‘What problem?’ she asked, her heartbeat skittering into her throat. Okay, maybe coy wasn’t completely out of the question.
‘I want you. A lot. And after your guppy impersonation by the pool, I know the feeling’s mutual.’
‘Busted,’ she murmured. Why even attempt to deny it? ‘But sex will make a difficult situation impossible,’ she said breathlessly, knowing she was arguing with herself as much as him.
‘Possibly.’ He stepped towards her, and she inhaled the tantalising scent of him—pine soap and chlorine. ‘Or it could simplify it.’
She raised her arms, intending to ward him off, but then he settled his hands on her hips, dragged her against him. And she could feel his need, the thick ridge of his arousal straining against worn denim more persuasive than any words.
She braced her forearms against his chest. ‘How?’ she asked, trying to recall all the reasons why this was a really bad idea.
‘We need to get to know each other,’ he murmured, dipping his head, his tongue touching her ear lobe. ‘And sex will make that process faster and more fun.’
Oh, please. Seriously?
Her breath shuddered out. His logic was ridiculous, and she knew it, but she still couldn’t stop herself from clarifying. ‘Is this a friends-with-benefits scenario? Because they never work.’
‘Who says?’ he demanded, then bent to suck the throbbing pulse in her neck. Even though she knew she was right and he was wrong, the delicious wave of heat shimmering through her nerve endings seemed to contradict her.
‘I do,’ she said weakly, her arms draping over broad shoulders as she angled her head back to give him more access. ‘Or at least I think I do.’
Was friends with benefits really guaranteed to be a complete disaster? She’d spent her teens having needy, furtive and mostly awful sex with guys she hadn’t even wanted to remember the morning after, and all of her twenties paying penance for that by having no sex at all, or duty sex with a guy she thought she ought to like. As Nate’s lips continued to explore, sending heat curling down to her core, suddenly friends with benefits began to sound like a winning proposition.
If nothing else, Nate Graystone was a guaranteed good time. She’d never met a man before who turned her on just by breathing, and had that focused, forceful approach to sex that left absolutely nothing up to chance.
He gave a strained laugh, then hoisted her onto the table top with remarkable ease. She grasped hold of his upper arms to balance herself, and felt the flex of his biceps. Her fingers caressed, loving the texture of strength and solidity. Spreading her thighs wide, he wedged himself between them, his arousal hard and unyielding through the denim. ‘There’s no harm in giving it a shot,’ he replied. ‘Just to be sure.’
He lowered his head, nipped at the sensitive skin under her ear, and her soft sob echoed off the kitchen’s hard surfaces as the rush of sensation charged through her system.
‘But what about the baby?’ she groaned, straining to stay focused as all her objections burned away in the rush of need.
His lips ceased their exploration, and he straightened. The flare of arousal had turned the blue of his irises to a thin rim around the black, but his hands slid away.
His gaze dropped to her midriff, and lingered, his jaw tensing. ‘What’s the deal? When you’re pregnant? Is it safe to do it?’
‘That’s not what I...’ she began, because she hadn’t meant the question that literally. But seeing the concern etched on his brow, she hesitated.
What she had meant was that they ought to consider the long-term implications of sleeping together in the short-term, and what impact that might have on their relationship when the baby came. They needed time, and space, to consider that and make some ground rules—and if he started touching her again, they weren’t going to get it. She’d never been great at deferred gratification—and where Nate was concerned, she was pants at it.
But the truth was, he also had a point. She was pretty sure sex was okay during pregnancy. She couldn’t imagine Eva denying herself for nine solid months and not mentioning it. But Tess hadn’t asked the obstetrician about it, specifically, because she hadn’t thought there was any need. And she probably should have, especially now, after their last frantic coupling on the kitchen counter.
‘I suppose I should double check with Dr Hillier,’ she said tentatively, a little ashamed that he’d considered the risk before she had. ‘Don’t you think?’
His gaze fixed on her belly for several beats, then his forehead lowered to hers. ‘Yeah, I guess so,’ he said, letting out a long sigh. ‘We better not risk it till you know for sure.’