If Only (3 page)

Scott leaned down and kissed her forehead, brushing a stray curl away from her face. “I’ll try to come home early today. I don’t like the thought of you being alone when you feel so sick. I’ll tell Monica that tomorrow, the two of us are taking the entire day off. Okay?” he questioned.

“Sure, that sounds like fun,” she whispered.

“Okay, baby.” He pressed his lips against Bree’s temple, and then he brushed away some of the crimson hair that had fallen into her emerald eyes. “Get some sleep, baby. I love you.”

*

Bree watched miserably as he walked away, and she longed to call him back, to beg him not to leave her because she was so afraid if he left, he wouldn’t come back. That thought made her feel even worse. Her eyelids began to feel heavy so she closed her eyes and welcomed sleep.

She was awakened by the sound of the telephone ringing. She rolled over in bed and peered at the clock, realizing she had been sleeping for nearly two hours, and remarkably, she felt like a new woman. No more nausea and no more fatigue. She wished now she had gone in to the office with Scott.

Lifting the receiver, she murmured with a yawn, “Hello?”

“Bree, darling, you sound absolutely wretched! Are you still feeling crappy?”

Bree couldn’t help but smile. Heather had been one of her best friends for years, and she had never known her to mince words. She told you like it was, and if you didn’t like it, then tough.

She cleared her throat and then replied, “I was as sick as a dog earlier so I went back to bed. Now I feel like I could eat a horse!”

Heather laughed. “Remember what the doctor said, Bree. She said that was perfectly normal.”

“Doctor?” Bree questioned. “When did I see a doctor?”

“You’re kidding, right? You and I went to see Dr. Sloan yesterday. You didn’t even tell Scott. You said you wanted to know for sure first. What did he say when you told him? Did he flip out?”

Bree stood clutching the telephone in bewilderment. She curled the telephone cord around her little finger.
What on earth is Heather babbling about?
“Did Scott flip out about what?”

“About you being pregnant!” Heather exclaimed, and Bree dropped the telephone receiver.

Chapter 2

Bree stood in the entryway of the kitchen surveying her handiwork. She carefully extinguished the match she had used to light the array of candles scattered throughout the dining room.

She had a candlelight dinner prepared with all of Scott’s favorite dishes, including his mother’s famous recipe for pot roast with potatoes and carrots. The large octagon-shaped glass dining room table had been lovingly set with their good china and silverware, complete with a bouquet of red Christmas roses she had handpicked from their backyard earlier that afternoon.

The champagne glasses were filled to their rims with non-alcoholic champagne, and a large tray of hand-dipped chocolate-covered strawberries was sitting in the refrigerator.

Bree walked over to the wall and dimmed the chandelier, allowing the candlelight to be the only illumination in the house. The romantic and sultry voice of Mariah Carey was playing softly in the background.

She took a deep breath. Tonight was the night. After calling the doctor’s office this afternoon and confirming what Heather had told her, she was now prepared to tell her husband. She chewed nervously on her lower lip as she drew the red satin robe tightly around her body. She knotted the tie at her waist.

When she had examined herself earlier in the full-length gilded mirror on the door of their walk-in closet, she thought she might already be starting to show. But wouldn’t Scott have noticed?

She was secretly afraid if she began to show already, Scott wouldn’t find her attractive anymore.

But if he was really her husband he wouldn’t care, would he? Bryan would have, but Scott wasn’t Bryan.

Her heart dropped when she heard the sound of a key being turned in the lock. She took this final opportunity to finish setting the table: centering the silver candlesticks, straightening the roses in the crystal vase, and then running a shaking hand through her soft curls.

When Scott walked into the room, she almost forgot to breathe. He still took her breath away, even after all this time. She just prayed that once again, she wouldn’t lose him. He was becoming such an important part of her life, and she couldn’t bear the thought of never being held in his strong arms again.

She looked up to meet Scott’s steady brown gaze, a fire beginning in the pit of her stomach. Scott was staring at her as though she was the main course, and she realized she liked that feeling. She was falling in love with her husband all over again.

