Page 47 of After-Party Consequences

She had been broken before, in so many ways. Whatever happened, she had to prevent herself from being broken again—but she could do that as long as they set out clear parameters for this relationship.

‘Understood,’ he said, his hand stroking her neck, his thumb toying with the thundering pulse in her collarbone. ‘But I want you in my bed, not the damn guest room.’

She nodded. She could give him that—it was the practical, grown-up solution.

Giving in to this raw, insistent need was dangerous. She understood that. But physical intimacy was only that, and as long as she understood this, surely it didn’t have to derail her emotionally...

‘Yes, okay.’

Before she had got the words out, he boosted her into his arms.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed her mouth to those hard, sensual lips as he carried her into the bedroom they had shared once before... The bedroom where their baby had been created. But as she bared her body to him, she promised herself she would never bare her soul.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Two weeks later

CADEGROANED,clinging to his sanity, the pleasure threatening to burst through his veins like wildfire as he thrust heavily into Charlotte, barely aware of the power shower thundering down on them both.

Not yet. Not yet. Hold on.

His mind blurred, his knees trembling, his fingers digging into her hips as he held them both upright with the last of his strength, adjusting his thrusts to stroke the spot inside her he knew would take her over.

Her body tightened on his, her sob of surrender triggering his own orgasm as he crashed over at last. He groaned, the climax intensifying as he sank his face into her wet hair, drowning in brutal sensation.Again.

How could their chemistry still be so damn strong? So damn frantic? When they’d been making love like rabbits for two weeks straight. Every morning, every evening and any stolen moment in between...

He stood, letting the vicious afterglow wash over him, only vaguely aware of the water jets still pummelling his back. Until she shifted, reviving from the titanic orgasm first.

‘We should get out of here before we dissolve,’ she murmured.

He let out a rough chuckle. And how could she still captivate him? When he’d been living with her for three weeks?

Shouldn’t he be bored by now? Eager to consider other living arrangements?

She was over the morning sickness, hadn’t had an episode since that first one in New York. She didn’t need him to watch over her so closely.

But not only couldn’t he keep his hands off her in the bedroom—and everywhere else in the apartment, even the damn kitchen counter yesterday evening—he had become addicted to her company, too.

They ate together each evening now, and although her attempts to pry more details out of him about his past had started to become problematic, he’d deflected them by exploiting their voracious appetite for one another whenever she got too close. It was bad enough she knew the truth about his mother. He didn’t want her to know any more.

Luckily, their lovemaking gave him an easy out from the probing queries, the questions he had no intention of answering...and in the last few days, she’d stopped asking them.

But that wasn’t the only cause for concern.

He found it next to impossible now not to return from work early—or surprise her at her workspace in the Ferry Building so he could escort her back to the apartment in the evenings—because he enjoyed spending time with her so much. He loved hearing about the latest news on her commissions, checking out the designs she was working on—not that he knew a damn thing about haute couture. Her enthusiasm was captivating, and he was proud of what she’d achieved in such a short space of time.

‘Water off,’ he demanded, grateful for the voice-activated controls. Then lifted her from him.

She left the cubicle, and he took the opportunity to check out the subtle changes caused by her pregnancy before she had wrapped a towel around her naked body.

Her breasts had become fuller and more sensitive, and although he couldn’t see a bump yet, her waist had thickened slightly. Although that could be the food he’d been feeding herevery chance he got. Charlotte had a voracious appetite for his cooking too, and he loved to watch her eat.

But what he enjoyed more was the surprise on her face when he made the effort for her.

Kind of weird, because he’d never been a nurturer, but he couldn’t seem to shake the feeling of connection. Their upbringings couldn’t have been more different—but in many ways they’d survived the same loss. When she’d talked about losing her mama too, the vulnerability on her face had stirred something inside him he couldn’t explain.

However wealthy her folks had been, she had grown up without their emotional support. But while he’d built a wall around himself so he didn’t need the validation of anyone but himself, he sensed she had never done that.

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