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“Yes, Lyla’s mom.” Brady’s throat worked. I could see the Adam’s apple bobbing. “She’s not well right now. So, Lyla is staying with Katie full-time.”
I could feel the tension in the room ratchet upwards. I stepped carefully up behind him, wrapping my arms around him and pressing my face into the hard muscle of his back. “That must be very hard.”
“It is. But that’s not what I want to talk about tonight.” Brady’s hands ran up and down my arms. . “Tonight I want to talk about how much my sister and my mother adore you.”
“You’re exaggerating.” I rolled my eyes, releasing him.
“Nope. Transparency is kicking in. They couldn’t believe I’d managed to convince you to date me, let alone show up tonight.”
“Just wait until they find out that I let you get me pregnant.”
The smile on his face dimmed. “They will be happy, Cecelia. They will be thrilled for us.” His hands cuddled me close. My chest ached as I let him fold me against him.
“I think my mom will be happy too. After the initial shock.”
“Who wouldn’t be happy? With your looks and my brain, this baby is going to be perfect.”
A watery chuckle wormed its way out of my chest. “Don’t you mean your looks and my brain?”
“Either way, really. I think we hit the genetic lottery.”
“Why do you act like this? Why are you so happy, so content with all of this? I don’t understand.”
“What?”
“I’ve screamed, I’ve cried, I even had a panicked night where I told my friend Beth that I was going to join a convent. And yet, you’ve just been this steady, constant good thing in my life for months. Even before that night that we…before everything started. Why are you so much better at this than I am?”
Brady’s face was surprised, the thick vein at his temple pulsing. “Cecelia, I’m barely holding it together. I’m terrified of this appointment this week, but that’s because I want this. I want all of this. I didn’t realize how much until you came waltzing into my life and showed me how much I’d been missing out on. Now, I’ve got plenty of my own battles and issues to contend with, but you—God help me, I will always be there for you. And this baby. End of story.”
I gulped, my emotions sliding from frustration to terror to an overwhelming sense of joy that I could barely control.
“I like you very much.” I reared up to press my lips along his jaw, feeling the sharpness of the shadow of his beard growing in. “I know you weren’t expecting anything. But I want more tonight. Make love to me.”
His knees bent; a ragged groan torn from his mouth as I kissed him again. And again. The sweet, salty taste of his skin fueled me. “You’re ready?”
“I’m aching. Brady, please, let me feel you.” We’d waited since everything happened at the ER. It may have only been a few weeks, but it felt like forever. Especially right now.
He yanked away from my mouth to sink his hands into my hair. “Come with me. I’m not rushing this like we did last time. I’m going to taste and lavish every inch of you.” He left a brief, punishing kiss on my lips before he turned to pull me down the hall.
His bedroom was familiar, as well as the master suite that opened up within. But things felt different. It was no longer the heady, painfully direct need to make the leap from practical strangers to lovers.
Now he was someone I was rapidly falling for. Who I woke up every morning craving, both physically and emotionally. When I crawled onto the bed, I felt no hesitation about what step Brady and I were going to take. It was as natural as breathing.
“You’re all mine, Cecelia. Today, tomorrow, always.” His voice sent shivers down my body.
The lights were dimmed, casting shadows around the sharp features of his face as he stood over me. My core gave a heavy throb as I crawled backwards onto the bed. His hungry gaze followed my every move, making my confidence skyrocket.
“And now?”
“Take off your dress.” A sharp, excited shiver flew down my spine as he backed out of range, crossing his arms over his chest. Automatically my hands rose to my shoulders, flinging the shoulder of my dress down. Yanking, hurrying.
“No.” His voice snapped out like a whip. “Not like that. Slowly.”
The hot, burning ache between my legs only intensified at his words, his orders. I slowed my hands, my fingernails trailing across my skin as I let first one side, then the other slip down. The pale-pink lace of my bra peeked out as the fabric parted.
I panted softly as I watched him stare, feeling the heat in his gaze as he approached, slipping around to stand behind me. One hand pressed into my belly, the other rose along my thigh as he pressed me against his front. I could feel the heat of him, the bulge against my cheeks.
I licked my lips, completely entranced.
