Pregnancy Plan (18 page)

“
The rain will probably mean we’ll
have to postpone our outing to another day.” Jillian continued
staring down the aisle where Derek was on the ladder reaching for a
blue cooler.

Cheryl stood smiling up at him, giggling. “I
really can’t decide which one I like best—the red or the blue.”

“
What is he doing?” Karen Ann
whispered.

“
He’s...”

“
Derek, maybe you should let me go up
and look at them, that way you wouldn’t have to bring them both
down,” Cheryl purred.

Jillian twisted the rag she’d been using to
wipe down the counter.

Karen Ann nudged Jillian. “Look at her
ogling his backside.”

Her gaze fell on Derek. He didn’t appear to
notice that Cheryl was admiring his body. “No problem, we should
have at least one on the floor anyway.” He set down the blue
container and climbed back up the ladder.

“
I like to watch his muscles when he
lifts things. Always was a sucker for biceps,” Jillian
commented.

“
I like the tight jeans. It shows off
his nice round butt.”

Jillian scrutinized his firm backside.
“You’re right. Makes you want to give it a love pat.”

Karen Ann whispered, “You probably shouldn't
let him up on a ladder when customers are in the store. Cheryl is
enjoying the show as much as we are.”

“
Good point. I’ll have John Paul take
down a few extra coolers tomorrow.”

Karen Ann glanced back out the door. “I
better go. I don’t want to get caught in the downpour that’s
coming. See you tomorrow.”

Jillian waved and turned as Derek put
Cheryl’s purchase on the counter. “Is this all?”

“
Yes. Derek has been more than kind to
get this one down for me.” Cheryl smiled at him and handed Jillian
her credit card. “I’m planning a picnic tomorrow and I’m going to
need it.”

She handed her customer the receipt. “Are
you still dating that accountant from over in Longview?”

“
Yes, he’s such a sweetheart.” Cheryl
picked up the cooler. “I just hope it’s not too wet after this
rain.”

Derek held the door open while Jillian
watched Cheryl’s size-five body walk through it and to the counter.
“Why don’t we close up? It doesn’t look like we'll have any more
traffic in here today.”

“
If you lock up the front door, I’ll
close out the cash register.”

****

They made it inside the car before the rain
started, falling in sheets across the pavement. Derek inched slowly
through town, slowed by the treacherous streets. A trip that
usually took five minutes lengthened to fifteen. Finally, he drove
into the garage and cut the engine. “Now, what do we do?”

Jillian scowled at the distance between the
garage and the back porch. It wasn’t a long way. But with the rain
coming down so hard, they’d be soaked as soon as they stepped out
into it.

He stood beside her. “Do you have an
umbrella?”

“
Yes, but it’s in the house.” She
considered their options. “We could make a run for it. After all
even if we get wet, we have dry clothes in the house. Or we could
stand out here in the garage all night.”

“
Is there a tarp or something out here
in garage that we could use to protect us from the
rain?”

“
Probably, but I’m not afraid of
getting wet.” Jillian stepped out into the rain and ran for the
door.

“
Wait.” He quickly caught up with her
and took her arm, making sure that she didn’t lose her
footing.

She brushed the rain from her face when she
reached the porch. “It’s always refreshing to go for a walk in the
rain.”

“
You got to be kidding. You’re soaking
wet.”

“
Yes, but it’s much cooler than
walking in the summer heat.” She sat in the rocking chair, and
tugged off her shoes and socks. “No point in tracking in the
mud.”

He unlocked the door, held the screen door
open for her. “Why don’t you head on in and get changed?”

“
Okay.” Jillian walked into the house,
stripping off clothes as she made her way to the laundry room,
which was located just off the breakfast nook. The dryer held a
load of towels. She grabbed a few, dumped her clothes in the
washing machine, wrapped a towel around herself and one around her
hair, and then turned for the doorway with a towel for
Derek.

