“How did your visit go with your brother?” she asked, her cheek on his shoulder, one slim thigh thrown over his. “What is Falling Brook like?”
Oliver felt her curiosity as well as her concern. He’d confessed his reservations about the town where he’d faced so many disappointments.
“Every time I go there, I can’t stop feeling hostile. There’s too many bad memories.” Even though he’d left Falling Brook feeling optimistic about the future, he couldn’t stop himself from brooding about what had happened in the past. Maybe that’s why as soon as he got his first big paycheck he bought a house in Falling Brook, to show everyone he wasn’t a failure. No one questioned why he was never there. “Josh can’t let go of his opinion of me as the messed-up kid brother who got hooked on drugs and made everybody’s life miserable.”
“Did he say that?”
“No.” But Oliver recalled how Josh had questioned his sobriety by ordering the same drink. “But Josh made it pretty clear that he doesn’t trust me not to fall into old habits.”
“Oh.”
A quick glance at her expression told him he’d given her something to worry about. He gave himself a mental kick. Stress wasn’t good for her or the baby. She had enough on her plate without him dumping his problems on her.
“I’m sorry.” Seeing how his outburst had affected her, he tamped down his impatience. To win her trust he needed her to believe he was okay. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Through their connection, he felt her muscles twitch and heard her deep exhalation. As she relaxed, Oliver’s last bit of irritation bled away.
“You didn’t.”
“I’m in full control of my addiction.” But these were stressful times, and he hadn’t been perfect these last eight years. “I won’t mess up. I swear.”
Her soft smile lit up his world. “I’m not worried.”
The burning glow that filled his chest at her transparent faith filled him with tranquility and optimism. Feeling the connection with her deepen, he brushed his lips over hers.
“I always feel so much better when I’m around you.”
She regarded him through her lashes. “I’m glad.”
Although Oliver recognized that she hadn’t echoed his sentiment, he knew he couldn’t blame her. In this way he was very much like his father, selfish and prone to doing as he pleased and to hell with how it affected everyone around him.
They lapsed into an easy silence, and Oliver didn’t realize he’d dozed off until he awoke to find his bed empty. Panic brought him to full wakefulness. He sat up, but as soon as he noticed that their clothes were neatly piled on a nearby chair, he slid out of bed and went in search of her. She hadn’t gone far, merely next door to his guest room.
Standing in the open doorway, wearing his T-shirt and nothing else, she was studying the room before her. He slowly approached, lingering to admire her long legs and imagining his hands riding the lean muscles of her thighs to the hot, wet space between. No doubt his harsh breathing announced his arrival, because she glanced over her shoulder in his direction.
“It’s empty,” she remarked as he slid his arms around her waist from behind. Sighing, she relaxed against his chest and drew absent circles on his forearms.
“Think of it as a blank slate,” he countered, inhaling the scent of sex and sweat that mingled with lavender on her skin.
“This is happening so fast.”
Fingertips skimming her nape, he brushed her hair aside and set his lips on her shoulder. She gasped and trembled.
“When there’s something I want, I go after it.”
He coasted his hands along her curves, letting her warmth seep into him. She was everything to him. The more time he spent with her, the more he craved her company. Holding her hand calmed his spirit. Making her come filled his world with joy.
“I know it’s early,” she began, her voice husky and low as his lips drifted over her skin, “but I think we should talk about what happens after the baby’s born. Specifically, how do you see this co-parenting thing working for us?”
While he knew she was being sensible, her question made tension twist in his gut. “You know how I feel. I think we should live together so our child will have both parents around all the time.”
He played his fingertips beneath the T-shirt and skimmed over her belly, making the muscles dance in response. Need spread heat beneath his skin even as she caught his hand and stilled it.
“While that sounds ideal,” she responded, her voice breathless and raw as he tugged the T-shirt off, “I’m not convinced that we shouldn’t consider alternatives.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to focus on what’s best for our child?” His heart beat in erratic time, matching the unruly shudders that racked her as he found her breast and lightly pinched the nipple.
“We need an arrangement that works for all of us.” Her words picked up speed as if she wanted to get everything out before he could distract her past the point of thought.
He was already close. Cupping his hand over her mound, he pressed her back into him. With her gorgeous butt trapping his hard length between them, he was nearly mindless with lust. Her fingernail bit into his thigh as he slid the head of his erection against her backside, thrusting against her, letting the friction drive his desire higher. A shock wave trembled through her as he eased his fingers between her thighs and teased her the way she liked with a combination of gentle caresses and deeper strokes.
“One week on, one week off,” she panted, her voice a near whimper as she rocked against his hand. “Or alternating nights during the week. You have a busy travel schedule, so I imagine that we would have to work around that.”
None of this
