On the Line (27 page)

He lay back down beside Janelle and opened the box. Janelle propped herself up on
her elbow and watched intently. When it was opened, she took the box from him, took
a condom out of it, and set the box on the nightstand behind him. Grinning down at
him, she opened the condom and began to reach for him.

He grabbed her wrist. “A little enthusiastic?”

She grinned widely, and his heart raced at the excitement in her eyes. “Maybe,” she
replied as she pulled her hand away from his grip.

He grasped the back of her head, wove his fingers into her blonde hair, and pulled
her mouth to his. She sighed when he tasted her lower lip and he slipped his tongue
past her teeth. Their tongues battled for supremacy between their mouths. He flipped
her onto her back and, lips still exploring each other, he slipped the condom from
her fingers. As he took it from its package and covered himself with it, he distracted
her with delicate kisses along her soft jaw.

He positioned himself over her, held himself up with his hands on either side of
her neck. Her eyes glittered with anticipation, and he momentarily lost himself in
their sapphire depths. He slowly filled his lungs.

“I asked you this the first time and I’m asking you again now. Are you sure you want
to do this?” Nathan’s heart stopped as she tilted her head, as if she was considering
his answer or wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly.

Janelle’s lush lips parted as a slow smile spread across her face. Her tongue darted
out to moisten her bottom lip. “Yes,” she whispered, and he exhaled his relief. “I’m
more sure now than I was then. I want
you
.”

Nathan grinned and kissed her hard. Her soft lips melded easily to his as she looped
her arms around his neck. He held her mouth with his as he
slowly lowered himself
to her entrance, then broke the kiss and lifted his head. Her passion-filled gaze
met his as he pushed himself into her. Her warmth surrounded him and her smile only
widened as he pressed deeper into her. All of the anticipation, the waiting for this
moment for almost four years, escaped from his chest on a low, guttural growl.

She pulled his mouth back to hers and attacked it with the vigor and excitement he’d
grown to love when they’d been together. He moaned when she lightly nipped his bottom
lip, sending a shock wave to his toes. Nathan slowly moved his hips as his lips trailed
kisses down to the cleft in her neck and along her collarbone. She hooked her ankles
around his knees—one small hand rubbing slowly up and down his back, the other gripping
his buttock.

He kept his pace deliberate as he grasped her breast and rolled the nipple between
his fingers. Her hips came off of the bed as a squeal escaped her lips. Propping
himself on his elbow, with his free hand, he grabbed her thigh where it wrapped around
his hip. She lifted and turned her chin, giving him better access to the sensitive
skin just under her earlobe. He nibbled and felt the goose bumps rise on her thigh.

He couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Proud of yourself ?” Janelle panted.

“Not yet, darling,” Nathan replied as he lifted his head. The serene longing on her
face nearly unleashed his control and he quickly kissed her again. Fire traveled
from their joined lips to his toes and back up to his groin.

She fisted her hands in his hair and gently pulled his mouth away from hers. Her
lips began to shower his jaw and neck with warm kisses, and he felt the urge to move
faster. With her lips occupied, he devoted his hand to taunting her nipple and slid
the one on her hip to touch her where they connected.

When his thumb caressed her, she gasped sharply and she lifted off the bed again,
forcing him deeply into her. He nearly came undone. He circled her nub with his thumb
and brought his lips back to hers. She opened her mouth immediately to him and he
plunged his tongue into her warmth, matching the pace he set with his hips.

One of her hands gripped his hair as the other dug into his buttock. He could feel
her climax building and continued the assault with his tongue and
thumb as he pumped
faster into her. When she began to scream, his mouth covered hers as she tightened
around him. His hips raced to follow her over the edge and he placed his lips to
her neck and groaned as he reached his release.

He collapsed and rolled to his side, taking her with him. She curled into his body,
their knees intertwined as her fingers trailed lightly along his side. As they lay,
quietly recovering, Nathan reflected on the evening’s events.

As he’d driven to Janelle’s house, he’d run through every possible track their conversation
could take. He’d made a list of questions he wanted to ask, he’d run through answers
she might give, and how he would counter them. He’d thought he’d covered every possible
outcome to that conversation. But none of them had ended with the two of them in
bed.

