Page 66 of Finding Forever

No.Thathonor went to the fact that her behind was snugly slotted against his... well that could only be his penis really. His very large, veryhardpenis.

The rigid length was quite happily berthed in the shallow crevice between her butt cheeks, so closely pressed to her that she could feel the gentle, insistent throb of it.

It left her so flustered, that Fern couldn’t quite prevent a startled little yelp from squeaking past her vocal cords.

The sound woke Cade, she could tell from the way his body instantly tensed.

“You, okay?” he asked in a sexy sleep-roughened voice, subtly shifting so that his penis was no longer plastered against her.

Fern mourned the loss, regretting her panicked squawk. Shehadn’t minded the press of him—ofit—against her. In fact, she’d liked it. Even if it was probably just a normal reaction to sleeping snuggled up against a female body.

Happily, he hadn’t been so hasty to remove the rest of his body parts away from her. His arms remained securely wrapped around her.

He made a soft, almost distressed sound in the back of his throat and spoke again, “Fern? You didn’t answer me. Are you okay? Did you have another nightmare?”

“Another one?”

There was a long pause during which he lifted himself slightly and half turned away from her to switch on the bedside lamp—an intimate circle of warm light illuminated one side of the bed—before he surprised her by taking her in his arms again.

“You don’t remember? You had a bad dream. About Abernathy. I was trying to comfort you. I must’ve fallen asleep as well.”

“Thank you for—uhm—for caring.”

“He can’t hurt you, Fern. And he can’t hurt our—your—baby. I want you to know that.”

“I do.”

“I want you tobelievethat.” His tone was autocratic, as if by just commanding it, he could make it come to pass.

“I’m…” She sighed softly, her hand going up to press against his where it rested over her abdomen. “I’m trying, Cade. But it’s hard to undo years of fear and conditioning.”

His thumb was absently stroking lazy little circles over her skin and she fought hard not to shiver in reaction. She didn’t want him to withdraw the way he had earlier. After the last week of strained silence between them, she was so desperate for any warmth, she welcomed this closeness. Even if was an illusion.

She knew that both of their defenses would be up againcome morning and it would be business as usual. And foolish though it may be, Fern wanted to draw out this moment of unguarded vulnerability for as long as possible. She very much doubted Cade would let her sneak in beneath his armor like this again.

With that in mind, she turned—ever so slowly as if confronting a feral beast—in his arms, until she lay facing him. They were sharing her pillow and were almost nose to nose. Their height disparity not quite so evident when they were laying down.

His gaze was soft, unfocused, his eyes still heavy with sleep, and he looked more relaxed than she’d ever seen him before.

He didn’t let her go, merely adjusted his hold, the hand which had been on her abdomen, now at rest in the dip of her waist, still on her naked skin.

Emboldened by his lack of retreat, she threaded her bare legs through his, only now becoming aware that he appeared to be fully clothed. The expensive superfine wool of his suit trousers, slightly rough against her sensitive skin.

She lifted a hand to his face and cupped his stubbled jaw. Her thumb swept over the hard line of that jaw, dipping into the shallow cleft before swooping up to the slightly thicker patch of hair just below the full curve of his bottom lip.

And that’s when she realized that he wasn’t breathing. His wary gaze bored into her eyes, but he remained silent—unmoving andunbreathing—as he watched her.

He appeared to be waiting for something. But she wasn’t sure what. She didn’t even know what her next move would be. All she knew was that she loved the feeling of his warm skin and his bristled jaw beneath her palm. As her eyes fell to his lips, she wondered if they felt as soft and pillowy and plush as they looked.

And in his breathless silence all she could hear was her own,ragged breathing, as she ran her palm over his prickly stubble, and wondered if shedaredfind out.

His hand tightened on her waist and she knew he was about to stop her. But she didn’t want him to say it. Didn’t want him to put an end to her exploration and then distance himself from her again. She wanted this one selfish moment. Needed it.Cravedit and?—

Oh…

While she was carefully thinking, considering, weighing the pros and cons, Cade made the decision for both of them.

Instead of moving away as she’d feared he would, he moved toward her, his head swooping, until those soft, pillowy, plush lips were on hers.

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