Chapter 16
Dropping his keys into the ceramic bowl on the entrance table, he turned to her. "Have you eaten?"
"I had something at the store. You?"
He nodded. "Would you like some tea?"
"No." She rubbed a hand over her distended abdomen slowly.
"Problems?" His tawny eyes followed her movements.
"No. Brant-"
"Upstairs." Without waiting to see if she was following, he strode toward the staircase.
Letting out a breath, she followed him, her heart beating fast. He looked so cool and unapproachable that she found herself wondering if this was it.
He was out on the balcony when she went in, one hand in the pocket of his jeans, as he stared out at the trees waving in the summer breeze.
"I love you."
"Oh. I-"
"I'm not finished." He had his back turned toward her, his profile rigid.
"I've never said that to a woman before. I've never been in love before. It's earth-shattering." He lifted a fisted hand to his chest.
"Ever since I met you, I cannot look at another woman.
You consume me. Even when I'm away from you, I know what your scent is, because it's in my nostrils.
I know every shape, every curve intimately.
It's distressing and scary. What's even more distressing is the fact that you're so insecure when I've given you absolutely no reason to be. "
"I-"
"Still not done." He turned to face her, eyes glittering. "It's the fact that your mother never showed you that she cared or the difficulties you've been through in your life, and I take all of that into account. All of it. And you're pregnant, hormones raging." He gestured to her swollen belly.
"My seed is growing inside you and that is cause for celebration. It was what you fought for, what you wanted, and now you got it. But you cannot seem to let yourself be happy. I love you," he repeated. "I cannot be with anyone else, don't want to be with anyone else. When will you get that?"
She shifted her feet and stared at a point over his left shoulder.
She ached for him, just wanted to feel his strong arms wrapped around her.
"I love you so much, but I feel unattractive.
You're used to beautiful women and I'm pregnant, hormonal, and fat.
I feel clumsy. I keep wondering if you're going to regret-" She stopped when he hissed out a breath.
"I cry at the drop of a hat, and I know you hate it, but I can't seem to stop. I'm not the type of woman who dissolves into tears. I'm not the kind who's needy and clingy, and I've become both." She looked at him, eyes bright with tears.
"I'm scared of driving you away. Scared that one day you're going to find out that you can do better."
"Damn you, Indigo!" He crossed the space to stand in front of her.
"I smell," she continued, her chin lifting. "I pass gas and I pee a lot. You're Brant O'Keefe-"
"Your bloody husband, and if you think I'm the kinda guy who does not appreciate that his wife's pregnancy comes with all sorts of symptoms, then you don't really know me." He clamped his hands on her shoulders.
"Before I discovered that I was in love with you, I saw you at your damn worst. I saw you bloodied, with your head over the toilet bowl. And I stayed and took care of you. Do you think I'm going to run now?" He shook her slightly.
"Your insecurities, thinking that I'm with someone else, that is pissing me off. Is that what you think of me? That I would leave my pregnant wife and go and be with another woman? Am I that shallow, that low, that terrible? Answer me!"
"No." Lifting her hands, she curled them into his shirt. "No. You're wonderful and the best thing that ever happened in my life and I don't want to mess it up. But I keep messing it up." Her lips trembled.
"Take me to bed, Brant. I just want you to hold me. I want to feel your arms around me and inhale your cologne. Take me to bed."
"I don't-"
"Please."
He wasn't proof against her vulnerability or the feel of her body so close to his. He had spent hours at the club trying to concentrate on the tennis game, and then the card game without success. All he wanted to do was to be with her.
With a feral growl, he clamped a hand at the back of her neck and crushed her lips with his.
Tears trickled down her cheeks as she kissed him back with everything in her. Her hands came around his neck, her body molding against his as far as her swollen abdomen would allow her. There was apology in the kiss, a profound regret and encompassing love.
Brant felt all of it and his heart melted.
His hands wandered up and down her back, his fingers biting into her shoulders and back.
It wasn't enough. He wanted to taste her skin, to see her naked, to kiss her all over, to drive himself so deep inside her that he would have difficulty getting back out.
