Chapter Thirty-Four
ISOBEL
Minneapolis
The flight from Boston had been rough. I’d purposefully booked our seats close to the bathroom, splurging to get seats in first class. Typically, I never sat in first class unless the airline upgraded me because of my newly earned travel status, but I’d felt so terrible lately, it was worth it to have the extra space.
“You feeling better now?” Adrian asked, glancing over at me in the passenger seat of our rental car. His hand flexed on my knee and a rush of warmth spread through me.
“A bit. Brushing my teeth and washing my face at the airport helped. Thank you for those ginger chews. They’ve been a game changer. But I really want to take a shower and lay down once we check in.”
I was definitely at my least sexy—throwing up constantly, losing weight, other parts expanding, exhausted all the time. He’d been a saint, though. When I was in town, he took care of me. Often letting me crash in his office when I was so exhausted the words on my laptop blurred, making sure I got home every night safely and stocking foods he knew I could eat in my office and at both of our places.
The one thing I felt guilty about was we hadn’t been intimate in almost a month. My libido was returning, but I was self-conscious that he didn’t find me attractive anymore. I didn’t want him to feel obligated to because of the baby, but part of me wanted him to initiate things, even if I ended up turning him down. I knew it was fucked up, but with how terrible I’d been feeling, I just wanted to be wanted.
“Whatever you need, babe. I can always go by myself tonight if you’re not feeling up to it. Chase and Evan would understand.”
“I think I’ll be alright. Chase wanted the bridesmaids there so we could officially meet each other.”
While we’d only officially told a handful of people, we also hadn’t denied the rumors going around at work. There was already speculation that I was pregnant.
“Have you given any thought to going to see your family?”
I sighed, turning to look out the window. To say my family was less than thrilled about my pregnancy would be an understatement. I’d told them after we’d gone to the ultrasound to confirm the heartbeat, and they had expressed their disappointment in our relationship status.
“I can’t. They’ll come around eventually, but I can’t handle their judgment right now. They don’t understand why we won’t get married.”
Adrian was quiet for a few minutes, softly running his thumb across my inner thigh. Neither of us had brought up the subject. I wasn’t sure I wanted to get married again, but Adrian would be the only person I’d want.
“We could go visit them at Thanksgiving.” I knew he’d wanted to spend the holiday with his family, but the fact he offered to go with me meant a lot.
“I’d much rather spend it with your family.”
“Let me know if you change your mind. I’ll go with you. You shouldn’t have to face that alone.”
“I know you would,” I answered, trying to hold back my tears. The hormones made me cry at the drop of a hat lately, and Adrian being sweet didn’t help that.
“No more tears, babe. You never have to wonder where you stand with me. I’m in this for the long haul.”
Except I wasn’t sure if he meant only with the baby, or with me. Neither of us had said those three little words. He showed me every day that he might feel the same way I’d come to feel about him. But I was terrified to say it first.
By the time we were pulling up to the hotel, my eyelids were drooping.
“Let’s get you to bed.”
Glancing at the clock, I noted it was only three o’clock and calculated I’d have at least two hours to sleep before we got ready. Hopefully, that was enough to keep me from looking like a zombie.
“Do you want to wait here while I check in, or…?
“Already have the room key loaded to my phone,” I answered, yawning.
“Let me get the bags then, since you’re ahead of the game.” Adrian’s teasing tone brought a smile to my face. “Since you’ll actually let me carry your bags now without busting my balls.”
“I rather like those,” I quipped. Adrian paused at my wink, his eyes widening as his gaze turned more predatory.
“Noted. Glad you still enjoy them even after they’ve done their job.”
Waiting until he opened my car door, I took his hand and followed as he led us into the hotel. He carried both our bags for the weekend effortlessly in his other hand.
When we reached the reception desk, he caged me in against the counter while he talked to the desk clerk. As his chest pressed into my back, I suddenly had visions of him fucking me against the shower wall.
When we entered the elevators, he kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye, assessing me in a way he hadn’t done for weeks. “What has you blushing so hard over there?”
Which only made my blush deepen, my entire body suddenly feeling like it was on fire.
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit,” he laughed, letting go of my hand to pull me into his side. “You’re thinking something naughty over here, and I want to know what it is, so I can make it happen. ”
His rough whisper had me panting, suddenly desperate to rip his clothes off.
“Somehow I don’t think you’re worried about laying down so much as you are getting laid.”
“Stop,” I whined, shuddering as his warm breath coasted across my neck. “I just threw up an hour ago. You can’t find that sexy.”
“Babe, you threw up because you’re carrying my baby. What’s sexier than that?” I could think of about a million things, but I wouldn’t tell him that. “I’ve been dying to touch you for weeks, but I didn’t want to pressure you because you’ve been so tired.”
“I thought you didn’t want me.” Fuck. I would not cry again.
“You’ve got about two minutes to get undressed and naked in that shower before I join you. And I’ll remind you of how much I want you. Multiple times if I need to.”
Adrian pressed his hand into the middle of my back when we reached our floor, walking calmly behind me.
“Why aren’t you hurrying me?” I laughed, looking back at him over my shoulder.
