AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His fingers tangled in her hair. “No, sweetheart. I just want you to be sure. Life with me will be hard, but I can promise you something. When I’m home I am one hundred percent yours. I will give you everything I have.”
“You’re talking like you already know what our future looks like.”
“I do, Lila. I think you do too. You knew the moment you saw me, just like I did.” Stepping closer, he slipped an arm around her waist and drew her against him. When her gaze dropped to his lips and the tip of her tongue darted out to wet hers, Surf groaned. “I need to taste you.”
“What are you waiting for?”
Nothing.
There was nothing between them anymore. She was his, he was hers, and as he touched his lips to hers it felt like the entire universe shifted into place around them.
This was exactly where he was supposed to be.
* * * * *
November 15th
5:57 A.M.
Lila woke with her stomach churning.
Great.
Another morning another round of morning sickness.
Stumbling from the bed, it took her a moment to realize she wasn’t in her bedroom at her apartment. It took a moment longer to remember that she was at Prey Security, in the apartment that Christian had been staying in. And another precious moment to remember where the bathroom was.
Her stomach revolted, and Lila pressed a hand to her mouth, praying she would keep everything down until she reached the bathroom. Not bothering to waste seconds closing the door, she flung up the toilet lid and dropped to her knees seconds before last night’s dinner came back up.
This was not fun.
At all.
Morning sickness was supposed to ease by the second trimester, which was still four weeks away. Right now, it didn’t feel like she would make it.
The sound of running water drew her attention, and Lila turned her head. Looking through blurry eyes, she saw Christian standing at the sink, running a washcloth under the water.
“What are you doing?” she asked blearily. Her head was throbbing, her stomach screaming that it wasn’t finished with her yet, and she felt unrested. Last night Christian had suggested they stay in separate bedrooms until he’d earned her trust back enough that she was ready to take the next step.
That all sounded good in theory, but that kiss they’d shared—a kiss that managed to be both sweet and fiery at the same time—had left her turned on and her body needy, desperate for the touch of the man who had brought it so much pleasure. It had been on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she was ready to sleep with him—in every sense of the word—but she’d held back only because she wasn’t really sure that she was. Understanding why he’d done what he did and coming to terms with it and trusting he wouldn’t do it again were two different things.
Still, all night she had been restless, her dreams filled with sexy times with Christian. Each time she woke unfulfilled and more desperate for his touch than she’d been the time before.
“Taking care of you,” Christian replied, crouching beside her. “You done?”
“For now.”
Helping her move back a little away from the toilet, he blotted at her sweat-streaked face with the washcloth, then draped it over her forehead while he moved behind her and pulled her hair back into a ponytail for her. He was so sweet, her heart clenched, her stomach fluttered, and instinctively she leaned toward him.
“I got you, mama bear,” he murmured, voice low and soothing, washing over her in a wave of tranquility. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he touched his lips to her temple before scooping her into his arms.
“I don’t think I can go back to sleep,” Lila told him when he carried her back into the bedroom.
“That’s okay. You just rest here and let me take care of everything else.” Setting her on the mattress, he leaned her forward against his arm as he fluffed the pillows and propped them against the headboard. His touch was gentle as he eased her back to rest against them, and any lingering doubts she still had melted away.
How could she not fall for a man who was warrior enough to protect her any way he had to—and she truly believed it had been as hard for him as it had for her—and gentle enough to take care of her?
Christian pulled the covers up, tucked her in, then switched on the lamp on the nightstand. “Be right back.”
