The Night before Baby

by Smith, Karen Rose

  The minister wished them good luck, and Olivia’s mother hugged her daughter and then him, saying, “Welcome to our family.”

  His voice was husky as he murmured, “Thank you.”

  A few minutes later, in the limo beside him, Olivia asked her mother, “Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own? We could have lunch....”

  “Honey, I had a big breakfast and I’m ready to go for a swim. I’m used to being on my own. Besides, I’m sure you and Lucas have better things to do than watch over me. After all, this is your honeymoon.” Her sly smile told Lucas she knew exactly what was on his mind.

  He shifted on the seat, his elbow rubbing Olivia’s, his knee grazing hers. His bride’s face was pink. “We appreciate your wanting to give us privacy, but we don’t want to desert you.”

  “And you won’t be. If I have time before dinner and the show, I’ll try the slot machines. I’m going to take advantage of everything that gorgeous hotel has to offer.”

  As much for his sake as Olivia’s, wanting to get to know his mother-in-law better, he suggested, “Why don’t we have breakfast before you leave for the airport tomorrow?” Rosemary’s flight left around noon. He and Olivia weren’t flying back to Phoenix until later in the day.

  Olivia’s mother studied him, then answered, “All right. But let’s make it a late breakfast.”

  There was affectionate amusement in her voice and he decided he really liked Rosemary McGovern.

  Back in the hotel lobby, Rosemary said, “I’m going to stop in one of the shops and buy a magazine to read at the pool. I’ll see you tomorrow.” With a wave and a smile, she left them standing by an indoor fountain, finally alone.

  Lucas suddenly felt like a teenager on his first date. It was ridiculous. This beautiful woman by his side was his wife and she was having his baby! But Olivia had thrown him more than one curve in the past few weeks so he’d better tread carefully.

  “Do you want to go up to the room?” he asked.

  “Do you?” she returned.

  He took a deep breath and held on to his patience. They hadn’t had time for lunch before they’d left for the chapel. “If you’re hungry, we could order room service,” he suggested, avoiding a direct answer, still trying to gauge what was on her mind.

  “That sounds fine.”

  Did he hear relief in her voice? Would she rather eat lunch than go to bed with him?

  One step at a time, Hunter. At least get to the room.

  The ride in the elevator didn’t help the tension. Olivia’s perfume wound around Lucas, until each breath made him need her more. The elevator zoomed straight to their floor and when the doors slid open, he stepped out. Still holding her flowers, Olivia glanced at him, then began walking toward their room. She stopped at their door. He opened it.

  If she was hungry, he would order lunch. Going to the coffee table, he picked up the menu. “What did you have in mind?”

  Setting her flowers on the end table, Olivia tried to figure out what was happening between her and Lucas. They’d never been this awkward together. The aftermath of their tryst on Christmas Eve had come close. But they’d gotten married for goodness’ sake....

  And maybe he didn’t know what to do next any more than she did. Maybe he was just being a gentleman. Despite his outburst yesterday, he was trying not to push her. She almost smiled. One of them had to make this easier.

  Crossing to him, she took the menu from his hand and laid it on the table. “Lucas, what do you want?”

  His gaze dipped from her eyes to her lips then back up again. “I want to make you my wife.”

  “Then why don’t I slip into something more comfortable?” she suggested softly. With his gaze following her, she went to the closet, pulled her new nightgown and robe from the hanger and took them into the bathroom.

  When she emerged a short time later, nervous yet excited, she realized she was afraid Lucas would see the changes in her body and be put off. They were subtle but becoming more noticeable—her fuller breasts, her changing waistline. But before the anxiety could overtake the excitement, she saw him stretched out, his black silk shorts dark against the white sheets. He seemed to take up most of the immense bed.

  His gaze was male and hungry as it raked over the aqua silk robe that left little to his imagination. Last night he’d been settled on the couch when she’d turned off the light and slipped under the covers. There was no slipping in quickly now as she slowly approached him and stopped at the edge of the bed.

