Melanie nodded. “We’re fine. No need to worry.”
The worry lines between his brows didn’t diminish. Melanie smoothed her thumb over the narrow area and offered him a smile. “I won’t keep anything from you, Tanner. This is our child. Now are you going to undress or just stay down there on your knees?”
Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say—or the right one, considering the way his eyes darkened and he pressed his lips to the inside of her knee. He trailed up toward the apex of her thighs and she found herself clutching his shoulders once again.
Just when he came so close to the area where she ached for him most, he turned his attention to her other leg and started the process over again. Her hips shifted and the groan escaped before she could stop herself. Tanner was driving her positively mad with want and need.
“Relax,” he murmured as he stared up at her. “We’ve got all night.”
“Is that a threat or a promise?”
“Both.”
He nipped at her belly just above the band of her panties. She hated that he could see the stretch marks, but she wasn’t ashamed of who she’d been. Those were her reminders of the woman she never wanted to be again. The woman who let others walk all over her, the woman who didn’t care for herself the way she should.
His hands covered her stomach as he placed another kiss on her. “I know this wasn’t planned, but I’m not even going to pretend I’m sorry. I can’t wait to meet our baby.”
Melanie’s heart tumbled. They were most definitely not in the right place to have a child together. They knew little about each other, but she wasn’t sorry, either. If she was honest with herself, she’d much rather have Tanner as the father of her child than any other man she’d ever known.
Each day she felt she uncovered another layer of what made up this remarkable man. Which meant each day she fell a little more for him and there wasn’t much she could do to prevent the inevitable.
When Tanner came to his feet, Melanie reached for him, but he stepped aside. “I’ve got this.”
In record time he’d stripped and stood before her completely bare, without a shame in the world. Sure, if she looked like him
she’d parade around with the lights on, too. Damn that man didn’t have an ounce of fat anywhere . . . and she’d looked. Twice.
“Keep lookin’ at me like that and you’ll never leave this room.”
Melanie felt her cheeks heat up as she smiled. “Well, you did put it all on display, so don’t act like you’re shy.”
In a lightning fast move, he reached behind her and flicked her bra. She didn’t want to think about how he’d perfected that move. Melanie straightened her arms and let the pink cotton glide silently to the floor.
His eyes darted down to her panties and back up as a wry grin spread across his face. Melanie slid her underwear off, kicking them to the side. Feeling more confident than she ever would’ve imagined, she propped her hands on her hips and tilted her head.
“Now what, hot shot?”
“Now you better hang on, because things are about to get interesting.”
Tanner closed the minuscule space between them, bringing their bodies flush as he gripped her face and covered her mouth with his. Melanie curled her fingers around his wrists and sank into the kiss, her body melting against his.
He spun her around, never breaking contact, and her knees hit the side of the bed. Slowly, with more care than she’d ever been shown, he eased her down, keeping his weight off her. His hands rested on either side of her head and she eased her legs apart to accommodate his hips.
“I’ve never wanted this.” She didn’t know why those words tumbled out because she’d meant to keep them locked away.
Tanner stared down at her. “With me?”
“With anyone,” she admitted. “Before we were together, I never knew sex could be . . . satisfying.”
The muscle clenched in his jaw and a flash of rage came and went in his dark eyes. Melanie shivered, not that she was afraid of him, not by any means. But Tanner was a protector and she knew her admission had him thinking how he could make everything right. For her.
He kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m glad I could be the one to show you how sex should be.”
So was she, but she couldn’t say the words. Not right now when she was too vulnerable, too raw and feeling exposed.
“Do we need protection?” he asked.
Melanie laughed. “Obvious reasons aside, I’ve never been with anyone other than my ex, but I know I’m clean.”