Uniform Desires (Make Mine Military Romance) (64 page)

Walking as purposefully as she could, she crossed to the opposite end of the couch from him and sank down, folding her legs beneath her.
 

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

Her eyes flicked to his and she was surprised to see genuine concern in them. “I’m good.”

“No sickness today?”

She frowned. “Not right now, no.”

They didn’t say anything for a few minutes and it was a little strange. They obviously needed to talk about things, but it was hard to go from employee slash employer to a man and woman caught in a tangle.
 
Kendall caught herself flicking her thumbnail, a tell that any good businessman would spot and exploit. She’d need to work on her control. This was anything but a controlled situation though.

“I need to talk to you about a few things, and they aren’t going to be easy. This is kind of like speed dating, but we’ve gotten our steps all messed up. We slept together first, now we have to get to know each other. Quickly.” He flashed her a crooked smile, which made her insides clench in need.

She tried to respond in kind, but it surely came out as more of a grimace. “Yes.”

“I guess the first question I need to ask is: are you going to keep the baby?”

She reared back as if he’d slapped her. “Of course I am. I can’t believe you would think otherwise.”

He shrugged and made a motion with his hands, palms out. “I didn’t know. This certainly doesn’t fit in with your career plans. And I honestly don’t have much say over what you do with your body, but I wanted to make it clear that I want the baby and I definitely want to be part of his or her life. I want to be there for what you need. If I hadn’t let my guard down that night, we wouldn’t be in this predicament now.”

Guilt tightened her throat with emotion and made her look away. He was taking the blame upon himself, and as much as she wanted to let him do that, it wouldn’t be right. “It wasn’t just you. I drank too much that night and was feeling…lonely. We both screwed up.”

His expression eased and he nodded. “Agreed. We were both at fault. Now we need to rectify the situation.”

Nodding, she leaned deeper into the cushions.
 

“I think we should get married.”

Kendall gasped and jerked upright on the couch. “What?”

He stood to pace in front of the fire.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about this, and I think it solves several major issues. One, it secures your position as a stable, level-headed woman rather than an ex-model who got knocked up by her security guard. The board will appreciate that.”

Kendall sank back, floored. She’d thought about the board a couple of times, but she didn’t want to believe they would think so harshly of her. That Grif had said it as well made her realize that she had probably underestimated their reaction. She’d thought more of her father, who would support her in anything she did.

“I don’t know that getting married is the best option though. I mean, we would be compounding a problem.”

Grif shrugged and paused to lean against the fireplace. “Not necessarily. As long as we went into it with our eyes open to what we each wanted out of it, I think we’d be fine.”

A cold chill washed over her at his words. “And just what exactly do you want out of this situation, Mr. Parks?”

He raised a dark brow at her use of his surname. “I think we’re a little beyond that now, aren’t we Kendall?”

Furious heat rushed to her face and she looked away. Drawing oxygen into her lungs, she tried to concentrate on what he’d said, not what she had thought she heard. It had sounded like he was after money.

“I don’t want your money. I know that’s hard to believe standing where you are, but I don’t. I want my child to have my name to carry on. And I want access to my child any time I want.”

She frowned at the implacability in his voice. “I wouldn’t try to keep your child from you.”

He scanned her face, trying to decide if she were telling the truth or not. Finally, he nodded. “I didn’t think you would, but I wanted it out there.”

“We can do some kind of pre-nup to get all these details down.”

What? Hell, was she actually considering this craziness? The thought of being married to the gorgeous man across from her made her heart race, but it also scared the crap out of her.

Grif smiled and her stomach tightened. A pre-nup was an excellent idea, because she didn’t know if she’d be able to keep her head around him.

“I also want to walk into this as if it were a real marriage, not something planned out to serve all parties. I want full marital rights.”

Her mouth dropped open. No, surely not.

“What…”

Grif started to walk to her. Her senses went on high-alert. When he dropped to a knee in front of her, she didn’t know what to think.
 

“I know this isn’t ideal, but I want you to be willing to give it a try. We will be a married couple for the length of the pregnancy at least. But I want us to actually give the relationship a try. I won’t lie to you. I’ve never seen a good marriage. I’m not into hearts and roses, but I am very strongly drawn to you.” His voice dropped as he leaned into her space. “And I know for a fact you are to me. So why don’t we make the best of the situation and try to make it work.”

Kendall completely stopped breathing, afraid to believe what she’d just heard. After all the weeks of watching him move, talk, feeling his presence everywhere she went, inhaling when he entered the room in the hopes that she’d catch a whiff of his shower soap. Now she would have the freedom to actually touch him, and make love whenever she wanted. She sucked in huge draughts of air, trying to calm her racing heart. The rest of her body had jumped three steps ahead of her mind. Her panties were damp from the mere thought of sleeping with him again.

Though she’d been more than a little drunk that night, she still remembered the feel of his body gliding into hers, and the taste of his mouth as they melded into one.
 

“You shouldn’t look at me that way, Kendall,” he rumbled. With a needy groan, he leaned forward enough to press his lips to hers.

Every clamoring emotion inside her stilled as she absorbed the taste and feel of him, unhazed by liquor. She’d kissed men before, a good many in fact, but none had made her forget where and who she was. As his lips moved over hers, Kendall tried to maintain her hold on reality.

