Chapter Twenty-Four
Elizabeth was torn between the feelings of the cold tile against her back and the heat and velvet sensations of Kevin’s mouth on the most sensitive part of her body. When her body took over and pleasure flooded her senses, she lost track of where she was or anything but the two of them.
She registered his hand on her belly, but despite what she might have thought, it didn’t pull her out of the moment. Instead, Kevin’s touch reassured her. She trusted him in a way she trusted no one else, he would keep her safe. Elizabeth surrendered to the pleasure and joy flooding her body.
Slowly the haze receded and her breathing eased.
“Wow,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper as she lay staring up at the ceiling. “Give me a minute and I’ll return the favor.”
“Nope.” Kevin scooped her off the counter and carried her down the hall.
“Where are we going?” She couldn’t have stopped him, she didn’t have control of her limbs yet, but she had enough of herself back to think that she’d have to remember to clean that counter again before cooking dinner.
“I thought you might like a bath.”
“I need to call Mama.”
“I’ll lay you on the bed and you can call Mama from there while I run the water. Then, if she insists, we can meet her.”
“My phone is in the kitchen.” She didn’t even try to resist the urge to rub her face against his chest. She loved that he let her do the weird snuggling stuff and never questioned her or stopped her, as if he liked it as much as she did.
Michael never had. He’d always been distant and rarely touched her, even to hold hands or brush against her passing in the hall.
She wondered why she hadn’t noticed there was something off before.
Looking back at all the time they’d spent together, the signs that he preferred men to women were there and she had to wonder how she’d been so oblivious.
“Let me start the water, then I’ll get your phone.” Kevin laid her on the bed, then headed for the attached bathroom.
Elizabeth looked up at the ceiling and thought about what she was going to say to Mama. She didn’t know if she was ready to tell Mama about the baby. If she was, it definitely wouldn’t be over the phone.
A couple of minutes later, when Kevin brought her the phone, she shifted up the bed to lean against the headboard, and dialed Mama.
“Elizabeth? Is that really you?” Mama said instead of hello.
“It’s me, Mama. I told you I would call soon. It hasn’t even been a week!”
“But I missed you, Elizabeth. And I was worried about you.”
She wanted to tell Mama that she likely wouldn’t have heard from her by now if she had gone through with marrying Michael, because they wouldn’t be back from the honeymoon for another week, but she didn’t want to bring up Michael. It would just give Mama something else to try to browbeat her with.
“I’m fine. I wanted to tell you that I’ve moved out of my apartment.” Well, technically she hadn’t done the work, but the result was the same. She bit her lip knowing what was coming and not looking forward to it.
“How did you find a new place so fast?”
“I found someone who let me move in.”
“You have a roommate?” Mama sounded disapproving.
“I wouldn’t exactly say that.” She was being obtuse, but she couldn’t resist the urge to play with Mama, just a little.
“Aren’t you a little old for a roommate? After having a place of your own are you sure you want to live with someone again?”
“I was going to be living with someone either way, Mama. I can tell you I’m much happier where I am now.”
Mama sighed. “I can’t do this. I need to see for myself that you’re okay. Meet me for lunch.”
Elizabeth fell silent. She’d been prepared for this, and she was willing to go, but she also knew that she couldn’t seem to eager or prepared. She had to let Mama try to talk her into it.
“I don’t know, I’ve got so much to do. I’m still unpacking and settling in.
” That wasn’t true. The day after they’d gotten everything moved out of her place, Kevin had brought over a couple of men, one of them being Nathan, and had them unpack everything but the couple of boxes that Kevin had packed and put everything where she told them to.
He’d been adamant that she wasn’t to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk, and that had been his way to ensure it.
“I have to see you, sweetheart. I have to see that you’re okay with my own eyes.”
Elizabeth sighed audibly, letting her mother believe she didn’t want to do it.
“All right. Where?”
Mama suggested a high-end place near her home, Elizabeth didn’t feel like going all that way, much less dressed as well as the place would expect of their customers.
“I don’t know. I don’t feel like all that.” Elizabeth suggested a place closer to the middle of where Mama lived and where she and Kevin were now, in Wilmer. The place was far more casual and Elizabeth knew she would be more comfortable there and likely Kevin too.
“But that is so far away. Why would you want to go all that way?” Mama asked.
“It’s closer to where I live now. I don’t feel like making the trip all the way into Mobile.”
“You moved out of Mobile? What were you thinking.”
“I’ll tell you if you meet us there.”
“Us?” Mama caught the word right away.
“Yes, Mama. I thought I would bring my new roommate and let you meet them.” Now she was grinning. It was petty, she knew, but messing with Mama could be fun. Especially when she knew something Mama wanted to know and Elizabeth wasn’t quite ready tell her.
“Oh, all right. I know you’re not going to give in and unless I agree to where you want to go, I’ll have to keep waiting until you’re ready to come closer. I’m not willing to wait that long to see you.”
“Then I’ll see you in a couple of hours. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take a shower and get ready. I’ll see you soon.”
“Don’t be late,” Mama said before disconnecting the call.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. As if she was ever late. Once. One time, more than five years ago, she’d been late because a tire had blown on her car and had taken over an hour for roadside assistance to get to her, much less to change it and Mama never let her live it down.
She dropped her phone into her lap and pinched the bridge of her nose as she took several deep breaths and wondered if how funny Mama’s reaction would be was worth the drama and the headache she was going to cause in the long run.
Maybe not, but Kevin was worth the headache. That part she had no doubt about.
“Ready for the tub?” Kevin asked from the bathroom doorway. She glanced over and did a double take when she realized he was leaning against the door frame, watching her, in nothing but his boxer briefs.