Chapter 26
Brit’s plan, which had looked brilliant in the early hours of her thirty-first birthday, could be totally unworkable. Desiree had implied as much.
But when Trent abandoned his meal, stood and held out his hand, she didn’t give a damn. If she’d landed herself in a mess, it wasn’t all bad news. She was pregnant with a baby girl, and a man who flipped all her switches, as Desiree would say, had just issued a silent invitation.
Better yet, he assumed her acceptance of his invitation. He didn’t hesitate or question. He simply led her down the hall to his bedroom, his fingers woven through hers in a firm grip.
Once there, he touched a wall switch, bathing the king-sized bed in a warm glow from lamps on the nightstands. His gaze was steady and his movements sure as he undressed her. Only the slight tremble of his fingers and the ragged sound of his breathing hinted at the emotions he was keeping tightly leashed.
She stood still, moving only when he needed her to, but inside she was anything but still. Blood rushed through her veins, whipped to a frenzy by the frantic thump of her heart. Her breasts ached and her core throbbed. Every breath took effort, and the lack of oxygen made her dizzy. She was melting, immersed in the liquid of desire.
When he’d taken away everything, including the scrunchie holding her ponytail in place, he lifted her gently in his arms and laid her on the puckered surface of a soft quilt. Then he started on his clothes.
His movements grew less and less precise. Clearly impatient with the buttons on his shirt, he yanked hard and a button flew.
Turning her head in his direction, she sucked in breath after breath as he shed his jeans and briefs. What moron would deprive herself of that? Talk about cruel and unusual punishment.
As he approached the bed, he reached for the handle on the nightstand drawer. He paused. His low, sexy chuckle created swirls of excitement in her stomach.
Heat simmered in his dark eyes. “Can you believe I forgot?”
“Want to wear one for old time’s sake?”
“Take a guess.” He climbed in and moved over her. Dipping his head, he gave her a slow, sensual kiss. He ended it gradually, nibbling on her lips. “Let’s keep it simple. We’ll get creative later.”
His husky murmur made her shiver. “We will?” Sliding her hands up his back, she clutched his broad shoulders, her quivering body ready, so ready.
“That’s a promise. But right now, I don’t need fancy.”
“Me, either.”
“Just this.” Braced on his forearms, his gaze locked with hers, he pushed deep.
And her world made sense again. This connection felt so real, so good, even more wonderful than she remembered. How could that be when they’d had the ultimate experience of creating a child?
His breath hitched and he closed his eyes, his lashes dark against his cheek. When he opened them and looked down at her, emotion flickered there. “It’s even better.”
“I know.”
“I didn’t expect that.” He slowly began to stroke. “I didn’t… ahh, Brittany… I love how you move with me.”
“Because I want…”
“You want me. You want this.” His eyes glowed with happiness. “Even though we’ve already?—”
“Yes.” Focusing on him, giving her answer with her body, she lifted her hips to meet his thrusts as the rhythmic friction worked its magic, taking her higher, and higher yet.
This beautiful man had given her a child and now he was giving her pleasure. So much pleasure. Her core tightened as he moved faster, bearing down.
“Let go, Brittany,” he crooned softly.
And she did, digging her fingers into his back and crying out as the waves of her climax crashed over her.
He followed, her name on his lips as he shuddered, his pulsing tempo matching hers.
Glorious.
Breathing hard, he leaned his forehead against hers. “I want you to spend the night.”
“Okay.”
He lifted his head and sucked in air. “That was easy.”
“I like it here.”
“In my bed or in my cabin?”
“Both.”
“Excellent. Then how about coming out Friday night and staying with me until Sunday morning?”
A faint warning light flashed. “Why?”
He started laughing, which created a very interesting sensation as his laughter shook… everything. “I think that’s obvious.”
So he wanted more of this. Understandable. “We can’t stay in bed all day and night.”
He grinned. “We can’t? Shoot. Guess we’ll have to find a wedding to go to.”
