Deadly Identity (20 page)

Cade lifted his hands and rested them on her shoulders. “You're incredibly beautiful, Rachel.” His voice went hoarse with want. His eyes slid down and across her body. Her breasts were small, perfectly formed, and her hips wide and flared. She was built to have children, he realized somewhere in his fleeting thoughts. And how badly Cade yearned to have a baby with her. For now, he used protection and they could decide when the time was right for both of them.

Closing her eyes, Rachel allowed his words to vibrate through her, touch her heart and heal her wounded spirit. Did Cade know how wonderful those words sounded? She didn't think so, but she would let him know at another time. Opening her eyes, Rachel stepped forward into the circle of his arms, reached up and placed her mouth against his.

Within seconds, Cade's lips plundered hers, fueled by aching need. Easing Rachel down to the bed, Cade lay beside her, their bodies meeting and melding against one another. Rachel absorbed his male strength. It felt as if they had been made for one another—his body powerful, hard, and hers soft and receptive. This new discovery riffled through her like a hot, needy sensation and made the ache between her thighs even more intense.

As his mouth cherished hers, his breath hot and ragged against her cheek, Rachel moved her tongue across his lower lip. Cade groaned. The sound was like thunder moving through her, enticing her, calling to her. The knot of throbbing heat within her grew to such a point that Rachel moaned. She'd never felt this hungry before.

As Cade moved his hand in a slow, exploratory gesture down from her shoulder to curve around her small, firm breast, he felt her gasp. Smiling into her eyes, he used his thumb and index finger to caress the hardened nipple. Rachel pressed herself against him, a raw moan escaping her parted lips. His heart
soared. Cade knew he was pleasuring her. He burned with a love that could only be quenched by their coming physically together. Yet, as he left her breast and trailed his fingers down across her rib cage to her waist and belly, Cade wanted this to be good for Rachel in every way. If that meant he would suffer in the meantime, that was all right with him. He knew enough of Rachel's past not to hurry her, rather, to allow her to feel what it was like to have a man who loved her bring her to full readiness.

Cade's fingers caressed the downy nest of hair at the apex of her thighs. Rachel gasped, her flesh tingling and tightening. She cried out his name. As Cade gently eased his fingers into the cleft to graze her sensitized flesh for the first time, Rachel emitted a moan of utter pleasure. Heat built rapidly within her core. Cade's fingers knew how to explore, caress and make the ache within her even more intense. Rachel arched herself against his fingers.

“That's it,” Cade whispered darkly into her ear, “just enjoy this, Rachel. You're all woman, you're mine. All I want to do is give you pleasure….”

Absorbing his husky words, she restlessly slid her arms around his shoulders and pulled him forward. As his fingers left that dark, secret place of heat, Rachel felt his mouth settle commandingly over hers. She opened her legs and thrust her hips upward. Instantly, he met her aching core. She deepened the kiss and moved her tongue within his mouth. The
moment that happened, she arched upward to meet his thrust into her.

Her world spun and deepened. Rachel felt him move seamlessly into her, as if they had always been meant for one another. He slid his hand beneath her hips, lifted her slightly, the sensations intensifying until she tore her lips from his. With each rocking thrust, Rachel went higher and higher. The throbbing tension in her core became so intense, she groaned. And, as if sensing what she needed, Cade thrust hard and deep within her. Their rhythm changed and grew frantic. Throwing her head back, Rachel cried out in relief as the gate within her exploded. The hot fluid flowed through her in wave after wave of utter gratification. She felt light, airy, only vaguely aware of Cade's breath next to her ear. His hips continued to thrust against hers, his male body strong and coaxing her to new heights.

It was like being spun in gold and white light, Rachel thought. She was weightless, plundering his mouth and feeling his hot, moist breath flowing across her face. Cade stiffened, groaned and tensed to immobility. Rachel instinctively knew to move her hips to give him the ultimate joy that he'd just given her. Together, they were molten lava flowing and fusing into one another. As she clung to Cade and his arms slid around her in a tight embrace, she needed nothing more.
Nothing.
For the first time, Rachel understood what it was for a man to fully
love his woman. The tenderness Cade had shown, the patience, the slow movement and exploration of his hands and lips upon her body taught Rachel what real love was really all about. It made her life with Payson seem like a bleak sham. Rachel gloried beneath Cade's heavy body pressing her into the mattress. His mouth caressed her closed eyelids and sipped the honey from her parted lips.

