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She grinned and tilted her chin back to smile at him. "Yes, sir."
"I don't know what I'd do without you, DeVane."
He pressed his mouth to hers, and Willow held on tight to this hard, strong man whose only weakness was her. As she kissed him with everything she had, she conveyed with her tongue in his mouth what her heart was still too afraid to speak in words.
Twenty Three
Willow woke alone. On the other side of the wall in the bathroom, she heard Raith's shower running. A smile spread across her face as she listened. She yawned and stretched, feeling pretty good for almost getting killed twelve hours ago. It was the bed, she decided. She liked his bed, even if it was smaller than hers. It was kind of fun, having to sleep closer to him. Besides, his sheets smelled like him. God, the whole room smelled like him.
Content, she closed her eyes and breathed in a deep breath, sighing as she exhaled.
But the blissful mood didn't last. Her stomach rolled as soon as she sat up. That had been happening more and more recently. Pregnancy was taking control. Trying to ignore the queasiness, she threw the sheets off her lap. She had no sooner swung her feet to the floor, however, than her stomach revolted.
Knowing she couldn't fight the nausea back, she bounded across the floor, out of the bedroom, and into his bathroom. As her knees hit the tile, she desperately wished Malloy had more than one toilet because as she commenced to vomit, he whipped the shower curtain aside to see what was going on.
Her head still hung limply over the lid as he turned off the water and stepped from the tub, naked and streaming wet. Kneeling behind her, he gathered her mass of hair into one hand and held it out of her face. Too ill to be mortified at his presence, she merely fell back against him when she was finished, exhausted and panting.
Raith took control of the situation, pulling her closer even as he reached around her with one hand to flush. He handed her some tissue so she could wipe her mouth. She tossed the used paper in the trashcan and let out a breath before relaxing... only to get soaked through.
"You're wet."
He didn't answer but reached behind him and grasped the towel hanging by his head to yank it down. Instead of drying himself, he patted her back where he'd drenched her. She closed her eyes and wiggled closer to rest her head on his shoulder, too tired and sick to care about anything.
"Thanks," she murmured.
"No problem." He tucked her hair out of her face. "Feel any better?"
"Not much," she groused, then smiled after inhaling a big whiff of his wet, clean skin.
"What's it feel like?" he asked after a moment.
Willow opened her eyes. "What? Haven't you ever thrown up before?"
"Not the morning sickness." He rolled his eyes before adding, "The baby. Can you even feel anything in there yet?"
"Actually, I think I can," Willow said, turning to look at him. She was surprised by the excitement she found in his eyes.
"Really?" he said, lowering his gaze to her stomach. "What's it feel like?"
"Like... well, kind of like a bubble?"
He frowned. "A bubble?"
Willow grinned and pressed the palm of her hand over her still-flat belly. "I can only feel it when I reach for something or stretch my stomach muscles. There's this tiny little knot, or bubble-like thing in there. It's... it's actually really amazing."
Raith reached out, hesitant at first. Thrilled he was showing any interest, Willow took his wrist and guided him the rest of the way to her stomach. The warmth of his fingers immediately soaked through the long shirt she was wearing and into her skin.
"Has it kicked yet?"
Willow grinned. "It probably won't even have legs for another few weeks. So, no, I haven't felt any kicking. And thank God. Camille used to swear Will was doing chin-ups from her ribs."
Raith lifted his face. She'd never seen this sensitive side of him before. It confused her, made her want... she didn't know what she wanted, but it was definitely more than she thought he could give.
"It doesn't seem fair," he murmured, once again smoothing out her messy bed head.
Willow closed her eyes and went back to resting her cheek on his shoulder. "What doesn't?"
"You get all the morning sickness, the kicks in the ribs and the bloated stomach and swollen ankles, and I get nine months of sex without condoms."
