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He barked out a harsh laugh. ‘We’ll have to take a rain check. It’s been over a month and I’m gonna die if I don’t get inside you in about ten seconds.’
‘Spoilsport.’ She smiled, her own arousal soaring at his desperation as he rolled them both over to press her into the cushions.
He paused, to place one warm palm on her belly, and stroke the barely visible bump. ‘It’s definitely okay, right?’
She blinked back the silly sting of tears at the question, and nodded.
Don’t get soppy, Tess. Not now.
Settling between her thighs, he gripped her bottom, holding her open to thrust heavily, burying himself deep. She gave a shocked sob at the brutal intrusion, her flesh contracting around him.
‘You okay?’ he groaned, the effort to hold back making sweat pop on his brow.
She gripped his face, tilted her hips. ‘Yes,’ she gasped as he sank deeper. ‘It feels incredible.’
He gave a strained laugh, and then started to move, in slow, strong, insistent strokes, drawing out the pleasure, intensifying it, so different from the fast, frantic couplings of their previous encounters. He forced her into the storm of sensation, making her moan as the climax hit in an almighty wave of pleasure. She heard him crash over the brutal edge behind, his grunt of fulfilment echoing off the sun-drenched walls as their sweat-slicked bodies collapsed onto the bed.
The blissful cloud of afterglow settled around her as the rainbow of sensations dimmed. She caressed the smooth planes of his back, the comforting weight of his body crushing her into the mattress, his head heavy on her shoulder. And dismissed the thumping drumbeat of her heart.
She was fine. They were fine. This was just friends with benefits.
Really, really amazing benefits.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
‘HEY, Tess? I brought supper over.’ Nate didn’t bother to knock on the cottage door as he walked into the kitchen and dumped the bag of take-out on the counter.
Ever since the sonogram a week ago, and the mind-blowing sex that had followed, he’d got into the habit of coming by unannounced. But he always brought take-out and he never stayed over, because that had made the arrangement feel more casual. But he was starting to find being this spontaneous all the time harder and harder to pull off.
His pulse rate edged up at the thought of seeing Tess again. He hadn’t seen her in a couple of days, had deliberately forced himself not to come over, in the hope that she’d call him and ask him to come. They’d had a great time over the weekend, just as they had every night he’d stopped by so far. But she hadn’t called so he’d been forced to take the initiative again.
It didn’t matter if she asked him over or not, he told himself as he strolled into the living room. If she insisted on sticking to her independence, pretending she didn’t need him to come over, he was more than ready to take the choice out of her hands.
‘Tess, where are you?’
He checked his watch. He was a little earlier than usual tonight, but where the hell was she? The skin on the back of his neck prickled as he spotted the door to her study standing open at the end of the corridor, and her empty desk. Hell, had she gone out? And if she had, where had she gone?
Then he heard a muffled groan and his irritation disappeared in a heartbeat. He charged down the corridor, the skin on his neck
now screaming in alarm.
‘Tess, what’s wrong?’ He flung open the door to the bedroom, but the room was empty, the quilt on the bed smooth and the pile of cushions neatly stacked against the headboard.
Panic shot down his spine and his heartbeat pounded against his ribcage. ‘Tess, answer me.’
He heard the groan again followed by a weak ‘I’m fine.’ And shot into the bathroom. His heart stopped cold. Tess stood doubled over the toilet, one arm wrapped around her midriff.
He rushed to her as she straightened and sent him a weak smile. ‘Nate, you’re early.’
‘Tess, what the hell’s going on?’ He scraped the hair back from her face, with both hands, cupped her cheeks. She looked exhausted and so fragile. ‘Is it the baby? Are you okay?’
She covered his hand, then drew away and turned to flush the toilet. ‘Of course. It’s just a bit of morning sickness.’
He let his hands drop, the panic finally receding. ‘But it’s six o’clock in the evening!’ He bit down on his frustration. He’d never felt more impotent in his life. How could she sound so matter-of-fact when she’d been retching so much?
She gave a weak laugh and crossed to the sink to pick up her toothbrush. ‘The baby doesn’t seem to be a very good time-keeper. It doesn’t usually hit this late in the day though.’
The frustration shot up another notch as she brushed her teeth. He waited for her to finish, and for his blood pressure to ease out of the danger zone. But as she edged past him, making for the bathroom door, he took her arm gently, needing to hold her, needing to feel the strength in her body despite the hollowed-out look in her eyes.
