The Pregnancy Surprise

Chapter Eight

Sara held her breath. Had she really just said that? Oh, she just couldn’t help herself. From the moment they’d run to catch the trolley and had landed on the seat together, laughing and out of breath, to chasing each other and the almost kiss just before getting soaked, holding hands, dancing, talking…

Everything he said, everything he did, made her want him more.

She knew she was being forward, which was what Allie had suggested. She claimed that Reece was enough of a gentleman that he wouldn’t come on to her unless he was sure she absolutely welcomed his attentions.

Well, he shouldn’t harbor any doubts now. She’d made herself pretty clear.

Reece stared at her for several heartbeats, and then suddenly she found herself flat on her back. Reece had her shoulders pressed into the ground with his hands, and he loomed over her like some kind of ocean god.

“You drive me absolutely wild, woman, I hope you know that.”

“That’s kind of the idea, right?”

In answer he kissed her. Not the slow, teasing, sensual kiss he’d treated her to the other night, but a high-energy hurricane of a kiss. His mouth was hard on hers as he held her a willing prisoner against their makeshift bed.

Her body came alive, instantly hot and ready, clamoring for his touch. She had never wanted any man the way she wanted Reece Remington.

She could smell the salt on his skin, mixed with the heady scent of sandalwood soap-the soap she herself placed in his shower whenever she cleaned his room.

Sara ran her hands under his shirt along the smooth skin of his back. He groaned deep in his throat every time she moved, no matter where she touched.

But he wasn’t touching her in the same way. Other than his feverish kiss, and hands on her shoulders, he hadn’t touched her. She took his right hand and boldly guided it onto her breast.

That was all the encouragement he needed. Then his hands were all over her, touching her everywhere, through her clothes, under her clothes. He pushed her blouse above her breasts, puzzled briefly over the front clasp of her bra, then unfastened it. He pressed his face against her bare breasts, rubbing the hard nipples against his jaw, letting his slight beard stubble abrade them.

She nearly came out of her skin. No man had ever done that before. But Reece, overcome with passion though he was, was still attuned to her feelings. That knowledge gave her a warm glow deep inside her chest that had nothing to do with the actual lovemaking.

Her clothing began to feel like a straitjacket, and she pushed Reece away long enough that she could drag the blouse over her head and shimmy out of the skirt.

“Oh, Sara.” His voice was rough with emotion, and to her surprise her eyes welled up slightly with feelings she couldn’t even name. What had started as something of a game with Reece, seeing if she could get him to lose control, had become much, much more.

She wasn’t simply a conquest to Reece. This wasn’t just two people coming together as consenting adults and enjoying each other’s bodies. This was making love in the fullest sense of the term.

Reece yanked off his shirt; the rest of his clothes soon followed and they were skin to glorious skin, wrapped around each other until Sara couldn’t tell where she ended and he began. His arousal pressed against her belly, and she thought she was going to pass out if he didn’t do something with it soon. She spread her legs and wrapped them around his hips in silent invitation, just in case he had missed the fact she was ready-more than ready. She was insanely ready.

He sheathed himself inside her in one stroke, and for several moments they both were exquisitely still, enjoying every nuance of this new, more intimate joining. Her body stretched to accommodate all of him, and he pushed in even deeper, to the very heart of her.

This was all she needed. When he renewed his kisses she felt the first tingles of what she knew would be a massive climax, one that in all honesty had started hours ago.

He began to move then, slowly at first, and the tingles in her body built in intensity, growing into ripples and then waves and waves of pleasure as his rhythm increased and his thrusting became more frenzied.

She sobbed, completely overwhelmed as she crested. Reece’s body convulsed with one final, deep thrust, and then he slumped against her, whispering her name over and over into her ear.

He rolled slightly to the side so he wasn’t pressing his entire weight into her, but not enough to pull their bodies apart. She didn’t want him to withdraw. She wanted to stay like this indefinitely as the waves of pleasure diminished, leaving in their wake a warm glow.

She shivered, and Reece pulled the edges of the silk cloth around them like a cocoon. She snuggled against him, shifting to a more comfortable position.

They could have stayed there all night if they wanted, she realized. The bed-and-breakfast was empty of guests. No one would notice if they didn’t come home.

But she had a feeling Reece wasn’t a sleep-on-the-beach kind of guy. For that matter, he probably wasn’t normally a sex-on-the-beach kind of guy either. She wondered how he would deal with his loss of control.

A few minutes later she had her answer.

“Sara?”

“Yes, Reece?”

“We didn’t use any kind of protection.”

Sara sighed and propped her head up on her elbow so she could see his face. His expression gave her serious pause. He looked pretty grim.

She ran a finger along his jaw. “Oh, you silver-tongued devil. I think that’s the most romantic thing any man has ever said to me right after sex.” Okay, she would have preferred, You’re the best I’ve ever had, you’re incredible, you’re the most beautiful, sexiest creature in the universe… But thinking about protecting her was certainly better than I have to go, or, Is there any pizza left?

“I’ve never done that.” His voice was filled with what Sara could only describe as despair. “I’ve never just…forgotten before.”

