Page 39 of A Baby Changes Everything

Lifting his head from his feast at her breast, Drew maneuvered himself so he could see her face. His heart stuttered. She was so damned beautiful. He brushed a wayward piece of hair away from her cheek, his eyes never wavering as he pressed his lips to hers.

Softly.

Reverently.

Completely.

"I've wanted to kiss you like that for months."

Hope shifted, the movement allowing him to settle more tightly against her. "Is that all you wanted to do?" she asked as her hips began a slow grind against him.

A moan he couldn't have prevented to save his life surfaced from somewhere way down low inside him. "No," he growled.

Hope's lips joined his. She invited his tongue to join hers in the dance the lower half of their bodies had already begun. "Me neither," Hope confessed, wrapping her legs around him.

"You're not playing fair, Hope."

"Are you complaining?"

"I don't want to rush things with you," Drew admitted, dropping his forehead to hers.

"I think that ship has already sailed."

Lifting his head, he looked deep into her eyes. "You know what I mean." Sighing, he propped himself on his forearms to take some of his weight off her. "I don't want to play on your vulnerabilities either. Especially after what happened before."

Her brow crinkled. "I'm not sure I understand."

He pulled in a deep breath. "This morning, when Holden and I were mucking out the stalls, he was yanking my chain about you. When I insisted we were only friends, he said if that were the case, I wouldn't have any objections to him asking you out."

"And do you? Have objections?”

"I wanted to bash his head against the iron bars on the stall door."

Hope giggled, then covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm sorry."

Relief washed over him. "I refrained from beating him into a coma but advised him against asking you out. Of course, he wouldn't let it drop, reminding me that I'd just said we were only friends, so what would it matter. Then I reminded him about how you'd recently lost your father and didn't need the likes of him playing on your emotions."

"Aren't you the gentleman?"

"This time, I'm really trying to be," he replied. "Sometimes, I worry I took advantage of you that night. I know both our emotions were raw, but yours so much more than mine. I probably shouldn't have made love with you that night, Hope, but God help me, I'm not sorry we did."

Reaching up, Hope cupped his face in her long-fingered hands and smiled so sweetly it made the ache within him start to throb all over again. "Neither am I," she whispered as they shifted to their sides, facing each other. She laid her head on his shoulder.

There were so many things she could have said. Drew had already contemplated most of her options. But never once did he allow himself to consider she'd say she wasn't sorry either. He had assumed she had regrets. Lots of them. Especially since their one night of passion had resulted in a pregnancy she hadn't factored into her life.

At least not at this point. And, most likely, not with him.

That she wasn't sorry about their lovemaking gave Drew a glimmer of hope for their future. Still, he didn't want to rush anything. Not again. They had once, and even though they both fessed up to not having regrets, Drew didn't want to tempt fate a second time.

Besides, they weren't the only ones to consider any longer. Now, there was the baby. Another life dependent on them to make better choices.

Though Drew wanted nothing more than to finish what they'd begun, he didn't want to muddy the waters of where their relationship went from here. Assuaging the physical need winding them both tighter than a drum wasn't a risk worth taking.

Not yet, anyway.

"So, what happens now, Drew?" Her voice was soft, low. Her palm was splayed against his chest, her cheek on his shoulder.

He wished he had the answer. Right now, all he knew was that he wanted Hope with him. To get to know her as a man gets to know a woman he craves more than his next breath. To spend time with her. Talk about anything and everything with her. To prove he was worth the risk.

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