Page 22 of Royal Surrogate 2

“You first.”

“No, you first.” He rolls over so that he’s facing me on his side, and I can feel his eyes on me even as I continue to stare up at the ceiling, trying to find the courage to speak, to put it all out there.

When I don’t immediately say anything, he goes on—carefully, as if he’s choosing the words delicately as he goes. Or as if he’s practiced this and wants to get it exactly right.

“What happened at the cabin…almost losing you and the baby…” He lets out a shuddering breath. “It made me realize all the things I’ve done wrong. I don’t want to go on as we have, Renae. I don’t want us to be acquaintances who happen to share a baby. I want us to be partners. In everything. I want…honesty. I don’t want there to be anything between us anymore.”

I agree with everything he says, which allows me to finally find my voice.

“I want you to touch me,” I blurt.

I feel Caspar stiffen beside me.

And I can’t take it anymore. I roll over so that I’m facing him, finally looking him in the eyes. The words are already out there, hanging in the air between us, and I can’t keep more from spilling out.

“I want to forget our rule about you not touching me in this bed. I want…” My voice drops to a whisper. “I want you.”

He stares at me, unmoving, for so long that I start to get self-conscious. This was a mistake. I never should have said anything. I never should have crossed this line?—

But as I try to roll away from him again, he reaches out and grabs my shoulder, stopping me.

And we lay like that, facing each other, both breathing heavily, until it feels like the air around us might burst into flames.

Only then does his hand on my shoulder move, his thumb sweeping gently across the thin fabric of my nightgown.

He moves so slowly I’m afraid to move, afraid to blink, afraid that any little thing might break this spell. His fingers drift agonizingly slowly down my shoulder and to the collar of my nightgown, where they brush against my skin just below my collarbone.

I take in a breath. He’s touched me before, but this is different. Every brush of his fingers across my skin sends ripples of sensation throughout my body. Everything else fades away until I know nothing but his touch.

His hand moves up, the slightly callused pads of his fingers grazing my throat, but he doesn’t linger there long. Instead, his hand moves back down again, following the other side of my collarbone until he reaches the top of my nightgown once more. Then he traces the neckline, with a single finger, teasing me with the lightest of touches.

“I finally say you can touch me and you’re going to take your time?” I breathe.

His eyes flick to mine, flashing with a heat that makes the bottom of my stomach drop out. “I’ve waited a long time for this Renae. And I intend to savor it.”

Even as he says the words, though, his fingers slip beneath the neckline of my nightgown, dancing along the upper slopes of my breasts.

I almost beg him, urge him to go faster, to grab me and have his way with me—we’ve waited so damn long—but I can’t bring myself to do it. He’s right—we should savor this. He’s looking at me like I’m the most precious, beautiful thing he’s ever seen in his life, and I can’t find the strength to do anything but obey his eyes and his touch, to be his object of worship.

Just when I think he’s going to reach lower, to caress more of my breasts or even my nipples with his warm, strong fingers, he suddenly shifts.

I don’t even have time to react—one moment, he’s beside me, facing me on his side, and the next he’s over me, pushing me gently onto my back.

I fall back against the pillow, looking up into his wide pupils, panting breathlessly as he looms over me.

“And now,” he says, dipping his head low over my throat, “this is where the real fun begins.”

CHAPTER 18

Caspar

My god, I’ve wanted her for so long, I can hardly believe this is finally happening.

I know there’s something I wanted to say to her—something I was supposed to tell her, but I can barely breathe as my lips dip to tease her neck. The taste of her skin consumes me as my tongue flicks over her collarbone.

There’s something…

I push every thought from my mind. Every thought but Renae. I’ve waited so long for this moment. So long to touch her, to hold her the way I’ve wanted—the way she deserves.

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