  “Olivia, do I have to be careful? Is there anything I should know?” he asked, his deep concern touching her,

  She shook her head and somehow found her voice. “The doctor said intercourse can be good for me. It can help my muscles prepare...” It sounded so clinical.

  The muscle in his jaw worked as he held out his hand to her. After she slipped off her robe, she placed her hand in his, and he drew her to his side. The rustle of her gown on the sheet briefly covered the sound of their breathing.

  The sparks of desire in Lucas’s eyes singed her as his gaze slid from the spaghetti straps, over her hips to the length of her legs. When he looked at her face again, he said, “I want you. But if you have any doubts about this...”

  “This” could mean their marriage. “This” could mean making love with him. She had no doubts about either. But showing him could be more effective than trying to tell him. She remembered what he’d asked her to do in front of the fire at the ranch. With her heart pounding, she moved closer and touched her lips to his.

  A shudder ran through him, and his fingers stole under her hair as he brought her close. When his mouth covered hers, she held on to him for a moment, then gave herself the freedom to enjoy...and explore. As Lucas’s kiss grew urgent and possessive, her fingertips discovered again the tautness of his shoulder muscles, the heat of his skin, the strength that she knew was deeper than physical.

  Lucas’s tongue foraged more completely, and each stroke and thrust stoked a flame that already burned bright. She found herself starved for body contact, and she pressed against him to appease the need that was burgeoning the longer they kissed. Lucas’s hands became an extension of the fire that made her gasp for air as he broke the kiss. She didn’t understand why he’d separated from her, until he brushed her straps from her shoulders and stared at her breasts.

  She didn’t know how sensitive they’d be now, she didn’t know if... Her thoughts vanished as his mouth closed over her nipple and she moaned. The sensation was heavenly. His tongue was like velvet...playing, seducing.

  Somehow her gown landed on the floor next to his shorts. Somehow she forgot about the changes in her body. Somehow she got lost in Lucas.

  Chapter Nine

  The knowledge that Olivia was carrying his child was like an aphrodisiac Lucas didn’t need. He felt as if he’d wanted her forever and needed her longer. His hands were trembling, and he tore his mouth from hers to stop the spiral of sensations he didn’t understand. It seemed as if he was touching a woman for the first time, as if everything he knew about pleasure had been an illusion. When he gazed into Olivia’s eyes, he saw heaven and earth and everything in between. Nothing about their first time together had prepared him for this.

  The feelings shook him and the foundation of the life he’d created for himself. Olivia and their child were now the center. He kissed her neck, needing to bury his face in her hair. When he licked and toyed with her earlobe, placed an openmouthed kiss at the tender spot behind her ear, she scraped her nails down his back, and he gloried in his power to pleasure her.

  “Do you know how beautiful you are, Olivia? How I’ve dreamed of us like this?”

  “It’s not a dream anymore,” she whispered breathlessly as he felt her breasts against him.

  He knew he had to be gentle. He’d read that women’s breasts could be supersensitive during pregnancy. But her sultry voice, the sweet scent of her, her intoxicating taste fogged his thoughts until he relied on instinct rather than expertise.
He drew her even closer, aroused beyond normal limits, shaking with a need that had built in him for his entire adult life.

  As Olivia caressed him with her fingers and stroked up and down his back, he took her mouth again in a desperate attempt to possess more of her. But when her hands dipped below his waist to his backside, he almost lost all control. Her softness against his hardness, her sounds of pleasure, the heat they’d generated in too short a time made him realize he couldn’t last much longer.

  He passed his hand between them, rolling her onto her back. Stroking up her thigh, then her belly, he was pleased when she moaned against his lips. When he slid his fingers between her legs, she arched against him. She was ready. With his grasp on control a mere kiss or touch away from unraveling, he rose above her. She opened her eyes and their gazes locked.

  When he slid into her slowly, she gasped and clutched his shoulders.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Oh, Lucas, it feels so wonderful.”

