The Baby Race (13 page)

"This is a mistake," he muttered, but her
heartfelt request shattered his resolve. He pulled her close and
buried his face in her hair. Smelling of sunshine and fresh air,
the silky strands caressed his cheeks. He should stop now, turn
away, but he couldn't.

Instead he smiled and held out his hand.

She slipped her warm, slim fingers into his
and followed him into the bedroom. They stopped at the side of the
bed. Standing in the small circle of light cast by the bedside
lamp, she appeared small and vulnerable in the large masculine
room. A becoming blush stained her cheeks, but she didn't avoid
looking at him. Her appreciative stare fueled his desire. His
arousal grew until he blushed in turn. Her smile widened as she
sank down on to the bed and raised her hands to the buttons of her
blouse.

"Let me." He moved between her knees and
gently brushed her fingers aside. Under his knuckles her skin felt
like warm satin, and the rapid thud of her heart matched his own.
He peeled the damp cotton from her shoulders and down her arms,
revealing pale skin, untouched by the sun. The hard nubs of her
breasts pushed impatiently against her thin bra.

Race's body reacted to the sight. He bit his
lip to keep from ripping away the rest of her clothing, tossing her
backside on the bed, and burying himself deep within her. An
innocent in mind as well as body, she deserved better than a moment
of lust.

Race could only pray that he'd have enough
strength to give Claire what she deserved. He refused to consider
that what she deserved was a man worthy of her love, a man willing
and able to love her in return.

Anticipation shivered through her, but she
didn't object as he unhooked her bra. Embarrassment over her
boldness warred with excitement at what she was about to do. Maybe
making love with Race was unwise, but it was what she wanted.

The mechanics of sex were no mystery to her.
During her childhood she'd lived all over the world, from a
cosmopolitan Paris apartment to a Bedouin tent. On more than one
occasion she'd pretended sleep while the grownups around her did
what came naturally. The human way of expressing love didn't make
her shy or uneasy. Though often unorthodox her upbringing left her
comfortable with her own body and human sexuality. Her continued
virginity wasn't for a lack of offers.

Her reaction to Race was another matter. Ever
since she'd first watched him approach her outside Max's Café,
she'd been drawn to him, to the dark, masculine power of him.

She smiled now as he knelt next to her on the
bed. Like dew drops, water beaded on the tanned skin stretched over
the corded muscles of his arms and chest. Wet and tangled, his hair
clung to his shoulders and dripped moisture. She shivered as the
cool liquid plopped onto her heated flesh.

"Are you sure this is what you want? Have you
ever been with a man? Tell me now if you want to stop. Once we do
this there's no going back. And I can't promise you more than
this." He searched her face.

Rising up on one elbow she met his gaze. The
action thrust her bared breasts upward. Whatever happened between
them in the future, Claire knew she wouldn't regret giving herself
to this man. With her free hand she stroked the stubbled line of
his jaw. "I may be a virgin, but I'm no child. I know what I want.
And I want you. No promises. No strings. Just you and me. Here.
Now. Together."

Her gentle words defeated him. Groaning his
surrender he kissed the palm of her hand. Sweet and salty, the
taste of her exploded on his tongue.

He eased her onto her back and leaned over
her. Eyes wide with excitement and trust she gazed up at him and
smiled. He knew he should warn her not to trust him that he would
only hurt her, but the words stuck in his throat. At this moment
his need of her outweighed his pride and self-respect.

She slid one hand around the back of his neck
and pulled him closer. The warmth of her breath, as she rained a
series of small, tantalizing kisses across his cheeks and chin
always just missing his lips, melted the last trace of ice
surrounded his heart.

While she held his head and teased him with
butterfly kisses her other hand roamed boldly over him. Gentle, yet
demanding she explored his body, touching and stroking him from
neck to groin. Both an enticing innocent and an experienced
seductress, she searched out all his vulnerabilities. When she
closed her hand around him he jumped like an unbroken colt at the
first touch of a saddle.

Straining to remain in control and not charge
the gate like a too eager racehorse, he throbbed in her
embrace.

