Page 62 of By the Letter

“I haven’t even thought about it.”

She pushed out a humorless laugh. “The first time was so bad you didn’t want to try it again?”

“Shira,” I leaned closer, capturing her gaze, “I think you know there was nothing bad about what happened that night. Not between you and me, and not what came from it.”

My hand was already on her belly, where it perpetually rested these days, and I moved it in slow circles.

“Was it bad for you?” I asked though I knew the answer. Her cries of pleasure would be emblazoned on my brain until the end of time, which was troublesome considering we were supposed to be friends and co-parents. Anything more would be complicated.

“No, Rome. It wasn’t bad at all.” She rubbed her lips together. “If I did that again, I’d—”

I went still. “If you did it again?”

“Obviously not now. But one day, a year or two from now, I might want to again. I don’t know.”

“What did you like about it?”

“I didn’t have to ask for what I wanted. That’s one of my downfalls in regular life. And in that setting? Well…I just can’t. I liked that you gave me what I needed.”

I bit back a groan, curling my fingers into my palms to stop myself from pressing against my half-hard dick.

“I liked giving you that.” I kept my voice as steady as possible, which wasn’t all that steady.

Tossing the blanket on her lap aside, she scooted forward. “I should go home. Mary’s probably angry at me for being gone so long.”

If it had been up to me, we would have continued our conversation, but Shira was clearly done and pushing her further was out of the question. I needed her to feel at ease with me—talking about the out-of-this-world anonymous sex we had wasn’t going to get her there.

“Don’t tell her I’m the cause of your absence. She hates me enough as it is.”

Shira offered me a smile so soft, it could have been made of velvet. I’d noticed the slight overlap of her two front teeth, butthis was the first time I’d wanted her to keep smiling so I could study it.

When we’d first met—and I was being an uncharitable bastard—I’d been surprised Frank hadn’t paid to have her teeth fixed. Now, I was eternally grateful he hadn’t seen this slight imperfection as something that needed fixing. Her smile, when she brought it out, was sweet and real.

Standing, I offered Shira a hand. She slipped her palm against mine, and I tugged her to her feet. Underestimating my strength and how light she was, I pulled too hard, resulting in her colliding with me. Her small belly hit my hip, and on instinct, my arm snaked around her, keeping her there.

“Oh!” Her hands flew to my upper abdomen, steadying herself. “You sent me flying.”

I chuckled, my fingers spreading on her lower back. “I did. Sorry about that. Glad I was able to catch you.”

Her mouth opened to reply, but instead of words, she expelled a gasp. “Whoa, I think—” Heading tipping back, her wide eyes landed on mine. “I just felt him move. It’s like a little butterfly in my stomach. You sent him flying too.”

“You feel him?” I stepped back, both hands cupping her belly. “Right now?”

“I do. The flutters are right below my belly button. It’s like he’s swimming laps back and forth.” Her hand slid between mine as we both stared at her middle in wonder. “I can’t feel it like this.”

“No. He’s still too small. The app says it’ll probably be a few more weeks before we can feel him from the outside.” Keeping one hand on her abdomen, I grazed my knuckles along her smooth cheek. “I’m so damn glad I was with you for this.”

She raised her eyes to mine, giving me that uneven smile of hers in full beam. “Me too. Even though you can’t feel him yet, I’m glad we shared this.”

Because it seemed right, and my elated head was in the clouds, I dipped down and covered her mouth with mine. My hand dropped from her cheek to her nape, pulling her into me. She whimpered beneath my lips, then softened, parting slightly to slot our mouths together.

I took us there but no further.

“So damn glad,” I murmured against her lips. Then I slid my fingers into the sides of her hair and touched my lips to her forehead. “You’re doing incredible, Goldie. Just incredible.”

Her “thanks” was little more than a whisper. Then she slipped away from me, making a beeline to my door. I followed, stopping right behind her. With her hand on the knob, she turned, giving me her profile.

“Kit and I are going to be working longer hours over the next week to get everything ready for the auction, so I won’t be around as much.”

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