One Night of Pleasure: Military Romance Featuring a Sexy Navy Hero (Take a Chance Book 5) (7 page)

She shrugged.  “I’m not afraid to try and see where this could go, Mark.  I like you.  A lot.  I enjoyed what we did last night, didn’t you?”

An unrepentant grin filled his features.  “A lot.  But – ”

She laid her index finger on his lips.  “No buts, Mark.”

He teasingly bit her finger. “I was going to say, but I’d like to enjoy it again this morning.”

She chuckled and waggled an eyebrow suggestively.  “Would you?”

He nodded and slipped his hands beneath the hem of the t-shirt to cradle her bare butt.  He walked her back toward the counter and out of sight of the open French doors.  As soon as she was against the granite, he whipped the t-shirt up and off her body, baring her to his gaze.

“You’re beautiful, inside and out,” he said and laid his hand over her heart.

She mimicked him, splaying her hand over the center of his chest.  “You are, too, Mark.”

He brought his body up against hers and the push of his erection had her immediately wet and throbbing again.  As he dipped his hand to her center and parted her, he moaned and said, “I don’t think I can ever get enough of you.”

“Good, because I want you just as bad.”  She reached between them, undid his jeans and his cock sprung past the gap of denim.

She spread her legs and he thrust in, burying himself in her.  Holding still as they both held their breath and he leaned his forehead against hers.  For long moments they just stood there and then he braced one hand on her back and the other on the counter to protect her.

She leaned back and with his support, wrapped her legs around his waist, and grabbed hold of his shoulders.

He rocked in and out of her, rousing their passion.  Ratcheting it up ever higher until they were both driving wildly against each other, reaching for a release that nearly shattered them when it came.

She buried her head against the crook of his neck and cried out his name.  Tightened her grasp on his shoulders and around his waist as her orgasm slammed into her.  He fell over the edge with her a second later, his body shuddering with his climax and a few rough final strokes of his hips.

He rested them against the counter for a few minutes until he slipped from her and she lowered her legs to the ground, still a little weak-kneed.

She helped him zip up and he reluctantly covered her with the t-shirt once again.  “I guess I should get ready to go back to the hotel,” she said.

He hesitated, worrying her until he skimmed his hand down the side of her face, the touch tender and loving.  “You had planned to stay the weekend.  Maybe you could get your things and stay here even if you’ll have to listen to Maggie’s mouth.”

She grinned.  “I think I can handle Maggie as annoying as she can be.”

“Awesome.  Let’s have breakfast and we can go and check you out.  Bring you home.”

Bring me home.

She didn’t know if it was a slip of a tongue or how he really felt.  But what she did know was that she wanted to take a chance with him and see if this could be home.

Tangling her fingers with his, she said, “I’d like that, Mark.  I’d like to come home with you.”

The grin on his face was all she needed to know that being here with him was worth the risk.

Chapter 10

Three months later

Bridget scooped out some cat food onto Slate’s plate as the cat insistently wound around her legs, purring loudly.  Since moving in with Mark a month earlier, the cat had been coming back more and more often.

“Come on, kitty.  Give me some space,” she said as Slate almost tripped her up as she rose and walked over to the counter.  She desperately needed her morning coffee, but as she poured herself a mug, the smell of the java hit her hard and a bout of nausea slammed into her.

The mug rattled against the granite as she set it down clumsily and ran to the downstairs bathroom.  Dropping to her knees, she retched and gagged as her stomach twisted in revolt.

Mark rushed in, kneeled behind her, and gently drew her hair back from her face.  “Babe, are you okay?”

She shook her head and leaned back into his comforting embrace.  “I don’t know what hit me.  I think I have the flu or something.  My stomach has been really off for the last few days.”

“Why don’t you go lie down and I’ll get you some toast.”

She nodded, stood with his help, and rinsed out her mouth.  He walked with her to the stairs, but it was a lovely morning.  She motioned to the French doors.  “I think I’d rather lay out there and get some sun.”

“Sure, Bridget.  I’ll bring you breakfast in a second.”

