Page 28 of Tight End
Raiden made a low sound deep in his throat. His hand slid to my hip, tightening just enough to pull me closer. His eyes opened, still warm with sleep, and his mouth curved into a smile.
“Morning, baby,” he rasped, his deep voice rough enough to melt my bones.
“Good morning.”
His hand slipped to the back of my neck, his thumb stroking lightly as he drew me in for a real kiss. Soft at first, then deeper when I sighed against his mouth.
A familiar heat began to course through my veins, the kind that made my toes curl when his tongue brushed mine.
He rolled onto his back and dragged me on top of him. His lips trailed down my jaw to the sensitive spot beneath my ear. “Didn’t hear your alarm go off yet.”
A helpless little sound escaped me before I whispered, “It’s about to.”
He shifted to look up at me. “You sure you have to go in?”
I nodded and took a shaky breath, wishing I could ignore everything except the way he made me feel. “Yeah, it’s my first day back in the office. I can’t skip out after my boss let me work from home for so long.”
A slow, wicked smile curved his mouth, and I knew him well enough now to get that he was debating whether he could talk me out of it before he murmured, “Maybe he’d understand if you were a little late.”
I shoved at his chest, though it did absolutely nothing. “Raiden.”
“Fine.” He pressed one last kiss to my forehead before letting go of my waist. “But I’m walking you out.”
I slipped out of bed and grabbed his tee from the chair to wear while I got ready. He watched me with that soft, possessive look that made me warm all over.
“Up for tea and toast?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I pressed my hand to my still-flat belly. “That’s probably a good call.”
He reached out, catching my wrist and pulling me in just far enough for his lips to graze the inside of my wrist. “I’ll make it while you’re in the shower.”
“Thanks.”
After I got ready for work, I had enough time to nibble on my toast while I sipped my tea. Then Raiden walked me down to the black cab he hired to take me to the office. “Text me when you get there. If you need anything, let me know. And if anyone gives you shit, I’ll come get you.”
“I know,” I whispered.
For the first time, the idea of going back to work while pregnant with a baby I wasn’t ready to tell anyone about didn’t feel quite so overwhelming. Because he was solidly in my corner. Something he’d proven to me in so many ways over the past two weeks.
By the time the cab pulled up to the network building, the toast I’d forced down was sitting like a tight little brick in my stomach. I smoothed my palms down the front of my top, squared my shoulders, and tried to look like a woman who wasn’t secretly living with a star football player. And definitely wasn’t pregnant with his baby.
No pressure.
I rode the elevator up with two interns who were buzzing about a viral gymnastics clip. Their chatter helped steady me because it was so normal.
The moment I stepped into the newsroom, my boss spotted me.
“Marissa! Office. Now.”
My stomach twisted in knots as I followed him in, every step reminding me I was keeping secrets that could damage my career before it had the chance to really get started. I gripped my tote tighter to hide the slight tremble in my hands, and he gestured for me to sit.
“You look good.” He circled his desk and dropped onto his chair. “Rested.”
I doubted that but smiled anyway. “Thank you for being so understanding about the extra time I needed.”
“It’s not as though you weren’t working. You still got a lot done from home.” He clicked something on his keyboard, then looked up at me with a proud gleam in his eyes. “And you earned a bit of leeway. Your coverage overseas was stellar. Views are higher on most of your videos than we’ve ever gotten for figure skating coverage before. Impressive work.”
Relief loosened the tight band around my ribs. “Thank you. I really appreciate the opportunity.”
