Flames of Attraction

chapter 7



“So, Quade Westmoreland, where have you been for the past nine months?”

Quade saw anger flicker in the eyes of Sebastian Steele.

The four men had come inside and stood in the living room, all in a single file, with arms folded across their chests staring at him, evidently waiting for his response to Sebastian’s question. The room was filled with thick tension and a part of Quade understood. He, his brothers and cousins would be doing the same thing if his cousin Delaney, who had grown up overprotected by her five brothers and six cousins, had gotten pregnant and it had taken the man responsible almost ten months to show up.

The stubborn part of Quade felt he didn’t owe these men any explanation, especially if Cheyenne hadn’t given them one. But then another part—the one that understood the role of a protector—could accept how they felt and didn’t mind stating his case. Who knew? They might eventually become allies instead of enemies and help in his cause.

Mimicking their stance, Quade placed his arms over his chest, as well, sending out a strong message that he was not easily intimidated. “Trust me, I would have come sooner had I known.”

Chance Steele lifted a dark brow and dropped his hands to his sides in surprise for the second time that night. “You didn’t know?”

“Didn’t have a clue.” Quade decided not to go into any details.

“And when did you find out?” the one Quade knew to be Morgan Steele asked.

“A few days ago. I saw her, pregnant, on the cover of a magazine.”

The four nodded as if they were familiar with that particular magazine. “And after finding out, you came directly here?” Sebastian Steele asked.

“Yes.” Quade then felt it was his turn to ask a question. “At any time did Cheyenne mention who had fathered her babies to you?”

All four men shook their heads but it was Donovan Steele who spoke. “No, she’s been withholding your identity. We figured she must have found out that you were married or something.” He then frowned. “Are you married?”

It was Quade’s turn to shake his head. “Not yet, but I hope to marry pretty soon.”

Chance Steele lifted a brow. “Cheyenne?”

“Yes,” Quade said, dropping his hands to his sides, loosening up somewhat.

It was Sebastian who chuckled. “Good luck. Cheyenne’s stubborn as hell. She likes her freedom and detests anyone telling her what to do.”

Quade rubbed a hand back and forth across his chin in frustration. “I gathered as much.”

“But you did ask her?” Morgan wanted to know.

“Yes, several times, but she turned me down each time.”

“But you won’t give up,” Donovan said. It was more a statement than a question.

“No, I won’t give up,” Quade stated, determined. “I’m a Westmoreland and one thing a Westmoreland does is take responsibility for his actions, no matter what they are. Had I known about Cheyenne’s pregnancy, we wouldn’t be standing here having this conversation now, trust me.”

For some reason, he felt they did trust him, or at the very least they were beginning to. “So, do you have any ideas that might help change her mind?” he asked.

It was Sebastian who chuckled and then said, “Prayer might work.”

* * *

Cheyenne shifted positions in bed and seconds later her eyes flew open.

She glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand and when she saw it was almost ten at night, she kicked the covers off her and quickly swung her legs off the bed, wondering how she could have dozed off.

The moment she stood, she remembered. Quade. The kiss. Him leaving to go outside for his gear and condoms. She inhaled deeply thinking he never got the chance to put the condoms to any use. She had passed out on him. She hadn’t known how tired she was until she had lain on the bed.

Wondering just where Quade was and knowing that she needed to check on her babies, she straightened her clothes and raked several fingers through her disheveled hair in an attempt to make herself presentable. Leaving her bedroom, she began walking down the hall toward the nursery. As she walked, Cheyenne swore she could hear male voices speaking in a hushed tone.

Raising a confused brow, she turned and continued walking and, when she entered the living room, she came up short. Quade and her cousins were sitting at her dining-room table, and of all things, they were playing cards. What on earth! When did her cousins arrive? Quade had to have been the one to let them in. Did they know who he was? And just what had Quade told them about their relationship?

She passed through her living room and stood at the entrance to her dining room, not yet noticed by the five men. When a few seconds passed and they still hadn’t noticed her she cleared her throat.

“Just what’s going on here?”

