AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He’s delivering a rowboat he restored to some bloke in Noosa,” Jane said, toeing off her sneakers and dumping her coat on her bed. “And no, I have no idea when he’ll be back. Why?”
“No reason.”
Rafe moved behind her and slid his hands over her hips, pulling her back so her arse cradled his erection. She moaned her approval, and he could hear her smile in the sound.
Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, making it a simple thing to press his lips to her skin and plant a line of kisses along the smooth column of her neck and around the shell of her ear.
She moaned again and tilted her head to the side, giving him greater access. “What are you doing?”
Kissing turned to nibbling as Rafe retraced the path with his teeth, his tongue. Sliding his hands under her T-shirt, he cupped her breasts and gently tugged her nipples through the sheer fabric of her camisole.
“What do you think I’m doing?”
“I think you’re trying to win Charlie’s stupid bet by making me so damn horny I’ll agree to just about anything to get laid. Even marry you.”
Rafe’s grin was unrepentant. “Is it working?” he whispered in her ear before sinking his teeth into her earlobe.
“No,” she said, half laughing and slapping at his hands until he released her. Then she spun around to face him, her chin tilted up, her air superior. “Not even remotely.”
“Liar,” he said, his grin spreading wider.
Anchoring her hands on her hips, her humour vanished and she huffed out an irritated sigh. “Why do you do that? Why do you always assume I’m lying about this stuff?”
“I don’t assume anything,” he said. “I know.”
“Fine. How do youknow, then?”
“One, I’ve known you literally your entire life. Two, I wouldn’t be very good at my job if I couldn’t spot a liar at ten paces. And three, when you’re turned on, as in ‘super horny want to rip my clothes off and have your wicked way with me’ turned on”—he grinned—“your ears turn bright red.”
“They do not,” she said, her voice suddenly two octaves higher. She folded her arms across her chest, but he could see her mind working, see her gaze dart to the door and back, wondering if what he’d just said was true.
He nodded towards the bathroom. “Go on. Go take a look. I’ll wait.”
When Jane returned a few minutes later, she did not look happy. “I really hate you right now.”
His eyes widened. “Why?”
“Because I’m horny,” she snapped, pointing at her bright red ears. “Allthe time! And I’m pregnant and my hormones are all out of whack and I feel like I’m going crazy. I have no life, I don’t have a job, I’m broke, and I’m going to get really, really fat.” She stared up at him with such a miserable expression he couldn’t help but pull her into his arms and absorb her distress, to comfort her, protect her. “And my ears are red,” she grumbled before smooshing her face against his body and mumbling into his chest, “And I want chocolate.”
Rafe freed Jane’s hair from her ponytail and gently ran his fingers through it, petting her in a way he knew she liked. Then he scooped her up, placed her on her bed and sat beside her with his back against the headboard. When she rested her head on his chest, he continued stroking her hair, and he smiled when she loosely draped her arm over his stomach and entwined one leg with his.
He knew what she was after.
Reassurance.
A voice of reason to help settle her fears and tell her everything was going to be okay. Not that she ever outright asked him for comfort, but he knew the signs. And he could do that for her. He’d been doing that for her ever since she was a little girl, always ready with a hug when she needed one. Or to tell her off when she needed that too.
The list she’d just spewed out required a bit of both.
“Let’s break that down, shall we?” he said.
Jane didn’t respond right away, but eventually she nodded, rubbing her cheek against his chest.
He dropped a kiss on the top of her head, then continued. “Okay, here we go. Pregnant women don’t get fat, they just get more pregnant. Youdohave a job, just maybe not the one you want right now. You also have a life, one that’s filled with family and friends who love you and want to help you, if only you’d stop being so bloody stubborn and let them. Yes, you’re broke, but again, family, friends, love you, don’t be stubborn. If you want chocolate, I will get you chocolate, and if you’re really that horny, I will happily go down on you again or finger-fuck you or both. If you want me to.”
“It’s not the same,” she mumbled quietly. “Don’t get me wrong, all of those options are nice. Nicer than nice. But I want your cock. Ineedyour cock. I need to feel how I feel when you fuck me. I need….” She made an exasperated sound.
Keeping his voice soft and low, he said, “What do you need, Janie? Tell me.”
