Stolen Hearts (Thoroughbred Men Book 2) (14 page)

              Jacob tried to keep from strutting proudly through the house but she made him feel like a million bucks and knew exactly what to say to make him feel like a man. The fact that she wanted to brag to her coworker about his prowess made him want to shout it to the rooftops. He could not help the smug smile on his face knowing that he had loved his woman thoroughly and she was pleased about it. He planned on doing so over and over again…as soon as he bought those damn condoms.

              He started the shower and grabbed two towels for them, glad he had the opportunity to finish at least one of the bathrooms in the house to make it presentable to her. Much still needed work, but this bathroom was almost done. He hoped she liked what he did with the bathroom as much as she seemed to like the rest of the house.

              Millie was pleasantly surprised at the amount of work he must have put into the house in such a short time frame! Not only had the kitchen been revamped, the bathroom was truly a work of art. The old claw foot tub still stood in the corner; however, a large showerhead was now mounted on a large pipe that was suspended from the ceiling in the far corner. Jacob had opened the wall, giving them a large enough shower area with a drain in the floor, so they could shower together.

              The rotten and separating tile had been removed and replaced with small penny tiles that gave it a classic, old world feeling. The new fixtures, new lights and repaired tiles gave a warm reception when you entered the room. She saw Jacob drape the towels along a strange looking bar perched beside the bathtub and looked at him quizzically.

              Jacob smiled at her
.
“I thought you might like a towel warmer in the bathroom,” he said quietly. “I put it there for you.  Along with our large shower,” he teased. “I thought of you getting out of the tub and wanted to make this as nice as possible for you.” He had thought of them spending time together in the shower and wanted to make the room as inviting as possible. Jacob hoped she liked the feature and had to admit, he liked the towel warmer too. The lady at the hardware store in town said it was all the rage and they could not keep them in stock in the wintertime. No sense in waiting till winter for something that she might like, he thought.

              Millie kissed him gently. He was so thoughtful. She was truly impressed that he had put in the features for her and thought of her every step of the way in the remodeling.  She took his hand, and stepped into the corner shower. “Join me,” she suggested feeling the hot water cascade down her back. She saw him step in and kissed him softly again under the waterfall. “I love you,” she whispered again to him, cupping his face in her hands lovingly as they showered together in the elegant bathroom.

17

              The next few months went by in a blur of activity.  Millie had opted to move in to the house with Jacob and had not regretted a moment. She was slowly moving over her things from her apartment as they worked on the house together in their free time. She was stuck in her lease for one more month.  She was blissfully happy and they were together every chance they got.

              Her happiness was contagious. Millie was smiling at everyone and upbeat about everything, to the point she had sold three houses this month and all were due to close over the next few weeks. She was terribly excited about it and planned to put the money in a savings account for the house in case another repair was needed.

              Each night, they spent together in each other’s arms loving, talking or just holding one another. Late at night seemed to be her favorite time of the day, tied in comparison with waking up in Jacob’s arms, she couldn't decide which she preferred, both had merit. Some mornings, Millie would make the coffee and bring it to Jacob in bed. Other mornings he would bring her coffee in bed. He was so tender and loving with her, she adored every moment.

              One Saturday afternoon, Millie was at the hardware store picking up paint and rollers for the next project. The guest bedroom was in serious need of attention. They had already spent one weekend pulling wallpaper, steaming the walls, scrubbing off glue and peeling the remainder of the scraps. It was tedious work but the massage from Jacob afterwards had been well worth it. Millie stood in the paint aisle blushing profusely, thinking where the last massage had ended them, while looking at paint chips. She had thought of painting the room a soft neutral gray color, however, another color caught her eye instead. She picked up fresh rollers and paint trays heading back to the house where Jacob was busy planting hydrangeas along the back of the house near the arbor.

              Jacob heard the car pull into the driveway and he put the shovel down to come help Millie unload the paint and supplies. He gave her a quick kiss as she hopped out of the car, happy to see her. He opened the hatch of her utility vehicle and refused to let her carry in the bags. “Baby, you get the door and I will carry this,” he said smiling.

