Lorraine Heath by Sweet Lullaby Read Free Book Online

pregnant. When is this baby due anyway?”
    “January.”
    Jake counted back the months and asked quietly, “Last barn raising?” Rebecca sighed. “Yes.”
    He had a hundred questions he wanted to ask her, but he had no right to the answers. “Good night, Reb.” “Jake?” “What?”
    “Will you give me a good-night kiss? You know … the kind of kiss brides usually get on their wedding nights.”
    Jake shifted his body until they were both lying on their sides, facing each other. He trailed his fingers along her jaw. “I don’t know much about the kinds of kisses brides get … but I know the kind of kiss I’d like to give you.”
    He worked his other hand out from underneath her and cupped her face, bringing his lips against hers, pressing firmly against her soft flesh. She sighed and he slipped his tongue through her parted lips, tasting her for the first time, their tongues introducing themselves as they slowly waltzed around each other.
    Rebecca felt a warm stirring deep within her, not certain she wanted the kiss to end, not certain she wanted to roll over and go to sleep. His kiss was as undemanding as his proposal. So different from any kiss Brett had ever given her. It was different from any kiss she’d ever received, touching her deeper than any kiss before it.
    His breathing was labored as he ended the kiss and placed his lips lightly on her forehead. “Go to sleep now, Reb.”
    She complied and Jake took her soft hair between two of his fingers, rubbing gently. He had just stepped into purgatory. Whatever had he been thinking when he’d promised not to take more than she was willing to give? What if she never wanted to love him emotionally or physically? He was lying in bed with the woman he loved … a woman he couldn’t make love to. He closed his eyes. More than anything in this world, he wanted this woman to be happy. He’d give her anything, do anything to make her happy. Even if it made his own life hell.
    Rebecca squinted against the early morning sunlight filtering into the room. Languorously, she stretched her body before opening her eyes fully and catching sight of the shirtless man standing at the table. He was splashing water on his face, using the water in her washbasin. She had seen him bare-chested before, but somehow knowing he was now her husband made everything about him seem different. She had never noticed how his lean frame showed a strength brought on by years of herding cattle and working on a ranch. His skin was taut across his muscles, the absence of hair on his chest lending a smoothness to his form as his muscles rippled with his movements.
    Glancing over at her, he reached for his shirt. Rebecca felt herself redden from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, and she brought the covers up to her neck.
    He gave her a small smile. “Morning.”
    Relaxing her grip on the blankets, she returned his smile. “Good morning.”
    “Half a dozen of your father’s men want to come to Texas with us. Thought I’d go on out and get them moving.”
    She watched the way his hands worked the buttons on his shirt, wondering how it would have felt to have had those hands work the buttons on her wedding gown. “That’s probably a good idea.”
    He reached for his hat and walked to the door. “You just come on down when you’re ready.” His smile increased. “I won’t leave without you.”
    “I wouldn’t want you to,” she said softly.
    Sitting on her horse, Rebecca listened as Jake issued the orders to take the ten horses he had broken and then to round up the cattle that bore her brand, the Rocking R. As the men rode off, she heard a distant door slam. She turned towards the house, watching her father storming down the walk, his silk robe flapping in his wake, his fist pounding at the air high above his head.
    “What the hell is going on here, Rebecca?”
    “We’re leaving, Daddy. Jake has some land in Texas. We’re going to have our own ranch there.”
    Jake sidled