Page 48 of Forbidden Desire

“Oh, no you don’t.” She giggles, reading my mind as she grabs the sheets and covers herself.

“What? I can’t help it.” I shrug, kissing her again.

I hear her stomach grumble and mine answers back.

“Seems we’ve worked up quite the appetite.” I chuckle.

“I wonder why…” she says with a coy smile across those perfect lips.

“Why don’t we get lunch?” I suggest. “I know a great spot just around the corner.”

“Okay,” she says, somewhat hesitantly. I catch her looking at the clock on my nightstand. She seems like shedoeshave somewhere to be. “Let me shower first?”

“Sure. Do you know where—”

“I know from last time.” She gives a single nod.

Last time. When I left her in this very bed. It feels completely crazy that we slept together over a year ago and I’ve beenwanting to do it again all this time. It’s so not like me to pine over a woman like this. It had been well worth the wait, though.

I know that as I watch her roll out of bed, the sheets slipping off her as she walks completely naked to my master bathroom. My eyes follow the curves of her body that glow underneath the sunlight before she disappears from sight. She’s so confident in the way she walks, I almost wonder if it’s an invitation. I hear the water start to run, and debate if I should join her, but my body is wrecked.

From sex on the couch, to the sex in the kitchen, where we enjoyed a bottle of champagne, to the hallway on the way to the bedroom, to my actual bed. It’s a wonder I’m even awake right now or able to move. It’s like we couldn’t get enough of each other, our hands asking for more and our lips greedy. I smile to myself as I think about our night. It wasdefinitelywell worth the wait.

I stretch my arms above my head and my knuckles graze the headboard. I let out a satisfied sigh as my body gets little relief. I hear Erica’s phone vibrate on the opposite nightstand as mine, the glow of the screen catching my eye. I’m usually not one to pry, but the text alert catches my eye. I roll over and look at the screen more closely to see a text notification from someone named Sadie. I know I shouldn’t read it, but something pulls me to.

Sadie:Hi! Hope you had a good night. Just checking in. Josie just went down for a nap. Your little girl sure loves to sleep! Text me to know you’re alive, please ?

Her little girl? Josie? I furrow my brow as I read the text again before the screen dims to darkness again. I glance over my shoulder at the bathroom. I hear the shower still running and Erica humming a familiar tune. I roll back over and tap the screen of her phone, bringing it life again. Behind the text notification box, I see the corners of a picture. My nerves are making me jittery, as I wonder what I’m about to find. I hesitate before swiping the text away from my thumb, leaving me face to face with a photo of Erica and a baby.

I jerk my head back in confusion. I shake my head, trying to put my intruding thoughts out of my head. There’s no way she’s a mom. She’s never mentioned having a baby. In fact, no one at the office has ever mentioned it either. Maybe it’s her friend’s baby? Or her niece? Still, as I look more at the picture of this baby nuzzled up on Erica’s chest, I’m starting to wonder if she’s been keeping her baby a secret.

I scratch my head, wondering why her being a mother would be something she would be so secretive about. It does come as a shock to me, but it doesn’t make me see her any different. Still, I wonder who the father is. She must have had the baby in the time we’ve known each other. I look at the picture again, as if I know anything about babies to try to estimate an age.

The baby is smiling up at the camera with a toothless smile, while Erica plants a kiss atop her dark hair. My eyes are drawn to the baby’s eyes though. They’re a rich brown in the shape of almonds as they stare back at me through long, dark lashes. I feel like I’m looking at my own eyes in a mirror. Then there’s her nose and her cheekbones. I suck in a breath, dropping the phone down on the nightstand in a clatter.

It’s not possible. I run a shaky hand through my hair as I look back to the photo lit up on the screen. The resemblance is undeniable. But it doesn’t make sense. Erica would have told me. Wouldn’t she? Plus, I thought she had told me she was on the pill before we did anything that night. I’ve heard of it not always having a perfect success rate, but this just seems too crazy a possibility. I take a deep breath before picking up the phone again to look again. It hits me that the baby is mine, and I’ve had no idea this entire time that I’m a father.

“I’m starved! You said that place is around the corner?” asks Erica, walking into the room wrapped in a towel as she dries her hair. She stops in her tracks as soon as she sees me on her side of the bed, clutching her phone in my hands. Her mouth falls open, but nothing comes out.

“What is this?” I ask, holding up her phone.

She stays quiet as her eyes go from me to the phone lit up in my hands, the photo of her and the baby peeping out from under my fingers.

“What is this?” I ask again, my voice rising.

“Why do you have my phone?” she asks, keeping her voice steady, but I can hear the shakiness trying to break through.

“Because someone texted you while you were in the shower. By the way, Josie is down for a nap, just in case you were wondering.”

Erica sucks in a sharp breath and walks swiftly toward me.

“Please, let me explain…” she says, reaching her side of the bed and grabbing for her phone, but I hold on to it tightly.

I want an explanation. I deserve one.

“Marco!” she says, as I pull it out of her reach.

“You didn’t answer my question…What. Is. This?” I ask, pointing at the photo.

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