One Night to Change Their Lives

by Tina Beckett

  “Yes. I like that.”

  “Are we even now?”

  In answer, she slid the straps of her undergarment down her arms, letting them hang loose as she peeled a little bit of the bodice down. Just enough to entice him. She hoped. She’d never been the best at doing a sexy striptease designed to drive men wild.

  At least, she had never gotten the hang of it with Leo, who wanted an elaborate show, but did very little in return. But Garret made her want to be sexy. Made her want to do a little give and take.

  “You’re killing me, honey.”

  “Shoes and socks?”

  It was working. He did seem to like it.

  He toed out of his shoes and reached down to undo his socks, tucking them into his black patent leathers.

  “Okay, now—”

  “Pants.” She grinned a challenge at him.

  “Don’t make me come over there, Addy.”

  “Or what?”

  God, her body was responding to all of this verbal foreplay, nipples pressing hard against the fabric of her shaper, a familiar tingling starting up in other places. She was ready for him to grab her up and get this show on the road.

  He took a step closer, and her fingers reached for the straps on the last thing she was wearing. Okay, if he wanted to play hardball, she could definitely match him play for play. She tugged at it, suddenly wishing she’d worn tiny underwear instead, because she remembered just how snug this thing had been when she’d put it on. But she did it, stepping out of it with a triumphal glance at him, only to freeze in place.

  His face had gone completely still and he swallowed hard. “You are so...lovely.”

  Lovely. That was good, right? Then why the hesitation before the word had come out?

  “T-trousers?”

  Where had that stutter come from?

  Garret frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  “Just having a moment of insecurity, that’s all.” Her throat worked as she struggled to swallow back a rush of tears. She was too afraid to tell him the whole truth, because she herself didn’t yet know.

  Then he was there, grabbing her up in an embrace that was as tight as his earlier kisses had been tender. There was no mistaking his erection pressed hard into her thigh. “Don’t. No insecurity. Feel what you do to me.”

  He cupped her face and tilted her head to look at him. “There are so many adjectives I could have chosen. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Sexy. Hot. There’s one for the books. And they all would have been true. Every single one.”

  Her body went slack with relief. She had no idea why she’d suddenly felt as if she wasn’t good enough. Maybe wondering how she compared to the mother of his child. Wondered how he would react if she too became the mother of his child. But his quick move to allay her fears had done just that, more than making up for her silly fears. He made her feel beautiful and all the other adjectives he’d mentioned.

  “Just love me, Garret. That’s all I need right now.”

  “Gladly.”

  With that, he swept her up in his arms and headed back to a different area of the apartment, past a living room and a leather couch. Down a hallway with two closed doors. He opened the first one and revealed a huge bed with four pine columns that ended just above the mattress. A bed that had no history with her, none at all. It was a blank slate. And she couldn’t wait to put some writing on that slate.

  He laid her down. Pulled his wallet from his back pocket and finished stripping the rest of the way. This time she didn’t have to help. Maybe her zipper had smoothed the way for him. He seemed more secure himself this time. Whatever it was, she loved it.

  Loved hi—

  Her eyes slammed shut on the word before it fully formed.

  No. Not right now. She could dissect feelings and possibilities later, but, for this moment in time, she just wanted to be with him.

  She looked at him again. The thumb of his right hand was in the waistband of his briefs, his eyes on hers.

  “Do it.”

  Then he was out of them, kicking them away and picking up his wallet again. For one infinitesimal second she wished he didn’t have to use it. Wished they could just love each other without anything coming between them.

  But they had to. If she wasn’t pregnant already, she didn’t want to become pregnant. Maybe, despite what he’d said in his office, he’d be able to go that route with someone else. Someday.

  Why not with her?

  Later, remember?

  Unaware of her thoughts, he found a condom and laid it on a pillow near the headboard. She decided to make light of what, for her, was becoming a moment that was fraught with dangers she didn’t want to face. “Just one?”

  He smiled, coming onto the bed and pressing his body against hers, breasts flattening against his hard chest. She gloried in the feeling, reveled in not spoiling this moment with her hopes and fears.

  “Don’t worry—I have more where that came from.” He rested his pelvis against hers. “And more where that came from.”

  Then his mouth was back on hers and he was kissing her as if he couldn’t get enough, right hand exploring her, running over her breasts, down her rib cage, cupping her hip.

  “Use the other one.”

  He came up. Looked down at her face. “Excuse me?”

  Terrified he was going to be angry with her, but needing this so very much, she licked her lips. “Use your other hand. I want to feel it on me.”

  His eyes hardened slightly, and he acted as if he was going to get up. To run. “I can’t.”

  Before he could go anywhere, she caught the wrist of his damaged hand and held on tight. “Use it, Garret. Please.”

  She lifted it to her chest, just above her breasts, and dragged the curled fingers against her skin. “Can they feel? Do they have sensation?”

