EPILOGUE
Cole
I never thought I’d be here—cooking dinner in our kitchen, ring box hidden in my desk, listening for my little doctor’s key in the door. Three months ago, I was a solitary man with a security business and too many scars, both inside and out. Now I had a woman who quoted medical terminology during sex and made me believe in second chances.
The sound of the front door bursting open pulled me from my thoughts. Ella rushed past me, straight to the bathroom. The retching sounds that followed made me frown. My protective instincts kicked in even as a suspicion formed.
“Ella?” I found her bent over the toilet, her dark hair falling forward. Without hesitation, I gathered her hair back, rubbing her spine the way she liked when she was stressed. I couldn’t think of anything more stressful than this.
“Don’t get too close. I think I picked up the bug that’s going around.” She sat down on the floor, leaning back against the tub. I stood, handing her a wet cloth. She had taken over the practice for the doctor she’d filled in for. “Though from a medical perspective—”
“Baby, I don’t think that’s it.” I sat down beside her, pressing a kiss to her temple, my heart racing at what this might mean.
She blinked up at me with those big brown eyes that had haunted my dreams since that first day at the airport. “What?”
“I think you might be pregnant and you have morning sickness. Or NVP—nausea and vomiting of pregnancy,” I couldn’t help but grin. “Which, little doctor, can happen any time of day.”
“I know that.” She swatted my chest, but her eyes held wonder. “I’m the one with the medical degree.” She sat there a moment longer. “You think I’m pregnant?”
“Yeah. I do. Your breasts have been more, um, sensitive. You’re a little more moody.”
That earned me a glare.
“And you’re more beautiful than ever.”
“Oh, Cole.” I saw the tears start to form in her eyes.
“See? You’re more emotional.” I grinned down at her.
“A baby. I think you’re right,” she agreed. “We’re going to have a baby.”
I stood, gathering her into my arms.
“What are you doing?” she asked, even as she put her arms around my neck, her head on my shoulder.
“Putting you to bed.” I carried her to our room, sitting her on the edge of the bed. I started working on the buttons of her blouse while imagining her even more rounded with my child. “Then I’ll bring you some toast and—”
“No.” She caught my hand, that sparkle in her eye that always meant trouble. “I know another way to make this go away. A theory, if you will.”
I arched an eyebrow, already hardening at her tone. “And what theory is that?”
“That sex can actually help alleviate symptoms due to the release of certain hormones and—
“
“Say no more, little doctor.” I laid her on our bed. Our bed, in our home. How had I gotten so lucky? “I will gladly participate in this research opportunity.”
Her giggle turned to gasps as I started stripping. Those gasps turned to moans as I joined her on the bed, my hand sliding between her legs. I found her swollen nub and started circling with my thumb. Her opening already slick. “So wet, baby? Were you thinking about this on the way home? You should have been concentrating on the road.”
“I was,” she assured me.
I leaned down, taking one hard nipple in my mouth, sucking it deep inside. I continued to touch her, drawing out those delightful groans I’d come to adore. “Do you want me inside you, Ella?”
“Yes, I want you to—” I stopped her words with a kiss.
“Say it, baby, I need to hear you say it.”
“I want you to fuck me, Cole.” She grabbed my dick. “I want you. To fuck me. With this big, hard cock.” Each word was punctuated with a hard squeeze followed by a long, tight stroke. I realized suddenly that the student had become the teacher.
The sight of her beneath me made my chest ache. This woman had changed everything, made me want things I never thought I’d have.
“A baby,” she whispered as I pressed kisses to her belly. The wonder in her voice matched the feeling expanding in my chest. My child. Our child.
“At this stage of development—”
“Ella.”
“Yes?”
“No medical terms when I’m trying to celebrate knocking you up.”
Her laugh was pure joy. My hand splayed possessively over her stomach. The primitive satisfaction of knowing I’d put a baby in her warred with the tenderness that threatened to overwhelm me.
“I wonder what the nurses have to say about pregnancy sex,” she teased, pulling me up for a kiss.
“Those nurses are still a menace.” But I was already pressing against her entrance, need building as she wrapped those curves around me. “But they were right about one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“How fucking perfect you are.” I slid inside her, slow and deliberate, savoring every inch as I watched the way her lashes fluttered, her mouth parting on a soft gasp. She clenched around me, and I groaned, burying myself to the hilt. The way she responded to me made me feel invincible. I moved with restraint at first, rolling my hips in a steady, unhurried rhythm, letting her feel every deep stroke. Her fingers traced my back, nails pressing just enough to make me shiver. The little sounds she made, those sweet, needy whimpers, had me teetering on the edge of control. Then, I flipped us, guiding her to straddle me, her thighs spread wide over my hips.
“We might as well get use to this position,” I murmured as I gripped her hips, holding her steady as I thrust up into her.
She threw her head back, her hair tumbling down her back as she moved, rolling her hips in a slow, sensual grind that had my breath hitching. My hands slid over her belly, then up, cupping her full, sensitive breasts. I leaned forward, drawing one stiff peak into my mouth, flicking my tongue over it until she gasped my name.
“That’s it, baby,” I murmured, voice rough with need. “Ride me, just like that.”
She braced her hands on my shoulders, her pace shifting, faster now, desperate. Our bodies slammed together, skin slick with heat and need. I slipped a hand between us, circling her swollen clit with my thumb, and she shattered—her body clamping down around me as she came with a cry. It was the sweetest sound, my woman finding her release with me pounding inside her.
And that was all it took. I thrust up hard, burying myself deep as pleasure slammed through me, my release spilling into her. I held her tight as she trembled, her body still pulsing around mine. I eased her down onto my chest, still buried inside her, unwilling to break the connection just yet. She groaned at the sensation. “Give me a minute, baby.”
“Okay.” she murmured sleepily. “But statistically speaking...”
I pressed a kiss to her hair. “I love it when you talk dirty to me.”
She gave a drowsy giggle and cuddled closer. “You do?”
“Yeah, I do.”
I rolled us on to our sides, hooking her leg over mine as I seated myself deep inside her. Her eyes widened. “I don’t think it’s been sixty seconds.”
“Really?” I rocked against her, letting her know for certain how ready I was to love her again. “Maybe you should do a little more research on recovery times, little doctor.”
She grinned back at me. “Maybe I should. It should only take, say the next fifty years before I can draw a definitive conclusion.”
I silenced her with a kiss, swallowing the last of her laughter, letting the slow burn between us ignite once again. Listening to her explain our physical reactions to each other had become my favorite pastime. That and what always came after.