Sliding her arms around his neck, she rested her head softly against his shoulder until their breathing had returned to normal.She raised herself slightly, turning his face toward her.“I want children.I don’t want to wait to start a family.”It was a crazy thing to say under the circumstances.Before questioning her actions, she opened her lips and kissed him hard and long.
Jordan moaned and broke the contact.“Unless you wish to start our family tonight, I suggest we stop this torture.”
“Would you like a sandwich?”Skye asked apologetically.Her actions weren’t helping either of them battle the temptations of their love.
“No, but fix me one anyway.”Jordan helped her up and gave her rump a solid whack as she rose.“And no more teasing, understand?”
She nodded, her face a rosy hue.“But, Jordan, I wasn’t teasing about wanting a family right away.I do want children.”
His look darkened.“Skye,” he said, his raw voice pleading with her, “fix me that sandwich.”
Opening the refrigerator door, Skye scanned its contents for something appetizing.“Leftover roast beef okay?”She glanced toward Jordan.
“Fine.”He was standing over the slumbering baby, his look warm and tender.“Do they always sleep this peacefully?”he asked, his voice startling Anne Marie, who woke with a feeble cry.Attempting to correct the damage, Jordan began whispering reassurances to her while casting a pleading look in Skye’s direction.
Skye grinned at him, her eyes full of amusement.“You woke her, you take care of her.”
The baby cried in earnest, and Skye laughed aloud at the frustrated, helpless look Jordan gave her.
“All right, all right.”She set the sandwich makings on the countertop.“I’m coming.”
The minute the baby was in her arms, the cries lessened.But it was obvious Anne Marie needed her diaper changed yet again; her blanket and her sleeper were moist and clammy.
“Can I help?”Jordan offered as Skye slid the safety pin through the gauze diaper.
“Give her your hand,” Skye suggested as she snapped the legs of the sleeper together.
Jordan’s gaze rushed over her skeptically before his hand smoothed the rumpled mass of her unruly curls.The taut muscles of his face relaxed as the baby cooed.
“For someone so little she has a good pair of lungs, doesn’t she?”He bent forward again, and Anne Marie firmly gripped his little finger.
Both awake and alert, Anne Marie sat on Jordan’s lap looking around curiously while Skye finished making the sandwich.
“I told you once she woke up she’d fall prey to your male charms.She hasn’t been that content all night.”She handed Jordan the sandwich and took Anne Marie.
“The kid’s on her best behavior.She knows a prospective father when she sees one.”He took a bite of the roast beef.“This is good.”
“I’m on my best behavior, too,” Skye joked.“I know a prospective husband when I see one.”
They laughed, but when their eyes met, they locked, sharing promises they were both eager to collect.
Skye broke the contact first.“How did you know my ring size?”she asked.The ring fit her perfectly.
“I’m glad you reminded me.”He pulled something from his pocket and extended his hand to her.
“What’s this?”
“The ring I took the last time I was here.I needed to know your ring size and wanted to surprise you.”
“Jordan,” she said incredulously, “you didn’t!Do you realize what you put me through?I knew the ring was on the kitchen countertop the last time you were here, and after you left it was missing.”She flushed guiltily.“I couldn’t think what might have happened to it.I’ve been looking everywhere.”
A grimness settled over him.“I didn’t think you’d miss it.I should have said something; I only meant to keep the ring a few days.As you know I got tied up and it’s been two weeks.I can only imagine what you must have assumed.I would never steal from you, Skye.”
“I know that,” she said.“I’ve promised to be your wife, and with that commitment comes my trust.No matter what was missing, I would never believe you’d take anything from me.”
A brooding look came over him.“You mean you trust me unquestioningly?”
Relaxing against the back of the chair, Skye gave him a full smile.“Always,” she promised.“My faith came with my commitment to be your wife.”