Lips parted on trembling sigh, she touched
her mouth to his.

Need overwhelmed caution. He slanted his
mouth over hers. She met his aggressive kiss with a sweet
acceptance that nearly undid him. To keep their loving from ending
before it began he removed her hand and abandoned her mouth to
trail his lips down her throat to her breasts. She arched her back
to give him better access.

Her unconditional trust frightened him.

Though the years Race had had his share of
woman. He used them and they used him. But none of them had reached
inside the wall he used to keep the world at bay, had touched the
real Race. But Claire acted as if she didn't see a wall. Without
hesitation she reached out to him and gave him her trust.

What could he give her in return? Trust was
beyond him. His mother had made sure of that. Love? The emotion was
a lie, a trick to get people to let down their guard. Passion?
Pleasure?

Those he could give her. Confidence renewed
he set out to pleasure her, to keep this encounter on a physical
level. Holding her arms above her head he used his mouth to stroke
and kiss her breasts, lingering on the sensitive peaks. The hard
little nubs teased the inside of his mouth making him want
more.

With each touch, each kiss he fell deeper
into unknown territory. He barely recognized the moment when he
surrendered to her innocent abandon and mere sex turned into
lovemaking. Nor did he care.

Soft mewing sounds escaped from her as she
struggled to touch him in return.

"Relax," he whispered into her ear. Though
the heated blood pumping madly through his veins urged him to
hurry, to finish this race at a full gallop, this was her first
time. No matter how it might pain him, in order not to hurt or
scare her he had to move slowly.

A shudder went through her as she went
limp.

Releasing her wrists he nudged her thighs
apart and slid down the length of her body. Small tremors coursed
over her as with a hand on the inside of each of her thighs he
lifted and opened her to his gaze. The warm, musky scent of aroused
woman engulfed him.

"R-race. W-what are you d-doing?"

With a splayed hand on her belly he pressed
her back as she tried to sit up. "Let me please you."

"What about you? I want to please you,
too."

As he bent his head, warmth from his soft
chuckle brushed over the sensitive skin of her thighs. "You do," he
murmured against her soft moist flesh. "Oh, God help me, you
do."

Anticipation kept her motionless. When his
lips closed around the center of her desire her body jolted upward
into his intimate kiss. Lost in passion she moved against him,
seeking something she never knew existed. Her breath hitched then
stilled as new sensations rocketed through her. Feelings swirled
and grew inside her until she could no longer contain them. Tension
held her suspended and motionless above a frightening chasm. With a
strangled scream she let go and trusted Race to catch her.

He captured her mouth, drinking in her cry of
release.

Her body humming from her climax she wanted -
needed more from Race. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders
and her legs around his hips in an unconscious plea.

With tender kisses and almost inaudible
murmurs he soothed her tremors then slowly stroked her until the
tension again built to an unbearable level. As she strived to reach
what she craved, what she longed to give him in return, he took her
mouth in a possessive kiss, his tongue delving deep. She accepted
and returned the invasion without hesitation. Their tongues fought
a duel that could have no winner or loser.

Breathless from his kiss, she tore her mouth
from his. "Love me, Race. Please love me now."

Moving between her legs he answered her plea.
Pain, brief and quickly forgotten, speared her. She stiffened

He went still and looked down at her in
concern. "Are you all right?"

Her body felt full and heavy, yet as if it
perched on a cliff ready to soar high above the clouds. "I'm fine.
Don't stop." She clutched his back and strained to hold him
close.

"I won't. I couldn't if I wanted to."

He began to move. Slowly and gently at first
to allow her to become accustom to him, then faster and harder
until reality blurred and they launched themselves together into
the sky.

