His voice came to her in the darkness from a few inches away. “I’ll have Svana move your things in here tomorrow. We’re sharing a room from now on.”
After handing down his edict, Derrick rolled onto his back and almost instantly fell asleep. He only needed a few hours to recharge. She should sleep, too, because when he awoke, he’d reach for her again, and she needed the rest to keep up with him.
Sleep escaped her, and she stayed awake for a while, listening to the sound of his even breathing. When her eyes grew accustomed to the dark, she studied his face. He looked so different when he slept, with the hard lines gone. He looked younger, almost boyish.
She grappled with conflicting feelings. Loving and hating him at the same time. Wanting nothing to do with him, but craving his touch. It hadn’t taken much for him to disprove her words tonight. She hated being so weak, but her own body had called her out for the liar she was.
Even worse, she’d been ineffective in protecting her heart. The battle she’d waged against him had proven to be as effective as using a feather to beat back the advance of a boulder.
He still owned her heart, just as sure as if he’d emblazoned his initials on it with a hot iron.
She loved him. She’d never stopped.
And there was nothing she could do about it.
****
In the middle of the night, Derrick rolled onto his side and reached for Eva. His hand dragged across her skin, skimming her slightly rounded stomach and then pushing upward to squeeze her breast. She moaned in her sleep.
He brought her awake with featherlight kisses to her neck and breasts. The soft, feminine sounds she made provoked an urgent response inside him. He guided her leg across his hip and inserted his hard flesh between her legs.
Wrapped around each other, their bodies moved together as one, chest to chest, stomach to stomach, and hip to hip. Rapid thrusting quickly brought them to the edge. She panted her sweet breath into the cords of his neck. Derrick’s fast pumping silently coaxed her forward until, with a shuddering groan, he tumbled headlong into ecstasy behind her.
With a little sigh, she went back to sleep.
In the dark, he watched her and brushed her hair back from her cheek. It seemed nothing could temper his lust for her.
He preferred his own space in bed, but tonight he made an exception. He might as well, anyway. Other women had understood his need for space, but not Eva. No matter the position they fell asleep in, she always migrated over to his side of the bed and curled into him at some point while they slept.
He closed his eyes and tightened his arms around her.
****
In the morning, Derrick awoke to Eva’s soft bottom snug against his groin. He shifted slightly, and she wiggled closer, setting his loins on fire. His penis did what it always did when he woke up next to her—hardened like quick-setting concrete.
Last night he could tell she’d grown tired, partly due, no doubt, to the pregnancy. She used to have more stamina, but he had to remember, with a baby growing inside of her, he needed to ease up. In his current erect state, he found the prospect of lying next to her like a eunuch unappealing. Resisting the urge to wake her up, he freed his arm from under her body and, with a low groan of regret, rolled away.
“Down boy,” he whispered to his erection.
While shaving in the bathroom, Derrick thought about how to proceed in the relationship. She was the affectionate type, always wanting to touch and snuggle. Having her in the master bedroom would mean waking up every morning like he did today, with her soft, warm body seared to his, and the scent of her tattooed into his skin.