He came to her then, kneeling on the bed beside her, lifting her from the mattress slightly to yank her tank top up and over her head. Then he bent to her breasts, taking first one nipple, then the other into his mouth, teasing, tasting, taking them both to the beginning of another wild, fast ride.
Eileen gasped and fought for breath. She ran her fingers through his hair, then skimmed her hands down to stroke his shoulders, his back. He lifted his head, looked into her eyes and admitted, ‘‘I missed you, damn it. Even though we worked together all day, I missed you.’’
‘‘Yeah,’’ she said, and slid one hand around to cup his face in her palm. ‘‘I know. I feel the same way.’’
‘‘Which means…’’
‘‘Heck if I know,’’ Eileen said and sucked in a gulp of air when he dropped one hand to the waistband of her shorts. She held that breath while he undid the button, pulled down the zipper, then drew the shorts and her panties down her legs. She kicked free of them, then said, ‘‘I just know I want you. Really bad.’’
His lips curved into a smile that shook her to her toes. ‘‘Back atcha, Eyeball.’’
She laughed as he shifted to cover her body with his. She opened for him, welcoming him as he pushed himself within her. Still smiling, she rocked her hips against his and gave herself up to the wonder he created inside her. She looked up into his eyes and found more than desire written there. She also saw warmth, humor and tenderness.
Sensations spiraled through her and as her peak hovered close, she realized that she and Rick had crossed a border at some point. They’d moved beyond simple passion and hunger to a realm where things could get a lot more complicated.
There was something more here than desire.
How much more, she didn’t know.
Then his body pushed her higher, faster and she forgot to think. All she focused on was the moment. This time with him, when it was just the two of them in the soft light, bodies claiming each other, breath mingling in the quiet.
When the first dazzling sparks shot through her bloodstream, she held on to him tightly, digging her short nails into his shoulders. Her voice broke on his name and a moment later, he stiffened against her, finding his own release and following her into the haze of completion. Eileen wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly as together they fell.
Two days later, they were together again in her room, as they had been every moment when they weren’t at work. Something was happening between them, but neither of them was willing to admit it, much less talk about it. Instead, they wrapped themselves in the staggering sensations that surrounded them. Losing themselves in the magic. Finding more than they’d bargained for. More than they wanted to claim.
Rick worried that they were getting in too deep, but he couldn’t seem to stay away from her. In a rational corner of his mind, a small voice warned him to start distancing himself. To start pulling away, retreating from Eileen and the dangers she represented.
But he couldn’t do it.
Not yet.
He would, though. He had to. Because no matter what, he wouldn’t be drawn into a situation where a woman had the power to crush him again. But there was time. There was still time to enjoy what he’d found before having to give it up.
For now, though, he moved inside her again, rocking his body into hers, driving her and himself to the very edge. Then with one last thrust, Rick felt her body flex around his, watched her eyes widen and heard her whisper his name as the tremors took her—and only then did he allow himself to find the completion he needed so desperately.
Minutes later, he rolled to one side of her, groaned and said, ‘‘Damn it.’’
Eileen gasped, struggling for air as she fought to get her heartbeat back under control. She turned her head to look at him, a satisfied smile on her face. ‘‘Rick, what could possibly be wrong?’’
His expression tightened as his narrowed gaze locked with hers. ‘‘The condom broke.’’
Her eyes went wide and, even in the dim light, he saw her skin blanch. ‘‘Uh-oh.’’
‘‘That about covers it.’’ Dread pooled in the pit of his stomach, but there was still a chance. ‘‘Tell me you’re on the pill.’’
‘‘You want me to lie at a time like this?’’
‘‘Damn.’’
‘‘Hey,’’ she said, reaching for the quilt to cover herself, ‘‘until you, I hadn’t been with anyone in a couple of years.’’ She drew the quilt up over both of them. ‘‘I wasn’t going to be taking pills when there was no need for them.’’
‘‘Okay, then.’’ Pushing one hand through his hair, he gritted his teeth and asked, ‘‘Let’s figure this out. When was your last period?’’
Eileen shifted her gaze to the ceiling and tried to focus. Hard to actually think when your body was still churning. But she tried. Thinking back, she counted, mentally tripping over her body’s calendar. Then she recounted. And did it one more time. Oh, God.
She hesitated, then realized that there was no easy way to say it. ‘‘It was, uh, due three days ago.’’
‘‘Uh-oh.’’
Eight
‘‘How long does it take, anyway?’’
Eileen shot Rick a dangerous look. ‘‘Three minutes, okay?’’ She’d already told him that several times, but, apparently, it wasn’t getting through. But then, she could sort of understand that. She, too, was feeling a wild mixture of panic and fear and expectation and even, if she was completely honest and why the hell not, since only she would know…excitement.
She was about to find out if she was going to be a mother, for Pete’s sake. A mother. Her. She’d given up on that particular little dream when she’d found Robert doing the horizontal cha-cha with the bimbo of the week. Eileen loved being an aunt to Bridie’s kids, and she’d long told herself that that was enough. That she didn’t need to actually give birth to feel complete. But she obviously hadn’t believed herself because here she stood, hoping she was pregnant and terrified to admit it.
She pulled in a long, deep breath, let it out slowly, then repeated, ‘‘Three minutes.’’
‘‘Longest three minutes of my life,’’ Rick muttered, and paced the confines of the short hallway outside the bathroom.
‘‘Well, contrary to public opinion,’’ she said as she watched him turn and pace in the other direction, ‘‘snapping people’s heads off does not make time fly.’’
He stopped and looked at her over his shoulder. ‘‘Sorry. It’s just…’’
‘‘Yeah, I know.’’ Eileen leaned one shoulder against the doorjamb and somehow resisted peeking in the bathroom door at the pregnancy test wand laying on the counter. She’d know soon enough. And when she knew…that would be the time for panic. And decision making. And maybe, for scraping Rick up off the floor.
No, she thought, as she watched him shoving both hands through his hair with enough force to yank every hair out of his head, that wasn’t totally fair. He could’ve split, told her it was her problem to deal with and just disappeared. But he hadn’t. Instead, right after discovering the broken condom, he’d gotten dressed, driven to the drugstore and bought a pregnancy test kit. Now he was waiting out the results with her.
Of course, she knew darn well what answer he was hoping for. She could all but see him issuing fervent prayers to the gods of fortune.
‘‘Just because one broke doesn’t mean the others were faulty,’’ he said, and she was pretty sure he was talking to himself more than her.
But