Lifting his mouth from hers, he stared down at the woman who had taken over his life and his heart and felt himself shuddering, his body racked with emotions too profound to put a name to.
Silently, he took her hand and led her into the bedroom where he slowly undressed her.
Indigo stood there as he bared her flesh and kissed her exposed skin.
When he was down to her panties, he took her hand and led her up the steps.
Pushing her gently down on the bed, he bent to remove her loafers.
Indigo's heart slammed against her ribs as he lifted one foot and trailed his fingers over her calf.
She knew what he was about. He had a technique, one he employed every now and then.
Their lovemaking would either be swift and brutal, with them tearing at each other's clothing, or slow, like now, when he decided to take his time.
Her body trembled in anticipation and dread.
This technique was designed to drive her insane.
His mouth followed his fingers and had her arching her back as he nipped at her skin with his teeth and soothed it with his tongue.
When he slid between her thighs, she curled her fingers in the sheets.
With his eyes holding hers, he slowly kneaded the muscles of her thighs, massaging the skin until he was working his way upward.
He did not take off her panties as she expected.
Her eyes widened when he ducked his head and kissed her sex through the transparent lace.
"Brant."
"Shh." His tongue found the protruding flesh and kissed it, tugging it between his teeth. Desire erupted and tore through her body like teeth.
"Brant." His name became a song. "Brant.
" Then a whisper as her fingers slid through his dense hair.
"Brant." A cry when he eased the material to the side and used his tongue in a very inventive way.
"Brant." A whimper that became a scream when his tongue darted into her wet warmth.
The climax was immediate and explosive and had her clutching his hair, her body vibrating.
Staggering to his feet, he tore off his clothes and tossed them to the side and could barely manage to kick off his tennis shoes.
He was throbbing and aching. But he was not through with her yet.
Pushing her back on the pillows, he started with her lobes, his tongue tracing the outline of her ears before moving down to ravage her throat.
Her body was still in shock, not yet recovered from the shattering climax.
He teased and suckled her nipples until she was begging him to take her.
He spent time on her stomach, lovingly kissing the mound.
His emotions spilled over as he cradled the shape of his baby growing inside her.
His hand slipped between them to cover her sex, fingers dipping into her warmth. His eyes met hers, face taut with passion as he stroked her.
"Tell me you want me," he demanded harshly.
Her body was covered with a fine sheen of sweat, and she was almost delirious.
"I want you. Please-"
"Tell me you love me." He drove in deeper, increasing the thrusts. He knew he was being perverse, but he wanted to punish her for making him feel so much, for making him so helpless around her. "Tell me!"
"I love you!" Her cries echoed around the room as another climax claimed her. Tears trickled down her cheeks, her body surging toward his fingers.
Satisfied that he had her where he wanted her, he moved her onto her side and positioned her so that he could enter her from behind.
His arms wrapped around her thickened waist, fingers splayed possessively over the bump.
She sheathed him, pulling him in until he was deep inside her.
He moved then, his mouth nuzzling her neck and then demanding her lips.
The kiss drugged her. With his body thrusting into her, she lost all sense of time and place and could only feel him, taste him.
"Take more," he whispered against her mouth.
"I can't," she admitted brokenly.
"Take more." Making sure she did, he increased the pace and had her exploding again. He was right behind her, his hand drifting between her thighs and teasing the swollen flesh. She came again, her body pressing back against his as she rode the wave of the earth-shattering orgasm.
He poured himself into her, his heart racing. Sinking his teeth into the back of her neck, he sucked the flesh into his mouth and sent an electric jolt straight to her soul.
He was destroyed. Brant knew he shouldn't be amazed by what she was able to pour out of him, but each time he was. She reached his very soul and that was what was so confounding. He had never met anyone like her in his entire life and there had been a lot of women.
She stirred, bringing him back from his reverie.
Lifting her hand, she twined her fingers through his and simply held on, tight.
"Was this convincing enough?" He found the strength to speak, even though the words were lodged inside his throat.
"Yes." Her own voice was a mere whisper. "I cannot believe this is real. It doesn't seem real to feel like this. To love like this."