Grif pulled back and she moaned at the sudden loss, but he didn’t go far. His implacable hand shoved her knees wide enough that he could wedge his hips between her thighs. The tension between them suddenly skyrocketed. Kendall cried out as he cupped her hip in his hand and dragged her closer to the edge of the couch and to the center of his body.
 

His lips found hers again. He didn’t allow her to just ride the wave; he made her participate. When she opened her mouth for the glide of his tongue, he accepted the invitation without hesitation. Damn, he tasted just as good as she remembered. Better in fact. Without the fruity wine aftertaste from the other time, she could taste how decadent and sultry he was.
 

He rolled his hips and the length of him rubbed against the soaked crotch of her pants. If she didn’t say something soon, they would be sleeping together again.

Would that really be so bad…

Grif tore himself away, leaving her panting and sprawled ingloriously on the couch.
 

“In spite of what I said, I don’t think we should do this just yet.”

Though she was a little put out, Kendall agreed. Things were moving five hundred miles per hour and she hadn’t had a chance to catch her breath yet. “I agree. I think we need to head to bed and think things over.”

He cocked a brow at her and she realized how suggestive her words sounded.

“You know what I mean,” she huffed, cheeks burning with heat.

Grif grinned and she gave thanks she still sat on the couch, because she surely would have dropped to the ground at the sight of all the masculine charm directed her way. Even that elusive dimple in his left cheek made a brief appearance.

As he pulled away and pushed to his feet, she had a view of how very excited he was behind the placket of his suit slacks. Her hands lifted, as if to bring him back, before she forced them down.

Her
fiancé
paced away, running his hand through his springy dark hair. At some point he’d taken off the glove on his real hand. It seemed strange to see actual skin beneath his cuff.
 

Stopping in front of the fireplace, he leaned against the log mantle.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to let it get that out of control.”
 

Kendall half wished he
had
meant for it to get that out of control. She wanted to feel him again, completely clear-headed this time.
 

Last time it had seemed like he’d given in just for her, but this time he seemed invested.
 

She shifted on the couch, trying to ease the pressure on her body. What the hell, man. She’d controlled every relationship she’d been in, for the most part. Why was her bossy security guard the one who finally made her want to give up all her normal constraints?

 
Grif pulled a notebook from the breast pocket of his jacket and flipped through a couple of pages. “I made some notes. To go over.”

Kendall’s pale brows disappeared into her hairline at the abrupt change of subject. She tipped her head to hide her face, but he was grasping at straws. With the need still heavy in her expression, it was all he could do to even stand without rushing to her and stripping her down like he wanted to. He had prayed that the first time had been a fluke and that the liquor had rid her of all of her inhibitions. But it wasn’t necessarily the liquor; it was passion. Kendall Herrington was a freaking firecracker.

Fuck, he could smell her need from across the room.
 

His dick screamed for release.

A shudder wracked his body and he knew there would be no way he could talk to her coherently until he did something to get rid of this agonizing pressure. He would not rush her, he vowed. She needed time to get used to the idea of being with him.

“Maybe we can, uh, do this another time. I need to take a breather.”

When he looked at her, her clear green gaze had focused below his waist, on his aching erection.
 
He slammed his eyes shut and turned to brace himself against the mantle again. “Fuck, woman, I’m trying to not overwhelm you with everything, but if you keep looking at me like that I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

He heard a rustle at the couch then he felt her move behind him. A feather light touch landed on his shoulder, pressing him to turn.
 

She stood in front of him, eyes luminous from the light of the fire behind him. “You don’t have to be the only one. I think we’re both being responsible for our actions.”

Leaning forward, she pressed her delectable lips to his.

Grif groaned, unable to believe she would be willing to go in this direction. None of the details had been hammered out, but obviously her hunger was as sharp as his own. Maybe their mutual need and a shared child would be enough to build a marriage on.

Cupping her head in his good hand, he angled his mouth over hers, unable to get enough of her taste. She moaned into his mouth, pressing the length of her body against his. All coherent thought went out of his head as she angled her hips to align with his.

“Are you sure?” he asked, hating to give her the opening to shut him down.

She nodded. “I am.”

She grabbed his prosthetic hand and tugged him toward her bedroom.
 

Chapter 5

Kendall gulped at her daring, but it felt right. She’d found that her instincts served her well, in business and in life. They’d been dancing around each other for weeks, avoiding eye contact, physical touch. If she hadn’t realized she was pregnant, they’d still be treating each other as if they were enemies.

Scratch that. If
he
hadn’t noticed she was pregnant.

Warmth built in her chest at the thought that he would be willing to step up to the plate to give their child a stable life. No, not a declaration of love, but perhaps that would come later.

Right this minute, she knew no man had ever turned her on the same way Grafton Parks did. She planned to enjoy every second of their time together.

Snow fell softly outside her bedroom window, lit from below by a security light. The only illumination in the bedroom was from the bathroom, which cast a soft amber glow over everything. Kendall dropped his hand when she reached the side of the bed and paused. Grif didn’t give her a chance to be uncomfortable, because he stepped forward to wrap his arms around her shoulders. Automatically, Kendall tipped her mouth up to his, willing to be lost in him. His tongue glided against hers, sending heat straight to her lower body.

One of his broad hands crept beneath the hem of her sweater to cup her hip and warm fingers crept beneath the elastic waistband. His hand slid down, stretching the fabric, to cup her butt.