I widened my mouth into a smile I could feel. I loved having her like this. Needing me to take care of her and knowing she was going to let me. I really didn't need a lot. Just her love and the acceptance of mine along with my care. She rolled her eyes in embarrassment. "Look at me. I am such an emotional freak mess right now!""I am looking, and you forgot something, baby. You're a gorgeous emotional freak mess." I brushed away the tear with my thumb and licked it off. "I mean. if you're going to go all out and be a freak mess, you might as well look gor- geous doing it."I got her to laugh a little. "Now, do you fancy a sandwich for lunch?" I looked at my watch. "I wish I had longer for something a little nicer than takeaway.""No, that's fine. I have to get back too." She sighed and then smiled at me. "I have an announcement to make at work, it seems." She took my hand and curled hers around it as we walked.We happened to be right across the street from the saltwater aquarium shop
"Are you finished?" I asked, noticing she'd stopped taking bites of her sand- wich."I am. It's baby steps right now." She laid her palm on her stomach. "Literally."I know, but you have to eat. Dr. Banana Probe said so. I heard him clearly and he is the absolute authority on these things." I gave her an arch of the brows. "Well I'm pretty confident that the good doctor would avoid food too if he spent as much time as I do hung over a toilet, puking his guts out after eating some." "You poor thing—and you have a very good point, my beauty." I leaned in to kiss her lips. "What have I done to you?"She scoffed and kissed me back. "I think that's fairly obvious, considering where we just spent the last hour." "But the medicine helps, right?" I brushed her cheek, keeping our faces close. I really fucking hated seeing my girl suffer.She nodded. "Yes. It works miracles." She stood up to go throw away her sandwich wrapper in the bin. Even that small feat garnered attention from those in the
Dr. Roswell's beautiful turquoise fountain pen made the nicest sound in her notebook as she made her notes."So the university cannot really alter the program for me. I'll still have to do the conserving practicum at some point. But they were happy to give me a leave of absence from the Rothvale and have approved my substituting in some re- search work.""And how do you feel about that?" I knew she was going to ask me that."Um... I'm disappointed, of course, but don't have a choice about it." I shrugged. "It's weird, but even though I am scared to death about having a baby, I'm more afraid of doing something that might hurt my baby."Dr. Roswell smiled at me. "You're going to be a wonderful mother. Brynne." Well, that remains to be seen. "I have no idea how to be a mom or how I got into this situation" I held my hands up. "I don't even recognize my life com- pared with what it was two months ago. I don't know if I'll be able to ever get the kind of job I've trained for all these year
I was finding my inner Zen and gaining a close personal relationship with herbal teas instead. Raspberry and Tangerine Zinger had been pleasant sur- prises, I must admit. I made a cup of the Raspberry Zinger and called Benny."Hello, my lovely darling." "I miss you. What are you up to tonight?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound too pathetic."Ricardo's here and we're just done with dinner.""Ahhh, well, why did you even answer the phone? You're busy. Sorry for interrupting, I just wanted to give you a drive-by love blast." "No, no, no, my sweet. Not so fast. What is going on with you?" Ben was without a doubt the most emotionally intuitive man on the planet. He couldsniff out the smallest innuendo and go wild with possible scenarios. I'd seen him in action enough to know."Nothing is going on with me," I lied. "You're busy and have company. Call me tomorrow, okay?""No. Ricardo's sorting out some work business on a call of his own. Start talking.I sighed into the phone. Why did I call
It was weird thinking about all that again. There were no hard feelings about Karl, no feelings period. Karl had actually treated me pretty decently considering what my reputation had been in high school, but I'd shut down after the inci- dent and was unable to look anyone in the eye who had seen the images of me on that video. I wonder what Karl thought when he saw it. Was he trying to comfort me because he felt sorry for what had happened, or was he hoping to get some more action out of me? Who knew? I'm sure I never knew at the time, nor did I much care. I was too busy trying to find my way out of this life.I wrote a happy-happy-nice-nice message back to Jess wishing her luck with him, and logged out of Facebook.I had a new life now. In London... with Ethan...and the baby I was having.Neil sat across from me and looked more affected than I'd ever seen him in my life.I didn't blame him, really. Telling him that we no longer need worry that Brynne might have got tainted food or
I stayed planted at least seven feet from where she was and kicked off my shoes. She sat up on the couch and stretched, arching her back and chest toward me in invitation. We still hadn't spoken a word to each other, but so much had already been communicated. We were going to go at it like beasts and it would be excruciatingly good. Like always. So... having a mutual strip show, huh? Sounds goddamn perfect to me.Me first. I had more clothes to get rid of than she did. I think I was smiling. If it wasn't showing on the outside, I had a fucking clown grin going on the in- side. I worked the buttons on my shirt slowly, watching her watch me as her eyes grew smoky. I shrugged it off my shoulders and let it drop to the floor. I kicked it away with my foot and blinked at her.Your turn, my beauty.She did a move that I dearly love, and one she does so well it ought to be ille- gal. She raised her arms and crossed palms behind her neck and dragged them upward through her hair flexing her ne
Ethan scooped me off the couch and into his arms. I lifted my eyes and got that wave of emotion again as his blues found me. I loved him so much I knew the fear. I'd heard others speak about it. I'd read about it in books. Now I under- stood. The fear that you have when you finally give your heart away to another person. It makes you very vulnerable to loss. If you never love anyone, then you'll never be hurt when they don't love you back or when they leave you.I finally had the practical experience of understanding. It sucked.Ethan sensed my newfound knowledge, I think. He studied me with intuitive eyes that looked very dark blue at the moment, and ducked his head down to meet my lips. He kissed me there in front of the window while holding me naked in his arms. I melted into him and gave in to my goddamn emotions.He carried me down the hall to the bedroom and broke the kiss to lower me down to the bed. He saw."Oh, oh, baby... don't cry," he whispered, cupping my face and settlin
The immense pressure building was already forcing a response within me and taking me forward for an orgasm. I pushed backward on his cock to let him know it was okay to keep going. "Ahhhhh... oh, God," I said, shuddering as he pressed forward again, the stretched feeling increasing to the point of pain until it seemed impossible, my body burning up. Then suddenly a give as he filled me up completely on a stinging thrust that took him all the way home. I closed my eyes on his shout and froze at the sensation."Fuuuck. you feel so good!" He held himself still and caressed both sides of my ass with his hands. "Baby... oh. fuck me... okay?" He was having trouble with words and I certainly understood that. I was having trouble holding still, and could feel the shakes returning. The convulsions weren't pain-induced, but involuntary reactions to the incredible assault on my erogenous zone. There was minimal pain because Ethan had prepared me slowly for this experience, taking me with care, a