              He was happy she had gone to the store, while he got the flowers planted before it got too warm out in the sun. He set the paint, rollers and other items down in the room onto the wood floor. The floor would be sanded and stained last after all the cleanup and trim work was completed. He excused himself for a moment, promising to be right back to help her. Jacob had one more hydrangea to get in the ground for Millie and he wanted to get it finished so they could water this afternoon to establish the plants.

              Jacob walked in to the house, washed his hands and grabbed a glass of cold water, chugging it down. He set the glass down and headed back to the room to help Millie. He walked in the room and stopped. “Did you change your mind? I thought you wanted this room grey?” he said surprised.

              Millie stood there with the strangest look on her face and smiling at the wall she had just started painting. The paint was a pale green color, far from the neutral grey they had discussed that would match the subdued colors in the rest of the house.

              Millie jumped guiltily and wasn't sure how to explain it. She was blissfully happy and it just hit her while she was staring at the paint. There was no rhyme or reason other than a thought struck her suddenly: the room should be a nursery.

              She hadn't really thought much about children but she always dreamed of having one or two later on once her career was established and if she met the right man. Staring at the paint selection, she realized she wanted Jacob’s children and picked up the green paint instead. She didn't know how to tell him, other than to ask him and hope he was of the same mindset.  “I thought maybe this room should be a nursery someday,” she said softly “What do you think?” and waited for his response.

              Jacob was stunned and he couldn't love her more. She was an amazing woman and would be an amazing mother to his children. She was capable of so much tenderness and love it brought him to his knees sometimes. “Honey, are you wanting a baby or are you already pregnant?” he asked excitedly, rushing over and twirling her around the room. “Of course, I want us to have a baby, are you sure? Want to start making one now?” he asked hurriedly and started to carry her to their bedroom.

              Millie laughed at his enthusiasm and slapped him gently on the shoulder. “Yes, I am sure and I thought we were going to paint?” she said chuckling as he tossed her down onto the bed and pulled off his shirt. “I guess we’ll paint later?” she said growing aroused as she watched him smile devilishly at her and he took off his pants quickly climbing into the bed in the middle of the day. “Should we close the blinds?” She laughed as he began tugging off her jeans haphazardly.

            
 
“Nope,” he said jovially. “Let ’em look if they are peeping through our window. Baby, I plan on giving them a helluva show!” he said scooping her, pushing her higher onto the bed and feasting on her womanhood with no warning at all.

            
 
“Oh my!” she gasped at the sensation of his tongue on her nether regions. She loved the feeling of his chin stubble on her thighs and how it tingled so much when he touched her. Heck, she wasn't even fully undressed and she was ready to have him inside of her. He wanted a quickie in the afternoon, she thought, two could play this game!

              She shoved at his shoulder, disturbing his ministrations and he looked at her curiously. “Flip over, sexy,” she said huskily and eagerly mounted him, sliding him into her slowly as he watched. Millie rode him for some time feeling the pleasure building in her pelvis as she watched him, watching her. She laced her fingers in his and held his hands as she thrust down onto his pelvis with enthusiasm. “I love you,” she said as she came.

              Jacob watched the show above him and adored how she made love to him with abandon. She was incredibly sexy in her mussed T-shirt and watching him with those mesmerizing, hooded eyes as she ground herself on him. He was so deep in her and she was looking at him with so much tenderness. He barely heard her say that she loved him when he felt himself exploding inside of her with abandon. No condom, just as she requested a few moments before. They may be needing that nursery soon, he hadn't thought much about it lately but sincerely hoped so.

              Jacob held her afterwards for quite some time; neither one commenting as he stroked her soft back for a while as she lay curled against him in the sunlight on the bed. After a bit, he rolled her back over and proceeded to make love to her again. “For good-measure, my darling. We have to try a lot,” he said with a wink and kissed her. He made love to her several times the rest of the afternoon and they ended up putting the lid back on the paint can for the day. He decided next weekend would be a perfect time to paint instead. He was not leaving this bed or her warm arms for quite some time.

