Page 41 of His Best Man's Baby

Chapter Thirteen

Tae stood in front of the mirror and stared at her protruding belly. The thing was massive at six months, but she loved it. She loved her baby, and funny enough, she didn’t mind her body one bit. Even her heavy breasts pleased her for some reason. Okay, that might be because Jax looked at them like they were lunch, but still, they were nice, and they didn’t leak too much.

She heard a noise at the front of the apartment and went to investigate. Jax stood with his back to her, grocery bags at his feet, and she crept up behind him intending to scare him. Maybe being stuck in the apartment was getting to her. Just before she shouted boo, she noticed him frowning down at the stack of mail in his hand. One letter addressed to him read “Past Due” at the bottom of the envelope. He’d spent way too much time looking after her rather than working, and she knew for a fact from overhearing him on the phone that he hadn’t taken the higher-paying jobs because they were also more dangerous.

Instead of trying to scare him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her face against his back. “I’m sorry, Jax. I feel like I’m keeping you from what you need to do.”

He tossed the mail aside and turned to take her into his arms. “Never mind. Our budget is fine. I just forgot to pay that bill.”

“I don’t believe you.”

He kissed her. “Your job is to incubate our son, and mine is to look after you.”

“I’m no longer on bed rest, you know.” She hadn’t been for three weeks, and in all that time she hadn’t seen Daniel more than once. He never called or texted. Jax had told her Daniel asked after her but nothing more. So did he take back the declaration he made on her phone? She didn’t

contact him because she wasn’t sure if he and Alise were back together. Then again, she figured if they were, Jax would be only too happy to tell her.

He released her and walked into the kitchen with the bags. Jax cooked at her place and stayed the night more often than not. They were practically roommates, but he slept on the couch. He’d told her he wouldn’t join her in bed unless she invited him. That didn’t stop the man from walking around the apartment in nothing but boxers, showing off his tight body. What made him more impressive was he’d learned to cook well.

“What’s with the whipped cream?” she asked when he brought it out. “Mm, and strawberries.”

He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and she laughed. “Nothing dirty…unless you want it.” His gaze lowered to her breasts, and she chewed the inside of her cheek. If he only knew. “I’m making strawberry shortcake. I found the recipe the other day, and it’s simple. Plus, my dad is coming on Friday.”

“Say what?”

He shrugged. “We agreed we would finally inform our families, and you’re the one that reneged on the decision.”

“I didn’t renege. I just haven’t gotten around to it.”

“Hm.” He guided her into a chair with no arguments. “Well, my dad is coming to see you.”

“You didn’t tell him…” She let her words fade away, and he eyed her. The napkin holder in the center of the table seemed much more interesting to examine.

“I didn’t say you’re mine, although I wanted to.”

Her heart did a wild tattoo. She changed the subject. “I’ve been wanting to take a bath to soak out some of my aches and pains, but I’m kind of scared of getting stuck in there.”

“You should have told me. We’ll get you in the bath after dinner.”

Too late she realized that meant he had to see her naked. Not that she was shy about her body now, funny enough, but being naked in front of Jax tempted her beyond reason. The doctor gave her the go-ahead for sex, and Jax knew it. He would probably try to seduce her.

“Okay.”

All through dinner, Tae squirmed. The more she thought of enjoying a bubble bath, she added Jax to it in her mind, and their antics led to other things. She shook her head to dislodge the thoughts, but that did nothing. When she finished eating, Jax sent her off to gather the toiletries she needed and to run the bath water while he cleaned up the kitchen. She stripped off her clothing and put on a bathrobe and slippers. Neither was sexy. The terry cloth robe made her hips look wider, and the footwear swallowed her feet but did not minimize the thick ankles. She stood in the bathroom laughing at herself.

“What’s funny?”

She started at the sound of his deep voice and glanced up. The tent in his pants caught her off guard, and she followed his gaze to where she’d let the robe gape and show off her cleavage. “Nothing. What are you looking at?”

“Something,” he teased.

She dropped the robe on the floor and stepped out of the slippers. Jax let out an agonized moan. “Get under those bubbles before I forget my vow.”

She let him take her arm and guide her over to the side of the tub. “What vow?”

“Don’t play dumb, Tae. You know what you’re doing to me.”

Settling in the water, she ran her hands over her breasts and then cupped her palms to rain water on the swollen mounds. As liquid dripped from her rather large nipples, Jax hissed between his teeth.

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