Dr. Murphy had just nailed the pre-ejaculate-sperm conundrum.
And Blake’s discomfort, his endearing blush and his abject helplessness broke the rest of the clear coating covering Jax’s heart. There was no denying the truth anymore.
She was head over cowboy heels in love with Blake Bennington.
Her heart rate escalated and her breathing became erratic, her stomach churning. The fear she’d felt when she’d first worried about Blake’s reaction now gave way to sheer, absolute terror. Bile rose in the back of her throat, putting her previous bouts of morning sickness to shame.
Love.
She was in love with Blake.
Jax splayed her hand across her abdomen, heart thumping in her ears, willing herself to remain calm. At least until she was alone and could come unglued properly.
Dr. Murphy typed something into her laptop. “Jax, I don’t need to see you back for another month. And your prescription for prenatal vitamins will be available at the pharmacy by the end of the day.” She gave Jax a reassuring smile, but Jax’s answering smile felt weak. Dr. Murphy turned to Blake and eyed him warily. “Do you have any more questions, Mr. Bennington?”
Jax was impressed with the woman’s how-far-are-you-willing-to-take-this-conversation? tone in her voice. Apparently Blake had decided to quit while he was lagging so far behind.
Blake took her elbow and escorted her out the door and down the hall, past a wall with pictures of ovaries and wombs and babies lining the wall. He carefully kept his eyes in front, as if afraid to take in the decor, and, despite the terror still swelling inside, her heart grew softer still.
She really shouldn’t be so charmed by Blake’s display of vulnerability. Or so enchanted by the chink in his rational armor. And she certainly shouldn’t be entertained by the sight of the man so clearly out of his element. But it was strangely soothing to see him so disconcerted, because it would wreak havoc on her nerves to be the only one falling apart. In her current state of panic, of being in love, she couldn’t handle the logical Blake.
So it was best to keep him as off-kilter as she felt.
“Is it true?” she asked, her wide-eyed innocent look masking the chaos inside.
He kept his eyes ahead. “Is what true?” he said, his tone even.
But it was the slight tightening of his fingers on her elbow that gave him away. He knew well and good the question she was about to ask.
“Before coming to see me that first night,” she said. “You arrived home from a hard day’s work and decided to relax with a beer and a little self-indulgent...touching?”
The grim set to his jaw and the return of a hint of color to his cheeks were all the answer she needed, and Jax was amazed she managed to restrain the very immature laugh that threatened to bubble from her mouth.
Or maybe fear was responsible for her teetering on the edge of hysterics.
Without a word, Blake led her past the receptionist’s desk and into the waiting room that contained two kids with their mother and several women with varying stages of baby bumps. They passed one with a belly the size of the Grand Canyon, and Jax thought Blake was going to have a nervous breakdown right then and there.
Jax understood the feeling well. She was in love with a man whose top three dating requirements precluded her as a girlfriend. So how the heck did he feel about her as the mother of his baby?
It became apparent Blake had no intention of responding to her inquiry regarding his secret jerking off. “How’s your vision?” she said as innocently as she could, feeling particularly evil. “Have you gone blind yet?”
His only answer was a give-me-a-break tightening of his lips.
She didn’t bother keeping her voice down as she continued to harass the man. “Was it as good for you as it was for yourself?”
The look he shot her was harsh, but he remained mute.
And since Blake refused to answer her admittedly ridiculous questions, Jax went on, keeping her voice just low enough to be considered a whisper. “Were you thinking of me when you were having sex with yourself?”
He held the front door open for her, and she skimmed past him, brushing close. This time the look he sent her was filled with heat, and not the angry kind. Need uncoiled inside her, the sensual sensation overpowering now that she’d admitted to herself that she was in love. Jax’s heart thumped with lust and love and fear as he finally answered one of her questions.