Page 113 of Love By The Falls

I’m lying on my back underneath the structure as she holds the pieces together above me. I catch her gaze as it travels down my body, and she wets her lips.

Damn.

It’s as though her eyes could touch me through my jeans. I fix my attention back on the wooden slats. “Keep looking at me like that, and we won’t get this done.”

“Keep working so well with your hands and it won’t be the bolts that you’re screwing.”

The screwdriver falls from my hand, and I stare at her, dumbfounded. She’s laughing and pushing her hair away from her face. “Are you serious right now?” I ask, incredulously.

She shrugs. “Maybe.”

I groan. “Don’t tease me, Charlotte. I’ve wanted you since I saw you again.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” I scoff. “Really.”

Picking up the screwdriver, I turn it twice, and press down on the wood pieces to keep them in place.

“Even with me—you know—like this?”

I don’t look up. “Like what?”

She sighs. “Pregnant.”

I shrug. “That changes nothing. I still think you’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen.”

There’s a small intake of breath and it’s enough to distract me to look at her. Her cheeks redden and she bites that damn lip of hers again. “God, I love it when you do that.”

“Do what?”

“Bite your lip.”

I push out from underneath the crib and evaluate my work. “Not too bad.” I shake it and it moves. “It could be sturdier, but I might be able to tighten the bolts better.” Her hand on my forearm stops me.

I turn to face her, and her freckles are camouflaged by the flush of her cheeks and spreading down to her neck.

She takes my hand, and my chest tightens as she pulls it toward her and on top of one breast.

Oh, they’ve definitely grown larger, fuller, spilling between my fingers. I squeeze gently, and they’re a lot firmer than I remember, too.

No. Pregnancy has not deterred my attraction to her. It’s actually intensified it. I drop my hands onto herbelly and she inhales sharply. I roam my palms along the sides and over. She still hasn’t taken a breath.

Dropping my mouth to her neck, I kiss her gently beneath her ear. “Breath, baby.”

She does, exhaling loudly. Her belly moves, and something kicks against my hand.

“Oh my God,” she breathes. “Did you feel that?”

Shit. I did. “Was that the baby?”

She nods, and tears gather in her eyes. My heart pounds in my chest, and I don’t know how to describe it, but I want to put my entire body around her stomach and protect that precious child inside of her.

She turns in my arms to face me and cups my cheeks. “I’m so happy you’re here to feel her first kicks.”

“Her?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s a girl.”

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