He chuckled, though he looked more weary than genuinely amused. “I’m teasing, Hannah. Get some sleep. We’ll try to figure everything out tomorrow.”
She didn’t know how well she would sleep while her mind whirled with everything awaiting her tomorrow. Andrew, her family, the reality that someone hated her enough to plan these cowardly assaults against her. Not to mention her awareness that Andrew would be sleeping in the guest room only a few yards away. She would probably spend an hour or so wondering if he had only been joking about sharing her bed—and the rest of the night trying to convince herself she’d been right not to follow up on that suggestion.
/> Even splotched with darkening bruises, his bare chest was so appealing that it was all she could do to keep her hands off him. There was no question that he kept himself in excellent condition. He was lean and strong and sleek, the kind of body a woman could happily run her hands over for hours. She knew that from experience.
“There’s no need to look so distressed,” he said, cupping her face between his hands to gaze into her eyes. “I know it’s been a crazy few days, and I know you have to be concerned about what happened tonight, but we’ll sort everything out after you get some rest. I just want to make sure nothing else happens tonight to disturb your sleep. You know you have nothing to worry about from me.”
“I think I told you earlier that I’m not afraid of you,” she murmured, covering his left hand with her right. “It’s myself I don’t trust when you’re around.”
He brushed his lips across hers, just a taste of the kiss she craved. “I can’t deny I’m delighted that I have that effect on you, especially because I feel very much the same way when you’re in the same room with me. But I’m here to take care of you, Hannah. I won’t give you a reason to regret having me here.”
She frowned in response to the words he’d intended as reassuring. “I don’t need anyone taking care of me, Andrew. Not even you.”
He winced. “That didn’t come out exactly the way I intended.”
She shook off his hands, drawing herself up to her full height. “Maybe I’ve made some mistakes—and I guess I can’t blame you for doubting my competence, considering that you always seem to rush to my rescue—but I assure you I can take care of myself and my child. I was the one who ended my travesty of a marriage even when Wade tried to manipulate me into staying with him. Yes, I’m living at the family resort, but I’m doing a job I trained to do—and handling it well, I might add. I live in a trailer, but it’s one I bought and am paying for myself. With the exception of the salary I earn, I take no money from my family.”
“Hannah—”
“And I don’t need you protecting me from myself either,” she continued forcefully. “If I decide I want to kiss you, you don’t need to stop me for my own good!”
He looked suitably cowed as he held up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that you need me to—well, for anything, really.”
She growled low in her throat, as annoyed with herself as with him. Those crazy pregnancy hormones had just kicked in again. And he was still standing there, battered and bare-chested, so determined to protect her, looking so chagrined for having upset her.
Before she was even aware of moving, she had her arms around him, her mouth pressed to his. Despite his promises to exert willpower, Andrew made no effort to push her away. Instead, he gathered her against him, returning the kiss with a heat and fervor that only intensified her own passion. If the embrace caused him any discomfort, he either ignored it or didn’t notice. Just as she was too lost in the deep, hungry kiss to be self-conscious about the new size of her body against him.
Her breasts felt tight and exquisitely tender as she pressed them against his bare skin. She could feel the heat of him even through her top and bra, and she ached to feel his hands, his mouth on them. Was this the result of pregnancy hormones or just the way she always reacted to Andrew’s kisses? Whichever the reason, she craved his touch more than the oxygen she gasped in when he lifted his mouth only long enough to change the angle of the kiss.
He was notably aroused against her thigh. It thrilled her that he still reacted to her this way, still wanted her despite her shape or their situation. He slipped a hand between them, beneath her loose top, cupping one taut breast through her bra. His thumb circled lazily, making her gasp into his mouth.
“Maybe—” She paused to clear her throat. “Maybe I’ll win that argument after all. Stay with me, Andrew.”
“There’s nothing I want more than to spend the night in your bed,” he said, his voice somewhat deeper and rougher than usual. “But I don’t want you to have any regrets.”
Would she regret spending another night with him? Or could she see this as one last indulgence just for herself, before she became responsible full-time for a totally dependent child? She wanted him, he wanted her—they were both unattached adults who could use a little stress relief. “No regrets,” she promised.
His hand slid downward from her breast to the curve of her belly. “You—uh—I mean, it’s okay if we...”
“According to Dr. Power, it’s perfectly safe. Even healthy.”
His lips quirked into a sexy smile even as his eyes darkened. “Good to know. I’ll be careful.”
She slid her hand slowly up his chest, skimming very lightly over the scrapes and bruises. “So will I.”
Drawing her against him again, he murmured against her lips, “Anything you want.”
“You,” she whispered between kisses. “I want you.”
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he turned with her toward the bedroom.
Chapter Seven
Hannah smelled coffee when she woke, reminding her that she hadn’t spent the night alone. As if she’d needed that reminder, she thought, stretching slowly in the tangled bedclothes. Her body was pleasantly loose and relaxed, a result of great sex and sound sleep. Perhaps there had been some awkwardness at first, and maybe they’d had to be more careful and restrained than they had during that intense, hot, memorable encounter in Dallas, yet last night Andrew had proved that he was just as skilled at being slow and tender, she thought with a reflective sigh. A long and complicated day lay ahead, but at least she was tackling it after a satisfying and restful night.
She dressed quickly in khaki maternity pants and a summery, floral-printed top in shades of purple and cream. She left her dark hair down to her shoulders, applied her usual daytime makeup and slid her feet into leather flip-flops before leaving the bedroom. She needed to look put-together and collected, which meant she didn’t want to be wearing her nightclothes when she faced Andrew over the breakfast table.
The mobile home was laid out with the main area—living room, kitchen and dining room—in the center and bedrooms with en suite baths at each end. Dressed in clean jeans and a blue-and-white-striped collared pullover, evidence that he’d made a quick trip to Steven’s place, Andrew sat at the table with a cup of coffee, frowning down at his phone as he read and answered emails. She hadn’t heard the shower running. Had he bathed in the guest bath here or at Steven’s? Even on a Saturday morning, he seemed to be inundated with messages. She thought again of how difficult it must have been for him to push everything else aside to come here almost the moment he’d found out about her pregnancy.