“Oh, that’s right. Saturday’s the wedding.”
“You forgot? Damn, I’m good.”
She got a kick out of this playful side of him. “You did make me forget, but don’t let it go to your head.”
“Too late. You’re in for it, now.”
Lowering her voice to a soft purr, she batted her eyelashes. “Oh, I hope so.”
His breath caught. “Keep that up and I might just stay where I am and start over.”
“Fine with me.”
He held her gaze, heat building in his dark eyes. “No getting around it, I’m obsessed with you.”
“Backatcha.”
“I’d ask for the whole weekend, but Sunday is Mother’s Day.”
“Right. I always spend it with my mom.”
“And I’ll be with mine. Although it would be entirely appropriate to be with you, too. I just don’t think that’s feasible.”
“Probably not.”
Leaning down, he kissed the corners of her mouth, then the top lip and the bottom. “So will you?” He repeated the routine. “I told Desiree I might bring someone to the wedding rehearsal Friday night. Now she’ll be expecting me to bring you.”
“I like it when you kiss me like that.”
“Then I’ll keep doing it.” He sucked lightly on her lower lip.
“But I can’t think.”
He raised his head again. “Then I’ll stop.”
She also had trouble thinking when they were still snugly joined, but she didn’t want him to move. She liked that feeling. A lot. Maybe they could just start over without changing positions.
His patience was nice, too. He didn’t bug her for an answer, just let her take her time deciding.
Really, it was a no-brainer. “Well, since the wedding’s out here and I’m going to it, I suppose staying with you Friday and Saturday night makes sense.”
“Wow, don’t you sound excited.”
“It’s just that we’ll be going public. I mean really public, and I thought we weren’t going to do that until after the wedding.”
“I know that was the original plan, but it looks like we’re already coloring outside the lines.” He shifted his hips, emphasizing the point.
“Maybe not as much as you think.”
“We’re in bed together. That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“No, but in a way, I’m following Desiree’s advice.”
His eyes lit with amusement. “By ending the cruel and unusual punishment?”
“Partly. I asked how we were supposed to get to the platonic friendship stage if we were hopping into bed all the time.”
“I can’t wait to hear how she answered that.”
“She said we had to work it out and find a solution that was mutually satisfying.”
“No magic formula, then. Big surprise.”
“But she also said this. You’ll never have a reasonable discussion with a sexually frustrated man. And I realized?—”
“That’s why we’re here?” He stared at her, all traces of humor gone. “So you can have a reasonable discussion with me?”
“It doesn’t only apply to you. I’ve been frustrated, too. I wasn’t any more capable of a reasonable discussion than you were.”
“Then all we’re doing here is letting off steam so we can figure out how to have a non-sexual relationship?”
“It’s not just about that. I can’t speak for you, but this connection we have is special and although I don’t see it as a long-term?—”
“If it’s so special, why are you so damned eager to get rid of it?”
“I’m not eager. But the whole idea was to avoid any kind of romantic entanglement, and if we’re?—”
“You know what? I didn’t take a good look at the fire before we left the living room. I need to go check on it.” He was out of bed in no time. Grabbing his jeans and briefs off the floor, he ducked into the bathroom.
She sat up, anxiety burning in her chest. “Hey, Trent, I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have told you what she said. I thought you might think it was funny, but my timing was awful.”
No answer. Moments later he came out of the bathroom wearing his jeans. “I might have thought it was funny if I didn’t also get the distinct impression you viewed this last encounter as a means to an end.”
“I swear I wasn’t thinking of it that way! I wanted to make love to you!”
“But then you did think of it that way or you wouldn’t have said you were following her advice. And guess what? We’re sexually satisfied and now we’re fighting.” He left the room.
Great. This was exactly the kind of drama she was trying to avoid. She put a hand on her stomach. He was upset, and looking at it from his standpoint, he had reason.
She had to fix this. They were going to have a baby in nine months, and they were going to be friends when that happened. She’d make sure of it.