Five pairs of eyes turned toward her, and unsurprisingly it was her cousin Sebastian who spoke. “This guy claims he’s your babies’ daddy. So we figured before he could be allowed in the family, he had to prove his worth by playing a game of cards with us.”

Cheyenne frowned. It was on the tip of her tongue to say that there was no way Quade would be a part of the family regardless of his card-playing skills. Instead she asked, strictly out of curiosity, “And how did he do?”

It was Morgan who leaned back in his chair, smiled and said, “Not bad. In fact, he won all of our money, which means he’s definitely in.”

“Besides,” Donovan said, grinning, “we’ll let him in anyway since motorcycle-racer extraordinaire Thorn Westmoreland is his cousin.”

* * *

“I really like your cousins,” Quade said as he and Cheyenne stood together at the door after seeing the Steele brothers out.

Closing the door, Cheyenne glanced over at Quade. “And it was obvious that they liked you, as well. Which has me curious as to what you told them.”

“About what?”

“About us.”

Quade smiled. So she was thinking of the two of them in terms of an “us.” “I didn’t tell any of our secrets, especially the details of how we met on the beach that night. I figured that part really wasn’t their business. Besides, they were mainly interested in knowing where I’d been the last nine months.”

Cheyenne headed toward the kitchen area. “Although my family asked, I never gave them your name.”

“You didn’t know my name. At least not all of it.”

She glanced around the kitchen, seeing how clean it looked, appreciating his thoughtfulness in taking care of things while she slept. “I could have asked the hotel to check their records for the information.”

“They wouldn’t have told you anything.”

She looked over at him. “Why not?” She wondered if he would admit that he had been there on government business that night...just as she had been. No information about him would have been given out, because it would have been considered classified.

“They just wouldn’t have.” He then quickly changed the subject by asking, “Does the kitchen meet with your approval?”

She smiled over at him. “Yes. Thanks. You really didn’t have to do it. And I see you even folded the baby clothes.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Cheyenne. I enjoyed doing it. And I checked on the babies periodically and they seemed to be doing okay.”

“Usually they sleep through the night. Every once in a while Troy might take a notion to cause problems, but otherwise, it’s smooth sailing for the rest of the evening.”

“And what time do they wake up?” Quade asked putting litter from the table into the garbage.

“Too early. Try around five in the morning.”

“Whoa. That’s early,” Quade said as amusement lit his eyes before he turned to her refrigerator.

“I’ve gotten used to it,” she said, and not for the first time noticed how Quade seemed to dominate the entire room. His back was to her as he put a couple of sodas away, and she realized he looked just as sexy from the back as he did from the front. Her heart jolted when she remembered earlier in her bedroom how the front of that body had pressed against hers.

Thinking it was time to shift her thoughts elsewhere she said, “Is Thorn Westmoreland really your cousin?”

Quade glanced over his shoulder at her and chuckled. “Yes, Thorn’s my cousin. Have you read any Rock Mason novels?”

“Of course. I read as many as I could get my hands on while I was pregnant. Why?”

A smile touched Quade’s lips. “Because Rock Mason’s real name is Stone Westmoreland. He’s Thorn’s brother and my cousin, as well.”

She blinked. “You’re kidding, right?”

He shook his head, grinning. “No, I’m not kidding. I’m dead serious.” Quade wasn’t exactly sure why he was enjoying seeing the look of shock on her face so much. She looked totally beautiful whenever a bombshell hit her.

“Wow, that’s great, and I really mean it. He’s a fantastic author.”

“I’ll mention you said that the next time I talk to him,” Quade said, before turning back around to the refrigerator. “Aren’t you hungry?” he tossed over his shoulder.

“No. I usually don’t eat a lot. In fact, I eat more now because of the babies. I have to do whatever it takes to keep my milk supply up.”

He turned and his gaze automatically went to her chest and was ridiculously pleased when the nipples of her breasts seemed to press tight against her blouse, under the onslaught on his intense stare. Childbirth seemed to have made them fuller, and undeniably tempting.

A swarm of sensations seemed to engulf him and he knew the cause. That night in Egypt, her breasts, like all the rest of her, had been for his pleasure and he in turn had made sure she had gotten hers. And she had, plenty of times over.