Hours later she curled against him like a
sleepy kitten. Though Race knew he should push her away, should
distance himself from her, he couldn't. For this night he'd let
himself pretend that what they'd shared was more than just sex.
That they had a future.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her
close. Come morning the dream would end and the nightmare would
begin.

~~~~~

CHAPTER TEN

Race blinked against the morning sun
streaming across the bed. A breeze lifted the curtains and stroked
over him. Tangled around his hips the sheets clung to his damp
skin. Despite the early hour, already late August heat crept into
the room. Soon the air would be thick and hot. A warm weight
pressed against his side.

"Good morning."

The sound of Claire's voice made him blink.
The previous night's events washed over him. Satisfaction warred
with guilt. He couldn't regret making love with her, but he knew he
shouldn't have. He'd taken something from her when he had nothing
to offer in return. Reluctantly he turned to face her.

Warm brown eyes smiled at him. Flushed with
sleep, she glowed with an inner radiance that intensified his guilt
at the same time it filled him with satisfaction. The urge to pull
her into his arms and repeat his mistake nearly overwhelmed
him.

Her smile faded as she worried her lower lip
with her teeth. "I found the adoption papers when I hung up your
jacket. I was so worried Banner was going to contest the adoption;
afraid the court would grant him custody. I don't know what I'd do
if I lost Bobbie Sue. She's my whole family. Thank you. How did you
get him to agree?"

Disappointment, followed by anger, slammed
into him. She'd made love with him out of gratitude. "No need to
thank me. Banner and I just had a nice discussion." To deflect her
curiosity he rubbed his knuckles suggestively.

She shifted and the sheet slid off her
shoulder, outlining the thrust of her full breasts. A wisp of brown
hair clung to the corner of lips slightly bruised from his kisses.
He gritted his teeth, but despite his anger he couldn't stop his
response to the sight. She reached out to touch his arm.

He sidled away, knowing if she touched him
now he'd be unable to resist her.

She didn't seem to notice his reticence as
she tugged the sheet around her and lay back down. "Life is just
perfect. Banner is out of our lives. And you have Grandmere's
marriage bonus money for the ranch."

He sat tense on the edge of the bed. He
should tell her about the money, how he'd paid off Banner with it,
how now the ranch was lost. But he couldn't. He couldn't burden her
with the knowledge that he'd bought Bobbie Sue's future at the cost
of his dream.

She yawned and stretched like a contented
cat. Her body arched gracefully off the bed. Then she rolled onto
one elbow and smiled at him. "Last night was wonderful. Thank
you."

Keeping his back to her, he slid off the bed
and tugged on his jeans. As right as it had felt, he'd made an
error last night. One he couldn't afford to repeat. "I don't want
or need your charity."

"What are you talking about? Race? What's
wrong? Where are you going?"

Afraid she'd read the truth in his eyes, he
didn't turn around. "Last night we slipped and complicated an
already difficult situation. You were vulnerable and I took
advantage of that."

"No, that's not the way it was. I thought we
were…"

"What did you think?" he growled. Fear made
him cruel as he pushed her away verbally. "That once we made love
we'd be in love? We had sex. That's all. It was good – no great.
I'll be happy for another performance anytime. But it doesn't mean
anything more," he ground out the lie. He started toward the
bathroom.

"I thought we were friends."

Her softly spoken words sent him running.

*****

The oven timer dinged and Claire pulled out
the last batch of cupcakes she was making for Bobbie Sue's class
Fall Festival.

Sunshine streamed in through the window along
with a warm breeze that denied the late-September date. Puffy white
clouds dotted a crystal blue sky. The air smelled of new mown hay
and cake batter. Claire breathed in deep. Soon summer would fade.
Already the trees were blushed with reds, oranges and yellows. On
the drive a restless breeze stirred a small hurricane of fallen
leaves.

She took the frosting out of the refrigerator
and started to decorate the cupcakes. Her thoughts wandered as she
expertly piped colorful fall leaves on to each little cake.

For the last few weeks, she'd kept busy. Each
morning she drove Bobbie Sue to school. On Monday, Wednesday and
Friday she attended classes at DeLane College an hour away. Though
Race had told her she didn't need to work outside the home, in the
afternoons she worked at Max's Café. Other than the few dollars she
spent on Bobbie Sue's needs she saved her earnings toward the day
when she and Race would separate. At some point she wanted to open
her own restaurant or catering business. Besides, working at Max's
was good experience and helped her with her classes.