Not that he was complaining.

He looked down into her peaceful face, her eyes closed and completely relaxed, and
he knew he could never walk away from her again. Whether she knew it or not, she
was now stuck with him. He would always be a part of her life; he just hoped they
agreed on the level of involvement.

Janelle’s eyelids fluttered opened, and she looked up at him and smiled. “That was
amazing,” she said groggily.

“I couldn’t agree more.” He kissed her lightly on the forehead and tightened his
arms around her.

Nineteen

Janelle lay in the circle of Nathan’s arms, relishing the peace and comfort she felt
there. She almost wished they could remain like this forever. He’d always had a way
of calming her, almost effortlessly. It was true, she hadn’t been happy to see him
show up on her doorstep, but if she were honest, it wasn’t a surprise. Even as children,
he’d always seemed to show up when she needed him most. Tonight was an almost perfect
example.

Or was it? Had he come here for her or to satisfy his own needs?

She propped herself up on her elbow and looked down at him. “Why did you come here
tonight?”

He studied her face and frowned. “I thought we’d covered that.”

“Did you give me all of your reasons?” Her heart slowed as she waited for his answer.

“You mean did I come for this?” He motioned to their naked bodies, tangled together
on top of her comforter. She nodded slightly and his frown deepened. “No, Jan, I
didn’t come here for the sole purpose of making love to you.” He sat up and pressed
his back to her headboard. “While I’m not complaining, this wasn’t even on my radar
this evening.”

Janelle relaxed and slid up to lay her head on his chest. “Good.” She flattened her
hand on his hard abdomen and watched it rise and fall with his breaths.

“Although,” he started after a few inhalations, “there is one thing I would like
to do tonight. Something I’ve never done before.”

Janelle giggled. “I find that hard to believe. I imagine you’ve done it all when
it comes to women.”

His hand tightened around her forearm and he nudged her to sit up.
Reluctantly she
complied and faced his serious expression. “I haven’t done this yet,” he said softly,
his look and words caressing her.

“What is it?” she asked eagerly.

“I want to spend the night with you,” he answered.

She opened her mouth to argue that he
had
done that, but closed it again when she
realized the truth. They had made love many times in the months they’d been together,
but he was right, he’d never spent the night with her. He’d always had to leave before
Richard got home.

Giddiness bubbled in Janelle and crept upward to her head. “That would be nice,”
she said with a large grin. She suddenly remembered the pile of wet clothes on her
bathroom floor. “You couldn’t go home anyway. Your clothes are soaked and laying
on my bathroom floor.”

She sat up and put her feet over the edge of the bed. Before she could stand up,
his arm snaked around her waist.

“I can wear them home damp,” his voice rumbled in her ear as he pulled her backward.

She giggled a little as her head fell against his shoulder and she looked up into
his greenish-brown eyes. “I couldn’t let you do that. It won’t take me long, I’ll
just toss them in the dryer,” she said and planted a kiss on his stubbled chin.

His arm tightened around her and he tried to tug her onto the bed.

“Nathan,” she said, laughing, “I’ll be right back.” With a groan, he slowly eased
his grip, and she stood and turned to look at him. “Besides, shouldn’t you clean
up too?”

He rolled off of the opposite side of the bed and looked at her with a boyish grin.
“Only if you promise we can get dirty again later,” he said as he walked around the
bed and met her at the foot. He grasped her hand and tugged her easily into his arms.

“I promise,” she murmured as she stretched onto her toes and placed a kiss on his
cheek.

“Good,” he replied and kissed her firmly on the lips before releasing her.

She watched his naked backside as he walked into the bathroom, and a shiver of excitement
ran through her. She quickly grabbed one of her sexier, but still modest, nightgowns
and pulled it over her head as she followed him into the bathroom. He met her at
the door and handed her the wet clothes
and towels as his eyes traveled the length
of her body. He smiled approvingly as she took everything from him and left the room.
She walked down the hallway, past Zoe’s room on her right and Zach’s on her left,
and into the bathroom beside Zoe’s room where the washer and dryer were.

