“Everywhere.”
“If I touch you everywhere, you know where that will lead,” he said with a soft laugh.
“I’m counting on it.”
She turned her head to watch him over her shoulder as he removed his clothes and even released the valve that allowed him to take off his leg. She smiled. That meant he planned to stay in bed with her for a while. He usually left his prosthesis on until bedtime.
He shifted onto the bed with her and curled up against her back. He propped his head up on one hand and kissed her neck while the fingertips of his free hand traced gentle paths up and down her arm. His warmth further soothed her back, but his touch drew shivers from her awakening body.
“It’s been a while since we wasted a day in bed,” he murmured close to her ear.
“I wouldn’t call that a wasted day.” In fact, those were her favorite days, but Chad’s ever lengthening to-do list made them a rarity.
“Me neither.”
He palmed her breast and then turned his hand to graze her nipple with his knuckles. That such strong hands could be so gentle with her blew her mind, but even though he was the strongest man she’d ever known, there was a tenderness to him that couldn’t be denied.
She winced as her backache intensified and shifted her hip to try to ease the discomfort.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I can’t seem to get comfortable. I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. Is it your back?”
She nodded, her forehead aching from the scowl she couldn’t seem to shake from her face. He shifted away from her and massaged her lower back with his thumbs and the heels of his hands. After a moment the tension finally lessened, and she took a deep breath.
“That’s better,” she said. “Thank you.”
Chad arranged an elevated nest of pillows for her and eased her onto her back with her legs dangling over the edge of the mattress. She was grateful he remembered that lying on her back was uncomfortable for her and even more grateful when he dropped to the floor and knelt between her open legs. She couldn’t see his handsome face through her bulging belly as he lowered his head to kiss her inner thighs, so she closed her eyes and just let herself feel his lips and tongue and the graze of his teeth against her eager flesh. He took his time coaxing her desire into a frenzied peak—licking her opening, sucking her lips and clit, kissing and nibbling on her thighs.
She called out to him, begging for release, for him to fill her. When he finally stood and pressed his hardness inside her, she shattered around him. He gave her a moment to relish her release before he leaned over her—fists planted in the mattress on either side of her—and began to rock his hips. He was always so gentle when he made love to her, and she knew it was because of the baby. She wondered if he’d take her hard and fast once she had her body to herself again, or if he’d think she was dirty for craving a little cruelty in his thrusts. She watched his face, fingers itching to trace the scar above his ear, but he was too far away. Too far away to hold, to kiss. Her belly was always in the damned way.
Her breath caught as her back began to ache again. Apparently even her nest of pillows wasn’t enough to keep her comfortable when she was thirty-eight weeks pregnant.
Chad, who’d been watching her closely, stopped moving immediately. “Am I hurting you, angel?”
“No, it isn’t you. It’s my stupid back again.”
He pulled out—not what she wanted—and rearranged her pillows again so she could lie on her side. She curled inward, which helped ease the ache some, and Chad’s massaging hands helped more.
“I’m okay,” she told him, looking over her shoulder at him. “Except I really need you to finish what you started.”
“I can tug one out in the bathroom if—”
“I’d prefer if you’d curl up here behind me.”
She patted her butt in invitation, and he grinned before lying down behind her and pressing up against her back. He kissed her ear and massaged her breast, and she felt almost like herself without her belly between them. They’d tried just about every position imaginable over the past few weeks to find comfortable ways to fit together, and this way was the best they’d discovered.
He entered her again and snuggled close, seemingly content to be inside her, against her. She was far from content, however, and began to rock her hips forward and back.
“Angel, slow down.”
But she didn’t want to slow down. She wanted him to lose control. She found the faster she moved, the harder he thrust, until his fingers were digging into her hip and he was moaning into her ear. Heat and friction. Pleasure. Aching. Building. Her excitement intensified until she came undone, and his body shuddered behind her. He grasped her breast tightly when he buried himself deep and let go, and her pussy rippled around him with release.
Releasing a deep huff of air, Chad went limp, his forehead pressed against her shoulder. His rapid breaths warmed her back as her undeniable feelings for this man bubbled to the surface and brought tears to her eyes. She always tried to blame the moments of intense emotion on her pregnancy and out-of-whack hormones, but she knew that wasn’t the truth. She loved Chad, and had never told him, not once, because she was so afraid that he didn’t feel the same way about her.
“How’s your back?” he asked, pressing a soft kiss to her shoulder.
She sniffed and dashed a stupid tear away with the palm of her hand.
“Angel? What do you need?”
“I need you to love me.” Her voice broke, and she hated that she sounded so needy. “Love me, Chad.”
“I do love you, angel.”
Her breath caught, and she twisted as best she could to see his face. “You do?”
“Lindsey . . .”
He never used her given name, so hearing it on his lips made her heart pang.
“Lindsey . . .” he repeated, stroking a stray lock of hair from her cheek and tucking it behind her ear. “I love you. I’ve loved you for weeks. For months.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Because . . .” He glanced down, breaking eye contact. “I didn’t want my love to be a burden on you.”
She shook her head and grabbed his hand, which was still cupping her breast. Her heart expanded, reaching out to him through her fingertips. “Your love could never be a burden, Chad. You could never be a burden. I cherish your love. I cherish you.”
“You love me?”
“Didn’t I just say that?”
He grinned. “No, angel. You alluded t
o it, but you never actually said it.”
He was right. She hadn’t said it directly, but she wouldn’t make that mistake again. “I love you, Chad Mitchell. More than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything. I love—” A searing pain cramped her midsection, and she cried out in anguish. “Owwww.”
“It hurts you to say that?”
“Uh, no. I think that incredible orgasm might have put me into labor.”
He backed out of her so fast, he fell to the floor. “Oh God,” he said. “Your daughter is going to be born with my cum all over her head.”
Lindsey laughed between Lamaze breaths. After a moment, the contraction ended and she said, “I think my water breaking will wash that away.”
“I’m not so sure.” He sat up and peered at her over the edge of the mattress. He was actually blushing. “It was a lot of cum, angel.”
“Enough to start labor.” Unless her aching back had actually been labor pains. That recurrent back pain sure felt different from the abdominal contraction she’d had a moment ago, so maybe they weren’t related.
Chad’s blush faded as he paled. “You’re in labor. Are you sure?”
She pushed her hair from her face, trying to think.
“I don’t know. I’m supposed to have two more weeks, but I should probably get dressed and wash up just in case. Can you hand me my clothes?”
He scrambled for her discarded dress, tossed it at her, and reached for his prosthesis. Even though he had a lot more steps to getting dressed than she did, he was fully clothed before she had even managed to turn her dress right-side out. He ran to the bedroom door and yanked it open. Hawn was immediately in the room, her tail wagging wildly as if she sensed the excitement.
“Where’s your bag?” Chad asked as he dashed into the hallway.
“At the end of my bed.” She had her own room and even her own bed, but she hadn’t slept in it even once.
She rocked back and forth to gain the momentum to get into a seated position and slipped her dress over her head. Lord, her panties were far away. Before she could get her feet under her, Hawn had retrieved her underwear and dropped them into her lap, tilting her furry head to one side as she waited for her praise.