All of the butterfly lightness slowly receded. Rachel lay in Cade's arms, his body like a warm blanket across her. There was a delicious sense of love mingling with protection, as well as care radiating from him to her. His fingers gently tangled through the strands of her hair. Her scalp radiated with delicious tingles beneath his ministrations. Each movement made her feel wanted, needed and most of all, Rachel could feel herself healing from her traumatic past. Love did that, she realized as she slowly descended from that euphoric state.

Easing off her, Cade brought Rachel beside him. The room was warm but he wanted to ensure she wouldn't get chilled in the aftermath of their love-making. Reaching across her, he brought the quilt up and over them. Her eyes opened, with a drowsy, fulfilled look in them. He smiled down at her. “This is what I want to see every morning when I wake up with you,” he told her in a low tone. Caressing her hair, he whispered, “I love you, Rachel. I want
to marry you. I want you to be my partner, my best friend…my wife. And the mother of our children if that's what you want.”

The words were like healing hands cupping her wildly beating heart. The throbbing within her lower body slowly receded and she found it difficult to think rather than just feel. Gazing into Cade's gray eyes, she nodded. “Finding you was finding myself. You've helped me find my way back to me, Cade. I can't put it all into words, but you've shown me how to have a healthy relationship between a man and a woman.”

“How could you know before now?” he asked, tenderly pressing a kiss to her brow, cheek and then trailing a series of them to her mouth. Raising his head, scant inches between them, Cade held her blue gaze. “We all make mistakes, Rachel. No one is perfect. I knew Payson had hurt you badly. I hope to show you there is a good side to the rest of us.”

“You have,” Rachel murmured, feeling a delicious drowsiness stalking her. “I've never felt happier. Or more hopeful.”

Gathering Rachel into his arms, Cade lay down, pressing his body against hers. “Let's take a nap,” he urged, his face buried in her fragrant, silky hair. “We have a lot to talk about after we wake up. Right now, sweet woman, all I want to do is lie here with you and wake up with you in my arms….”

 

“W
HAT DO YOU THINK
of a July wedding?” Cade asked Rachel as they sat at the kitchen table two hours later. Jenny had been fed, bathed and was now crawling around the kitchen floor. Sometimes, she would stand with the help of a chair or with the support of their hands. She was happy to be exploring the legs of the chairs right now.

Slipping her hand over Cade's, Rachel said, “Let's see what your parents say. Gwen has a lot of things going on at the quilting shop. We need to try and fit into their schedules.”

“You're right,” Cade said. He gazed over at her flushed face and drowned in her joyous blue eyes. His body hardened all over again. They had awakened an hour ago and taken a shower together, then had tended to Jenny, who had just awakened.

“First, I'd like to go home to Iowa with you at my side, Cade. I want you to meet my brothers and their families.”

“I'd like that. I want to see where you were raised,” Cade said, meaning it. It was nearly ten o'clock in the morning. Sunlight made the world outside their kitchen bright and hopeful after a very long, dark winter tide.

Jenny climbed up with the use of the chair and Rachel's help. She smiled and cooed.

“We'll be taking Jenny with us,” Rachel promised, lifting the baby into her arms and settling her across her lap.

“Absolutely,” Cade said, reaching out and allowing Jenny to wrap her tiny hand around his finger. He gave Rachel a warm look. “Maybe, after we've been married awhile, we might think of giving Jenny a baby brother or sister?”

Rachel heard the hope in his voice. So much had been taken from Cade. Now, it was as if all of life was going to be given back not only to him, but to her, as well. Their tragedies were behind them. She kissed Jenny's hair. “I'd like nothing better than to work on that, Cade. I've always dreamed of having two or three kids. I came from a large family and I know the happiness of it. I'd like to have that chance with you.”

Her softly spoken words were incredibly sweet and healing to Cade. He placed his hand around Rachel's shoulders, their chairs close to one another. “You're a gift to me.”

“No,” she whispered, tears coming unexpectedly to her eyes, “you're my gift, Cade.”

Leaning over, he smiled and pressed a tender kiss to her lips. “We'll be gifts to one another. Okay?”

“Forever,” she said, her voice raspy with unshed tears. “I know life can be hard, and we'll have plenty of ups and downs. Together, Cade, we can manage them. I know we can.”

Jenny bent over to crawl into her father's lap. Cade smiled with deep fulfillment. “Life guarantees nothing. What we can do is live each day to its fullest. I'm
grateful you and Jenny are in my life. And I intend to let you both know how much I love you. You're all I'll ever want or need.”