No, she didn’t imagine he had. He probably scheduled his sex, wrote it down in his Day-Timer.

“Please don’t worry,” she said, knowing she had to allay his fears. “I’m on the pill.”

“Oh. Oh, that’s good.” His relief was palpable.

“You don’t have to worry about catching anything, either. I’ve been celibate for a while, and my last checkup was good.”

“You’re not worried about catching something from me?”

“Not at all. Because I’m willing to bet you have a battery of tests done every six months, just to be on the safe side. Whether you’ve had sex or not.”

“You know, it’s getting a little scary, the way you’ve figured me out. Am I all that predictable?”

She laughed. “No. I never would have predicted this.”

“You make me act like a crazy person.”

She played with the dusting of hair on his chest. “It’s fun being crazy.”

“It makes me nervous.” He ignored her playful caresses and sat up, rubbing his face. “I hold an executive position at a multinational corporation, responsible for decisions that could bring the company millions of dollars-or lose it. I don’t have sex on public beaches.” He moved away from her and started hunting for his clothes.

Sara heaved a big sigh and sat up, also. She knew this had been too good to last. While his hormones were running amok, his conservative, sound judgment went right out the window, which was fine with her. But now it was back.

She pulled on her clothes, wondering how to recapture the intimacy they’d so recently shared.

When they were both dressed, Sara shook out their impromptu beach blanket and loosely folded it into a long strip, which she wrapped around her shoulders like a shawl. It had grown cooler, and not just between her and Reece.

“We should head back to the Sunsetter,” he said. “It’s getting late.”

She saluted him. “Sir, yes, sir.”

That stopped him. “I’m being a complete ass, aren’t I?”

“Absolutely.”

He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. “God, I’m sorry, Sara. This has been an incredible night, all the way around, starting with the sandwiches-all of it. You’re the most…I don’t even know how to describe you. Beautiful, passionate, generous-that’s not enough.”

“Okay, you’re forgiven for being an ass.”

“You deserve champagne and a feather bed strewn with rose petals, not flat beer and a roll in the sand.”

She extracted herself from his embrace so she could look at him. “You’re kidding, right? We made love under the stars. No girl could ask for better. And if you would stop overanalyzing everything for one second and enjoy the moment, you would see I’m right.”

“But…”

“But what? You’re venturing into ass territory again. You think this was just a roll in the sand, huh? Is that all it meant to you?”

His eyes widened. “No, no.”

“All right, then. Look, if you’re worried that now I have big expectations, that I’ll be hinting around for an engagement ring or wanting to take you home to meet my parents, don’t worry. I’m the girl who doesn’t plan for the future, remember? I know you’re returning to New York. I know I can’t go with you. I’m okay with that. But that doesn’t mean tonight is trivial, not to me, anyway.”

“Not to me, either, Sara. I didn’t mean to give you that impression. Don’t be angry with me, okay? I’m not very good at living in the moment, so I’m bound to make mistakes.”

“Are we going to spend the night together?” she asked.

“Is that what you want?”

“I asked first.”

“I would like very much to go to sleep with you in my arms. In a nice, soft bed.”

She slid her arm around his waist and hooked her thumb in one of his belt loops. “Then I’m not angry.”

THERE HADN’T BEEN MUCH sleeping going on.

By the time they had arrived back at the Sunsetter, Reece had been looking at her as if she were a tasty morsel, the best oyster in the dozen, and for once he hadn’t guarded his feelings.

His intense scrutiny had made her squirm, and they hadn’t even made it all the way upstairs before clothes went flying again.

Reece was one of the most passionate, creative lovers Sara had ever known. Not that she’d had legions of lovers, but she’d had enough hamburger to know prime rib when she saw it.

She’d lost track of how many times they made love during the night. But she’d fallen into a deep, satisfied sleep in Reece’s four-poster bed some time before dawn, not caring how late she slept in because she wasn’t needed for breakfast.

When she awoke, the sun was high in the sky, streaming through the lace curtains, and she was alone in the bed.

Darn it.

There was a note on Reece’s pillow. She snatched it up and read it greedily. It informed her he had an early meeting at the bank and he hadn’t wanted to wake her.

That was sweet.

At least it gave her some time alone to think.

As she showered, feeling deliciously sore in all the right places, she wondered whether spending the night with Reece was an isolated incident, or if they would spend every free moment having wild sex until his return to New York.

And would he go public? Would they be a couple, even temporarily?

Last night she’d bravely told him she was okay knowing they had no future. But it wasn’t entirely true. When it came to Reece, she wasn’t quite the free spirit she wanted everyone to believe she was.

She couldn’t help envisioning a future with him, tentatively picturing various ways they could stay together. Maybe it had something to do with hormones, or maybe some part of her couldn’t link “Reece” and “casual sex” in the same sentence. Somewhere along the way, he had started to matter. A lot.

She called the hospital and talked to Miss Greer, who sounded good and said the doctor might let her go home as soon as tomorrow.

“That’s wonderful!” Sara said, trying to inject some enthusiasm into her voice. Of course she wanted her employer to make a swift and painless recovery. But once Miss Greer was back home, things wouldn’t be the same with her and Reece. Their partnership would be over, as Miss Greer could resume running the business.

