Broken (Otherworld 6)

We rolled to the floor, kissing and nipping and tussling, both instinctively avoiding my stomach. Once I got the upper hand, but quickly relinquished it. I wasn't in the mood for that, not tonight. So when he grabbed my wrists, grip tight as he pulled them up over my head, I made only a token struggle, then arched my hips to meet him, my legs parting, heart racing, straining, ready--

He'd stopped. Crouched there, above me, poised to take the plunge, but not moving, a clear "Oh, shit" on his face. For a second, I thought we'd pushed the foreplay too far. It happens, particularly when we're revving on high before we begin. I was fighting to keep the disappointment from my voice as I opened my mouth for the obligatory "that's okay." Then I looked past my belly and saw that he certainly did not appear to be done. My gaze went back to my stomach and I realized why he'd stopped.

"Oh, shit!" I said, pushing up on my elbows. "I completely forgot."

"And I almost did." He rolled his shoulders, shuddering, as if trying to suppress the wish that he hadn't remembered in time.

Two weeks ago, after a relatively unathletic round of lovemaking, I'd started spotting. Jeremy was pretty sure it had been nothing serious, but it scared the crap out of Clay and me, so we'd made a decision: no intercourse until the baby came.

Sounds easy enough. There were plenty of other things we could do. The problem was that for Clay and me, foreplay was just that--a precursor to the main event. Anything more than a few minutes' worth was teasing, deliciously postponing what we both really wanted. I could say that's the wolf in us, but I suspect it's just our natures.

Still, four months without intercourse shouldn't be so hard. Or so it had seemed, in that still-panicked moment of reflection after the spotting scare. But lying here, beneath him, looking up at him, his blue eyes lust-glazed, lips parted as he panted, sculpted chest and arms shimmering with sweat, the thin line of golden hair stretching between his nipples and his stomach equally sweat sodden, a dark path leading down to--

My gaze dropped.

"Oh, goddamn it!" I snarled, fists pounding the carpet.

Clay caught me up with a growling laugh. "My sentiments exactly, darling."

His lips went to mine, our kiss even rougher now, edged with frustration. He broke away first, his lips going to my ear.

"Tell me what you want me to do," he whispered. "Anything."

"What I wished you could do? Or what you can do, under the circumstance?"

His face moved in front of mine, the tip of his tongue slipping out, his eyes rolling back as my hand wrapped around him.

"What you want me to do," he said, finger sliding into me. "What you wish I could do."

So I told him, in every way and turn of phrase I could think of, half of which would make me blush under any other circumstances. I hadn't even exhausted my repertoire when the words caught in my throat as I threw my head back, growling, thrusting against his hand, and pretending with every bit of creative visualization I could muster that it wasn't his fingers inside me.

Clay's mouth went to mine, and I felt the answering snarl of release vibrate up through his chest into his throat. A moment later, he shuddered, and started to lie down atop me, remembered it wasn't possible these days, and lowered himself to my side.

He bit back a yawn. "After the baby comes, you'll get that."

"Repeatedly, I hope."

He grinned. "As 'repeatedly' as I can manage, which, after four months, I figure I should be able to manage pretty often." He paused. "Well, with short breaks."

"Which we'll probably need...for feeding and diaper changing."

"Hmm, hadn't thought of that. Not going to be pulling those half-day sessions for a while, are we?"

I sputtered a laugh. "Half-day? More like half-hour."

He growled and pulled me onto him. "You've gotten half-day...with short breaks." He looked at me. "Lots of short breaks."

"Don't ever hear me complaining, do you? Slow is good for teasing, but for satisfaction?" I grinned down at him. "Give me fast and hard any day. Pretty soon, speed will be a good thing, or this baby's going to be hampering our sex life for more than these few months."

"Can't have that."

I curled up beside him. "Definitely not."

"Kidding ourselves, aren't we?"

I chuckled against his chest. "Oh, yeah."

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