Dripping wet, he stood in the middle of the
breakfast area surveying her. His heated stare revealed he had been
watching.

She smiled, and handed him a towel. “Best
get out of those wet clothes. I put mine in the washing machine. If
you’d like, you can change in there.” She pointed to the room
behind her.

“
I’ll put on some coffee to warm us
up.” She walked past him to the coffeemaker. When the door of the
laundry room shut, she turned to stare at the door. Had seeing her
naked tempted him? She shook her head. It hadn’t worked a few
nights ago.

Might as well settle in for a nice boring
evening at home. Knowing Derek, after dinner he’d probably head out
to the workshop to play. If she’d known how much time he'd spend
out there, she would have never shown it to him in the first place.
Jealous of the time he spent away from her, she wished she knew
what he was working on. But she didn’t want to invade his
privacy.

After the coffeepot was full of water, she
changed her mind. No point in making coffee. She'd heat up dinner
instead. The laundry door squeaked open. She turned.

He entered the room. A towel hugged his
hips, leaving the wide expanse of his chest and abdomen bare.
Jillian gulped in air. With the magnetic pull of his athletic body,
she grabbed the counter to fight the attraction.

Their eyes met. Heat sizzled. As if by
magic, she stood in the circle of his arms, his lips inches from
hers.

“
I can’t wait any longer.” His mouth
covered hers with a force that robbed her lungs of air.

Towels landed on the floor. Hands sped over
flesh. Lips, tongue, mouth consumed her, devouring her with his
need. But it wasn’t enough. She moaned and wiggled in frustration.
Her fingers reached for him.

He broke the kiss with a groan. “No, not
here.”

“
Derek,” she cried. “You can’t stop
now.”

His hands captured her head. Gray eyes
sparkled with his desire. “I have no intention of stopping. I just
want to make love to you in a bed.” He scooped her up into his
arms. “We’ll continue this upstairs.”

She amused herself by whispering ideas of
what they could do in his ears. “There are a number of positions we
haven’t tried.”

Derek lowered her to their bed. “Like you
soft and willing beneath me.” His eyes blazed with a flame that she
knew she’d ignited. He lowered his body over hers.

“
No,” she argued and rolled him onto
his back. Her hands pinned his wrists to the mattress. “I like
having you under me.”

His gaze narrowed. She lowered her lips to
his. What started slowly quickly escalated to a driving hunger. His
mouth took command, building the power between them into a force
that rocked Jillian to the tips of her toes.

His captured hands broke free, roaming over
her body, guiding her into position. Her arms were braced above his
shoulders, her legs straddled him, and she wiggled seductively. His
hands ran along her back, encouraging her movement.

The need for air forced them to break the
kiss. She rose up off his chest to stare down at him, while his
hands fondled her breasts.

“
Your breasts are fuller now that
you’re pregnant.” He tugged her close for a taste. His mouth
covered her breast, teeth skimming her flesh. A deep drawn breath
escaped to brushed across her sensitive skin. His lips pulled on
her budding nipple, making desire rush through her. Heat liquefied,
need screamed.

Ready to spiral out of control, she gasped
with surprise when he shifted their positions. His body now above
her, he drove into her. He slid in and out, his throaty groans
growing longer and louder.

Energy exploded between them. Jillian
surrendered to her husband completely. Her arms and legs wrapped
around him as her mind went numb. After she caught her breath, he
rolled over again.

Happy with her place above him, she
straddled his waist and rose above him. “Now, I have you where I
want you.”

“
You think so.” He put his hands on
her waist and rocked his hips sending her crashing into his chest.
His arms circled her and held her against his chest. “Now I have
you where I want you.”

“
Good. Then we’re both happy.” She
lowered her head and kissed his delectable lips.

The tiny flame of passion soon grew into an
inferno. Consumed, she fought to satisfy her mounting hunger,
twisting, turning, rocking. She raced to her release with him a
heartbeat behind her.

