Page 15 of Embattled Ever After

John pulled the wheelchair close and shifted over to the seat, pectorals straining. Shannon smiled at him and leaned down for a morning kiss.

“Um,” John told her. “You taste good.”

Shannon felt the belt of her robe loosening.

“Why don’t you put the pup somewhere and come back to bed for a while?”

A tingle slid down through her and she leaned into the fingers cupping her breasts. They were exceptionally sensitive right now, but John was being gentle and it felt very nice. “I think that sounds like a fabulous idea.”

Shannon took the puppy to the kitchen, piled several toys inside a makeshift pen she made by turning chairs on their sides and gave the dog a bowl of food and water. Lily? No, Diego would have a fit if she called the dog Lily. Marigold? Bella? That was kind of cute.

As Shannon padded back down the hallway, her thoughts shifted to John. This would be the first time they made love knowing she was pregnant.

And John seemed to understand that it was a special moment. Shannon laid with him as he explored her body and she felt a satisfaction she hadn’t felt in a long time. This was what she was meant to do, be a wife and mother and love her family.

John was laying on his front, arm draped over her thighs as he explored her tiny baby bump, pressing kisses here and there. “I can’t believe we’re having a kid. I mean, I’m excited but it’s one of those things that I never thought would happen to me.”

“Well, maybeyounever thought it would happen, but I did. I know what a wonderful man you are, and what a great father you’ll be.”

John’s dark eyes got a little misty and he rested his ear against her tiny bump, as if to listen for a heartbeat.

“We won’t hear the heartbeat until I go in for my first check-up. I’m only ten weeks along. I called my OB and she started me on prenatal vitamins.”

He looked up at her and shook his head. “This is surreal. If the puppy is too much we can try to find a home for her.”

Shannon shook her head. She’d seen how much the pup already meant to John. Yes, it was more work, but they’d get it done. “Just be aware you need to do as much as you can with her. Right now the tiredness just saps my strength. The doctor says that will change in a couple of months, but until then I need to sleep as much as I feel the need.”

He nodded and his eyes took on a twinkle. “Any restrictions on physical relations?”

Shannon snorted. “No. Just be careful of my breasts. They’re super-sensitive.”

John seemed to take that as a challenge. With gentle caresses, and tiny little licks and sucks, he sent her into pleasure just by worshiping her breasts. Then, when he settled between her thighs and rocked into her, he impressed her with his care for her condition.

Chapter Five

Aiden felt like timewas running out. The deadline to return had long passed, that was why Rector had died. Aiden had avoided his watcher for a long time, but now the man was going to try to draw him out. And he had a feeling he knew how he was going to do it.

Denver, Colorado was the only connection he had to real life, and it was such a tenuous connection he’d forced it from his mind for a long time. No sense in giving the organization more ammunition than they already had.

Just because he didn’t acknowledge it didn’t mean they would forget, though. It was in their files in black and white, just waiting to be used against him.

Well, he was tired of being the victim. He was tired of taking all the shit and not feeding it back to them. His life had been destroyed because men with more money than sense ordered it.

Things were about to change.

***

Alex was surprisedhow comfortable she was in Duncan’s home, and in being with him. She was a doctor, not a woman to be particularly fanciful, but she felt like she was dancing with lightning when he was around. It was trite, but so true. All those damn romance novels the nurses left in the locker room all talked about the ‘spark’. That first touch that sent sensation zinging through your body when you first touch the man you’re attracted to.

The difference was, she felt iteverytimewith Duncan.

At first she thought it had been a fluke. With the colder temperatures and the low humidity in Denver, electricity snapped in the air and her hair. It was a constant struggle to keep her thick hair from flying away. She loved her big, loopy waves and wanted them to stay the way she styled them. But she’d noticed the strange touch phenomenon even after she’d gotten out of the shower and her head had been wet. Duncan had handed her a container of orange juice and their fingers had sparked.

Surely it had to be psychological. Was she actually, physically, feeling a spark? Or was she just so excited to be in such close proximity to him that she imagined a connection?

Alex had imagined meeting up with Duncan Wilde a lot over the past several weeks since Shannon had called to invite her out. When she’d demurred, worrying it would be too forward, Chad had called her and convinced her to take a chance. She had imagined the meeting enough that thoughts of him had become a distraction in her job.

Duncan, however, didn’t seem unaffected. His dark gaze had jerked to hers when they’d transferred the orange juice, then just as quickly jerked away.

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