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Did my words even register?
She’s acting like this thing’s still casual. Like the second time around was charming, but not worth more…
Unless that’s insecurity talking.
I grasp her chin, forcing her gaze to meet mine, and pin her with a fierce stare. “I promise. Just don’t ask me to leave you alone, ’cause that’s not something I’m ready or willing to do. You feel too fucking good.”
Her lips part on a sharp inhale, and I sink into the feeling of her desire.
“I said you’re not a burden, Lace. That I take care of what’s mine. And now I’m going to prove it to you.”
A look of lusty greed crosses her features, and she arches her back, giving me a wicked smirk. “And just how do you plan on doing that?”
God, her feisty attitude makes me hard all over again. “Turn around, bend over, and I’ll show you.”
12
LACY
“Well, dear, I know you’re a hard worker, but…” Ivy-Mae Cooper wrings her sun-weathered hands and looks at anything but me. Here it comes. “Lacy, dear, how far along are you?”
Eyes on my belly, she dips her chin in the same direction, and I barely contain my sigh. Almost overnight, my baby bump became a thing.
Ivy-Mae’s the office manager and hygienist for her husband’s dental practice, and they need a receptionist. It seemed like a perfect fit, since I’d be off my feet, but given how she clears her throat before pursing her lips, my chances aren’t looking so good.
I’d had such high hopes when she’d agreed to meet outside Oz’s. Now with her question, my pregnancy literally and figuratively between us, all I want is to wrap up this dead-end chat.
“I’m in my second trimester.” I could tell her the number of weeks and days like most mothers-to-be can, but I don’t.
Why bother? She’s annoying me and I feel judged, less than, even if I like this woman. “Just tell me why you can’t hire me.”
“Um, it isn’t that I don’twant tohire you. It’s just that once the baby’s here, I’ll have to find someone else, and Dr. Cooper won’t like that. We need someone long-term. It’s time-consuming and stressful hiring new people.”
She talks about Darnel Cooper like he isn’t her husband, only the boss, and she’s afraid of him. Maybe she is. Although I can’t see him as anything more than a teddy bear. Oz’s Club is his happy place, where he’s all smiles and tips. I could challenge Ivy-Mae, tell her I’m confident that I could get Darnel to hire me, baby or not, but I doubt she’d like me saying any such thing.
Raising my hand to my brow, I shield my eyes from the setting sun. “Fine. Best of luck finding someone.”
I head to the club entrance, and she mutters a feeble goodbye. My phone rings as I near the door and I pull it from my purse. Ridge.
Already exhausted and I haven’t even started my shift, I’m tempted to ignore it. I’ll see him later.
Since that night at my place almost four weeks ago, his sleepovers are now a regular thing. Despite mixed feelings about what we’re doing, I don’t hate it.
How can I when he picks me up after work, no matter how late my shift. He brings dinner if I’m too tired to cook, and while the meals are loaded with vegetables, the food is damn good.
Plus, his large, warm body next to mine in the bed every night. Arms and legs wrapped around me like he never wants to let me go. It’s an indescribable comfort, and indulgence I’m desperately trying to not get used to.
But God, the way he pounds into me almost every night. All it takes is a look and he’s on me. In me. And my orgasms…damn, they’re deliriously violent, so much so, I forget my own name. Who knew pregnancy would make me so horny?
The shrill ring yanks me from my reverie, and I hastily answer. “My shift starts in ten minutes, why are you calling?”
I cringe at my snappish tone. Ridge isn’t to blame for the rejection—Ivy-Mae’s was the third this week—in my hunt for a desk job.
Seventeen weeks along and feeling every bit of it, while November’s cooler weather is helping, I want off my feet. Oz’s offer to find some other work for me still stands, but every time I mention it to Ridge, he shuts down the idea. For that alone, I want to stay at the club, although I’m trying to meet him halfway since he’s trying too.
His gruff voice pulls me from my thoughts. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m irritable and have a long shift.”
