Anything for You Ch. 09

"Sam?" He sounded breathless.

"Still here."

I felt his smile of recollection against my lips. "If I promise never to call you 'Kiddo' again, will you promise not to run out on me this time?"

As I gave a gulp of laughter, he tightened his arms around me and tumbled us sideways to the bed. "I don't think I could run if I tried," I panted, whimpering as he slid out of me and attempted to straighten his legs, pushing mine forward with his. "Right now, I don't even think I can walk."

"Yeah," he murmured contentedly. "Get used to that."

Giggling, I closed my eyes as he snuggled up to me, his hand closing over my breast. "Thought you said you'd only last thirty seconds? I made that about forty-five," I teased then yelped as he pinched my nipple. "What did you do—imagine the England football team losing the World Cup final or something?"

"Marry me."

Opening my eyes, my heart seemed to skip a beat as I stared at the bedpost in front of me and the tinsel wrapped around it.

Football...

"Sam?"

I swallowed hard, the tinsel becoming a shimmering purple haze. "There's something you—something I should have told..." My voice cracked on the words. "Oh God."

"You're crying?"

"No." But as I felt him raise himself on one elbow behind me, I buried my face into the bedclothes.

"Sam, gorgeous." He stroked my hair, sounding ruefully amused. "If it's that terrible an idea—"

"It's not that."

"Then...?"

"You said you wanted a whole team, remember? Subs and all."

There was a pause. And then I felt his arms beneath me, gathering me up from the bed, turning me to face him as though I weighed nothing. "Children?" he demanded, his eyes soft. "That's what this is about? Just because you overheard your mother asking the doctor that time if you'd still be able to have them?"

"You know about that?" I gazed at him incredulously.

"Alice told me. And she said you told her you didn't even hear what the doctor said. That there's probably no reason at all to think you won't be able to have a baby even though you've only got one kidney, so long as you're healthy. So long as we take good care of you. But Sam, even if it turns out we can't have children of our own, I wouldn't care, okay? It's you I want. And anyway, there are other ways of—"

"Alice told you all that?"

"Okay, okay—I'm sorry." His lips twisted guiltily. "But I saw the look on your face when we were talking about it at the Park, all right? When you said you didn't know if you wanted children, I knew damn well you were lying. So I asked her about it yesterday. I knew you'd have talked about it with her. Well," he smiled, "that she'd have wormed the truth out of you at some point, anyway."

"Years ago," I admitted with a wry smile of my own. "But then that's Alice for you."

"She'd have made a good lawyer."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is there any such thing?"

"Oh!" Drew pretended to scowl. "You'll pay for that, Mrs Barnett..."

I shrieked as he scooped me into his arms and promptly rolled on to his back, pulling me on top of him. "Mrs Barnett?" I panted laughing. "Wait a minute, when did I say 'yes'?"

He grinned up at me. "You will," he promised, sliding his hand behind my neck. And pulling me down, he kissed me, slowly and comprehensively, until I was dizzy with pleasure. "By the way," he murmured just as I felt the first stirrings of his re-arousal beneath me, "what the hell is number ten?"

For a moment, I was too dazed to work out what he meant. And then I remembered. "Oh... I was reading this magazine article on the plane called 99 Ways To Please Your Lover Tonight."

He let out a hungry growl. "Please tell me you've still got that magazine?"

I nodded, amused. "Want me to get it?" Pushing myself upright until I was straddled across his thighs, I glanced around to see where I'd left my bag, my gaze instead falling on the tinsel twisted around the bedpost. "Although..." I gave him a contemplative look and leaned forward to retrieve it, then grinned at his expression when I reached for his hands. "Somebody sitting next to me on the plane highly recommended number seven."

"What's number seven?" He looked suspiciously from me to the tinsel I was wrapping around his wrists.

Looping the tinsel back around the post, I tied the ends in a bow. "Guess."

"Sam?" Drew watched me crawl backwards, his eyes widening when I found the perfect position between his knees. "God, seriously? Because, you know, you don't have to..."

"Ah, but I want to. You see," I sent him a butter-wouldn't-melt smile, "I love you Drew Barnett. Always have, always will."

He groaned as I lowered my head.

"And I'd do anything for you..."

*

Thanks for reading. As always, your votes and comments are very very much appreciated!

Lily -x-