Don’t even try it, he thought to himself. What you’re thinking about doing is worse than taking candy from a baby.

His gaze shifted from her chest to her face and he saw in her eyes the same need that he felt. He knew this was crazy, but the attraction between them was back. It was making his body throb.

He hadn’t slept with another woman since the night he had shared with her. He hadn’t wanted another woman, and now he knew why. He also knew things would always be this way with them—instant attraction, quick response, unhurried fulfillment. He had just walked back into her life today, shown up on her doorstep just this evening. But they didn’t have to go through any long, drawn out preliminaries. Neither did they have to take time to get reacquainted, at least not this way. This was one area where they knew each other inside out. He knew exactly what he had to do to make her moan, calling out his name in a raspy tone while begging for more.

And he had become privy to all that information in one night.

Their time together in Egypt would always hold special memories for him and he hoped the same held true for her. And in the end they had produced three beautiful human beings who would be a constant reminder of that night.

“I thought you were taking something out of the refrigerator to eat,” he heard her say.

Quade felt his mouth stretch into a smile as he crossed the room, closing the distance separating them. “It just occurred to me that I have a taste for something altogether different, and what I want isn’t in the refrigerator,” he said smoothly.

“Where is it then?”

He heard the nervous hitch in her voice and was able, without very much effort, to inhale her heated scent. His gaze raked over her and he took in everything about her. There was her beautiful brown skin—a complexion that was smooth and creamy, absolutely flawless. She had shoulder-length, dark hair that hung straight with a little curl at the ends, and black eyes and high cheekbones that gave her an exotic look. Then there was her body, as perfect as it had been before. It was still model-thin, but now there was a lushness, a ripeness, to her perfect curves that were the result of motherhood.

He came to a stop in front of her and reached out and took her hand and pulled her closer to him, plastering her body to his. She may have seen how aroused he was when he crossed the room, but now he wanted her to feel just how aroused he was.

Quade pressed his body even closer to her, exhilarated in the contact. He leaned forward and whispered deep in her ear while taking his free hand and lowering it to the apex of her thighs and touching her through the denim material of her jeans. “Here, Cheyenne. What I want to taste is right here.”

* * *

Cheyenne knew this was madness, heated lust of the worst kind. But as she felt his hard erection pressed against her, all she could think about was him sliding it inside of her hot body. And she was hot. It seemed she had buttons only he knew how to push. She hadn’t slept with another man since that night she had spent with him, and tonight, now, this very moment, her body was letting her know it. It was craving a time it had been fulfilled to an infinite degree.

“Do you remember how things were between us the last time?” she heard him ask. His voice was hot and husky against her ear, while his jeans-clad thigh brushed against hers over and over again.

“Yes, I remember,” she said, barely getting the words out. Sharp, sensuous tingles flowing through her made her want an intense sexual encounter with him even more.

“And do you recall how I had developed a taste for a certain part of you?”

She remembered. There was no way she could ever forget. The memory had returned to her numerous times. He had been intense in his hunger, extremely greedy, almost devouring her whole.

“And if I recall,” he said, taking the tip of his tongue and caressing the underside of her ear, sending more sensuous shivers through her body, “you enjoyed it immensely. I would even go so far as to say you loved what I was doing to you.”

Yes, she had. Under the onslaught of his mouth, his very skillful tongue, she had come apart, numerous times. Each had resulted in an orgasm that had shook her to the core, splintered her in a million pieces, only for him to put her back together again to start all over.

“Yes, I loved what you did,” she said. There was no way she could lie and deny such a thing as not being true. She felt no shame in admitting what was fact. Especially now when she felt weak just thinking about it.

“I’m glad. And how would you like to experience that moment all over again? With my mouth worshipping you that way? Do you want it?”

She met his gaze. Felt the heat of his desire as his eyes burned into hers. What they had felt before was a crazy attraction that could only end one way, the way that it had. Now what she felt was intense sexual longing, propelled by an almost unbearable need. So she said the only words that she could. “Yes. I want it.”