated matter-of-factly.

  “Never going to happen. And I know you, you can’t be spoiled.” He deposited me on the bed, and then unrolled me from the blanket as I giggled. Grabbing my foot, he dragged me back across the bed, and then caught me under him.

  I giggled again. “Let me up. I’ve got to shower…Banton!”

  He whispered against my neck. “I can’t resist. I’ve been waiting for weeks to have you to myself--to make love to you.” He placed slow, deliberate kisses on my neck, my chest, my abdomen…

  As he moved lower it took my breath away. Regaining my composure, I took his head in my hands, pulling his face up to mine to kiss him. “Please, let me shower. I feel as if I have airport grime and fireplace soot all over me!”

  He gently stroked my abdomen and then leaned over to place a kiss there, gazing back up into my eyes. “I absolutely adore you. I still can’t believe there are two in there. And I can’t imagine you giving birth to them, you’re so small!”

  “I won’t be for long,” I frowned, the image of how huge I’d be popping into my head.

  “No more of that. You’re gorgeous now, and you’ll be even more gorgeous round.” He stood, and pulled me up to kiss me quickly as he jogged off to start the shower for me.

  After a quick shower, I knotted my wet hair up on top of my head, and donned a soft long sweatshirt and leggings I found in my suitcase. Evidently, Banton had instructed Everett to buy me an entirely new wardrobe, because I didn’t recognize anything in my bags except a few bras and panties. I hurried back down the staircase, intending to scold him about his extravagance when I found him propped on some pillows on the sofa. He had his head leaned back against the large pillows, sound asleep. He looked so tired. I tiptoed over, and gazing at the circles under his eyes it occurred to me. He’d been staying awake to watch me sleep. I suspected he’d been doing it for days, afraid of the dreams that would certainly come to harm me.

  I teared up, watching him breath slowly in and out – he couldn’t keep doing this. I had to make sure he at least napped in the daytime to make up for his late nights. I quietly made my way into the kitchen and rounded up some eggs, bacon, bread and butter, proceeding to make my man a hearty breakfast. I fried several eggs after I cooked the bacon, an
d then battered some bread slices with egg and milk to make French toast.

  After I had everything ready and the table set I hesitated, not wanting to wake him. He needed to sleep. I left the food on the stove to stay warm, and then took my coffee over to the large windows to watch the softly falling snow. I gasped as a large buck with a massive rack of antlers strode into view out of the tree line, seeming to stop and gaze at me through the windows. I’d never seen one up this close; his size alone was amazing. It was if I could reach out and stroke his soft muzzle. He took several steps through the snow drifts, venturing closer to the cabin. The buck stood majestically, his nose raised in the air as if alerted to some sort of danger. Bolting, he streaked back into the tree line and disappeared into the haze of snowfall thickening with each passing minute. I turned to look in the direction that had held his attention, and thought I detected some blur of movement toward the edge of the aspens.

  “Mmmm, something smells good. Did you cook?” Banton asked, moving behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist.

  I turned to him and ran my fingers through his hair. “Yes. Someone once told me, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” I took his hand and pulled him over to the kitchen table.

  “I think that was our roommate, you already had my heart.” He walked around me, and placed his hand around the back of my neck, drawing me in to a soft kiss. He pulled away, and then proceeded to the stove.

  “Sit down, I’ll get it.” I scolded.

  “No way. You cooked, I’ll serve.” He guided me back to a chair and deposited me at the table.

  “And just when, may I ask, did I first have your heart?” I felt so giddy at the thought--this man is really mine.

  “Baby, you had my heart when you opened your front door the first time I met you,” he whispered in my ear, leaning over to kiss my shoulder.

  * * *

  “Chandler, that was delicious. You’ve never cooked French toast before, it’s one of my favorites,” Banton complimented me, helping me clear the table. His cell phone ringing and buzzing on the coffee table broke the silence. Walking over to retrieve it, he glanced at the screen and commented, “Hmm, Ty’s calling.” He touched it to answer it. “Hey Ty, what’s up?”

  I stopped what I was doing, and walked over to the sofa beside him. I was concerned one of his friends would be calling us today. It must be urgent.

  “Why do you have Beau?” He asked, looking at me with a crease in his brow. As he listened a couple of more minutes, his face relaxed and he began to grin the biggest I’d ever seen him grin. Gazing up at me, his eyes sparkled mischievously. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll call him right now…Thanks, buddy, and make yourselves at home…Oh, yeah. I’ll just bet! You and Constance take care now, and kiss Beau for us. Watch him when you let him out at night, he has a tendency to wander off. Okay, you too, brother. Bye.” He ended the call with a touch to the screen and turned to me, a smile lighting his face.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, returning his smile. His excitement was infectious.

  “Well, seems John called Ty and Constance and asked them to come to the house to house-sit and watch Beau.” He updated me, taking a seat on the sofa.

  “Why, has something come up?”

  “I’d say so. He and Brie left late last night on a flight bound for Las Vegas. They eloped.”

  “What! I can’t believe it. Does Everett know?” I asked, fairly bubbling over myself.

  “Nope. John instructed Ty to call us today, and let you give Everett the news. He knew it would tick Everett off that he didn’t have anything to do with their wedding.” He curled his lips into a sly smile. “Ty also suggested I call John.” He touched the screen again, hitting the speed dial. There was no answer.

  “Well, are you surprised? They are on their honeymoon, and he doesn’t want to talk to you.”

  “So are we, but I was nice enough to answer Ty,” he retorted playfully.

