Page 77 of Fight from the Heart

“You’re everything.”

I’m having your baby.

The words rest on my tongue, which tangles with his, and I’m lost to the sudden sensation of him filling me once again, wiping away the reality of our position. Syringa gave into the Greek god, letting him play her over and over again. I seem to be no different from the namesake he’s given me.

Despite my position—back to the tile, legs around Jacob’s hips—he takes his time to go slow until I can’t take it any longer. I break free of his mouth and demand he move faster.

“The wood nymph requests, and the god follows.” He hammers into me, jiggling me against the sweating tile at my back. My arms wrap around his neck, allowing him to move me as he wishes as the telltale signs flutter in my belly. Our skin slaps together. Our breaths gasp at the exertion. Jacob hoists me higher, and I slam down on him, forcing him deeper.

I scream his name, and he stills, pressing me into the tile. Denotating within me, we come in tandem. It’s the most incredible sensation.

“I feel so alive with you,” Jacob says, pulling back to kiss me, fierce and hungry before breaking from my lips for my neck.

“What are you doing to me?” he whimpers. Our heavy breathing mixes with the pattering of the shower. Still within me, he holds me in this position for another minute, and I wonder the same thing about him.

How am I going to tell him?

+ + +

“I’m famished,” I blurt out once we exit the shower, and I wrap in a robe he offers me while he drapes a towel around his hips.

“My assistant quit, so I don’t know if I have anything edible,” he teases.

“God, what a bitch. Who could quit you?”

He mischievously smiles while tugging me close for a quick kiss. “Don’t talk about yourself like that.” His mouth lands on mine again, and I could spend the rest of my life kissing him. It’s a dangerous thought.

“Get back in bed. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

Returning to the bed, I fix the messed up spread of blankets and remove the robe, crawling under the covers. After tugging the blanket to my neck, I draw my knees to my chest, staring out the window while I wait for Jacob. It’s late afternoon or early evening. I’ve lost track of time.

I need to tell him.

With each passing hour, I feel more hopeful he’ll accept my circumstance. He’ll accept the baby, but I’m still not certain. Everything is so raw and fresh. It has hardly been twenty-four hours since his return. He tells me he’s staying permanently, and I want to believe him.

When he returns to the room, he carries a tray piled with an assortment of items. Crackers and cheese. Peanut butter, a cut apple, and a small bowl of raisins. A bottle of wine under his arm. He sets the tray over my legs like he did when I was sick and in this very bed. Then he holds up the wine.

“For you, not me.”

I shake my head. “I don’t need it.”

He licks his lips. “I don’t want you to stop because of me. I’m doing good. Every day, it gets better.”

Reaching for his wrist, I cover it with my hand.

“I’m doing it for me. I don’t need it. Water’s fine.”

Jacob’s brows crease, but he sets the bottle of wine on the bookcase behind the bed and heads to the bathroom. He returns with a glass of water. Jacob climbs into bed next to me and holds out a slice of apple, smothered in peanut butter with a few raisins on top.

“What are you doing?” I giggle as the piece nears my lips.

“Feeding my angel. Now open.” I take the bite he offers me, humming at the combination in my mouth. He’s sweet, and I want to believe it can last. My thoughts settle around the truth I’m holding in. He’s going to think I tricked him, like her. He’s going to think I’ve done this on purpose, like her. My advantage is, there really will be a baby. His baby.

“You’re very quiet over there.” His somber voice breaks into my thoughts.

“How does it work for you? The treatment?” I pause. “You don’t have to tell me, but I’m curious. I don’t want to trigger anything.”

Jacob chuckles, reaching for a cracker and cheese combination. “You won’t trigger me, but I think to be safe, I should remove all the alcohol from the house.”