Black Ties and Lullabyes (28 page)

Just the babies moving. That was like saying a tsunami was just a big ocean wave.

Jeremy took her by the shoulders. “Bernie? What’s wrong?”

“Don’t worry,” she said. “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just the babies moving.”

“Moving what? A piano?”

“Sure seems like it. Here. Feel this.” She grabbed Jeremy’s hand and placed it on her bel y, and a moment later, it happened again—a big, undulating shift beneath her skin that actual y made his hand move. Her doctor had told her that she’d feel quite a bit of movement, since she was having twins, but she sure hadn’t expected this.

“Whoa,” she whispered, laughing a little. “Are you
believing
that?”

Bernie expected him to make some smart comment about the movie
Alien
, suggesting that maybe the babies were actual y creatures from outer space, or maybe tel her if she thought the kids were acting up now, wait until they were thirteen and started screaming and slamming doors.

He didn’t.

Instead, he continued to stare down at his hand where it rested against her, seemingly transfixed. He took a smal step forward, easing so close Bernie swore she could feel the warmth of his body mingling with hers. Then he put his other hand on her. Spread his fingers. Waited for movement. When it final y came again, a tiny smile curled the corner of his mouth.

“My God,” he said breathlessly.

The next few seconds seemed to stretch into hours.

Barely able to breathe, Bernie lifted her hands and placed them on top of his. The moment she touched him, he slowly turned his gaze up to meet hers. When their eyes locked, she flexed her fingers in a gentle caress. They stared at each other like that until the moment was so charged with emotion that she thought she’d die from the intensity of it. Was he looking at her like this because of the babies?

Or because of her?

He turned his hands over to grasp hers, giving them a gentle squeeze, his eyes fixed on hers with unrelenting intensity. She felt as if he was reading every thought she had, and those thoughts were growing hotter by the moment. She’d never felt desire like this in her life. Never ached for a man’s touch so badly she couldn’t breathe. It was as if every hot, sexy thought she’d ever had about him was coming to life.

He pul ed one of her hands against his chest, where she felt his heart beating wildly. He smoothed his other hand along her upper arm to the curve of her shoulder, then tucked it beneath her hair at the back of her neck. When he brought his lips to within inches of hers, she could almost feel him quivering with self-restraint.

“I want you so much,” he whispered. “Please don’t tel me no.”

“Not a chance,” Bernie said.

“Thank God,” he said, and lowered his mouth to hers.

Jeremy felt so good and Bernie needed him so much that she almost cried out with relief. He kissed her like a man who’d been deprived for a decade—rough, eager kisses so incredibly satisfying that she thought her whole body was going to liquefy and ooze right onto the floor. The almost incapacitating desire she’d felt for him for so long clashed with the sensations flooding through her—his taste, his touch, his scent—

and she wanted to drown in every erotic moment.

What kind of a fool had she been to tel him she didn’t want this?

After a while, he took her by the hand, and somehow they made it to her bedroom. He opened the door and pul ed her inside, turning and nudging the door closed with his heel. Then he was kissing her again, and any remaining doubt she had about being with him vanished, and the place inside her that had been desperate for this kind of intimacy was suddenly fil ed to overflowing.

Suddenly he pul ed away, breathing hard. “Hold on.

Wait a minute.”

She froze. “Wait? Why are we waiting?”

“Because we have to take this slow. Slow and easy.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re pregnant,” he said, stil catching his breath. “But don’t worry. I know how to do this. I’ve been reading up.”

“Reading up on what?”

“Sex during pregnancy. Now, don’t get mad about that. I wasn’t presuming anything. I just like to be prepared.”

“Uh… okay.”

“You’re in your second trimester. Did you know that’s the best time for sex? Women are general y sick during the first trimester and tired during the third.

The second is the sweet spot. So our timing’s good.”

“Then we’d better get started, huh? In case the timing turns bad?”

“And I’l be extra careful, because I know there are some things that may be uncomfortable for you when we’re doing it.”

The only thing making her uncomfortable right now was the fact that they
weren’t
doing it.

“So we need to think about positions,” he said.

“Those are important when you’re pregnant. I learned about three of them, but they’re kinda hard to describe. Wait—one of the websites had photos. Let me get my phone.”

No. This couldn’t be happening. Surely he wasn’t reaching for his phone. Surely he wasn’t—

Good Lord. He was.

He pul ed his phone from his pocket. He gave the screen a poke, then swept his thumb across it a few times.

“Bridges. Put down the phone.”

“It’l only take a sec. I have it bookmarked.”

“Are you actual y going to show me pictures of people having sex?”

“They’re wearing clothes,” Jeremy said. “The photos are just for demonstration purposes.” She grabbed the phone from his hand and tossed it to the top of her dresser. “I want to have sex. You want to do research. What’s wrong with this picture?”

“I just want to do it right.”

“There is no wrong way to do it.”

