“No.” It’s you, she wanted to add, but held her tongue. Better for him to believe it was only the pregnancy making her so responsive to his touch.
His ministrations moved to her other breast. Her hands gripped the back of his head. She was about to tumble over the edge and wanted him there with her. “I’m going to come,” she moaned, her voice barely recognizable.
Danny released her breast and sat back, watched her. He liked to watch when she came. He thrust up, she pressed down, the give and take of their hips in total harmony.
The blinding, pulsing moment of release moments later had her shouting his name. He shuddered and spilled inside her, his ragged breath mingling with her cries. She touched her forehead to his as their bodies calmed.
Smiling. They were both smiling.
Liv eased off him gently. She rolled onto her back and enjoyed the shivers climbing up her spine at the gorgeous sight of Danny post-orgasm. He dropped down beside her and tucked her into his side.
“How was it?” he asked.
She frowned at him. Like he needed to ask.
“The ride into orbit,” he said so seriously that it took her a second to realize he was referring to his “rocket.”
She burst into a fit of laughter. Again. His arm tightened around her, a quiet way of saying thanks for finding him funny.
There wasn’t anything she didn’t like about her best friend. And with every day that passed, she found it harder and harder to ignore feelings she was trying to keep under lock and key, never to be opened. She wouldn’t ruin what they had by sharing feelings that might send Danny running.
“You hungry?” he asked, interrupting her dangerous thoughts.
“When am I not?”
“True. You up for some chicken and waffles?”
“Sounds good,” she said, pushing up. “You know what tastes good on chicken and waffles, don’t you?”
He kissed her cheek and slid out of bed. “Let’s go, Pooh Bear.”
After breakfast, the rest of the day was bliss. They watched movies by firelight. Danny massaged her feet. He drew them a bubble bath in his giant tub, and she read steamy passages from her romance novel to him. He took her to bed.
Early in the evening the next day they were sitting on the couch, finishing up some take-out and watching 10 Things I Hate About You, when Liv said, “Is there anything you didn’t get to do when you were younger that you wished you had?” She’d been thinking about her childhood more lately. Adolescence was never easy, but she intended on making her child’s better than her own.
Danny shifted next to her. “I don’t think so. Why?”
“Just wondering.”
“What is it you want to do?” he gave her leg a little push. “Now’s your chance, you know.”
She did know. That’s why she’d brought it up. “I want to build a fort. With blankets.”
“Totally doable,” he said, not the least bit put off by her childish request. “Want to make it here or somewhere else?”
“I was thinking over your bed?”
The sexy turn of his lips set off fluttery impulses from her neck down. “Let’s do it.” He stood and put his hand out to help her up. Halfway up the stairs, he stopped. “There’s something I need to grab, but you can start gathering blankets and sheets from the linen closet and extra bedrooms.”
“Okay.”
Danny chuckled when he entered the bedroom a few minutes later and took in the pile in the middle of the floor. “Did you grab everything?”
“Pretty much. What do you have?” He held a bin she recognized from the garage. On top of the bin were several clamps. Danny was so the right person to build a fort with.
“You’ll see.” He put the container down and did a quick survey of the bed. A brief flash of displeasure crossed his face. The unmade covers drove him crazy.
Liv put her hand on his chest. “Want me to make it first?” She’d coaxed him out of it this morning without a glance back so the least she could do was make it comfortable for him now.
“If you insist.”
“I do.” She turned, and with a little extra wiggle in her hips walked to the bed. Glancing over her shoulder she caught him staring.
He shook his head and got busy searching through the linens. Once the bed was made, Danny stood in the center of it and asked her to hand him the sheets he’d selected from the pile. The ceiling fan above the foot of the bed served as the top of the fort and Liv helped Danny spread out the sheets until the entire king-size was shrouded. He took her suggestion on where to leave the small opening for them to crawl through, then he pulled strings of lights out of the bin. Her heart rate sped up.