She wasn’t the wilting waif type, but her stomach was so upset that she wasn’t going to argue with him about his taking care of her this morning.  She went out to the garden and curled up on the chaise longue.  A few seconds later, Slate scampered out from beneath a row of colorful petunias and laid down beside her, happily licking himself.  His happy purr a constant vibration.

The warmth of the sun and the cat’s company chased away some of her discomfort. As she smoothed her hand across her abdomen, quieting the final topsy-turvy twists of her gut, the sunlight shimmered on the engagement ring on her finger.

She smiled at the sight of it.  So much had changed for the better in just the few months they’d been together.  And in the month since they’d become engaged, they’d pushed on to create the home they both wanted so much.

They’d even reached out to an agency to see what they’d eventually need to do if they decided to adopt to grow their new family.

Our new family
, she thought, but in a sudden blast of insight, it occurred to her that she’d been so wrapped up in school, work, and Mark, that she hadn’t been regular with her period in the last few months.  Counting down, she realized that it had been at least two months since she’d had her period.

Two months.

She tried not to panic since she’d always been regular.  But then panic gave way to another feeling.

Hope.

When Mark placed the tray with some tea and toast on the table beside the chaise, her stomach lurched again and a chill swept over her body.

“You’re looking a little green,” he said and laid his hand on her forehead. “You’re not warm, just clammy.  Maybe you should stay home from work today.”

“I’ll be okay.  I just need to eat.”  To prove her point, she grabbed the toast and took a bite.  She smiled at him past the lump in her throat and the way the toast seemed to stick there, nearly choking her.

He narrowed his gaze and examined her, but nodded.  “If you’re sure.  I’ll see you later.”

He brushed a kiss across her forehead and rushed back into the house.  A few minutes later, she caught sight of his SUV as he rounded the corner on his way to his office.

She forced down another bite of toast and a sip of the tea.  It worked some magic since she was soon feeling good enough to get dressed and head to work.

The beach replenishment project she was managing was going well.  As she reviewed the progress with one of the representatives of the Army Corps of Engineers, it was apparent that the project was on schedule.  They’d finish restoring the beach by October, just in time for the Hurricane Sandy anniversary.

It made her proud of the work she was doing and that she was a part of helping things get back to normal along the Jersey Shore.

It was a beautiful September day and being out on the beach, supervising what was happening, was restorative.  She was feeling much better by the time she left for home, but to be on the safe side, she stopped by a pharmacy and picked up a few different pregnancy tests.  Stuffing her purchases into her knapsack, she hurried home, eager to take one of the tests and alleviate her worries.

But when she arrived at home, Mark had beat her there and was already making dinner.

“I’m a lucky woman,” she teased and squeezed his butt as he stood by the island in the kitchen, preparing some salad fixings.

“I see you’re feeling better,” he said and hugged her hard.

“Much better,” she admitted and snatched a cucumber slice from the cutting board.

He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. “How much better?”

“
Way
better.”

He scooped her into his arms and almost jogged up the stairs to their bedroom.

With each step they took toward the bed, another piece of clothing fell off until they were naked and she sat on the edge of the bed, Mark tucked between her spread-eagled legs.

“I didn’t think it was possible, but you’re even more beautiful.”  He cradled her breasts and tugged her nipples gently, but the action made her cry out in pleasure-pain.  They were incredibly sensitive and he tempered his caress, bent, and kissed each one tenderly.

“So beautiful,” he repeated, licking her nipples and making her shake with want.

“Mark, please,” she keened and braced her feet on the frame of the bed, exposing herself.

“Fuck, Bridget.  You make me crazy.”  He kissed his way down her body to her center and sucked hard on her swollen clit.  He eased his fingers into her and she clenched around him, quickly at the edge of her climax.

If this is what pregnancy hormones did to you, I’m all onboard
, she thought as with another suck of his mouth and twist of his fingers, her orgasm swept over her.

