Licking his glistening lips, he straightened up to remove his clothes until he was as naked as me. In the moonlight that came from the window, he looked beautiful and handsome. The shadows danced over the ridges of his muscles, making my mouth water.
Derek crawled over me, settling between my thighs again, and kissed me deep and slow until I could taste myself on his tongue.
I wrapped my legs around him, feeling the hot length of him nudge my entrance.
“Look at me,” he whispered.
Our eyes locked as he slid in with a slow and steady thrust. I gasped at the stretch and the perfect fullness while my nails dug into his shoulders. He didn’t stop until he filled me completely, then pressed his forehead against mine.
This didn’t feel like the frantic, desperate sex we had before. It felt gentle because we weren’t fucking, we were making love.
“I love you,” he breathed, starting to move with long and deep strokes that burned me in the most pleasurable way possible. “Love you so fucking much, Paige.”
I couldn’t speak, only clung to him as he kissed my lips, my neck, my breasts. It was perfect, and I never wanted to get out of bed. His hand slipped between us, his thumb circling my clit in slow strokes, building the familiar coil of pleasure.
“Come with me,” he groaned. “Let me feel you?—”
I came first, crying out as pleasure crashed over me in soft, endless waves. He followed seconds later, burying himself deep and spilling inside me with a ragged moan of my name.
“Oh God,” I gasped when he slid out of me and I felt the warm spurts of seed leaking out.
“Mhmm,” he hummed, collapsing beside me and pulling me into his arms.
I nuzzled into his chest and breathed in his comforting male scent. “I love you.”
“I love you more,” he whispered against my hair.
“It’s not a competition,” I teased.
He mock-glared at me. “Of course it is.”
I laughed softly, pressing a kiss over his chest, right over his heart. He tightened his arms around me, and we drifted off tangled together, his hand resting protectively over my stomach.
I was curled up with my best friend, my hot boss, my fake fiancé who loved me for real. I had never known that everything I had ever wanted was right beside me.
I sat perched on the kitchen stool, watching Derek pace back and forth like a caged animal, muttering under his breath about iron content and omega-three.
“And you need at least twenty-five grams of protein per meal, which means…” He paused mid-stride, turning to point at me with a spatula. “Are you even listening?”
“Mhmm,” I hummed, trying not to smile. “Iron, omega, and protein. Got it.”
It had been like this for weeks now ever since we confessed our feelings and he found out about the pregnancy. Our life was mostly the same, just with more ‘I love you’s peppered throughout the day and Derek transforming into the world’s most overprotective father-to-be.
He researched prenatal nutrition with the same intensity he brought to court cases, and now every meal came with a lecture about what my body needed to grow a healthy baby.
It should have been annoying. Instead, I found it endearing. Adorable, even, watching this powerful attorney stress over whether I was getting enough leafy greens.
His phone rang, and I saw Charlotte’s name flash across the screen. Derek’s eyes went wide with something like panic before he answered.
“Hi, Mom?—”
Even from where I sat, I could hear Charlotte’s voice rising in pitch, and I knew she was scolding him.
Derek’s face went through several expressions, and he looked so comical that I had to press my hand over my mouth, trying desperately not to laugh.
He caught my eye and gave me the most sheepish smile I had ever seen on his face. Then he mouthed ‘sorry’ and retreated toward his study, Charlotte’s voice still carrying through the phone.
“And I cannot believe you didn’t tell me immediately, Derek Jane Peterson?—”
