The One (The Wilde Brothers)

Chapter 25, THE ONE

Chapter Twenty-Five

Joe woke with the light streaming in the bedroom window and a woman draped half over him. Margaret was sound asleep, and he smiled at how many times they each had awoken during the night. He'd made love to her three times. The last time, he had set her on top of him and let her ride as he played with her breasts, which he'd pictured a hundred times in his head. He had never imagined they would be this perfect.

He ran his hand over her head, and she groaned, running her own hand over his chest and lower. "Hey, good morning," he said.

She blinked and looked up him with a lazy contentedness he'd never seen in her eyes before. She rested her chin on his chest and took a deep breath. "We should go see Ryan," she said.

He ran his hand over her dark, tangled hair, just watching her. When she sucked in her lower lip nervously, he could tell she was starting to pull away.

"We will," he said, running his hand over her back and down lower. "Are you sore?"

He smiled when she blushed, and he rolled her over, the sheets tangling around them. His cell phone buzzed, and he dropped his head and groaned, "Great timing."

"Go answer it, Joe," Margaret urged him. "It could be important."

Joe slipped out of bed and went into the bathroom, where his clothes were still in a heap on the floor. He pulled the cell phone from his pocket. "Yeah?" he said.

"It's Logan. Just checking to see if you got lost."

Joe didn't miss the hint of mischief in his brother's voice. "How's Ryan?" he asked. He could hear the bed squeak and then Margaret's footsteps on the floor.

"He's wondering what happened to his dad. He's kind of worried. I think he believes you may have taken off and married that blonde who left her handprint on your face."

Joe heard the floor squeak behind him and watched as Margaret tied a blue housecoat closed. "Tell him I'm with Margaret and we'll be up soon."

"Oh," his brother said with a chuckle. "Sorry to wake you."

Joe hung up and noticed the blush rise on Margaret's face as he stood naked in her house in front of her. He stepped closer to her. "Ready to go see Ryan?"

She smiled with such shyness that he wanted to laugh at her. "Just need to feed the horses first, and you need to get some clean clothes," she said, setting her hand playfully on his chest.

He set his over hers, pulling her closer. "I do, so I guess we'd best hurry," he agreed. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her, giving her a proper good-morning kiss.