Page 209 of Say My Name

“Is that speed normal?” he asks, his voice rough.

“Perfectly normal. That’s exactly what we want to hear.”

His throat works as he swallows. The control he carries so effortlessly holds him upright, but for the first time, I see everything beneath it. Joy. Fear. Wonder so sharp it looks almost painful.

I understand then that Dominic needs me too.

He needs this child. This room. This moment.

He needs to know he is allowed to feel all of it.

So I reach across the space between us and take his hand in front of the doctor.

His fingers close around mine instantly.

Dominic finally looks at me, his eyes bright and unguarded.

“Our baby,” he says.

I tighten my hold on him, repeating the words to make them my own. “Our baby.”

The heartbeat continues around us, and I don’t let go.

That evening, I stand naked in front of the full-length mirror in our bedroom and study a body that still looks mostly like mine.

My breasts are fuller and more sensitive. My stomach is softer, although the doctor assured me it is far too early for the curve to be anything other than bloating. There are changes I can feel before I can see them, small shifts taking place beneath skin I have spent thirty years believing I understand.

Dominic appears behind me in the mirror, fresh from the shower with a towel wrapped low around his hips.

His gaze moves over me, slow and unapologetic.

Usually, that look is enough to make me wet. Tonight, the heat comes with a new uneasiness.

He comes closer but leaves a few inches between us. “What are you thinking?”

“That my body already feels different.”

His eyes meet mine in the reflection. “Does anything hurt?”

“My breasts are tender.”

“Anything else?”

“No.”

He says nothing, and I hear myself admit what I almost kept to myself.

“I know you want the baby.”

“I want you both.”

“What if this changes how you see me?”

His brow pulls together. “It already has.”

My stomach drops before he can explain what he means.

Then he steps close enough that his chest presses against my back and his erection rests against the curve of my ass.