17             

              Millie was singing the next morning as she walked into the office. She hummed, tossed down her purse and poured herself a cup of steaming hot coffee. “Danielle, would you like me to top off your cup?” she asked happily, smiling from ear to ear.

            
 
“Crap, yes! I will have what you are having,” Danielle replied grumpily. She was terribly happy for her friend and coworker. After all, who is lucky enough to work with a friend from school and remain that way, she thought. She knew that Millicent and Jacob were blissfully happy, so much so that Millie wasn't upset with her for lying about Jacob selling the house. She actually came in to work, hugged her and thanked her.

              Naturally, Danielle made her spill the beans and laughed at Millie’s face when she turned three different shades of red, blushing heartily. She had told her never mind and to keep her sordid details to herself. “Is this another ‘sordid details’ kind of morning?” Danielle asked nicely, but inside was slightly jealous and wanted happiness like Millie had found. Millie had several “sordid detail” mornings lately!  She had almost had her own happiness once but she had let it slip away. Danielle sighed heavily and took a long sip of the hot coffee. “Sordid, huh?” she said again, and raised an eyebrow at prim, proper Millie who was perched in her office chair.

              Millie looked at her over her cup of coffee, enjoying the hot brew. “Oh yes, very much so!” she said devilishly and turned back to her computer before turning beet red. Truth be known, and she would never admit it to anyone, she was terribly tender ‘downstairs’ this morning from all the ‘practice attempts’ as Jacob called it, over and over again yesterday afternoon and last night. When he tried to ‘practice’ again this morning, she almost laughed in his face at his expression, when she said she needed a break so she could walk into work. Thank goodness he had let her get ready for work because she was sore to walk as it was. Her thighs were aching something fierce!

              Millie spent the morning replying back to emails and fielding phone calls. She scheduled one open house and another closing at the title office. She kept busy all morning long and sent a text to Jacob about midday asking how he was doing. She laughed aloud when he texted back that he was dehydrated from last night’s efforts.

              Danielle groaned heavily “I do not want to know, do I?” she said teasing her friend and looked up at the window to the front office. “That’s weird,” she said. “There have been four police cars come flying past the office over the last few minutes, is Jacob on duty today or is he at home?” Danielle asked Millie, concerned for her friend and slightly alarmed if something was happening in town. After the shooting across the way, both were leery that the small town had grown exponentially. Danielle flipped on the radio to see if there was any news and googled the local new station.

            
 
“Jacob is on duty today. He has patrol until five o’clock tonight. Is there anything on the news?” she asked concerned and picked up her phone to text him again. ‘
Are you okay? Lots of activity here,
’ she keyed into the phone.

              She waited for a few minutes, each minute passing slower than the next. “Danielle, is there anything? Can you check again?” she asked nervously. Usually Jacob would text or call back right away and he had not responded yet.

              Danielle gasped. “There is an officer down and they have not released a name yet. Someone has tried to rob the bank on East First Street and there has been a shooting. Millie please don't panic, maybe it's not him.” She rushed as she saw the blood drain from her friends face. “Millie? Millie! Are you okay?” she ran over and pushed Millie’s head between her knees as her friend started to faint.

              Millie thought she was going to be sick and cry at the same time. Surely not Jacob! She could hear a rush in her ears and saw black cloud her vision as panic set in. The next thing she knew, Danielle was shoving her head between her own knees to keep her from passing out. Millie swatted at her friend to let go of her head. “I’m okay, dammit,” she snapped, terrified.

              East First Street was five blocks away and traffic was at a standstill outside of the office already. “They must have the street blocked. I have to get over there!” she pleaded with Danielle. “Come with me? If something is wrong, I do not want to be alone!” she begged, terrified.

              Danielle grabbed her cell phone and her keys. She grabbed tissues, stuffing them in her pocket as she watched Millie search frantically for her keys. “Just leave your keys here, Millie. Let’s go, I have mine,” she said hurriedly. “Grab your phone!” she barked out and tugged at her elbow to get her started up the road. Danielle locked the office door and Millie was already almost a block away running in her high heels.