The house had to be sparkling when Miss Greer returned, so Sara threw herself into housework, trying not to worry. That was Reece’s job. She had to change all the linens-she’d gotten lazy yesterday. Then she attacked the mountain of laundry, vacuumed and dusted.

It was two o’clock when she realized she hadn’t eaten all day, so she went to the kitchen and heated up some leftover frittata and a couple of flour tortillas.

Still Reece hadn’t returned. Was he avoiding her?

Finally she heard the front door open as she was putting dishes in the dishwasher. She resisted the urge to run to the door and throw her arms around him. She would have to let him set the pace.

She heard footsteps going up the stairs, then above her head. But only moments later they came down again, and Reece appeared in the kitchen. Looking for her?

“Hey.”

“Hi, there,” she said cheerfully. “How did your meeting go?”

“It was fine.”

She glanced up at the clock on the wall. “It was long.”

“I was taking care of some other things. Do you mind if I make myself a sandwich?”

“Make yourself at home. But I can fix something for you.”

“A sandwich I can manage.” He draped his suit jacket over the back of a chair and opened the refrigerator.

Probably safer, she reasoned. If he built his own sandwich, he could be sure nothing exotic or spicy wound up between the bread slices.

She invented kitchen busywork for herself, studying him covertly while he went about the business of getting out the bread, ham, cheese and mayonnaise. He looked better in a suit than any man she’d ever known. Then again, she hadn’t known any but him who wore suits.

“Have any calls come in?”

“A few inquiries regarding our room rates. One reservation.”

“Sorry I wasn’t here to do my part.”

“That’s okay. I talked to Miss Greer. She’ll be coming home in a day or two.”

“That’s good. Do you want to visit her today?”

“Are you willing to drive me?” No way was she borrowing his car again. Not that he would let her.

“Sure.” Just then Reece’s phone rang. “Reece Remington,” he answered, as if he were at the office. “Oh, hi, Dad.” He sounded wary and looked annoyed.

The dryer buzzer sounded from the laundry room, and Sara used it as her excuse to escape. She wasn’t sure why she wanted to, except Reece wasn’t acting like the solicitous, smitten lover she’d hoped for. In fact, he was acting the same as he always did.

Did that mean it was over? Had he cured his temporary insanity?

She haphazardly folded sheets while she lectured herself not to overreact. One day at a time, one hour at a time. Yes, in weak moments she let herself believe that Reece might be different from the rest, that they could somehow carve a relationship that would last. Like, forever. But she knew her hopes were unreasonably high.

She carried a stack of messily folded sheets-Miss Greer, queen of the hospital corners, would have a fit-upstairs to the linen closet. Hers was the only bed she hadn’t made up today, so she grabbed a set of sheets and headed up to the third floor.

A white shopping bag was propped against her bedroom door.

Her heart pounded, because she knew it hadn’t been there earlier. Therefore, it came from Reece. She dropped the sheets and reached for it, peeking inside, where she spied…a pair of shoes?

She pulled them out of the bag. They were Mexican huaraches, almost identical to the ones she’d lost last night. She slipped one onto her bare foot. It fit perfectly.

Flowers would have been nice. Dreamily romantic. But shoes? The best present from a man, ever. It meant he was paying attention to her. He’d seen that she was sad over losing her favorite shoes, and he had made the effort to give her a gift he knew would make her happy. He’d even gotten her size right.

She ran down the stairs, wearing one shoe and carrying the other, not stopping until she reached the kitchen, where Reece sat in the breakfast nook with his sandwich halfway to his mouth.

She launched herself at him and threw her arms around him, not caring if it was the wrong thing to do or whether she got mayonnaise everywhere. She nearly knocked his chair over.

“You are the best! What a thoughtful gift.”

He looked a little embarrassed. “Are they the right size? I had to guess.”

“They’re perfect. Where on earth did you find them?”

“At the drugstore, believe it or not. I went in to buy shaving cream, and there they were.”

So he hadn’t spent all day scouring import shops and shoe stores, looking for just the right shoe. Didn’t matter. It was still thoughtful. She kissed him on the cheek, then reluctantly let him go.

“Those saucers you ordered arrived today,” she said.

He shook his head grimly. “We’re going to have to tell her, you know. There’s no way we can replace everything by the time she comes home.”

“Oh, that reminds me-Allie gave me a lead. She said she saw those exact dishes at one of the antique shops downtown.”

“Really? Which one?”

“That’s the problem. She doesn’t remember. But I was thinking of heading out there this afternoon. I could hit most of the stores in a couple of hours, before they close.”

A grin lit his face. “I’ll go with you. Then we can go to the hospital.”

“Sounds good! I’ll get my purse.” She shoved the other shoe onto her foot, then ran upstairs to grab her purse and put on lipstick.

She realized, as she spritzed on perfume, that she was acting as if this was a date, and she was as excited as if Reece had invited her to a symphony and dinner at the Ritz-Carlton.

“Whoa, girl,” she said as she used a tissue to wipe off the perfume. “Don’t try so hard.” If she wasn’t careful, she would scare him so bad she would ruin whatever time they had left.