He was a bulldozer in a china shop, and it was hard not to worry it would be a constant fight to keep my own place in my kid’s life. He was a take-charge, take over kind of man.
It felt more important than ever to win the Trials and demand my place in my own child’s life, as ridiculous as that might seem.
Even though Beau did always say our baby and our kid’s education. I just… Everything felt even more uncertain now that I’d told him.
Which was why I didn’t mind that a Trial Invitation came for that night. Beau immediately freaked out about what might be asked of us, especially since there wasn’t anything telling in the box—it was empty, i.e., I was supposed to show up naked. Shocker.
But frankly, I was ready to show Beau that he didn’t have to treat me like I was made of glass. Yeah, so it was sort of cute the way he kept checking to see if I had enough blankets at night and I was taking the vitamins he’d had Mrs. H smuggle me and how he put wet compresses on my head when I was sick in the mornings. No one had ever cared about me like that, actually.
Then I reminded myself it was just because he knew I was carrying his child. It wasn’t about me at all. Which was fine. Really.
But all the books I’d read before coming here said I should be completely safe doing normal to vigorous physical activity. Pregnant women were not invalids, for Christ’s sake. And tonight I’d show Beau that first hand.
Because one thing the books hadn’t warned me about?
I was insanely horny. Like, ready to jump Beau in his sleep and bang his brains out horny.
But guess what Mr. Suddenly Over-Protective was suddenly loath to do?
That’s right, ding ding ding ding. He hadn’t touched me in the sexy times way since he’d found out I was pregnant. Mrs. H hadn’t helped, coming over like she had when he’d been giving it to me so damn good during the last Trial. I could have wrung her neck. Him slapping my ass was not going to hurt the baby. Or him fucking me like the beast I loved him to be.
And to go from that animal sensuality to… nada. Dear Lord, my body was aching for him, especially since my libido was in overdrive like never before.
I hoped whatever the Trial was tonight required him to fuck my brains out. Repeatedly. Please, if there were a God!
I could tell by the stormy expression on Beau’s face as he dressed up in his stiff tux and I stripped all the way down that he wasn’t exactly feeling the same excitement for tonight’s Trial.
“Loosen up,” I said, leisurely unsnapping my bra and freeing my breasts right in front of him. “It’s gonna be fine. We go down, we fuck, we come back up. Don’t tell me you have performance anxiety all of a sudden.”
Satisfyingly, he was distracted, his eyes zeroing in on my breasts before he dragged his eyes back up to my face, eyebrows pinching together. “You need to be taking this more seriously.”
I laughed as I fluffed my hair out. “Oh, I’m taking it seriously.” I turned toward the door. “I seriously need to get fucked,” I muttered under my breath.
And then, within the space of a breath, Beau’s hard body was up against my back, one hot hand on my waist. He spoke into my ear, his breath warm and tickling. “I mean it, Abilene. Be careful tonight. Don’t antagonize any of the Elders. Just do exactly what they ask and no more.”
His hand slid around from my bare hip to my stomach. “And if it’s ever too much, you just say the word and it all stops.”
I spun around to face him, my bare breasts smushing against his tux coat since we were so close. It felt incredible, and I fought to keep my focus.
“Let’s keep one thing straight,” I said. “I am not quitting. I need to know you’ll be there to back me up and not pussy out on me. I need to know you can trust me and not be Mr. Macho Protector or you’ll give away our secret and get us both disqualified. No matter what happens, keep your thoughts to yourself. You need to trust that I would never do anything to harm this baby. Can you do that?”
His jaw tensed and he looked like he wanted to argue. I knew he valued his control over all else, so I really did get what a big deal it was for him to finally eke out a, “Fine.”
He took my arm as we headed downstairs. I don’t think it was so much an act of chivalry as a need to hold on to me and the last bit of his control before we were subjected to whatever the Elders had in store for us.