Each thrust seemed to nudge precisely the right spot as his lips sipped lightly from her brow, her cheek. When he drove in suddenly hard and fast, she gripped his head and pulled his mouth to hers. His tongue probed as his body tensed and burned above her. Then she felt the warm touch of his palm sculpting over her breast, the pad of his thumb circling the nipple before he rolled the bead and she gasped as a bright-tipped thrill ripped through her.
His mouth left hers as he levered up. Amid the flickering shadows she could see his muscles glistening and working as his hips ground against hers. She trailed her fingertips down the ruts of his abdomen. Then, scooping them lower, she fanned his damp belly before she gripped his hips, closed her eyes and moved with him, feeling the inferno growing, wishing this sensation would never end.
When he groaned and stiffened above her—when he thrust another time and never more deeply—she reached, held on to his neck and joined him, leaping off that glorious ledge again.
Later they moved into the bedroom. While Bailey slipped under the covers, Mateo built a fire before joining her. Wrapped in each other’s arms, they didn’t wake until after eight. He couldn’t let her leave the bed until they made love again.
An hour later, Mateo met Nichole at the orphanage. They plotted a workable scheme for regular excursions to the city and surrounds, the first planned in the spring to visit the Louvre with a weekend stay over at a boardinghouse. Nichole was beyond excited for the children, many of whom had never set foot much beyond this district. With a deep sense of satisfaction, Mateo signed his name to the draft document. Opening the world could be an invaluable experience for any child, with regard to education as well as a sense of self. He should know.
They ended their meeting on another high note. A child—Nichole wasn’t obliged to say who at this time—would leave the orphanage today for a new home and bright new future. Mateo left the room wondering.
Could this child be Remy? He would only be happy for him if it was.
Mateo had promised Bailey a trip to the neighboring village where she could soak up more of the rustic atmosphere she enjoyed so much. But when he found her in the large undercover area, she and her company looked so enthralled he didn’t have the heart to disturb them. Bailey was playing house with a few of the younger girls, one of them Clairdy, a blond angel who Remy was fond of.
As the girls’ conversation and laughter filtered through the cool late-morning air, Mateo rested back against that enormous oak-tree trunk and crossed his arms. This was the place he’d wanted to escape as a child. These were the grounds he still recalled in disturbing abstract dreams at least once a year. And yet, whenever he visited, the longer he stayed, the more difficult it was to walk away. Today—this minute, watching Bailey play with the girls—he felt that contradiction more strongly than ever. He couldn’t seem to settle the opposing forces playing tug-of-war in his mind. Memories reminded him how much he’d once wanted to leave this place and yet something else whispered for him now to stay.
This, of course, was absurd. He had a practice, friends, a life back home. Here, at times, he felt almost like a ghost.
Bailey saw him and arced an arm through the air. “Mateo, come over! Clairdy and Eleanor are baking cookies. You could help.”
Clairdy and an equally small Eleanor chattered on in French as they rolled and cut play dough then put the tray into their playhouse oven. Mateo smiled. Reminded him of when he’d helped Mama in the kitchen all those years ago.
“What cookies are you baking?” Mateo asked, sauntering over.
“C’est notre recette spéciale,” Clairdy said. It is our special recipe.
“Remember not to have the oven too hot or the bottoms will burn,” he pointed out.
Eleanor immediately pretended to alter a temperature dial.
Clairdy patted her friend on the back and exclaimed, “Bon travail!” Good job!
“These two are inseparable,” Bailey said. “I’ve never seen two children get along so well.”
Clairdy was tugging Mateo’s sleeve. “Would you like to try one, Monsieur?” she said in French.
Mateo leaned down, hands on knees. “Will they need to cool first?”
Clairdy put her hands on her hips and nodded solemnly at the oven before she told Eleanor two minutes longer and then the cookies needed to cool.
Mateo ran a palm down Bailey’s back and whispered, “After the cookies, I’ll take you into town.”
“Perhaps the girls would like to come.”
His brows lifted. No doubt. But, “If we take these two, they’ll all want to go.”
Bailey nodded earnestly, as Clairdy had done a moment ago, then said, “We could hire a bus.”
He laughed. “Perhaps we could.”
“How did things go with Nichole this morning?” she asked turning more toward him. Her blue eyes had never looked more vibrant.
“We worked out an excursion schedule for next year. The older children will go first.”
Bailey’s chin came down. “But no one will miss out.”
“Everyone will get a trip,” he assured her.
Happy with that, she maneuvered in front of him then wrapped his arms around her middle. Her head dropped back against his shoulder as she sighed and took in the industrious scene playing out before them. Eleanor was stepping into a fairy costume; Clairdy was handing her glittering silver wings.
Bailey snuggled back more. “I like it here.”
“The climate suits you.” He grazed his lips near her temple. “Brings out the pink in your cheeks.”
“What about my lips?”
Mateo’s physical responses climbed to red alert. With the children engrossed in their game, he pulled her around a cozy corner, gathered her snug against him and purposefully slanted his head over hers. She immediately melted against him, making him feel invincible … taller and stronger than that five-hundred-year-old oak. When their lips softly parted, he wanted to forget where they were and kiss her again.
“It’s only early,” he murmured against her cheek. “Perhaps we should visit home before trekking off for lunch.”
She dropped a lingering kiss on the side of his mouth. “Maybe we could stay here and eat with the kids.”
Frowning, he pulled back. “Am I losing my charm?”
A teasing glint lit her eyes. “Would that bother you?”
“Only as far as you were concerned.”
He cupped those pink cheeks and kissed her slowly, deeply, until all the world was only them and this embrace. She might have thought he was only flattering her but his last remark was sincere. Today, that other world—with its busy