  Her words catapulted him over the edge. With his next thrust, she cried his name, her face flushed with pleasure. Not able to hold back, he thrust again and again until he was no longer a man and she his woman. They were one body and the pleasure was so sublime he gave himself up to it, knowing his life would never be the same.

  When Olivia and Lucas walked into Barrington on Monday morning, she couldn’t help but smile. She glanced up at her husband and saw he was smiling, too. They’d had a brief honeymoon, but it had been spectacular! They hadn’t left the room until breakfast with her mother. Then they’d gone back to the big round bed again until they’d hurriedly dressed for their flight out. Lucas had been so passionate, so tender.

  She wondered if the first time had been as earthshattering for him as it had been for her. He’d seemed to guard himself more afterward, not meeting her gaze in the same way, not letting her see that her touch affected him. Apparently he hadn’t lost his desire for her because he’d reached for her again and again. But after that first time, she’d felt the distance he always kept between them. More than once she’d held back an “I love you.” She sensed he still wasn’t ready to hear it and even less ready to say it.

  What if he never could? What if he never loved her the consuming way she loved him? That wasn’t possible. She’d show him all about love and how it could change his life.

  They were standing at the elevator when Cindy saw them and waved from down the hall. Then she beckoned to Olivia.

  “How soon do you want to tell everyone?” Olivia asked Lucas. “My friends are probably in the cafeteria for their first cup of coffee.”

  He put his arm around her, his hand resting easily at her waist. “The sooner the better.”

  As they walked toward the cafeteria, Cindy waited for them, noticing Lucas’s arm around Olivia. Her friend’s brows arched slightly, but she just smiled. “We’re setting a time to look for dresses. How does Wednesday after work sound?”

  Olivia glanced at Lucas. “That’s fine. Is everybody inside?”

  “They sure are. Come have coffee with us.” Her invitation included Lucas.

  When they walked into the cafeteria, there was the usual before-work bustle. Molly, Patricia, Rachel and Sophia sat at a table near the coffee urn. Molly’s boss, Jack Cavanaugh, and Stanley stood talking to one side of it, cups in hand. As Olivia, Lucas and Cindy approached the group, Olivia noticed Molly staring at Jack in such a way that Olivia knew was more than admiration or friendship. But Jack acted like a big brother to everyone in his department, including Molly, though her friend hoped for much more.

  Cindy slipped into a seat beside Sophia, and everyone at the table stopped talking as they noticed Lucas’s arm around Olivia. Even Stanley and Jack were watching.

  Olivia didn’t know why she was nervous. These were her friends! With a smile, she began, “Lucas and I have an announcement to make.”

  As she glanced up at her husband, his hold tightened slightly and he continued in a voice loud enough to carry. “Olivia and I were married over the weekend.”

  Stunned silence met the announcement until suddenly Cindy and Molly jumped up and came to hug Olivia.

  “Congratulations.”

  “How wonderful!”

  “How long have you been planning this?”

  “Where did you get married?”

  Olivia wasn’t sure who had asked what. Laughing, she hugged all her friends. When she was finished, she looked up and saw Stanley was about two feet away with a frown on his face.

  Keeping their explanation simple, Lucas offered, “We flew to Las Vegas over the weekend.”

  “A Las Vegas wedding,” Rachel said wistfully. “How romantic!”

  “It’s just a shame your friends and family couldn’t share it with you,” Stanley observed, then gave Olivia an affectionate hug.

  “Mom flew out to meet us,” she told him. “We didn’t want a fuss.”

  Stiffly her boss stretched out his hand to Lucas. “Congratulations.”

  Lucas gave Stanley’s hand a perfunctory shake.

  Olivia wished Stanley could really get to know Lucas... could understand what a good man he was. But she understood now that her boss was acting protectively on her behalf...like a father. And she appreciated his looking out for her, but it wasn’t necessary.

  After he checked his watch, Lucas laid a hand on her shoulder. “I have to get upstairs. I’m expecting some calls.”

  Covering his hand with hers, she said, “I’ll come with you.”

