He wanted to enjoy making love to Kristi, his focus on her alone. She was warm and sweet, and even though she didn’t make love as ardently as he’d like, she was his.
He rolled her under him and kissed his way down her throat and found her pulse. It beat fast against his lips, even if it wasn’t hammering. He needed to step up his game if he expected her to respond with unleashed passion.
She was so reserved in her responses; he wanted to find a way to break through that restraint and have her panting in his arms. It was a challenge, but one he accepted.
He cupped her breast in his palm over her blouse and bra and rubbed his thumb over her nipple. Her hands lay softly on his head, her fingers threaded through his hair. She didn’t moan or sigh as he kissed her neck and plucked at her nipple, hoping to get the reaction he wanted.
“Honey, we need to talk about something,” she said, seemingly unaffected by his attention.
What the hell? She’d been begging him to spend more time with her and be more attentive. Well, here he was. She had him all to herself and she wanted to talk?
He wanted to get her naked. “Not now. After.”
He wanted her to grip his hair and hold him to her breast.
He wanted her to roll her hips against his.
Something.
He kissed the soft skin just beneath her ear, his body heavy between her legs.
He wished she’d do something with her hands. Slide them over his shoulders and down his bare back. He wanted to feel the bite of her nails in his skin as he took her up to the peak.
He rose up on his hands and reached for the buttons down her shirt, greedy to get his hands on her warm skin.
She pressed her hands to his chest and stopped him. “Wait.”
What?
He didn’t move, just stared down at her as he held himself above her. “What’s wrong?” He glanced down at her flat belly and thought of the baby. “Am I too heavy to be on top of you?”
“No.” She bit her lip and stared at his chin, unable to look him in the eye. “Um, we need to use a condom.”
Cody went completely still. Everything inside him went taut. His mind ground to a biting halt. “I know I’m sometimes a dumbshit when it comes to women, but I’m very sure I can’t get youmorepregnant.”
Kristi turned her head to the side and stared at the wall. “I’m not pregnant anymore.”
Cody’s heart sank. He gently touched her face with his fingertips and turned her to look at him. “You lost the baby?”
She nodded.
Cody’s heart clenched. He couldn’t breathe.We lost the baby.“When?”
Her eyes clouded with sadness and her bottom lip trembled. “A week after I told you.”
His mind went blank. He couldn’t have heard her right.
She reached up, held his face in her hands, and made him look at her. “I know you’re upset. I was, too. But I was only a fewweeks along at best. These things happen early in a pregnancy for all sorts of reasons. My doctor assured me everything is fine. It just wasn’t meant to be. Not this time. Not now. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try again after we’re married.”
She lost the baby. We aren’t pregnant anymore.
What?
It simply didn’t make sense. “You’ve known this for weeks and you didn’t say anything.” Anger replaced his sadness. He untangled himself from her and the sheets and stood with his back to her, trying to understand why she hadn’t told him.
“Let me explain,” she pleaded, a hitch in her voice.
He tried to think clearly and turned to her as she sat up on the edge of the bed. “Are you all right?”