“Oh, yeah? You should read the websites. Women change a lot when they’re pregnant. What turned them on before turns them off now. Some parts are real y sensitive. Lots of conflicting messages. For the record, guys don’t like conflicting messages. It makes it hard for them to… you know. Do the job.” She couldn’t help laughing. “Do the
job
?”

“And now you’re laughing,” he said, turning away.

“That’s just
great
.”

Bernie stood there for several seconds, total y confused by this decidedly non-Jeremy behavior.

Then the most amazing realization struck her.

“Are you nervous about this?” she asked.

He whipped back around. “Nervous?
Me?
” He laughed a little. “Do you know who you’re talking to?”

“Yeah. A man who’s made love to umpteen women, and not one of them has ever been pregnant.”

“Wel , yeah, that’s true, but…” As his words faded out, he turned away, his mouth tight-lipped with irritation. Then his eyes drifted closed and he let out a sigh of resignation.

“Okay. You’re right. I told you I knew what to do, but the truth is that I don’t have a clue. This is uncharted territory for me. I’ve wanted you so badly I could taste it, and suddenly here we are, and now… now al I can think about is messing it up.”

“Messing it up?”

He let out a long breath. “I’m just afraid of doing something that makes you uncomfortable, or hurts you, or makes you want to stop.”

She couldn’t believe it. Jeremy Bridges, a man who’d left hundreds of satisfied women in his wake, was actual y uptight about making love to her?

Something about that made her want to start kissing him and never stop.

She inched closer and placed her hands against his chest, then leaned in and touched her lips to his.

“That’s not going to happen. And just for the record, I’m nervous, too.”

“You are? Why?”

“Because you’re a man who’s made love to umpteen women, and not one of them has ever been pregnant.”

“True, but—”

“I’m not like the picture-perfect women you’re used to being with.”

He kissed her neck. “And I thank God every day for that.”

“I just don’t want you to be disappointed in what you see. So I’m thinking maybe you should turn out the lights.”

“Bernie—”

“I’m thirty-six years old, I’m pregnant, gravity and I are not on speaking terms, and I could fil the Great Lakes with the water I’m retaining.”

“I don’t care,” he whispered in her ear. “I want to see you.”

“Do you also want to see my white cotton underwear?” She rol ed her eyes. “
God.
Why do I have to be so damned practical?”

He smiled. Then he laughed softly, shaking his head. “You’re real y something, you know that?”

“Now
you’re
laughing,” she muttered. “Wonderful.”

“If you had any idea of how hot I am for you, you’d know just how fast that underwear is going to end up on the floor.”

True to his word, he had her shirt off in an instant, and with a flick of his fingers, he unhooked her bra and tossed it to the floor. He circled her breasts with his hands, squeezing them gently. She draped her arms loosely behind his neck, tilting her head backward as he kissed his way down her neck to her shoulder.

“You were so wrong,” he whispered. “You are so beautiful.”

They were words she’d never heard from a man before, and she refused to believe them. But then he was taking off the rest of her clothes, and his, and by the way he looked at her in the dim lamplight with such an adoring, appreciative gaze, she started to believe he real y meant it. Any remaining mistrust she might stil have been clinging to seemed to fade away, and the place in her heart that had felt so empty for years was suddenly fil ed with warmth. He tunneled one hand into the hair at the back of her head, tilting her head so their mouths fit together perfectly and he could kiss her deeper and harder with the kind of passion she’d lain awake nights dreaming about.

She pressed a kiss to the side of his neck, then whispered breathlessly in his ear. “I want you so much.
Please
make love to me.” He eased her over to the bed, where he pul ed back the covers and helped her lie down. She started to tel him that he didn’t have to be so careful, that she wouldn’t break, only to realize how special it made her feel that he thought she might.

He stretched out beside her on one elbow. Closing his hand around one of her breasts, he traced his thumb back and forth over her nipple. Her breasts were so tender that at first it hurt, but after a moment the pain was gone and there was only pleasure. And when he dipped his head to touch his tongue to it, sweeping it in slow circles, the satisfaction was so intense she thought she’d die from the feeling.

“I want you,” she said breathlessly. “Please. I’ve wanted you so much, for such a long time now.

Please.
”

He kissed the curve of her shoulder, then grazed his lips against her ear. “Say my name,” he whispered.

“What?”

“You never say my name. Say it.”

“Bridges.”

“You know what I mean.”

She swal owed hard. “Jeremy.”

The last syl able fel nearly silent on the single breath she took to say it. She loved the rhythm of it, the three syl ables, the way it sounded as it passed through her lips.

“That’s better,” he said softly. “So much better.” She laid her hand against his cheek, staring into those beautiful eyes, then stroked her fingertips though his hair and pul ed him down for one kiss, then another, and then they al seemed to blend together in a single sea of sensation. Just as she thought she might cheerful y drown in it, he rol ed away for a moment and she realized he was getting a condom.

