She shrugged. “I guess I’ve got a gut feeling.”
A son. “Do you have a preference?” he asked.
“Mmm-hmm. Healthy. You?”
“The same.” He inhaled and caught the scent of her hair.
He didn’t miss the intimacy of the situation, or the fact that each moment like this drew him further from his solitary way of living. Drew him closer to Nikki.
“We created a life,” she murmured.
He remembered the night in vivid detail. His hand molded against her soft flesh and the mood changed from intimate to sexually charged. His fingertips dipped lower and hit a wide band of lace. He paused, and when she didn’t stop him or object, he slipped his fingers lower, beneath the scalloped edging.
Her sharp intake of air gave him pause. But only for an instant. Because she wrapped her hand around his wrist and urged him on. There was a part of him that knew better, and a part of him that responded to her silent plea. Not just his body reacted to the knowledge that she still wanted him. Something inside him that had been cold for so long began to thaw.
She made him feel in so many different ways. He wanted her. On many different levels. It wasn’t because he’d been celibate since Nikki—although he had. And it wasn’t because she was any willing female. She was Nikki and she was special.
She always had been. And now she was carrying his child, he thought almost reverently. The reminder should have made him want to pull back, but the craving for her overruled his brain. And besides, she couldn’t... complete the act, as per doctor’s orders. Just recalling that conversation and her bright red flush made him grin.
“It’s not like you to be a tease,” she whispered.
“Ever hear of building anticipation?” he asked. His fingertips brushed over her heated skin and the sensitive mound beneath.
She sucked in a heavy breath and her hips bucked toward his hand, as if searching for more of his touch.
“Like that, Princess?” he asked, making sure the tip of his finger met with that one sensitive spot.
Her answer was a breathy moan. One that sent him reeling and caused his body to harden in anticipation. Anticipation of nothing, he reminded himself, but certain body parts didn’t seem to care.
Without warning, she turned to face him. Dark strands of hair brushed her cheeks, and her eyes were wide in her makeup-free face. “I think you’re playing with fire.”
He touched her cheek. “Why’s that?”
“For a number of reasons, but let’s start with the fact that we can’t finish this.” Nikki wasn’t about to mention the fact that with a simple touch, not only did he make her burn, but he made her care again. She hadn’t stopped, but at least she’d been able to lie to herself. It wouldn’t be as easy from here on in. “We can’t...”
“Yes, we can.” His intense gaze told her she wasn’t off the hook. “There are many ways to...” He broke off without finishing the sentence.
“Make love, Kevin.” She finished it for him. Otherwise she’d probably have to hear the male version of what they’d been about to do. Sex was as far from what she’d be doing with Kevin as the sun was from the moon. “But don’t worry. You don’t have to say the words since we aren’t about to do anything anyway.”
His face paled. “Why turn this into an argument over semantics?” He reached out to touch her.
It was all she could do not to roll into a protective ball. “Because those semantics mean a lot to me. But that aside, the doctor said there’s to be no penetration or orgasm until further notice.” Though she couldn’t meet his gaze, she forced herself to be as clinical about things as the doctor had been.
It was an uncomfortable and embarrassing topic, but she’d rather discuss what they couldn’t do as opposed to what Kevin didn’t feel. “Semantics,” she mimicked under her breath.
He rolled over, his arm covering his eyes. “I’d like to say I’m sorry I started this.”
“But you’re not.”
He exhaled a groan. “Of course I am. But not for the reasons you think. And if I say it shouldn’t have happened, you’ll take it the wrong way and jump all over me.”
“Just spit it out. What is it you’re trying to say?” she asked, then steeled herself for what was to come.
“There’s something between us. It’s sexual...”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” she muttered.
“And it’s emotional.”