Part 24 (2/2)
”And now you will die,” he said.
She stared at him and saw the demented look in his eyes and felt her knees weaken. At least she had told Blade she loved him.
Frank raised the gun and aimed it straight at her head. She closed her eyes, and the moment she did, a shot rang out, then a second. She opened her eyes and saw Frank crumple to the ground. Someone had shot him.
She looked around as police officers came swarming from everywhere. She heard Blade call her name, and then she saw him racing toward her. Somehow she found the strength to move, once she realized what had happened.
She threw herself into Blade's arms as he pulled her close and whispered that he loved her. She buried her face in his s.h.i.+rt, trembling with relief that he was there. Sam knew at that moment that she was safe and in the arms of the man she loved.
Sam opened her eyes, once again s.h.i.+vering while reliving the nightmare of Frank Denton aiming a gun at her head.
”It's okay, sweetheart. You're here with me.”
She took a deep breath at the sound of the deep, husky voice so close to her ear. Instinctively, she leaned back against Blade's hard body, and the arm already around her middle tightened.
They were naked, in her bed, after having made love earlier. Now he was whispering in her ear, telling her how he wanted to make love to her so that she would forget the near tragic incident earlier that day.
After providing Detective Adams and the police with all the information they needed, Blade had taken Sam home and run warm, sudsy water in the Jacuzzi tub, then had gotten in with her. With strong gentle hands he had tried soothing away all her hurts and fears.
He had dried her off, wrapped her securely in a towel and taken her to the living room, where he had held her in his arms until she had gone to sleep. She had awakened hours later in bed and wearing the nightgown he had put on her.
She had gotten dressed and had gone downstairs to find Blade in the kitchen, preparing dinner. The moment he looked up and saw her, he'd stopped what he was doing, moved toward her and pulled her into his arms. He had swept her off her feet, taken her upstairs and had made love to her until they were both satisfied and completely drained. Then they had drifted off to sleep until she awoke from the nightmare of her recent ordeal at the hands of Frank Denton.
She s.h.i.+fted in bed and turned toward Blade and pulled his mouth to hers, eased her tongue between the lips she adored and kissed him in a way she needed to. He responded the way she wanted, taking over the kiss, and had her moaning moments later.
He pulled his mouth away and trailed kisses down her throat before returning to her mouth again. Later, he gathered her into his arms. ”Hungry?” he asked in a deep voice.
She gave him an affirmative nod. Other than the bagel and coffee she'd had for breakfast, she hadn't eaten anything. ”What were you cooking?”
”Baked chicken, rice pilaf, green beans and corn bread,” he said proudly.
She smiled and licked her lips. ”I can't wait.”
He laughed. ”I prepared enough, since I invited your parents over.”
She blinked in surprise. ”My parents?”
”Yes. I can expect Luke and Mac to entertain them for just so long. The only reason they haven't shown up is because I convinced them you needed your rest.”
Sam appreciated that.
”They were worried about you, which is why they flew into town in the first place. They suspected something was up. I talked to them earlier today and a.s.sured them I would take care of you.”
”You did?”
”Yes, and I might as well confess right now that I told them I was going to marry you.”
She studied him for a moment, trying to gauge if he was serious or not. ”Are you?” she asked.
”Am I what?”
”Going to marry me?”
”I hope that I am. Will you marry me?”
She smiled. ”Is this an official proposal?”
”Yes,” he said with a serious expression on his face. ”I thought I'd never ask a woman to marry me, but I need you in my life, Sam. And if you prefer to live here because of your law practice, then I can move to Oklahoma City.”
”But what about your company?”
”I can set up a satellite office here. Houston is only eighty minutes away by air, and Slade and I have been thinking about purchasing a Cessna for the company, anyway.”
”You can fly a plane?”
He laughed. ”After the incident with Christy a couple of years ago, we decided to all get our pilot's licenses.” He didn't say anything for a moment and then asked, ”So, will you marry me?”
She reached up and placed her arms around his neck. ”Yes, I will marry you.”
Blade's smile spread from ear to ear. ”I might as well do another one of those sensual confession things,” he said.
”About what?”
He reached out and gently rubbed her stomach. ”I told your parents that we would make lots of babies.”
She held his gaze. ”And you want babies, Blade? Lots of them?”
”Yes, I want babies, lots of them. And for a man who'd never given a thought to being a father, that's saying a lot.”
Sam nodded. Yes, it certainty was. She swallowed, thinking she might as well tell him her suspicions. ”What if I told you there's a possibility that-”
”You're already pregnant.” He finished her sentence for her.
Her eyes widened. ”Yes. How did you know?”
He told her about his great-grandmother's fish dreams.
”And your family believes there's a connection?” she asked in amazement.
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