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The bathroom was full of steam and I could hear the bath running.But I couldn’t see Lexi.Not that I could see anything through the mist.There was definitely a ventilation problem.I slid my hand along the wall and found the switch that started the fan.I’d left Ben at breakfast when Roxanne told me Lexi wasn’t feeling well and had gone to lie down.It didn’t sound right.It wasn’t like Lexi to leave like that.Not unless she was really sick, and something told me she wasn’t.I just hoped she wasn’t worked up about the night before.Either way, I wasn’t going to sit there and eat eggs Benedict without seeing whether she was okay.
“Lexi?”I called her name again.“Are you in here?”I stepped inside the room and into—water?Panic pricked at the back of my neck.“Lexi!”
The fan had started to clear some of the steam and I ran as best as I could on the slippery floor to the bath, turning off the taps as I reached into the water for Lexi.If something had happened to her....If she’d done something....
No.
The bath was huge.Almost like a small pool.
Finally, my hands wrapped around her thigh and I squeezed as I yanked on her leg.At that exact moment, the steam cleared enough for me to see her head fly upright from a position of relaxation.
But it was too late.
“What the hell?”
Her eyes flew open, wild and panicked until they landed on mine.Then it was only confusion I saw there.
“Leo?What are you doing?”
I looked her up and down, able to see her clearly now as the steam vanished.She was fine.Probably more than fine.She looked as if she’d been enjoying a bath.
“You didn’t answer,” I said lamely.“I couldn’t see you...and the water...there was water.”
“What are you talking about?”She pushed back so she sat up, her arms wrapped over her naked breasts.A fact I was more than a little disappointed in.
I gestured to the water I was currently kneeling in and her hand flew up to her mouth, leaving one breast momentarily exposed.“Oh my God.I must have fallen asleep.It was so warm and I was so...”Her words dissolved into a giggle.
I couldn’t help it; I started to laugh as well as the panic I’d felt only moments earlier evaporated.I moved up so I could sit on the ledge of the marble tub, which afforded me a much better view of her nakedness.A view my body appreciated in all the ways that mattered.And all the ways that made me want to get into that tub with her.The only thing that stopped me was the knowledge that she hadn’t been feeling well.
“Are you okay?”I asked her once the laughter had dried up.“Roxanne said you needed to lie down.That you weren’t feeling very good.”
Her face changed in an instant.All traces of humor were gone.“I’m fine, Leo.I just needed a few minutes by myself and I wasn’t very hungry, so I thought I should...you know what?”She changed tack so suddenly that it took me a moment to catch up.“I think we need to talk.”
I nodded.We did need to talk.I hated that there was any secret between us and she must have felt it, too.The fact that I might have caused her any uncertainty or unhappiness by keeping things to myself made me sick.From the moment I’d met Lexi, I’d done nothing but love her.Even through all the years we’d been apart, I’d always loved her and the last thing I’d ever wanted to do was hurt her.I fetched an oversized plush towel from the rack and held it out for her.
She stood in the bath, hot water dripping off her body.For the first time in longer than I could remember, she didn’t try to cover herself, or turn away so I couldn’t see her nakedness.Instead, her eyes locked on mine and she held my gaze, almost challenging me to look my fill.
So I did.
I started at her gorgeous face—just as stunning as the day I’d met her—and traveled down her smooth, long neck.There was a familiar tug in my groin as my gaze traveled down the swell of her chest to each perfect, full breast.I inhaled a shaky breath, trying to control the urge to reach for her as I let my eyes travel to her stomach and the swell of her belly, down to the apex of where her thighs—
Wait.
The swell of her belly?
My eyes stopped their downward descent and flew back up to her abdomen and then farther up, to Lexi’s eyes.A smile danced across her face as she realized I’d noticed a change.A change that was definitely different than the last time I’d laid eyes on her.
I tipped my head in question, not able to voice the question I so desperately wanted to ask.“Lexi?”I finally managed.“Is...what...”
I couldn’t finish my thought but that was okay because Lexi simply nodded in response.And it was all I needed.The second she stepped out of the tub and onto the floor, I jumped up and pulled her into me tight.Her towel fell away; her wet, naked skin pressed against my clothes, dampening them, and nothing had ever felt more right.
My hands cupped her face to tilt her head slightly as I pressed my lips to hers.I planned on kissing her gently, sweetly, but the second I got a taste of her, my instincts kicked in and all I wanted to do was claim her and the baby in her belly as mine.
Somehow, I held myself back, restraining myself from taking all that I wanted.I would never do anything out of selfish need that would put Lexi and this baby in danger.But I would tell her and more importantly, show her just how amazingly beautiful she was.I moved my mouth down to her bare shoulder, leaving a trail of kisses on her soft skin while I inhaled the sweet scent of lavender that clung to her from her bath.
I half expected her to push me away, to reach for her towel and cover her luscious body but when a moan escaped her lips, I knew she wouldn’t.
“You are so gorgeous, Lexi.”