Before she tossed his shirt into the dryer, she held it to her nose and inhaled deeply.
She could faintly smell his familiar cedar and musk scent. In the last four years,
whenever she’d caught a whiff of those aromas, she would immediately think of him
and her heart would ache. Now, she smelled them with a smile on her face. He was
with her again, and her hope that he always would be was beginning to grow larger.

As she put his clothes in the dryer, her body still tingled with their recent lovemaking.
She grinned at the thought of doing it again very soon. With Nathan, it had always
been more than just sex, she’d always felt loved and cared for, both in and out of
bed. Tonight was no different.

She heard the door to Zach’s room close just before she started the dryer. When she
stepped out of the bathroom, she heard Zoe’s little voice.

“Are you here to take me away?” she asked and Janelle’s heart stopped. She quickly
walked the three steps to Zoe’s door and froze at what she saw.

“No, sweetie. I’m here to check on you and make sure you’re okay,” Nathan replied
as he knelt beside the bed, dressed in Janelle’s mint green, terrycloth robe. “I
didn’t mean to wake you up.” He brushed her forehead with his palm and Janelle’s
chest tightened. “Just go on back to sleep.”

Zoe yawned then focused her big eyes on Nathan. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve missed
you.” She sat up and threw her arms out wide. Tears stung Janelle’s eyes as she watched
Nathan put his arms around his daughter and give her the hug she was asking for.

“I’ve missed you too,” he muttered softly.

Janelle turned and walked slowly back to her room, a new wave of guilt flooding her
as a tear trickled down her cheek. Zoe had no idea Nathan was her father, but still
her innocent comments made Janelle regret what she’d done. Janelle stopped at the
window across the room from her door, beside the entry to the bathroom, and stared
out into the darkness, second-guessing every decision she’d made.

A few moments passed before she heard the door to her room latch. A small smile came
to her lips as she listened to Nathan’s footsteps approach,
her breath caught in
her throat as he wrapped his arms around her. He nudged her head sideways with his
and placed delicate kisses on her neck.

“I didn’t mean to wake her,” he whispered across her cool skin. “I just wanted to
check on them.”

“You looked in on Zach, too?” Janelle asked as she turned in his arms.

Nathan answered with a shrug that said, “Of course.”

“How are they handling things?” Concern wrinkled Nathan’s brow as he looked down
at her.

Janelle pulled away from him but took his hand as she walked toward the bed. “Zoe
seems fine. She knows her daddy—” Janelle froze and cast a glance over her shoulder.
She saw hurt cross Nathan’s face for only a moment. “She knows Richard is dead,”
Janelle corrected then turned and continued on her path. “It doesn’t really seem
to bother her, but I guess that doesn’t surprise me.”

They reached the bed and Janelle pulled the sheet and the comforter down. Nathan
held it up for her to crawl under it then walked around the foot of the bed.

“Why doesn’t it surprise you?” Nathan questioned as he stripped off the robe and
laid it across the foot of the bed.

Janelle propped herself up on pillows against the headboard as Nathan climbed in
beside her. “Richard was never really present in her life. He lost interest in the
pregnancy when he found out I was having a girl.” Janelle reflexively grabbed her
upper arm and rubbed it. Richard had grabbed it and squeezed so tightly when they’d
gotten home from the doctor the day of the sonogram that he’d left a bruise that
had taken weeks to heal.

Nathan glanced at her movements then at her face, anger burned in his eyes. “Did
he hurt you?”

Janelle looked at her hand and stopped rubbing. “He told me I was worthless, said
that even my ‘whore of a sister’ could have a son for a man who didn’t want one,
why couldn’t I do the same for him. After that, he was pretty scarce. He wasn’t at
the delivery, not in the room. I don’t even think he was in the hospital.”

“Who was there for you? Your dad?” Nathan tipped forward and placed a kiss on Janelle’s
arm, the spot she’d been rubbing.

“No, Dad was in the hallway outside the room. Kelsey was in the middle
of filming
and she was furious that she couldn’t get away,” Janelle replied with a small chuckle.
Aside from holding her daughter, Nathan’s daughter, Kelsey’s irritation had been
a bright spot for her. It had been a perfect example of the love her sister held
for her.