“I don’t know if you need that,” she said. “I can’t exactly get pregnant again.”

“I’m just protecting you. I’ve been with a lot of women.”

“Yeah, I know.”

The moment the words were out of her mouth, she wished she could take them back. But al he did was stroke her arm and look down at her with an expression of total sincerity.

“It’s been months since I’ve been with another woman, Bernie. Since that day you showed up in my office and told me you were pregnant, you’re the one I’ve wanted.”

She couldn’t believe it. Al this time? No other women?

But his gaze had remained strong and steady as he said the words, as if to assure her he was tel ing the truth. He gave her a gentle kiss, then eased her over to lie on her side with her back to him. He rested on one elbow behind her, his forearm beneath her pil ow, his other hand splayed beneath her breasts.

“If you lie like this,” he said softly, “it should be comfortable for you. But if it’s not, there are other ways. We’l find the right one, okay?” She felt him hard against her and knew just how much he wanted her, but stil he spent endless minutes kissing her neck, her shoulder, caressing her breasts at the same time, and her body seemed to melt under his mouth and his hands. Then he slid his hand down to delve gently between her legs. He had to feel how slick and hot she was and how she was dying to feel him inside her.

His lips touched her neck, his hot breath fanning her ear. “Are you ready for me, sweetheart?” A shiver of anticipation slid right down her spine, fol owed by a rush of pure desire. Until al this happened, her only image of him was of a demanding, control ing, self-centered man who used women for his own pleasure.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

“Yes,” she said. “God,
yes
.”

He bent her upper leg slightly at the knee, giving him access, and then he slipped inside her. He inhaled a sharp, raspy breath, and she could feel his shudder of self-restraint. She was so hot and wet that there was no resistance, but he fil ed her completely, and it felt so good when he began to rock inside her.

But while his strokes were deep and thorough, they were also so maddeningly slow that she thought she’d go out of her mind.

“More. Jeremy, please. More.
Faster
.”

“No, sweetheart. I have to take it easy. We’l get there, I promise you.”

She hadn’t expected this. She’d assumed he’d want it quick and hot and satisfying, and that was what she thought she wanted, too. Their first encounter had been about anger and power and control and was so hot the sofa practical y caught fire, but this was the opposite. It was soft. Sweet. Tender. With every touch, every word, he was tel ing her just how much he cared about her and how good he wanted this to be.

He slipped his hand between her legs again, caressing her there as he rocked inside her, whispering soft words of encouragement. He read every smal shift of her body, every whimper of satisfaction, stroking one way, rubbing another, until every molecule in her body was dying for release.

And then she felt it. Something deep inside, like a tiny piece of kindling catching fire. Barely burning.

Then burning brighter. A soft moan of pleasure rose in her throat.

“That’s right,” he whispered. “I want to hear you. Let me know what feels good.”

“Everything feels good.
Everything.
” She tightened her muscles around him, the incredible pressure and friction pushing her higher and higher until she was teetering on the edge and going insane with anticipation.

“Oh, Jeremy, oh,
God
…”

When the first shockwave hit, she gasped at the sheer power of it. Then came one shuddering spasm after another—hard, pulsing, endless waves of agonizing pleasure. As she clamped down on him, he began to move faster, harder, his restraint crumbling, and she heard his breath catch. He grasped her thigh, and with his next stroke, he dropped his forehead against her shoulder, every muscle going rigid, a heavy groan ripping from his throat. His hips convulsed as he moved deeper inside her, wringing out every bit of pleasure he possibly could.

Final y he slumped against her, boneless with satisfaction, his skin warm against hers, his breath hot against her neck. They lay there like that for a long time, slowly edging their way back to reality. Then Jeremy fel to his back and gathered her in his arms, pul ing her against him as they settled into satisfied exhaustion. Their breathing became softer, more measured, and the heat of their lovemaking dimmed to a warm glow.

“I have to fly to Atlanta early tomorrow morning,” he said.

She felt a rush of disappointment. “How long wil you be gone?”

“Three days. I don’t want to go. In fact, I think I’m going to cancel my flight and lock us up together in this room forever.”

“I like the sound of that,” she said. “Oh. Problem.

Sooner or later we’l have to eat.”

“We’l let Mrs. Spencer in to bring us food. But that’s it.”

“What about Sybersense? How wil they manage without their CEO?”

“How long do you think it’l take them to figure out I’m gone?”

“About five minutes.”

He sighed dramatical y. “Okay. So it’s not a practical plan.”

“But I do like the way you think.” She nestled closer to Jeremy, and he tightened his arms around her.

Then she had a thought of her own.

“Oh, my God,” she said suddenly. “Max. He’s stil downstairs.”

Jeremy grabbed his phone and cal ed him, tel ing him to go home tonight and come back at six in the morning. Bernie could only imagine what was going through Max’s mind, but she didn’t want to think about that right now. Al she wanted to think about was fal ing asleep in Jeremy’s arms.