             
Damn shoes
, she thought as she tried to hurry up the road. Millie got a horrible stitch in her side and had to slow down, allowing Danielle to catch up with her. Millie began to gag and reached for the trashcan at the corner of the street. She felt hot bile come up as she wretched into the thankfully almost empty can. One and a half blocks away she could hear the sirens wailing in the background. Still nothing from Jacob on her phone. It didn't show that he had even read the message.

              Millie wiped her mouth, as Danielle rubbed her back reassuringly. Nerves had always gotten to her friend. She had tried to keep it from showing when they were growing up, but it was a dead giveaway to Danielle.

              The two raced up the road and as they rounded the corner, Millie gasped. Patrol cars were pulled up on the curb in front of the small bank haphazardly, lights flashing and there was an ambulance present and a news crew unloading their cameras getting ready to go onto the air for coverage of the breaking news.

              In front of Millie and Danielle, there were police barricading the streets attempting to control the crowds that were gathering. Millie searched the uniformed men, looking for her Jacob and could feel herself getting sick from enormous amount of anxiety again when she didn't find his face among the crowd of people.

              Max, who she recognized from the fateful day that had revealed the supposed ‘bet’ at the station, was pushing back a group who was trying to get through to get a closer look at the action. He and Officer Graham were yelling at the crowd that was straining over the barricade that had been placed. Millie waved desperately “Officer Max! Officer Graham! Where is Jacob?” she yelled and promptly turned and wretched on the ground narrowly missing Danielle’s shoe.

            
 
“Hey! Aim that would you?” she shrieked, jumping back away from her friend and trying to sympathetically pat her on the back, away from the line of fire coming from Millie. Danielle knew she was terribly nervous but she had never seen her like this!

              Officer Graham was relieved to see there was some sort of commotion that was causing the crowd to disperse a bit. He was very surprised to see strait-laced, stuck-up Millicent Clark heaving on the ground towards a very shocked looking young lady. He almost laughed at her expression and watching her jump away. He stepped over to the end of the barricade, “Ms. Clark, are you all right?” he asked politely, knowing full well she wasn't due to the influx on the ground.

              Millie groaned in response and hung her head, one arm flung upwards and waving desperately at Danielle as she continued to dry heave. Millie felt like it was not possible to be any more embarrassed or to throw up any more. There was nothing left in her, but somehow her body had not figured that out yet. Her nerves were shot and her stress level was through the roof currently.

              Danielle gingerly stepped away from her ill friend and asked if either had seen Jacob and if he was on site. She watched as Officer Graham’s face shuttered, like a mask had been dropped over his expression. “Oh no,” Danielle breathed and swatted Millie on the back several times distractedly as Millie began to dry heave again at hearing this. “Is he…” she asked, terrified for her friend. She didn't think there was much more in Millie that could come up, unless it was a kidney or some other organ was next?

              Officer Graham stood there watching the two women and felt sorry for the ice queen puking out her lungs on the street in front of everyone. He stared Danielle straight in the eyes and gave a very tiny shake of his head, denying their worst fear. Jacob was alive! “Get out of here, both of you!” he barked. “Get her out of here, she doesn't need to be here!” he repeated harshly. Jacob would be devastated if something happened to her and until they got the shooter taken down, it was simply not safe. So much for finishing out his last few years before retirement in a small town, he thought.

              Danielle leaned down and told Millie “He’s okay! Now quit vomiting everywhere and relax, girl! Geez! You’d think you were knocked up or something?” she said as she dragged her away through the streets and stopped, turned and stared at her friend. “You aren’t, are you?” she asked amazed and seeing her for the first time clearly. “You are?” she breathed, shocked.

              Millie took several deep breaths and sat down on the concrete in her trouser pants and heels. “I can’t be yet. We just started trying, literally,” she said, taking gulps of air and holding her stomach trying to keep the rolling sensation from taking over again. Millie felt green and nauseated. Her nerves were frayed. She checked her phone again, still nothing. “So he told you he is okay?” she asked tremulously, with her eyes shut and her head leaned back against the brick wall.

              Danielle nodded affirmatively.