Moments later, completely spent, she relaxed
beside him. This was the way she remembered their being together. A
passion so demanding that it took everything they had to fill the
need.

Tired and sated, she closed her eyes and
drifted to sleep.

****

The ringing telephone jolted Derek awake. He
grabbed for the phone, not wanting the noise to wake Jillian.

“
Hello,” he whispered as he felt her
move beside him.

“
Hi, Derek. You okay?” Jason’s voice
rang through the phone.

“
Yes,” Derek grumbled and shifted his
pillow under his head. He wrapped his arm around Jillian and pulled
her close. “What do you want?”

“
Is it okay if Kelly and I come see
you guys tomorrow?”

He didn’t want to see his brother. “We don’t
close the store until six.”

“
That’s okay. It just means we’ll
leave the house later or stop on the way down. We’d like to spend
the night, if that’s all right. That way we’ll have more time
together.”

Derek relayed the request to Jillian. She
nodded, and he answered. “If you want to.”

“
Okay, then we’ll see you around
six-thirty. Don’t worry about dinner. We’ll order a pizza after we
get there. ‘Bye.” Jason hung up the phone before Derek could
answer.

With a sigh, he replaced the receiver. “I
guess you heard that.” He threw back the covers and step out of
bed.

“
Yes.”

“
You know the only reason they are
coming to visit is because they want to check up on me.” He yanked
a pair of shorts from his dresser drawer and slipped them on. The
heat of her gaze followed his movements.

With a quick look at the bed, he noticed the
mischievous sparkle in her eyes. “If you keep looking at me like
that, we’ll never make it downstairs for something to eat.” He
grabbed her hand and tugged. “And I’m starving.”

“
You know Derek, you really shouldn’t
be so hard on Jason.” She retrieved a nightshirt and underwear from
the dresser. “He was worried about you after your mishap in the
Middle East.”

“
Hey, right.” Derek stood by the door
watching her. Intent on their conversation, she didn’t hide her
body but slipped on her clothes in a reverse strip-tease. Her
panties traveled over miles of legs. Her cotton shirt caught on the
edge of her breasts, stopping again at mid-thigh.

“
Honestly, when you think about it,
you’re the only family he has left.” Jillian strolled to him. In
her bare feet, she barely reached his shoulder.

“
What do you want to eat?” He swung
his arm around her and ushered her out the door. If they didn’t get
out of the bedroom soon, they were not going to make it out at
all.

“
We can warm up the casserole we had
last night if you want.” He followed her down to the kitchen. From
behind her, he enjoyed the view of her hips swaying and her shirt
rising. With a sigh, he opened the refrigerator and extracted the
casserole dish.

“
Derek, Jason once told me that you
took care of him after your parents died. He said you did a great
job. But that you didn’t want to give the job up.”

He didn’t answer. What was there to say? He
hadn’t wanted the job but as the oldest son he’d done his duty. His
parents would have expected him to do whatever he could to help his
brother. Derek placed the dinner in microwave.

She pressed the issue. “Is that true?”

“
What?”

“
That you can’t give up the job of
being Jason’s parent?”

Derek rehashed the past. Yes, he’d tried to
make things easier for Jason, bought the condo so he would have a
place to live after college. Derek had hoped it could be their home
together, but it hadn’t really worked out that way. Jason had never
paid rent, but then, he did take care of the place while Derek was
away on assignment. Was there a problem with that? “I don’t
know.”

“
Jason said you don’t treat him like
an adult. If he makes a decision you always second-guess him.”
Jillian placed plates on the table and pulled out a chair. “Do you,
Derek?”

He liked to help his brother, but was she
right? The bell on the microwave sounded.

“
Look, I don’t mean to hurt your
feelings. I just want you to try and understand his side of
it.”

Derek carefully centered the casserole dish
on the table and sank into his seat.

“
Are you going to answer
me?”

“
You don't understand the situation.”
He lifted the lid off the dinner.

“
Then why don’t you explain it to
me.”