Page 52 of Bound By Love

His eyes lowered to my stomach, and he placed a hand over the exact spot where my baby was growing. My cheeks heated as my body responded to him. Little electric tingles came to life between my thighs. It was a glorious feeling. He lifted his gaze to mine and gently rubbed his hand in a circular motion. I held my breath; my dreams of him touching me were finally realized.

“My apologies, miss. I meant to say, you and the baby need to rest.”

My mouth went dry as his warm lips grazed my forehead. I heard him softly inhale as if filling his lungs with my scent.

“Derek… my door is open,” I whispered.

“Tonight, with your permission, I’m going to give you a proper kiss that will last for hours,” he whispered at the shell of my ear and melted me.

“Promise?” Did I really say that?

“Yes.” He pulled back, and his olive-green eyes had darkened with desire. I wanted to slam the door shut and taste his lipsnow. “I’ll be at your house at the same time as always. Don’t be late,” he said with amusement in his voice, touching his thumb to my chin before he darted out of my office.

I stayed in the same place for a while as I continued to feel Derek’s warmth around me and his lips on my forehead. Part of me was nervous about moving forward with him. It’d only been a few weeks since Will shattered my entire world. It was quite possible I was on the rebound. Living in a different state and not knowing anyone was difficult. But I wasn’t about to waste away. I wouldn’t let a man break me. Destroy me. I was done giving a man that power over me.

I shuffled back to my desk chair and smiled. Derek was a regular Joe, like I used to think of myself. Sure he had a successful business, like me, but he wasn’t a billionaire. He didn’t have the paparazzi after him or bodyguards. We could go anywhere and not be bothered.

Derek was so sweet to me, and I counted myself lucky to have met him.

I placed my hand on my stomach.I think he’d be wonderful to you too, sweets. He might not be your real daddy, but I’m willing to bet he’d be an outstanding surrogate, substitute, stand-in daddy.

I blinked to stop the tears pooling in my eyes as Will’s stupidly handsome face came to mind.

No crying.

I managed to make it through to the end of the day without touching myself between my legs in the bathroom to the tune of Derek’s lingering promise and arousing touch. As I put away a couple of folders, I heard Alastair’s voice in the hallway. I’d been avoiding him since I started spending time with Derek. Maybe it was wrong to hide from him, but I didn’t want to hurt him.

“Heading home?” he asked from the doorway.

“Hey there. I sure am.”

“I haven’t seen much of you lately. How’ve you been? How are you feeling?”

“I’m great all around. Thanks for asking.” I slipped on my coat. After five in the evening, it cooled down quite a bit. I couldn’t imagine how winter would be with snow and temperatures below thirty degrees. The very thought of it made me shiver.

“I know about Derek.”

Shit.

“Oh? What do you know? That he’s my friend?” I deflected, not wanting to have this conversation with Alastair.

“That he’s been at your house every night this week.”

The hairs on the back of my neck flared, and my body tensed. “And how would you know that?”

“I pass your house every evening going home from the gym. I figured out that it was him when I saw the license plate D WAT on the back of a black Ford truck in your driveway.”

“Wow, that’s some impressive detective work. I hadn’t noticed his license plate.” I shrugged nonchalantly. My personal life was none of his business. I collected my handbag and made my way to the door.

“It wasn’t difficult to figure out.”

“Hmm. Well, have a good evening.” I went to make a quick exit.

“Wait.” He grabbed my wrist before my foot hit the threshold, pulling me back, and closed the door. In a matter of seconds, I was up against the wall, heart racing, and Alastair’s nose a breath away from mine.

“Alastair. What are you doing? Step back.”

“Are you with Derek? Do you like him?”

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