“Slow your roll, turbo,” I gasped, shivering as the water running over us went from cool to cold. “We have five children. No more.”
He reached behind me and shut off the shower before I was done speaking, pulling his hands away to fling the shower curtain open.
“No more?” he asked quietly as he helped me out of the shower and started to dry me.
“God, I can’t even think about more right now.”
“So it’s a maybe?”
“Can we get Iris past her first birthday? I’m still recovering from the birth here.”
Shane blanched and glanced down quickly.
“No!” I blurted. “No, that’s all healed up. Good to go.”
He laughed. “That’s good to know.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“Uh-huh.”
“You wish,” I said haughtily, pulling the bathroom door open while he still stood there soaking wet.
“Shit, Kate! Cold!”
I laughed and tiptoed out of Shane’s room and into my own. I’d been using the shower in the master bathroom since I was pregnant with Iris, and I hadn’t stopped even though Shane was back. It wasn’t as if he ever slept in his room anyway—he ended up curled next to me in the guest room every night.
Iris was awake but thankfully not crying when I got back into my room. I closed the door firmly behind me, dropped my towel, and scooped her up, almost crying in thankfulness when she immediately turned her head and latched onto my nipple. Ah, bliss.
“Good girl, Iris,” Shane said as he slipped into my room, closing the door behind him.
“She’s not a dog,” I retorted, rolling my eyes.
“Yeah, but she’s emptying you out, which means you won’t wake up in pain in a few…Goddamn, you look incredible right now,” he breathed, staring.
“My hair’s—”
“You’re naked and nursing,” he cut in. “You look like some sort of fertility goddess.”
“Well…I did get pregnant after one night of sex. That’s pretty fertile.”
He snorted, shaking his head.
“My superpower is making babies.”
“You are pretty damn good at that,” he replied, lifting his eyebrows up and down as he lay down on the bed next to us.
“Shit,” I laughed. “I walked right into that one.”
“I’m happy,” Shane announced, letting out a contented sigh as he rolled to his back. “Are you happy?”
“Yeah.” I looked down at Iris, smiling as I saw the way she was staring up at me. “Beyond happy.”
“I make you happy?” he asked softly.
“You and our kids.”
“I’ll always make you happy,” he promised, reaching out to rest his hand on my thigh.
“Until you leave your stinky gym clothes on the floor in the bathroom,” I replied ruefully.
“Except for then.”
“I think I can live with that.” I switched Iris to the other side and then put her back in bed. Thankfully she’d begun sleeping mostly through the night, which meant I’d get a full six hours of sleep before she woke me up again.
I walked toward the dresser, but Shane’s husky voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Don’t put any clothes on.”
“That would be irresponsible,” I whispered back awkwardly. “What if there’s a fire?”
“I’ll dress you before we go to sleep,” he promised, sitting up on the bed.
“You’ll dress me?”
“You’ll be too tired to do it yourself,” he said confidently, his eyes meeting mine before sliding back down my body.
My nipples grew tight at his words, and his eyes flared in response.
“Come here, Kate.”
I moved toward him without conscious thought, and when he could reach me, he pulled me between his spread thighs.
“You want me?” he asked softly, running his hands up the outsides of my legs.
“I haven’t shaved my legs,” I answered, pushing at his hands. God, why did that shit only happen to me?
“Quit it, Kate,” Shane ordered, lightly slapping my hands away so he could put his back on my thighs. “Quit worrying about your legs. They’re fine. Soft.”
I forced my hands down to my sides and met his eyes.
“Do you want me?” he asked again, his hands moving inward before sliding back to the outsides of my thighs.
“Yes,” I whispered back, my heart racing. God, it had been forever since I’d had sex. The need for that connection almost overpowered my self-preservation. Shane had seen me at my worst—hell, he’d seen me in the mornings before I’d had a chance to brush my teeth—but he still wanted me. He knew all my secrets, and all my quirks. But I was still terrified to have sex with him.
I knew that once the line was crossed again, there would be no going back.
“Are you ready for me?” he asked, searching my eyes as his hands traced over the small pouch of my belly and curve of my waist.
“No,” I answered, my eyes growing watery.
“It’s okay, baby,” he said gently, though I could hear the disappointment in his voice. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”
“I’m sorry,” I groaned, reaching out to rub my hands over his short hair. “I’m just—”