“Hello, darling,” Bree murmured as she wound her arms around his neck and looked deep into his dark eyes. “How was your day?”

*

Scott looked around the room, noting the romantic music, the candles lit on almost every available surface, and the slow music playing from the CD player in the kitchen. His gaze finally landed on his wife. She was mesmerizing in a mid-calf red satin chemise, which showed off her shapely long legs. A matching red satin robe was cinched and knotted around her waist. His mouth was beginning to water, and it wasn’t for the roast simmering in the crock pot!

A slow smile spread across his handsome face as he wrapped his muscular arms around her slender frame. “Uneventful,” he replied. “What about yours?”

*

Bree chuckled nervously. “Eventful.” She dropped her gaze from his, afraid he would be able to see right through her. This man knew her too well.

She released a relieved sigh when Scott wisely dropped the subject. She just needed a little more time to get her bearings. She had thought this would be easy, but when she had seen him, her well-planned announcement just hadn’t seemed right. The soft piano introduction to a song played on the stereo.

Scott cleared his throat and then held out his hand for his wife. “My beautiful bride, may I have the pleasure of this dance?”

She reached instinctively for his outstretched hand. He held her against his chest. Her head was resting comfortably against his shoulder as they began to sway to the slow and sensual sound of the music. He grinned.

Bree closed her eyes as she savored the feeling of her husband’s arms wrapped around her. She was happy for the first time in several years, and she wished this feeling could last forever. Scott would never hurt her. She had never felt this safe and protected in a man’s arms before. She sang along to the music, the sound of her lilting soprano voice filling the room.

Scott smiled as he pressed her tighter against his chest. He gently kissed the top of her head. “Just in case I haven’t told you, Red,” he whispered into her ear, “you look ravishing, my love.”

She giggled, pausing to press her knee gently against a particular part of his anatomy before they continued dancing in circles around the living room. “I don’t want to look ravishing,” she confessed with a naughty grin. Her fingertips danced down the expanse of his chiseled chest as she leaned over to whisper into his ear, “I want to
be
ravished.”

He raised his eyebrows, his gaze wicked as it raked over her. “I think I can manage that, my darling.” He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, dangling her upside down as he carried her into their bedroom and tossed her in a playful manner onto their king-sized bed. As she stood up, he grabbed her hands, forcing them behind her back as he pressed himself against her for a lengthy kiss.

She laughed flirtatiously as she pulled her hands out of his grasp and pushed them against his chest. “Not without eating first, my love. I don’t know about you, but I need my strength!”

“Wuss!” he called after her with a chuckle as she pulled away from his grasp. Bree laughed as she stepped backward, just out of his reach. She had almost made it to the safety of the kitchen when his strong arms encircled her slender waist.

He shook his dark head with amusement. His hands had snaked around her frame, and he was now spinning her around in circles, her feet dangling off the floor. Her long auburn hair was down in all its glory, flying in all directions, and she looked breathtakingly beautiful.

Bree threw her head back in reckless abandon as her husband twirled her around and around in circles. Her cheeks were tinged pink with pleasure as she threw her arms tightly around Scott’s neck, instinctively seeking his protection. She chuckled as she placed her head onto his shoulder, and he slowly stopped spinning her.

“Ooh,” she whispered as she was released from his grasp, “I feel a little lightheaded.”

He locked his arms around her waist and pressed her against him, his mouth coming down to meet hers. His hot breath caressed her cheek as he teased her, placing soft kisses along the length of her cheek. His kisses moved downward, to the corner of her mouth.

She released a frustrated groan as she forcefully grabbed the sides of his face and pressed her mouth against his. Her fingertips traced his jawline before running through his hair, tugging playfully on the dark locks. Bree reached for the satin tie knotted around her waist. She peered up at him, her expression coy as she slowly loosened the knot and allowed her red satin robe to gape open. Scott goggled as she lowered the material so it draped seductively off her ivory shoulders, revealing a glimpse of her perfectly proportioned breasts. She released her hold on the delicate fabric, allowing it to fall in a crimson puddle at her feet.

