“However, my point stands.” He definitely slows down while he is soaping up my tits, and I’m not about to tell him to hurry up when it feels this good. We really don’t have time for things to go any further, though, not if I want to make it home, to get myself ready for work.


    “There are still too manyplications<b>.</b><b>” </b><b>I </b>sigh. He lets out a low growl and I ce my hands on top of his, stopping him from washing me further. I stare into his eyes, needing him to understand that I mean what I’m about to say. “I know it makes you unhappy to hear this, and It makes me unhappy too. Nheless, <b>it’s </b>not the right time. It would still feel wrong. I know it’s what we both want. That we’re adults, but there’s too much in the way.”


    “I know.” He wears a sad smile and shrugs before continuing to clean me. “Can you me a man for trying, especially when the woman he wants looks like you?”


    “I’d think you were in need of a doctor if you didn’t try to use sex to get me to agree to something.” I smirk.


    “Wait until I have ess to you all the time. There won’t be any stopping me from fucking you on every surface in this house.” Immediate guilt knots in my belly. Nothing but a baby. Once the truth is out, everything will change. I should tell him, I really should. Only I still can’t make the wordse out. Fear makes them turn to ice blocks on my tongue.


    I’m afraid this will all disappear if I burst our bubble by discussing a baby. That’s the kind of thing I can’t take back. There’s no pretending this isn’t happening, so I have to getfortable with being ufortable.


    also need to have a little more faith in him. He’s the one that told me he wanted a baby. There’s no way his feelings have altered, not when his emotions have deepened. The words Amalia spoke linger at the forefront of my mind. I know she was being a vile bitch and trying to get back at me, but I let her get in my head, anyway. There’s no one to me for that but myself. A leopard doesn’t change its spots, and I knew Amalia was this way, so why am I shocked by anything she’s said?


    I’m sorry, little baby. I just want us to enjoy a few minutes together without any big drama before breaking the news. That’s all.


    “Turn around,” he whispers, and I do, leaning against his broad, firm chest before he starts massaging shampoo into my hair.


    “Oh, my God, that feels good…” I’m practically swooning, my scalp tingling, and my knees going weak. When I reach out behind me, taking hold of his hips for bnce, his sexy chuckle ignites a fire deep in my belly.


    “Careful, now. You’ll wake up the beast, and we both know what happens when you do that.” As it is, I feel him twitching against my ass, and the temptation to wrap a hand around his cock is almost too much to resist.


    “If I didn’t know better,” I whisper, “I would think you’re trying to get me fired.”


    “Who, me?” There’s a devilish tone to his voice.


    “Yes, you old man.”


    “Old man?” He snickers. “If I recall, it was you who was begging me to stopst night because you couldn’t take it anymore, so


    who’s old?”


    Fine.” I giggle, and he finishes shampooing my hair before pulling the shower head free and using it to rinse the strands.


    “No, to tell you the truth, this is nice. Thank you for reminding me.”


    “Reminding you of what?”


    He tips my head back gently, and I go with the motion, sighing when the water hits my head. There’s something almost erotic about letting him care for me. “You reminded me there are ways to be with a woman that doesn’t involve my dick,” he murmurs. “Being with you has reminded me of so many things I have forgotten. Or maybe I’m only bing aware of these things because I see you in a different light, and you’re nothing like anyone else I’ve ever been with. Either way, know that the sex is fantastic, and I’ll forever crave your pussy. Needing it like my body needs oxygen. I enjoy yourpany, talking to you, touching you, and being together, and I’ve never had that with anyone else.”


    I’m stunned to silence by his confession and still thinking about it by the time we’re finished, and I’m toweling my hair and he’s


    shaving at the sink. I never imagined teaching him anything–he’s supposed to be the teacher, the guy who’s seen everything. There’s so much more to him than I thought. More than Amalia knows, I’m sure. He’s a better man than she could ever fathom.


    Like an onion<b>, </b>I have slowly peeled back theyers of who he is.


    “What are you thinking about?” My head snaps up, and I find him smirking at me in the mirror. “It seems like you’re lost inside your head. Are you sure you should go to work today?”


    “You are incorrigible.” I leave the bathroom and put my clothes on in a hurry. Not only because I need to get out of here but because the longer I stay, the higher the chance of me spilling the beans. This is why I wanted to avoid him in the first ce. The urge to hurl out the truth consumes me. I want him to know<b>, </b><b>except </b>every time I go to tell him my brain forgets what words are.


    I’ve just finished dressing in yesterday’s clothes–without my panties, which we must’ve left under his desk—and pulling my wet hair back into a bun when a knock sounds against the bedroom door. Gianni strolls through the room<b>, </b>still wearing only the towel around his waist, and opens it enough that I can see Roger standing out in the hall.


    He appears annoyed, his eyes cold.


    “Yes?” Gianni’s chilly response surprises me.


    “There’s something I need to discuss with you.” His eyes meet mine briefly over Gianni’s shoulder before ncing back at Gianni.


    If looks could kill, I’d be dead twice over.


    “Can it wait?” Gianni snaps. The tension between them is thick enough to cut with a knife. This is awkward. What the hell is going on?


    “Sure, although it’s important.”


    “I need to go, anyway,” I murmur, tapping Gianni on the shoulder while trying to give Roger a smile at the same time. It’s like the temperature just dropped twenty degrees.


    “Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be downstairs.” He closes the door before Roger can respond, then gives me a confused look. ”


    What?”


    “You tell me,” I whisper. “What gives? Did something happen between you two?”


    “What happened doesn’t matter. I don’t want you worrying about me.” I can feel it. The wall that he slid between us. It makes me want to shake him. If he had the first idea of how frustrating it is to hear that, to be dismissed when I’m concerned, he might think twice about acting the way he is. However, discussing it right now isn’t an option. I don’t want to start our day off with a


    fight.


    “I’m going to have dinner with my Dad tonight,” I say to him, standing on my tiptoes to give him a kiss. “There are still a few things I want to talk to him about, so I don’t know howte it will be. I might just stay there.”


    “Let me know?” He’s gentle as he takes my face in his hands. “You know how I worry about you.”


    I do.” And I love him for it, even if it’s infuriating sometimes.


    His jaw clenches, and his features draw together in a pinched, pained expression. It seems for a second like he’s going to say something, but he only sighs while his shoulders sink. “Go on, then. Make me miss you all day.”


    “Oh, stop. I’ll be back. I can only go so long without you.” I smile.


    Roger has already gone downstairs by the time I leave the room, and when I check the time on my phone, it leaves me rushing but then she’s probably down the hall and out to my car. It feels almost traitorous not stopping to say hi to Tatiana before I go, still asleep anyway. I wish I had time to leave her a note. At this rate, I’ll barely have time to grab anything to eat before heading to work.


    And I have to eat, don’t I? It’s no longer about me. It’s about the tiny life growing inside of me. “I promise,” I whisper once I’m in the car and rolling down the driveway. “Whatever happens, baby, I’ll make sure it’s the right thing for you. No matter what,


    84


    I’ll put you first,”