Page 64 of Twenty Years Later

A few minutes later, I headed to her room, the monitor in my hand, to discover Jayda already in her bed under the covers. I swallowed hard because this was going to be rough for sure.

Of course, I wanted to hold her in my arms all night, but I was also desperate for more.Desperate. I knew that for most pregnant women, sexual activity was completely safe. But there was no way in hell I was going to pressure Jayda into doing anything until she felt comfortable. And if that meant waiting for her to speak to her doctor, then so be it. I would wait.

Jayda smiled at me as I turned off the lights and headed over. "That was quick," she said.

"Didn't want you falling asleep on me." My eyes adjusted to the dark as I slid in next to her.

In an instant, our bodies melded together, her back to my chest. "This is torture," I groaned against her neck.

"Alex, will you let me—"

"No," I choked out, harsher than I intended. "Sorry. Didn't mean to sound so rough. I just want you so badly right now."

She rubbed against me as her hand moved down my stomach. "Please, let me—"

"I don't feel right about taking and not giving." Jayda rolled over, and I sighed with relief that her sweet ass wasn't nestled up against me anymore.

"I get that. But I want to," she said. "I can't even tell you how much better I feel right now."

My mind was still stuck on the first part of what she'd said as she settled into that perfect spot, her head on my shoulder and hand on my chest. But eventually, the rest of her words hit my lust-filled brain. "You feel better?"

I felt her full breasts against the side of my body as she inhaled and exhaled. "I really do. Everything is out there now. Keeping this pregnancy from you was the worst. But I wanted to tell you in person. And now, it's such a huge relief to share that with you."

"I bet, sweetheart," I said, kissing her head.

"And then, finally telling you all about Blake..."

At the sound of his name, I felt a jolt of anger, still not one-hundred percent over that insane promise, apparently.

Her sweet mouth against my chest, almost making me wish I hadn't worn a t-shirt to bed, Jayda continued, "It's such a release. I can't even tell you. I seriously feel like a huge weight has been lifted off me, like I lost a million pounds."

"I'm glad to hear that." I stroked her back, trying not to think about what being this close to her body was doing to me.

"You're a good man, Alex," she murmured against me, her voice fading slowly.

Those words filled my chest with a warmth I'd never felt before. No one had ever said that to me. And to have Jayda say it? Well, it made me want to be the best man I could be... for this woman, for these girls, for this family I was determined to build.

She yawned. "And I have the worst case of blue balls," she said, barely audible.

Did she really just say that? My Jayda? My whole body shook with laughter. I couldn't help it. There were layers to Jayda I'd never dreamed about. And the more I knew, the more I loved it.

"That makes two of us," I finally said, grinning, even though I knew she was already asleep.

As I lay there, still holding her trusting body, her heat flowing into me, the events of the day worked their way through my mind. I didn't think sleep would be coming anytime soon.

Thinking about how thrilled I was to welcome a baby with Jayda to feeling the sadness of what she went through with Blake's death, I realized something that blew my mind. Just when I didn't think I could feel anymorefor this woman, it dawned on me that she had, without even trying, fulfilled that marriage vow I'd so desperately wanted to experience.

Jayda and I had doubled the joys and halved the sorrows.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jayda

When I woke up in the morning, Alex was gone. The sheets around me were cold, and the door was shut. Weird. Bright sunlight streamed in through the edges of the curtains. Feeling completely disoriented, I glanced at the clock.

9:52?

Are you kidding me?I didn't remember the last time I'd slept that late. Definitely not since Audrey had come into my life. And I actually felt amazing, no nausea and well-rested. Very strange. But the strangest thing was the quiet. I couldn't hear any noises, no little kids running around, yelling, and playing.

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