Bree squealed as he lifted her up into his arms and carried her over to the bed, her arms holding onto his neck for dear life. He laid her down gently and then sat down beside her, his hands running through her auburn curls.

She sighed contentedly as his strong hands firmly grasped the spaghetti straps of her red satin chemise. He lowered one of the thin straps slowly, revealing the smooth and creamy flesh underneath.

He trailed kisses onto her baby-soft skin, beginning at the nape of her neck. The rough stubble on his chin tickled Bree as he began raining tender kisses onto her now-exposed shoulder.

She closed her eyes at the rush of pleasure washing over her. It was like she was experiencing the joys of sex for the first time. And in a way she was. Scott had always been an attentive lover to her in the past, but after everything that had happened with Bryan, it was different, like her body had been awakened after a long hibernation. She felt like a new woman, and this woman was happy and loved.

She pushed her hands against Scott’s muscular chest, knocking him backward onto the bed. He just lay there for a minute in stunned silence before grinning wickedly. She gave her husband a sly wink as she grabbed the hem of his navy polo shirt and pulled it over his head. Grasping it by the collar, she twirled it above her head before tossing it onto the carpet.

He reached for her, but she quickly swatted his hands away.

“Not yet, big boy,” she murmured with feminine satisfaction. She grasped the hem of her chemise and removed it in one swift motion. Using her discarded chemise as a rope, she tied her husband’s hands and then brought them up above his head, leaving him completely helpless against her.

Bree pressed her body against his, her breasts heaving against his massive chest. She grabbed him by the shoulders, moving her body up and down in a fluid motion, causing her nipples to rub provocatively against his broad frame. Scott writhed in agony underneath her. He groaned, his body responding to her each and every touch. He tried to reach for her, but with his hands bound, his attempts were in vain.

She chuckled as her fingers danced across his chest, his body tightening at her touch. Her fingertips grazed one dark nipple, her mouth coming down to encircle the tight bud with her tongue, and then continuing on to the other. Then she began to suckle greedily as her hands went farther south, reaching for the fly of his stone-washed blue jeans.

Bree’s fingertips brushed against the coarse fabric, and she grinned with pleasure as he swelled beneath her hand. She unsnapped his jeans and then reached for his zipper.

Her right hand traveled up his chiseled chest. She caressed his rippled muscles, her fingertips investigating each and every inch of his exquisite masculine body. Then her left hand wandered inside his jeans, exploring the rigid core of his masculinity. Her fingers stroked the length of his shaft, reveling in the size and strength.

Scott groaned as his body shifted beneath Bree. “Woman, do you know what you’re doing?” he questioned, his voice rough.

Bree gazed up at him innocently, her emerald green eyes wide with mischief. “I’m playing with my new toy,” she murmured with a devilish grin. She bit on her lower lip as she looked over at her husband. “Although, I would probably have more fun if I had somebody to play with me.” She pouted.

Her husband grinned up at her as he held out his tied hands for her inspection. He sighed. “And I can’t play with you because my hands are tied. Literally,” he stated with a rueful look on his face.

She leaned forward to untie the bonds around his wrists, her bare breasts pressing against his naked chest. She untied the knot expertly and then wrapped her arms around his neck.

Scott flipped her onto her back, rolling on top of her. He stifled her laugh by pressing his mouth against hers. His hands cupped her tenderly, his mouth coming down to worship her exposed breasts. He laved one engorged tip with his tongue, and then the other. He chuckled when she squirmed beneath him. He was teasing her, tormenting her, and he was enjoying it just a little too much.

But Bree had other plans. Her hands reached up to stroke his cheek, her emerald green gaze seeming to pierce through to his soul. She tugged on his dark brown hair, pulling his head down. Her tongue traced the outside of his ear, stroking the delicate folds, and then she began to plant kisses down the length of his jawline.

His callused hand traveled slowly up the length of her creamy thigh, his palm resting on her bare skin. Bree shivered underneath his hands, her body quivering with desire.

His dark head pressed against the flat plane of her abdomen, resting against her body. Then he began to rain soft kisses down the expanse of her bare stomach.