Mark nearly came at the sight of her, lost in pleasure.  Her breasts were fuller and her nipples were darker, like ripe berries.  His mouth watered and his cock swelled as the aroma of her arousal and her cries of satisfaction filled his senses.

He bent and tasted her nipples again.  So sweet and so sensitive.  Against his hand her pussy throbbed with each tender pull of his mouth.

It was more than he could take.  He guided himself to her center and drove in, working himself deep within.  Fighting for control as with each lick and suck of his mouth, she caressed him.

She pushed against the bed with those strong lean legs he loved and he broke away from her breasts to watch her.  With each thrust of his hips, she welcomed him until he was almost mindlessly plowing into her, savoring her release and seeking his own.

He reached down, cupped her buttocks, and tilted the angle of her hips.  With a few more deep thrusts, his climax crashed over him.  He ground into her and stilled, lost in her in every way that was possible.

“I love you, Bridget.  I love you,” he said and kissed her.

“I love you, too,” Bridget whispered against his lips and embraced him.

She wanted to share her suspicions, but was afraid to do so in case she was wrong.  The last thing she wanted was to give him hope and then disappoint him.  Instead, she kept her secrets and held him close until the last fleeting remnants of their loving faded.

Together they dressed and shared dinner. Cuddled together on the couch afterward to watch a movie and make love again.

She didn’t think she could ever get enough of him and was thankful that he seemed to feel the same way.

Sated, they climbed into bed and she fell asleep almost instantly.  But she was jolted abruptly awake early the next morning by another sickening storm of nausea.  She raced to the bathroom and lost last night’s meal.

Mark was immediately at her side, comforting her until the bout of sickness had passed.

“Are you okay?  Maybe you should go see a doctor,” he said and brushed a sweat-dampened lock of hair back from her face.

“I’m all right.  I just need a second,” she said and although he was reluctant, he agreed and left her alone.

She braced her hands on the toilet seat and stood.  Washed her hands, rinsed her mouth, brushed her teeth, and grabbed one of the pregnancy tests from where she had hidden them in the wicker basket with the guest towels.

Following the directions in the box, she took the first test and within minutes, the little plus sign confirmed her suspicions.

“Bridget, can I do anything?” Mark said from beyond the wood of the door, his voice slightly muffled.

“Not right now, honey,” she called out and grabbed a second test kit.  She didn’t want to take any chances and be wrong about her suspicions.

She repeated the test and again it came up positive.  She placed the test on the edge of the sink next to the first one.  Stared at them for a moment before pulling out the last and final kit.  A fancy digital one that would not only confirm her pregnancy, but tell her just how pregnant she might be.

Just as the other two had indicated, she was pregnant and this test put her at three plus weeks of pregnancy.

“Bridget, babe.  Are you okay?  I’m getting worried,” he said and rattled the doorknob, but she had locked the door.

She laid the last test down on the sink next to the other two, washed her hands, unlocked the door, and opened it.

With frown lines and lines of worry across his forehead, he stepped inside and laid his hands on her waist, but before he could say anything, she pointed in the direction of the sink.

He screwed his eyes almost closed as he glanced at them and tried to make out what they were, but then his gaze popped wide open and he shook his head.  “I don’t get it.  Why – ”

“Because I’m pregnant, Mark.  I’m going to have our baby,” she said and cradled his cheeks in both hands.

He paled to a sickly white and wobbled.

She guided him to the toilet seat to sit, raked her fingers through his hair, and laid her hands on his shoulders.  “Did you hear what I said, Mark?”

He wagged his head back and forth over and over.  “It’s not possible, Bridget.  The doctors said – ”

“It would take a miracle and those three tests over there say that’s what happened.  A miracle.”

He buried his head against her breasts and splayed one hand against her still flat belly.  “I didn’t dare think this would ever happen, but you know what my true miracle was?” 

Confused, she shook her head and met his gaze.  “No, I don’t.”

“You, Bridget.  That one night together.  Up until that one night, I didn’t dare hope that I’d find someone like you.”

She smiled, bent, and kissed him. “Well, I’m yours and I know we’re going to have lots more nights together.”