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"I haven't been able to fasten most of my pants for a couple weeks now," she admitted and lifted the end of her shirt to reveal the tiny baby bump. Taking his hand, she placed it on the slight roundness of her belly and laid her hand on top of his, her eyes studying him.
As much as he didn't want to break eye contact with Hope, Drew couldn't keep his gaze from drifting to where their joined hands rested atop her navel. Something shifted inside him. He felt it as keenly as he felt the warmth of her flesh beneath his palm.
The air backed up in his lungs, clogging his throat. Inside Hope was life. One they'd created together. A part of them both. Gently, he moved his hand over the slight bulge, and a tightness clutched his chest. His heart swelled as waves of love, pride, protectiveness, and gratitude coursed through every cell of his being.
Where the button was undone, his hand stilled before pulling on the tab of the zipper. His eyes lifted to Hope's. "I want to see." His voice was raw and full of emotion.
With a wobbly smile, Hope nodded. "It's easier if I stand up."
Rising, she began to lower the zipper. Drew stilled her hand. "Let me. Please."
Hope dropped her arms, and Drew pulled the zipper down, moving his hands to the sides of her hips, to push the khakis to the middle of her thighs. She wore white cotton panties, the waistband riding below the roundness of her belly. Slowly, he moved his fingers to the center of her abdomen and splayed his hands across her skin.
Drew had never experienced anything of this magnitude. Part of him was inside Hope. Developing and growing. He could see the swell of evidence. Feel it as his hands glided over her stomach in soft, slow strokes. There was so much he wanted to say, needed to convey to Hope, only he couldn't seem to push the words past the thickness clogging his throat.
The backs of his eyes burned. He could hardly breathe. Hope was having his baby.Their baby. The knowledge of that alone humbled him.
Sliding closer to where she stood before him, Drew caressed the small mound of flesh with his thumbs as he knelt in front of her and placed his lips against her skin. Her scent, clean and fresh with a hint of vanilla, enveloped him as he wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his head where his lips had just been.
He felt Hope's breath hitch before she wound her arms around him, holding him close. In that moment, Drew felt like the luckiest man on the planet. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For coming to Lone Oaks." His eyes dropped to where his hand was on her belly. "For this." He eased back and looked up at her. "I don't have the words to tell you how I feel right now."
Hope smiled again. "That’s good." She threaded her fingers through his hair. "Because right now, you don't need any words." Hitching up her pants with one hand, she reached for his hand with the other.
Realization slowly dawned on him. "Are you sure?"
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life."
Rising, Drew held her dark gaze. "What about the baby?"
"The baby will be fine."
"I don't want to do anything to hurt you." He laid his hand proactively on her womb. "Either of you."
"You won't." She tugged on his hand. "Now, come to bed with me."
She didn't have to ask him again.
The door to the bedroom had no more than closed before Drew had Hope against it, his mouth seeking hers. Again, he found the hem of her shirt, pushing it up until his fingers brushed the underside of her bra. He cupped the fullness of her breast.
Hope pressed herself against his palm, inviting more of his touch. Drew's breath caught in his throat. But it was her whimper against his lips that had him drowning.
His mouth left hers to blaze a trail along her jawline. Across to her ear. Down the slender column of her neck. His fingers slid inside the cottony fabric of her bra. Pushing it aside, Drew removed the barrier between Hope's flesh and his own.
For a moment, all he could do was look at her. Awed and fascinated. Her breasts were larger, rounder, and fuller than before. From his medical training, Drew knew the ripeness was pregnancy related, and he couldn't help but swell with pride knowing her transformation was a result of the seed he'd planted inside her.
Hope curled her arms around his neck, pulling his lips back to hers. She pressed her body more intimately against his. Drew groaned as his fingers caressed. His mouth devoured. And his loins throbbed.
God, how had he survived the past few months without touching her? Tasting her.
More. He had to have more. Deftly, Drew pushed Hope's shirt over her head, tossing it aside. His lips replaced his hands, his tongue lapping and circling one nipple as he laid her gently on the bed and aligned his hard length against the softness of her luscious curves.
Suckling, he laved each breast while Hope untucked his shirt, her fingers kneading the muscles of his back, her touch a flame shooting through him like a bullet. He moved his hands across her belly. Over the edge of her khakis. Along the curve of her hip until landing at the apex of her thighs.
When she began to writhe beneath him, arching against his palm, Drew feared he might disintegrate into a ball of flames.