  Sophia shook her finger at Olivia. “Don’t think you’re getting away that easily. We want some details.”

  A blush heated Olivia’s cheeks as she thought about all the details she wasn’t about to mention. “I’ll meet you here at ten-thirty for a short break. How’s that?”

  “Plans for lunch?” Cindy teased.

  Everyone knew Cindy and her fiancé, Kyle, snuck out at lunch to spend time together. Olivia had caught them necking in Kyle’s car one day when she’d run errands. Not sure whether or not she’d see Lucas during the workday, she joked, “We haven’t planned that far ahead.”

  After more good wishes, with Lucas’s hand on the small of her back, they left the cafeteria and took the elevator to the third floor.

  Before they went their separate ways, Lucas clasped her hand. “Come to my office for a minute.”

  She wondered if he’d been embarrassed by her friends in the cafeteria. But she didn’t get a chance to ask as he opened his office door, closed it, then took her into his arms. When he kissed her, she felt all the passion that had enveloped them this morning right after they’d awakened.

  He caressed her cheek as his tongue breached her lips, and his hand slipped down her jacket, pressing her close. Just as on Christmas Eve, the taste of him and the touch of his hands swept her into a realm of passion that made her forget time and place. The intensity once scared her. Now she welcomed it along with the raw hunger she always found in Lucas. She wanted to assuage it, satisfy it, to prove her love.

  But this morning they stopped with the kiss, and he leaned his forehead against hers. “Did you want your friends at our wedding?”

  It was evident he wondered if she regretted their haste. She didn’t. “Mom was there. You were there. I can celebrate with my friends now that we’re back, just as we’ll celebrate with Mim and Wyatt.” Lucas had called the ranch as soon as they’d returned. Mim and Wyatt had congratulated them both, insisting they come to Flagstaff over the weekend.

  Lucas studied her, his blue eyes deepening with thoughts he didn’t share. Then he brought her close for another explosive kiss. When he leaned away, he asked in a husky voice, “Want to meet me here for lunch?”

  She laughed. “Lucas Hunter, you don’t have lunch on your mind, and you know it.”

  “What do you have on your mind?” he asked seriously.

  Playfully straightening his tie, she leaned in and whispered, “Making sure the blind is closed and the door locked while we eat turkey sandwich
es.”

  His crooked grin stole her breath as he backed away. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

  As she left his office, she hoped she’d continue to hear those words for the rest of their lives.

  When Lucas let himself into the town house on Thursday evening, he found himself whistling. He was anxious to tell Olivia about the partnership offer he’d received, eager to spend the evening with her in or out of bed. Last night she’d gone shopping with her friends while he’d made arrangements to have a mover empty her apartment at the end of the month and put her furniture in storage. They’d driven separately today because he’d known he could get tied up, and she’d wanted to stop for wallpaper and paint samples. After they’d returned from Las Vegas, they’d discussed transforming the guest room into a nursery. But they might want to hold off on that now until he made a decision about the job offer he’d received today. If he took the partnership in New York...

  Good smells came from the kitchen, but he found Olivia in the guest room, sitting cross-legged on the bed in the midst of catalogs and snips of wallpaper. She looked up and smiled when she saw him, and he realized how much he liked coming home to her. With her hair tied up in a ponytail and in her jeans and T-shirt, she looked younger than her twenty-six years, and much too tempting to resist.

  When he bent to her, she responded with a kiss that reminded him of taking a shower with her that morning, the allure of her wet skin and the pleasurable result of two-for-one bathing. Moments later, he’d pushed aside the books and samples and undressed her with the same eagerness that had her hands on his belt buckle, his fly and then him. Fast. Fiery. An explosion that rocked him and left him wanting more. He couldn’t understand why he couldn’t sate his desire or why it increased rather than eased.

  As he rolled to her side, catalogs bumped to the floor.

  She propped on her elbow and smiled. “You’ll have to help me decide. I not only picked up wallpaper samples but catalogs with furniture—”