She palmed the firm muscles of his buttocks and drew him deeper inside. He fondled her breast, finessed the nipple until it was firm and flushed, then lowered his mouth to it.
Jenny watched him caress her, watched the flexing of his cheeks as he gratified his need for her. She wished she could fill the void inside him, erase from his past all the times he had needed loving and went lacking.
"Cage, use me. Use me."
"No, Jenny," he rasped, his tongue flicking. "I've used other women. This is different."
She wanted to concentrate on ways to please and satisfy him, but she became too caught up in the pleasure he was giving her. His arousal had heightened until he filled her again. The walls of her body closed around his hardness like a miserly fist. She thrilled to each powerful thrust and arched up to meet them.
Then another sensation spiraled through her middle. At first the rippling movements were so faint she thought she had imagined them. But then the flutterings became stronger and she realized what had caused them.
When she did, she panicked. Her body went rigid beneath Cage's and instead of striving to know more of him, she shrank away. "No, no, stop." She clasped his head and lifted it from her breasts. She squirmed free of him and pressed her thighs together tightly. "Stop, stop."
"Jenny?" His breathing was harsh and loud. It took several seconds for him to bring his eyes back into focus and set the world on its rightful axis. "What's wrong, Jenny? Did I hurt you?"
His heart contracted with fear when she turned her back on him, raised her knees to her chest and formed a ball with her slight body. "Oh, my God, something's wrong. What's wrong? Tell me."
Cage had never felt so afraid and useless in his life. Seconds ago he and Jenny had been making love. Her body had been responsive and eager. Now she was weeping and acting as though agonizing pains were ripping through her.
He laid a hand on her shoulder. She flinched at his touch. "What is it? Should I call a doctor?" His only answer was a racking sob. "For godsake, Jenny, at least tell me if you're in pain."
"No, no," she moaned. "Nothing like that."
"Then what?" He crammed his fingers through his hair, impatiently pushing it off his forehead. "What happened? Why did you stop me? Was I hurting you?"
"I felt the baby move."
The words were mumbled into the pillow in a papery voice. At first Cage couldn't decipher them, but when he broke apart the unintelligible syllables and pieced them back together, he went weak with relief. "That's the first time?"
She nodded her head. "The doctor said I should start feeling him soon. This is the first time."
Behind her, Cage smiled. His child had spoken to him. But Jenny was obviously concerned about it. He touched her shoulder again and this time didn't remove his hand even when she stiffened with aversion. In fact, he lay down beside her and tried to take her in his arms.
"It's all right, Jenny. It won't hurt the baby if we're careful."
She sat up abruptly and glared at him. "You don't get it, do you?"
Cage stared at her incredulously as she lunged off the bed, pulled on the blanket until it came free of the other rumpled covers, and wrapped it around herself. She stalked to the window and braced her shoulder against the frame with her back to the room.
He was hurt and angry and it showed as he got off the bed as well, yanked up his jeans, and shoved his legs into them, hiking them up over his hips with a definitely angry tug.
"I guess I don't get it, Jenny. Why don't you tell me?"
She hadn't heard his footfalls on the thick, lush carpet, and it alarmed her when she turned around to find him standing so close. His eyebrows were lowered into a glower. The jeans had been left unbuttoned again and his hair was mussed from her fingers plowing through it.
He was the personification of male sexuality and was so appealing, she had to struggle to resist him.
"You might not have any morals against that alley cat type of behavior, but I do."
"You thought what we were doing was alley cat behavior?" he demanded, his voice quaking with rage.
"I didn't until I felt my baby move."
"I think it's beautiful. I wish you had shared it with me."
"It's another man's baby, Cage! Do you realize what kind of woman that makes me?"
Her anger was spent and in its place were shame and misery. She hung her head as the tears began to fall. Cage watched her shoulders begin to shake with weeping. Her small, frail hands gripped the blanket around her as Eve must have clung to that first fig leaf to hide her shame.