“Merit.”
Something in her voice made him pause with his arms halfway through the sleeves and his head through the neck.
She slid off the counter to stand in front of him, naked to the waist. “I was thinking…it’s not like I can get pregnant again.”
He froze as his gaze sought hers.
“I mean, if there’s nothing else to worry about…” The flush in her cheeks deepened as her lashes lowered. “It’s only been you, and Ian’s father all those years ago.”
He should not be so ridiculously pleased to have that confirmed. But he was. And he knew that made him a complete hypocrite, but still.
He lowered his arms until the wet cotton stretched between his forearms rested against his stomach. “I get regular check-ups. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Then don’t go.”
He swallowed past the lump that had returned to his throat. “You’re sure?”
She answered by reaching for the front of her shorts. Mesmerized, he watched while she unbuttoned, unzipped, and then shimmied them and her panties down past her hips to land with a soft plop at her feet.
Chapter 14
With her heart pounding so damn fast she had a hard time catching her breath, Mae straightened and kicked her shorts aside to stand completely naked before Merit. She’d told him earlier the baby was only the size of a lime, but she could already see changes in her body and wondered if he did, too. Did he even remember enough fro
m their one night to notice the differences?
Merit slowly lifted his gaze, all the gold in his irises eclipsed by the intense desire dilating his pupils. As if coming out of a daze, he blinked, ditched his shirt, and stepped forward to cup her face with both hands. He tipped her chin up while lowering his head to slant his mouth over hers and plunge his tongue deep.
Hungry, sensual strokes turned rising desire into primal need. She skimmed her hands over the hard muscles of his back, down to his jeans again. They were still wet, and she discovered it was still impossible to push the stubborn, clingy denim past his hips and down his thighs.
“Need help with these,” she muttered.
His hands found hers and guided them up around his neck. “Patience.”
Then he dipped at the knees and reached to grip her thighs while hoisting her into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her out of the bathroom.
“Which bedroom?”
“The one on the left.”
He strode to the open door and crossed the room to lay her on the bed with the freshly changed sheets. Mae braced herself up on her elbows to watch him wrestle with his pants. When he lost his balance and barely caught himself from falling over by grabbing for the edge of the bed, she bit her lip to hold back a laugh.
“It’s not funny,” he groused with a sheepish grin. He flipped around to sit on the bed while shoving to get them past his muscled thighs. “Wet jeans are the worst.”
Rising up on her knees behind him, she pressed her face into the crook of his neck while skimming her hands around to the front of his ridged stomach. He’d mentioned working out, and judging by his washboard abs, he exercised a lot. And holy hell, he smelled frickin’ amazing. He always did.
She’d battled nerves earlier, now she was back to wanting him inside her so bad she ached.
“You want help?” she whispered against the side of his neck as she moved her hands lower.
“Didn’t think I had to ask.” His voice came out all rough, his breath shallow.
She sucked on his neck while sidling around him until she stood between his legs with the chill of his wet jeans against her outer thighs. His hands skimmed up to cup her breasts at the same time she pressed her lips to his. A soft gasp escaped when he tweaked her nipples, and fresh arousal spiked straight to her core.
“Jeans,” she reminded.
They both lowered their hands and worked together to get the wet material down to his knees, mouths still melded together. Then she backed up and knelt down to tug first one leg off, then the other. When she flattened her palms on his thighs and looked up, the sight of his erection jutting up tall and thick made her whole body prickle in breathless anticipation.
He drew her to her feet, and his large hands spanned her waist as he tugged her forward between his legs again. With her standing and him still sitting, he slid his hands up to cup her breasts, lifting them in his palms, squeezing in a gentle massage as he brushed his thumbs back and forth across her tight, tingling nipples.