“Just enjoying the scenery.” His eyes were fixated on my ass as he talked, slowly running the tip of his tongue along his bottom lip. It was reminiscent of how he’d teased me the last time we’d been in a hotel together, even though we’d been in separate rooms back in Maine.
My fingers fumbled on the door handle as I recalled what it’d felt like to be on my knees for him the first time, and how ravenous he’d been when he followed me to my room afterward.
“You coming?” I asked, holding the door open for him.
He leaned in, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me into his chest. “Not yet. But you’re about to be. Get in that fuckin’ shower, now.”
My morning sickness was nowhere to be found as I threw my purse on the couch, quickly pulling off my clothes and underwear while Adrian casually sat on the end of the bed watching .
“Two minutes,” he warned, nodding toward the bathroom door.
My pulse raced as I escaped inside, closing the door but leaving it unlocked, and pulling open the glass door to the shower. Another one of the perks of my job. Hotel upgrades. The mini suites did not disappoint with a large, walk-in tiled shower with two shower heads mounted on the walls and another handheld one below.
Wetting my hair, I reached for the hotel shampoo, quickly lathering it through my hair before I rubbed myself down with body wash.
The door opened while I was rinsing my face. Large hands cupped my sensitive breasts and a warm chest pressed into my back. “Such a good girl,” he murmured, softly running his thumbs across my nipples. His touch burned, but the throbbing between my legs made the mild discomfort worth it.
“Oh God,” I panted, leaning back against him while his hands roamed.
“So fuckin’ wet,” he growled in my ear. “I don’t think you’ve ever been this drenched. Is the thought of me being inside you again getting you this excited?”
“Yes,” I hissed when his fingertips passed over my clit, causing me to buck my hips back. He was hard against my ass, and it made me desperate to feel him. It’d felt like torture every night he wrapped himself around me but didn’t try to take things further.
“We’ll get there.” His voice was a low whisper as he reached forward, pulling the handheld wand off the wall and turning the dial to increase the water pressure. “Want to try something first.”
He turned it toward us, directing the spray toward my chest first, making me jump as it assaulted my breasts with a thumping rhythm. “Shh, it’s okay. I’ll make it all feel better.”
“Please,” I begged, desperate for him to do something to soothe this ache.
“Let’s see how this feels a bit lower. ”
Adrian slowly lowered the spray. My stomach contracted at the sensation, but when he replaced his fingers with it, I moaned desperately while it pulsed against my clit. “Fuck.”
He didn’t let up, holding the showerhead inches from my pussy as his other hand toyed with my nipple. This was something we’d never done, and I suddenly wanted to hit up a hardware store to buy a new showerhead for my apartment.
“Do you like that?” he asked as I bucked against him, his hard body keeping me from moving very far. But every time my ass pressed into him, he’d groan, his dick throbbing against my lower back.
“I…”
“That’s it, babe. Let go. It’s been so long since you came, I bet it’s going to feel so fuckin’ amazing to get all that pent up tension out.”
And he was absolutely right as the insistent pulsing of the water sent me over the edge, my moans echoing off the tiled walls surrounding us. Once he could tell I was sated, he finally pulled the shower head away, hanging it back up before he spun me in his arms.
“Lean against the wall and pull my hair while I make you come again with my mouth. Then I’m going to press you against these tiles and make you come all over my cock.”
While I wasn’t sure I could come again so soon, Adrian quickly proved me wrong. He’d made me see stars with his hands and mouth before making good on his promise to make me come again while he held me against the wall and bounced me on his cock. He groaned so loud when he came inside me, that I was sure the entire floor heard it. I was too relaxed to care, passing out within minutes after he’d dried me off and tucked me into bed.
After that weekend, I’d been insatiable. Attacking Adrian at any available opportunity. He’d even gotten his chance to bend me over my desk one night when we’d stayed late.
We were all over each other, enjoying my newly surging hormones, but I was still puking all the time, finally resulting in me needing to stop by the clinic for weekly IV infusions of electrolytes and fluids to keep me from being hospitalized.
Dr. Reeves wasn’t worried so much about the baby, but as my belly grew, my exhaustion started catching up with me again.
“Are you excited about this?” I asked Adrian for about the millionth time in the last forty-eight hours.
“Of course, I’m excited, babe. We get to see what it looks like now that it’ll look like an actual baby.”
“And you won’t be disappointed if it’s not what you want?”
“Babe,” he sighed, leaning in to kiss my temple. “I’m gonna love this baby no matter what gender it is.”
Nodding, I acknowledged what he’d been telling me for weeks, but I was still unsure why I’d had these fleeting feelings of unease. Personally, I was more worried about the baby. Worried that there was something wrong. I was so sick all the time that I had a hard time believing it wasn’t influencing its development.
Before I could start on a downward spiral, we were called back, ironically led into the ultrasound room they’d confirmed I was indeed pregnant in.
“Deep breaths, babe. Just focus on right now,” Adrian said, pulling me into a hug after we were left alone. “This baby already has an awesome mama, and I feel so blessed that I get to be its dad.”
Tears pricked in the corners of my eyes, and he gently brushed them away, leaning forward to kiss me softly before he helped me get settled on the exam table. Sometimes I felt like I didn’t deserve him, but I didn’t want to think about things changing between us.