“Oh God oh God oh God,” I moaned, my hips lifting to meet his now thrusting fingers.
“You can call me Kade,” he whispered against my lips.
I buried my hands in the thick softness of his hair as he kissed me. His hand moved faster, his touch gentle but persistent. Kade’s mouth moved to trail down my neck, his teeth settling around my nipple with a soft tug. Stars exploded behind my eyes and I cried out, a wave of pleasure pulsing through me.
Kade was still nuzzling my breasts when at last I could again breathe normally and opened my eyes. My limbs felt languid and heavy.
“That was . . .” I began, but trailed off. Words couldn’t describe it.
“Amazing? Mind-blowing? The earth moved?” Kade asked, pressing light kisses to my neck and shoulder.
I laughed. “Modest, aren’t you?”
“I’ve never claimed that as one of my virtues. Actually, I’ve never claimed any virtues at all. They’re overrated.” He pulled me into him, tucking my head against his chest. “Go to sleep, princess,” he said. His lips brushed my forehead.
I was too exhausted and sated to even contemplate all the things I should be worrying about. Kade was here. I focused on that. I hadn’t realized until now how much it had bothered me that he’d been in the hospital and how relieved I’d be when he was out. But it was as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
And I slept.
When I woke, I was alone in bed and sunlight was filtering in through the windows. I stretched, feeling a familiar soreness between my legs. Getting up, I went to the bathroom, eyeing the grin on my face that I couldn’t seem to help. I took a quick shower and pulled on one of Kade’s clean T-shirts before venturing to find him.
He was in his office, seated in front of his computer. Four large flat-screen monitors sat on the desk, obstructing my view of him. I sidled around the desk and he glanced up at me. He wore only a pair of pajama bottoms, leaving his chest deliciously bare. I noticed his hair was damp. He must have showered as well.
“Good morning,” I said with a smile, sliding between his chair and the desk. Kade quickly reached out and hit a key on his keyboard. All four screens went dark.
I sat sideways on his lap and his hands settled on my hips. Leaning down, I gave him the best kiss I could before having my morning coffee. It must have been pretty good, because I could feel the surge of his response beneath me. When I pulled back, he was looking at me. His brows were drawn together, an emotion I couldn’t read on his face, and his hand came up to cradle my cheek.
My smile faded at his expression. “What is it? What’s wrong?” I asked in alarm. “Are you in pain?” I started to climb off his lap, but his grip tightened, holding me in place.
He shook his head. “I’m fine.”
I studied him, frowning, but couldn’t be sure he was telling me the truth. Suddenly, the blank monitors at my back reminded me.
“Hey,” I said, “we have a problem.” Kade’s body stilled. “You changed my grades,” I continued.
Kade relaxed slightly, his breath releasing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said blandly. His hands were creeping underneath my shirt and I grabbed his wrists.
“You need to change them back,” I insisted.
Kade cocked an eyebrow. “Make me.” A smirk teased his lips and I couldn’t be mad at him. I’d been so afraid I would never see that smirk again, hear him tease me again.
“C’mon,” he said, standing and setting me on my feet. “I’m starving.”
Enfolding my hand in his, Kade tugged me with him to the kitchen. I sat at the dining table while he peered into the refrigerator. A few minutes later, he was cracking eggs into a bowl while coffee brewed.
I got up and went over to watch him, hopping up to sit on the counter.
“I didn’t know you cooked,” I said as he scrambled the eggs and dumped them into a sauté pan.
“One of my many talents,” Kade said, shooting me a smile. “Though if you want to strip down and make some muffins, I won’t stop you.”
I laughed, remembering when I’d last tried to cook for Kade and had forgotten a key ingredient. He’d walked in on me bare-ass naked as I tried to save the muffins.
“I’ll spare you having to stomach my cooking,” I retorted with a grin.
A few minutes later, he’d slid two omelets onto plates and poured two cups of coffee. I sat beside him at the table as he dug in, smiling to myself. His appetite was back, that was good.
Forking a bite of omelet, I popped it into my mouth, then froze. I loved eggs, but something about the omelet was . . . off. The texture suddenly seemed very, very wrong.
My stomach heaved, and I shot up from my chair and ran for the bathroom. I made it just in time.
I threw up, bent over the toilet, until there was nothing but dry heaves, noticing only then that Kade stood behind me, holding my hair back from my face. My eyes were watering and a wet washcloth suddenly appeared in my line of vision.
“Here,” Kade said gently.
I took the cloth and wiped my face, sitting back against the wall in exhaustion. Kade flushed the toilet and shut the lid, then crouched down beside me.
“Is there something you want to tell me?” he asked.
His blue eyes stared intently into mine and I abruptly realized the truth.
“You already know, don’t you,” I managed to say. It wasn’t a question.
Kade’s gaze was steady. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear you say it.”
This was it. The moment I’d been anticipating and dreading. So much depended on his reaction to this news, though I supposed if he already knew and wasn’t running for the door, that was something.
“I’m having a baby,” I blurted. “Your baby.” Then I held my breath.
Kade smiled, a real one that lit up his eyes, and he said the most perfect thing I could imagine.
“You mean we are having a baby.”
Tears filled my eyes and I threw my arms around his neck just as he gathered me close. It was exactly the embrace I’d hoped to experience when I’d dreamed of having children and imagined telling the father the news that I was pregnant. The fact that Kade was that man staggered me, especially as I considered how he and I had begun compared to where we were now.
“Feeling better?” he asked, loosening his hold on me. I sat back and nodded. “Good. Let’s get you some crackers or something—how does that sound?”
“Okay,” I agreed. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
Kade helped me to my feet and left the bathroom. I quickly brushed my teeth, glad the nausea had abated, though I didn’t think I’d be eating eggs anytime soon.
By the time I came out, Kade had finished off both omelets and was putting the plates into the dishwasher. I noticed he’d thoughtfully put some soda crackers and dry toast at my place setting. I sat in the chair I’d abandoned, pulling my knees to my chest, and nibbled on a cracker.
“How did you know?” I asked.
Kade turned around to look at me, leaning back against the counter while he sipped his coffee. My gaze drifted down to the way the muscles in his chest and arm moved. The pajamas he wore rode low on his hips. A line of dark hair that began just below his navel and disappeared behind the waistband drew my eye.
“If you expect to have an actual conversation, you’ll have to keep your eyes above my waist.”
I jerked my gaze up to his, the mischief in his eyes and knowing tilt to his lips made my breath catch. I was still overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of Kade.
“Sorry,” I mumbled around the cracker I’d stuffed in my mouth. My hormones seemed to be working overtime, even after our middle-of-the-night lovemaking, and the last thing I wanted to put in my mouth was another dry cracker. I chewed and swallowed before asking again, “So how did you know?”