  “But John knows why you’re calling him,” I answered smugly, turning to clean the kitchen up.

  Banton followed me.

  “Wow. I knew he wanted Brie to marry him soon, but I didn’t expect this soon.”

  “You can tell how much he loves her. I just wonder how her parents will react.” I placed the last of the dishes in the dishwasher and hit the start button.

  He pulled me close to him. “Ty said John commented when we drove off yesterday, I’m ready to be that happy. Right now. And then he went to find Brie, and they left the reception. About an hour later, Ty got the call. He was still with Constance.”

  “Hmm. Still together since yesterday afternoon?” I smirked.

  Banton’s phone buzzed, signaling a text message. He pulled it from his pants pocket and touched the screen. Chuckling, he said, “John texts he is busy.”

  We both laughed as he pulled me into his arms. “So, what do you want to do this afternoon?”

  I loosened his grip on me, and then pulled him over to the sofa directly across from the roaring fire. I plopped down, pulling him down with me. “This…it’s my idea of heaven.”

  “Man, you Texas girls sure are easy to please,” he quipped, snuggling down beside me.

  We napped curled around each other on the sofa, and then I woke to Banton’s soft lips on my stomach as he slowly slid my sweater up. Without a word, I pulled it over my head and dropped it to the floor. Towering over me, he gazed down at me as if it was the first time he’d ever seen me. His eyes darkened and narrowed, pulling his t-shirt over his head slowly. I watched, mesmerized, his muscled chest glowing in the firelight. Methodically tracing the elastic at the waist of his sweatpants, I watched his lips part and his breath hitch while he anticipated my next move. He shut his eyes when I boldly grasped the soft fabric in my hands, tugging them down over his hips. When my hands brushed across his erection, his eyes snapped open as he drew in his breath. He met the question in my eyes with a contented moan. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I met his lips with my own, drinking in his taste, his scent…He picked me up and swung me over to the fur rug in front of the fireplace, where we spent the next hour or so. A tangle of arms, legs, lips…hands, warm soft skin…his mouth explored every part of my body. We had no concept of time, just a sense it was getting later in the day, the sky began to darken outside the windows and both of our stomachs began to growl. I turned to face him, holding the blanket under my bare arms.

  “We need one of these in the floor in front of our fireplace.” I teased, tracing the outline of his dimple with my finger.

  “We’d have to collect a lot of keys from people first. It’s grand-central around our house,” he stated, looking up into my eyes. “Besides, we’d have to lock Beau out; he’d be snuggling in between us.”

  “How long can we stay here alone in this cabin?”

  He covered me with kisses. I felt him smile against my neck. “Until you get tired of me,” he replied, changing sides, and then moving down to my collarbone.

  “We’re going to be here a long time, then. Hope the Navy knows you’re taking extended leave.” Then my stomach growled loudly.

  “Time to feed my babies?” he whispered, nibbling on my ear.

  I grinned and nodded.

  “Let’s get dressed and go out and scope out the restaurants in town. My babies need protein, I think.”

  He pulled me up from the floor, and I blushed. It was the first time I had been completely naked with him in broad daylight. His mischievous grin alerted me before he moved, but before I could dart away he caught me up and swung me up on his back. Hmmm…naked piggy-back ride. It was so playful, yet so sensual. I giggled as he jogged with me up the stairs…this was definitely a moment to remember.

  I was the first one in the shower, so I took my time putting my makeup on and dressing. I donned some sexy grey lingerie, thinking Banton might be getting bored, and I wanted to keep the excitement level going. Searching in the closet, I unzipped a dress bag, selecting a white angora sweater dress and matching leggings.
It was beautiful, but a little roomy. I pulled the neck around to look at the tag, finding the word “maternity.” I’ll definitely be able to wear this a while, I thought. At least this was a semi-practical purchase.

  Then searching for some boots, I found a bag in the bottom of the closet matching the dress bag, marked “shoes.” I unzipped it to reveal hiking boots, stylish slip-on fur lined clogs, and the most beautiful pair of fur-lined boots I’d ever seen. They were edged around the top with long haired white rabbit fur and beaver, and I suspected they matched the coat he gave me for Christmas. I pulled them on, and then examined myself in the floor-length mirror across the room. I hardly recognized the extravagantly-dressed creature looking back at me. I couldn’t believe this was the same girl who agonized over the purchase of a forty dollar skirt just five months ago, and feelings of guilt washed over me when I thought about how much the outfit I had on must have cost.

  I could still hear Banton shaving in the bathroom, so I bounced down stairs to make my phone call to Everett.

  “Bebe, what on earth…Is everything all right?” I could hear the alarm in his voice when he answered his cell.

  “Everything is perfect, Ev. I hope you’ve rested, you must be exhausted after yesterday.”

  “Aldon don’t get tired, remember? I had the time of my life. And why are you calling me on your honeymoon, Miss Thing! I know you have better things to do…”

  I giggled. “Well, we had to come up for air sometime. And I have some news.”

  “It’s triplets now, right? You’re trying to give a heart attack to a one-hundred and seventy year-old man. Is that it?” he teased.

  “No, silly. I have some news…about John,” I stalled.

  “Well, what? What does he know now that I don’t?”

  I hesitated before answering. “Well, it’s not what he knows, but where he is, and what he’s doing…”

  “Spill, Sister, now!” Everett’s voice rose.

  “Las Vegas. Married. On his honeymoon.”

  “What?” There was dead silence on the other end.