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Then she felt a hard kick beneath her ribs and sucked in her breath. She felt the kick again, and her lips lifted. Every time it happened, she felt the same sense of wonder. “Our baby’s kicking.”
He frowned. “Now?”
Pushing the covers away, she grabbed his hand and pressed it to her belly over her nightgown. “Feel it?”
His dark eyes widened, and then his jaw fell as he looked down at her. “That’s our baby?”
She smiled. “That’s him.”
“Is that normal? I mean,” Theo hesitated, “does it hurt? Do I need to call a doctor? Should I—”
“I’m fine,” she said, laughing. “And yes, it’s normal. I’m glad you felt it. I want you to be part of everything. Part of our lives.”
Their eyes locked, with her hand resting over his larger one, entwined over her baby bump. Emmie’s heart twisted. She suddenly realized what courage it must have taken for this intensely private man to tell her so much. She caressed his rough cheek.
“Thank you for telling me. I’m so sorry about what happened.” She paused. “But I’ll protect you now. For the rest of our lives.”
Theo looked down at her in the bedroom filled with shadows. His dark eyes flickered, and the air between them suddenly crackled with electricity.
Cupping her face, he leaned forward and kissed her. No brief, timid peck, but a deep kiss full of yearning. Full of emotion and need.
Beneath her cotton nightgown, her breasts turned heavy, nipples tightening, as desire coiled low and deep inside her. She kissed him back hungrily, clinging to him across the bed.
She felt him shudder. His lips were hard on hers, ravenous, as if he’d been starving and she alone could save him. Then he wrenched back, his eyes gleaming, his voice low.
“Are you sure?”
In answer, she kissed him, pulling him back against her body, her fingertips gripping into his shoulders.
With a repressed gasp, he pushed her back into the pool of moonlight on the bed. As they kissed, they held each other tight, gasping for breath. Suddenly, they were tearing at each other’s clothes. His shirt disappeared, then her nightgown, then the rest.
She wanted this. She was no longer afraid. Now she knew that, caring for him as she did, she was going to suffer anyway. Why deny herself what she wanted most? Why deny them both? Avoiding pleasure would not avoid pain.
As he stroked and kissed every inch of her, Emmie held her breath, trembling with need. Her body was taut, aching. She gripped him closer, wanting more,more, to feel him inside her, to finally possess him and make him her own. He was the man she’d always wanted. And now he was her husband. Hers forever.
Theo had never needed anyone like this.
He’d never felt so close to her. To anyone.
The shock of emotional intimacy, of being seen and accepted by the woman he respected most, had cracked through Theo’s frozen soul. He’d taken the leap to reveal part of his history to her, and she hadn’t let him fall. Holding her naked body against his now was so utterly sweet it was almost unbearable. He’d thought he wanted her before. That had been nothing, a grain of sand in a beach, compared to the way he wanted her now.
As the dark Aegean swayed beneath the yacht, it took every inch of Theo’s self-control not to take her hard, now, now, now.
But she was pregnant. He had to be gentle, even if the effort cost him everything he had.
Taking a deep breath, he spread her body across the soft blankets of the bed. Lowering his head, he savored each rosy nipple, cupping her breasts, pale in the moonlight. Until she started to sway beneath him like the waves.
He moved past the mound of her belly, gently stroking her there, placing himself between her legs, parting her thighs with his hands. He felt her shiver and shake as he tasted her, until she gasped for breath, gripping the blankets beneath her to steady herself. She cried out her release into the dark shadows of the bedroom, echoing inside the yacht, beneath the opalescent moonlight, along the ancient Greek sea.
Then, and only then, did he allow himself to slowly push inside her. Before, he’d wanted to take her hard and deep to chase his demons away.
Now he felt...different.
I’ll protect you now. For the rest of our lives.
Emmie was his woman. His pregnant wife. It was his job to protect her and take care of her.
He felt a sudden flicker of fear. He’d already failed at protecting those he loved. People had died because of him.
