Page 7 of Suddenly Pregnant

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Billie took a swig of Victoria Bitter. He’d offered her a few different types of Australian beer for a mini tasting, and so far she enjoyed the ones she tried in the past hour, but damn, she liked his company a lot more. A little bit too much.

They chatted on the sofas, like old friends, though there was nothing friendly about her feelings for him. She’d never been so attracted to someone before.

Once, in high school, she felt something that now paled in comparison. She had a crush on one of her good guy friends back then, who also happened to be a football player for the school’s team. They always laughed in biology class, made fun of people in general, and talked about games and sports. She’d always enjoyed watching sports, playing them, and a part of it was because she always wanted to connect with her father—and hoped this was a good way to do it. If only she had known…

When she’d fessed up and asked Tim on a date, he’d chuckled. He didn’t believe her at first, then took it as a joke, and two days later, she saw him kissing a cheerleader. Of course he went for the girly girl type who didn’t spend her weekends watching scary movies and as a child loved playing in the mud.

A couple of other times she got interested in guys who didn’t return her feelings. Then she just let it be and didn’t worry about finding anyone. Maybe something was wrong with her. Or maybe she’d find the right guy for her one day.

“I like this,” she said, lifting the beer.

“Always appreciate a woman who does,” he said casually, and she wondered what kind of drinks the women he went out with preferred. A cool sensation fluttered in her stomach. What if he had a girlfriend, or a fiancée?

He wasn’t married, otherwise she’d met his wife already. That much she knew. But what if he had someone important to him? Stop being silly, she told herself. He could have as many women as he wanted. He was a free agent, and her boss.

“What does your girlfriend like to drink?” she asked, and a second later, regret filled her chest. God, she just reverted to teenage years. Could she have been more obvious and less desperate? She put the beer aside, vowing to quit drinking for the rest of the night. Making a fool out of herself was not on her to-do list.

He looked over to her, his eyes cold. The muscle in his jaw jumped, and he cocked his head, the easy energy between them gone. Shit. Anxiety cooled her veins. She was used to being inappropriate with her cousins, and now she just went a tad too far. Crap.

“Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snoop.”

He frowned. “Snoop?”

“Yeah. Like we don’t know each other much, and I’m assuming you’re not married, but I wasn’t sure if you had a girlfriend or a fiancée and that was my segue into that question.” A bad one.

His shoulders relaxed, the features of his face softening. “Okay. Well, no girlfriend for me.”

“Good,” she said, then caught herself, and chuckled nervously. Get it together, girl. “I mean… like, good that I know, because since I’ll be working for you, if someone wants to get a hold of you or something and it’s an emergency…”

He moved across the other side of the table, toward her, and her vision blurred. The hint of woodsy spicy notes made their way into her nostrils, and in a blink, she was surrounded by this broad, muscly, tattooed man. He was like an invisible box she never wanted to get out of.

“What kind of emergency?” he asked, his sexy accent more pronounced. His voice alone could lure the most skeptical person into temptation. And his face… she swallowed the lump in her throat, her eyes focused on his, wishing she were strong enough to break the stare.

If she were, that was what she’d do.

Break the stare.

Stand.

Go to bed.

If she were worried earlier about falling asleep, now, she knew it would be impossible. A restlessness took hold of her body, desire stinging her in such way she found it hard to breathe. He was an endless maze of masculinity, and she couldn’t wait to get lost. “I don’t know…” she trailed off, finding it hard to come up with a snarky response. “Maybe you’re a tough guy to get a hold of.”

He inched closer, and once again that glorious sensation of being filled by someone when they hadn’t even touched her assailed her. Filled and completed. What a weird thing to feel. Yet, she couldn’t describe it any differently. Jack penetrated whatever bubble around her and joined in with her, and God, didn’t she love it.

She touched the V-neck of his collar, crumpling the soft cotton in her palm. With a gasp, she glanced at her hand, clutched around his shirt like she needed him for survival. Arousal bubbled underneath her skin, and goose bumps followed.

“I’m not that tough to get a hold of,” he said, in a low growly voice that made her sex hum.

Then, he dipped his head down and caught her lips with his. For a moment, she came to a halt, every part of her so attuned to his presence, her heart thrumming in all her pulse points… including her most intimate one.

She parted her lips, and his tongue delved into her mouth, causing an electrifying shiver to roll down her spine. Her nipples tightened, and he pulled her to him completely, coaxing her to sit on his lap.

The moment she straddled him, an aching lust swept through her. She had never done anything like this, but the hot man whose hand now massaged the small of her back ignited a part of her that she herself didn’t know existed.

She touched his shoulders, splaying her hands over his hard muscles, then lowered her palms to his chest. So wide. She could feel his ridges and planes under his shirt, and a surge of even greater lust came over her.

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