Because of the Baby(42)

Keaton took charge of Grace as they entered the house and pushed Lark in the direction of her bedroom. “Go get into your pajamas,” he commanded, no hint of playfulness anyway in his manner.

Her stomach clenched in reaction. “But it’s not even seven o’clock.”

“You owe me at least an hour of...what did you call it? Postcoital? You owe me an hour of postcoital snuggling.”

“What are you talking about?” Heat rushed up her neck and set fire to her cheeks.

“You ran off before I had the chance to hold you in my arms and savor how great you smell and how soft your skin is.”

Embarrassed laughter bubbled in her chest. “I ran off because you acted like an insensitive jerk.”

“Stop trying to pick a fight with me or I’ll change my mind about the pajamas and make you cuddle dressed exactly as you were when we ended.”

Unsure why he thought threatening her with snuggling naked was at all intimating, Lark decided not to argue further. What was the point when all she wanted was for him to hold her in his manly arms and kiss her breathless?

Since the pajama top she’d been wearing the night before was ruined, Lark had to find something else to put on. Most of what she wore in the winter she’d purchased to combat the cool nights, and she didn’t like the notion of her skin being so completely inaccessible.

“That’s not what you were wearing last night,” he said as he showed up in her bedroom, wearing pretty much the same pajama bottoms he’d had on the night before.

“You tore off the buttons, remember?” She glanced down at the sleeveless cotton nightgown. “It might not be pajamas, but it’s sleepwear.”

His frown told her he wasn’t fully convinced, but he held out his hand. “Do you want to do this here or on the couch?”

Although the couch’s limited space would force their snuggling to be extra close, she preferred the bed’s potential. “Here.”

“A good choice.” Lifting her off her feet as if she weighed no more than a dry leaf, Keaton placed her in the middle of the mattress and settled down beside her. He put his arm around her and pulled her against his side.

She laid her cheek against his shoulder but had a hard time relaxing. Hunger raged through her, firing her blood and awakening an insistent thrumming in her loins. While cuddling with him had sounded wonderful, what she really wanted was his hands on her skin, driving her mad with pleasure.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice deep and content.

Lark shook her head slightly and gazed up at him. His eyes were closed. She envied his tranquility.

“It just doesn’t seem like this is how we would have ended up last night.”

“Why not?”

“Something about it doesn’t feel organic.”

“Organic?” The corners of his mouth twitched. “What do you suggest?”

“I think we should get into the position we were in just after we finished last night and take it from there.”

He cracked one eye open and regarded her for a long moment. Then with a huge sigh, he sat up. “I just have one question.” He paused and let his fingers drift down her cheek. “With clothes or without.”

“Definitely without.”

And just like that they were kissing and rolling across her mattress, shedding her nightgown and his pajamas. The foreplay was feverish and focused, leaving little breath for words. And just when Lark thought she was going to explode with anticipation, Keaton sheathed himself in one of the condoms she’d squirreled away in her nightstand and slid inside her. Their breath mingled as they rode the escalating waves of pleasure. If it had been great last night, it was even better now because they were just a little bit more familiar with each other.

Lark climaxed first, her body reaching completion mere seconds before Keaton pounded to his own finish. With their energy deliciously depleted, Keaton rolled onto his back and draped Lark’s boneless body across his chest.

“You were right,” he agreed, lifting her hair aside so he could deposit a kiss on her damp cheek. “This is much more organic.”

“I knew it would be,” she murmured, convinced that she could stay like this forever. “I was feeling really awkward before because I didn’t know where to put my legs or the best place for my hands. Now I can’t feel either, so it really doesn’t matter.”

Beneath her cheek his chest lifted and fell with his chuckle. “I have a great antidote for that when you’re ready.”

“I’m sure you do.” She nuzzled his throat and smiled.

Already fresh desire was stirring at the edge of her consciousness. Her hunger for Keaton astonished her. In the past she’d never been driven by a need to tear someone’s clothes off and have sex at the spur of the moment. She’d enjoyed intimacy with the men she dated, but the lovemaking was more like canoeing on a calm lake compared to the ocean storm she enjoyed with Keaton.