  “Yes.” The word was rough-edged and seemed to be hauled up from some dark pit within him. This was a critical moment. He would either reject this...reject her, or he would open himself up and allow her to take everything. In the same way she was willing to give everything.

  She touched her breast with it, using her own hands to guide him over the nipple. The sensation hit her hard and she arched, moaning.

  “God, Addy. What are you doing to me?” Then he pulled his hand free from her grip.

  Just when she thought she might have ruined everything, he took up where she left off, allowing his ruined digits to slide against her. He didn’t cup anything or try to grasp, just let her skin provide tactile stimulation. The idea that she might be the first person to ask this of him was heady and it brought her to the very edge of the world.

  If he could handle this, surely he’d be able to handle anything else she might throw at him.

  His eyes slid closed as he continued to explore, and she hoped it felt as good to him as it did to her. She wanted this man. Wanted everything he had to give. When his fingers brushed over the curls at the apex of her thighs his eyelids jerked apart. “I don’t think I can wait.”

  “Then don’t. Don’t.” She reached around and grabbed the condom off the pillow and tore into it. Then she handed him the contents and held his damaged hand where it had stopped, keeping it there as he used his other hand to roll the latex sheath over his hard flesh.

  She slowly spread her legs and slid his fingers a little lower. She bit her lip, breath coming in short bursts as she drew him closer and closer. “Feel it, Garret. Feel—” She exploded in a rush, pressing his hand hard against her as the contractions raged inside her.

  Then he was right there, thrusting hard and fast, groaning against her throat as he went off a few seconds later; he kept pumping until he was spent, pace gradually slowing, while he pressed tiny kisses against her jaw, her cheek, her mouth. And then it was over, his body melting into hers, puffs of air sliding over her ear.

  “Hell, Addy
. Holy hell.”

  “Are you okay?” She tipped her head back so she could look in his face, worried about the tone of his voice.

  “Okay? Okay?” He gave a laugh that lit her soul and turned her world upside down. “I don’t think I’ll ever be okay again.”

  He kissed her chin. “And I mean that in the best way possible. I have never felt like that in my life.”

  If he could just hold on to that thought.

  She pulled in a huge lungful of air and released it as a wave of happiness spilled over her. “There are lots of ways to rehab that hand. I have a few more tricks up my sleeve.”

  “A few? I’m afraid to even imagine.” He wrapped an arm around her back and rolled so he was on bottom and she was on top. “I don’t want to squash you.”

  “You weren’t. But I like the way you think.”

  And with that, she covered his mouth with hers and kissed him all over again.

  * * *

  Five tests were lined up on her bathroom counter.

  Five reminders that the happiness of one night might not look the same two days later.

  And it didn’t. Not at all.

  Addy huddled beneath the bubbles in her tub and trembled, her mind frantically working through all kinds of scenarios. Maybe he would be thrilled—would leap from his chair and kiss her senseless, tell her that he loved her as much as she loved him.

  Because, yes, she did love him. Had realized it while they were making love. She’d tried to blot it out, to pretend it wasn’t real, but the sensation hadn’t faded away the next day. It had been there when she’d woken up to the smell of bacon and eggs—the very meal she’d tried to fix him all those weeks ago. In fact, she’d come out of the bedroom wearing one of his button-down shirts, saying she hoped he didn’t mind. His answer had sent a shiver through her. A very different shiver than what she was now experiencing.

  “Mind?” he’d said with a slow smile. “I don’t know. What would you do if I said yes, that I minded very much?”

  A weird giddy sound had broken loose from her throat and wrapped around her. “Well, I guess I’d just have to take it off, then. Very slowly.”

  The wordplay had soon turned into another kind of play altogether. And she’d hoped... So hoped...

  But he’d never said the words. And she’d tried to not care.

  Until today.

  She lifted a palmful of suds, and with a quick puff from her lungs sent them up into the air. What was once a single cohesive mass broke into distinct sections, which floated in different directions. Some popped and disappeared forever. Some joined with other bubbles. But the original unit was gone forever.

  Kind of like Humpty Dumpty. Once broken, he could never be made whole again.

  Was that what would happen to her and Garret? Not that they could even be considered a unit. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

  Her eyes went back to the counter. Would her news shatter any possibility of a future with him?

  But if he cared about her, would those tests matter that much? Maybe it would precipitate something good, rather than the disaster she was imagining.

  She twisted her hair and clipped it higher so she could lie against the smooth surface at the back of the tub. Her hands dipped beneath the surface and skimmed over her stomach.

  Pregnant.

  But how?

  It had to have been from that first time they were together. Maybe the condom was old. Maybe they’d just been careless at some point—or maybe it had simply failed. It happened. You heard stories about things like this all the time. Right?

  Those plastic strips caught her eye again. Five tests said that she was now one of those statistics.

