Cherrie Lynn - Take Me On

She broke away from him and stared up into his eyes, her fingers stroking the back of his neck. “You haven’t shared much.”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Nothing much to share.”

“What’s one thing you would want to pass on to our baby?”

From himself? God, he couldn’t think of anything. A lump lodged in his throat, and he could hardly breathe around it. Or maybe it was the sight of her, damn near ethereal in the moonlight, looking at him as if she wanted all the secrets of his soul laid out before her.

He hoped their baby was an exact replica of her. Not so much of him.

“I don’t know about passing anything on,” he said. “I’d rather build something brand-new. New traditions. New things that maybe he or she would want to pass on someday.”

“I like that,” she said softly; then her mouth curved in a smile. “You have your love of baseball, if nothing else, though.”

“Oh yeah. Definitely that. This kid will be a Rangers fan for sure.”

“Then we’ll be all right.” Her lips sought his again, and it was pure magic. Her long hair slid through his fingers like silk as he pulled her closer, ever closer. Here, surrounded by nothing but nature and moonlight and an almost miraculously apt song, he really could pretend they were the only two people in the world. And he liked it.

Hours later, at Ian’s apartment, Gabby snuggled closer to him on the bed. Already, she’d draped one arm and one leg over him, and it didn’t feel close enough. It wasn’t like her to fall so hard so fast, but it also wasn’t like her to be in denial for so long. It was happening. His steady heartbeat beneath her ear could become the rhythm of her life, and the variables and unknowns didn’t seem to matter as much when she was right here.

Light from the TV flickered in the dark room, and he chuckled at whatever was happening onscreen. Despite her extended nap, she was nearly dozing. When he pulled her closer to slide a kiss across her forehead, though, she couldn’t resist tilting her face up to get the full impact of that mouth.

Warmth spread through her as his lips met hers. Her heart jerked out of its lazy pace and settled into a throbbing pulse that awakened the dormant parts of her. He tilted his head, angling deeper, his tongue seeking entrance. She gave it, but he teased, taking a taste of her and pulling back until she was forced to chase after him.

“Baby,” he murmured against her lips as she reclaimed them, “I’m trying to keep my hands off you as much as I can.”

She whimpered her distress, stroking her hand over his hair. “Please don’t.”

“You know the doctor said take it easy for a few days.”

“I know.” Gabby pouted, nibbling his bottom lip and tugging it gently. “That doesn’t mean you have to keep your hands off me.”

“If I start touching you, I won’t want to stop.”

“You don’t have to stop. You can touch me all night. Just touch me.”

“Ahh,” he groaned, catching on. “But that’ll be torture.”

“Oh, I know. Such sweet torture.” She let her hand play across his bare chest, her fingers sliding against his nipple rings. He gave a shudder as she brushed them, and she giggled. “I never thought I liked these much until I saw them on you.”

“Glad I could sway your thinking.” He kissed her deep, rolling her under him, careful not to put his weight on her. Always so careful. She cupped his face with both hands and melted beneath his kiss, let him plunder, met his exploring tongue with a thorough exploration of her own. And he was so sweet, so, so sweet. His hand slipped under the hem of the T-shirt she wore now—one of his, actually—pulling it up as his fingers journeyed to the underside of her breast. She arched into him, seeking the contact. Drowning in the luscious intimacy of his kiss.

A few quick adjustments and he had stripped the shirt off her. “Oh yes,” she whispered, needing the closeness, needing his skin against hers. She ached, throbbed for him, and the more she tried to keep arousal at bay and just enjoy the simple beauty of his big hands on her, the more it warmed and bloomed in her core. He stroked her nipple with his thumb, then rolled the tight, ultrasensitive bud between his fingers.

“God,” she breathed, squeezing her eyes closed. “I can hardly stand it.”

At her words, he released and circled with his thumb again. When he suddenly chuckled, she opened her eyes in surprise. “I think they’re even bigger,” he said, and she joined in his amusement.

“I think you’re right. They feel freaking gigantic.”

“So amazing,” he said. “Really, I never thought much about all this before. I can’t imagine what it must be like for you, going through all these changes.”

She ached for a different reason than the passion he stirred. This should’ve been the most joyous time of her life, experiencing all these changes… She wanted it to be. By God, she would make it be, despite what everyone else thought. She didn’t want to admit her mother’s disapproval was weighing on her, but it was. Still, she didn’t have to let it ruin this moment.

He moved down the length of her body, kissing a trail to her navel. Her belly was still flat, but she’d noticed a little tightness in her jeans the past few days. She couldn’t wait to have a bump. Her sister-in-law’s had been so cute that Gabby had hardly been able to keep her hands off it whenever she saw her. Yeah, it might’ve been a little weird, but she didn’t care.

Ian’s tongue lapped a circle around her belly button while his hands still cradled her breasts, and she moaned and rolled her head back and forth on the pillow.

This continued on, and she wondered if she’d bitten off more than she could chew making this request. His hands on her were no longer sweet torture—they were purely torture. Her inner muscles clenched and longed intensely for him. Just when she was about to beg him to take her, though, he coaxed her over on her stomach.

His strong hands kneaded her back muscles, releasing tension that had been pent up for…God only knew how long. Before she found out she was pregnant. Before she came here. Hell, probably before she was dumped at the altar. She groaned into the pillow as his fingers dug deep, finding areas of tightness she hadn’t even known about. His hands had always been amazingly gifted, but now she thought he must have some wizardry in those fingers.

He didn’t stop with her back, easing down and massaging her hips and buttocks, then the backs of her thighs and her calves. He should’ve been a massage therapist. As he bent one of her legs up and began plying the sole of her foot with that wonderfully soothing pressure, she told him so.

He chuckled, a dark sound that made her think he wasn’t unaffected by this either. “Maybe I’ll pursue that if your brother and I find we can’t get along anymore.”

“I would help you all I could with anatomy.”

“Awesome. Maybe I’ve found another calling.”

“I don’t know…I might get jealous to think someone else…unhh, God…is getting this too.”

“You would keep me too busy doing it to you for me to have any sort of career at it.”

“Mmm. You might be right. I’m so paying you well for this.”

“You don’t have to do that.” His lips grazed her left calf, and she smiled into her pillow. Oh, yeah. If she’d had to get pregnant from a one-night stand, she could’ve done a lot worse than him. “Can’t get enough of your skin,” he whispered. One hand stroked up the back of her leg and squeezed her cheek through her panties. His mouth followed his fingers’ progression, and she shivered. He licked a wet trail up her inner thigh, and she wriggled her legs apart.