  And she was happy. Scared, but, oh, so happy. God, she shouldn’t be. She should be upset and angry and confused.

  But she saw everything with a clarity that had been lacking before. She wanted this baby. Had wanted a child for a very long time, even when her ex-husband hadn’t. The fact that it was Garret’s and not Leo’s? Even better. At least it belonged to a man she respected. A man who’d already had a child and had loved that child deeply. He was made to be a father, no matter what his response to this particular pregnancy might be.

  I’m not having any more children.

  Not ever?

  No.

  That conversation burned across her memory banks, searing everything in its path. He might not have planned—or even wanted—to have any more kids, but fate was taking that decision out of his hands.

  Surely he would love the child, once he found out about it.

  Wouldn’t he?

  The shaking that had subsided a minute ago started up all over again.

  She had to tell him. It would be wrong to withhold this kind of information. He had a right to know. And a right to choose what to do with the information.

  She wrapped her arms around her midsection as if already protecting the tiny life that was just taking root inside her.

  One thing was certain. His reaction would go one of two ways and it would determine the course of their future interactions—or lack thereof.

  Either he was going to welcome the news—even if he was initially dismayed or fearful. Or—and this was the possibility that had woken her in a cold sweat for the last two nights. Or Garret was going to run for the hills as fast as he possibly could.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  GARRET SCANNED THE READOUT, trying to decipher what he was looking at, but he was unable to concentrate on much of anything right now.

  It had been two days since he’d kissed Addy goodbye in front of her house after taking her home. He had no more answers today than he’d had after seeing her standing there in his white dress shirt. There had been turmoil then. There was turmoil now.

  It was as if he’d been shot through the heart, something changing inside him.

  But what?

  He wasn’t sure. And wasn’t sure he really wanted to know. He’d vowed to give himself one more day and then track her down long enough to talk. No easy feat.

  She seemed to be avoiding him as much as he was evading her.

  And the spikes for those two days...

  As bad or worse than they’d been that day he called her into his office. The day she dropped those pearls, setting a big machine into motion.

  He didn’t know what had made him look at the staff hours’ readout. But he had. Maybe to see if their night together had had as profound an effect on her as it had on him.

  From what he could see, it had. Only he wasn’t sure what it meant.

  She was back to keeping killer hours. In the days since they’d spent the night together, she’d put in five hours of overtime. It was a lot.

  He could understand staying to finish up a case, but this was more than that.

  Something was seriously bothering her. Or worrying her.

  Well, she wasn’t the only one. He was worried too. Only he wasn’t sure what to do about it.

  Talk to her?

  And say what? “Listen, Addy, about that night...”

  That was where his ability to reason fell apart. His brain cells had evidently developed a serious leak when it came to figuring things out.

  Sitting back in his chair, he put his hands on the desk and stared at his damaged one. His injury was what came of getting his priorities in the wrong place. He couldn’t afford to do that again—to bury his pain in his work.

  What did Addy have to bury?

  He had no idea, but one of them needed to drum up the courage to break the ice and start figuring this thing out.

  He stood to do just that, only to stop in his tracks when a knock sounded at his door.

  Surely not.

  But maybe...

  “Come in.” He frowned at how eager those words sounded. Hell, it might not even be Addy.

  He
needed to slow down and think through anything he might say, if it was her. Preferably before he gave voice to it.

  His intuition proved correct when Addy’s head peeked around the corner. “Do you have a minute?”

  “I was just coming to find you, actually.”

  “You were?” She entered the room, her face paler than he ever remembered seeing it.

  Was she ill?

  “Yes. Have a seat, please.” He stood. “Are you okay?”

  “I think so. I’m not really sure.”

  A rush of concern went through him. “What’s going on?”

  She didn’t sit, as he’d asked. And something about the way she stood there made an alarm go off in his head. He decided to stay on his feet as well, just in case he needed to catch her. She looked ready to break apart at any second.

  “I have something to tell you.”

  “Okay.” He suddenly wasn’t so sure he wanted to hear it, but those brain cells still weren’t working at a hundred percent.

  Instead of answering, Addy dropped some kind of white plastic object onto the center of his desk. It bounced a time or two then came to a stop in front of him.

  He frowned at it for several seconds. Then a frisson of fear went up his spine as he recognized it. Evidently a few of those cells were still functioning. And now he wished they weren’t.

  “What is this?” The rough, hoarse quality of his voice gave away his thoughts. He didn’t let his eyes focus on the test, kept them purposely averted to a spot just beside it, where the exercise balls lay.

  Something about the disparity between those two things struck him as hilarious, in a way that was anything but funny.

  There was only one reason for her to have brought that in his office.

  He swallowed. No. There was no way. It had to be a mistake. Still he kept his gaze away from it as if looking at it might somehow make it coil up and strike. Hell, he’d been worried about her working too hard, when in reality he should have been worried about—