Chapter 12
He was going to be a father.
Dane had always wanted children of his own. Always wanted the chance to try to be as good a father as his own had been. But after years of dating vapid heiresses, he had started to give up on that ever happening. Years had gone by without him ever meeting someone he wanted to have children with. And then he had met Allyson.
His eyes were locked on hers now. She was so beautiful that it was actually blinding him. Last night, under the lights, he thought she had been glowing. But it wasn’t the lights that had done it. There had been something else that had made her so iridescent. So breathtaking. They might not know for certain that she was pregnant, but he could see it just by looking at her.
“We’re having a baby,” he finally forced out. Damn it all, there was a lump in his throat. He had managed to keep from crying earlier, but now it was a monumental struggle to keep it together. “I’m scared of screwing this up, but we’re going to do this together. We have each other. Allyson, we’re going to be parents. Both of us. Neither of us is going to be doing this alone.”
There was that glow again. It was like she was lit from within. Her green eyes were shining so brightly. He had never seen a more beautiful sight in his life. “We are. I just worry about getting our hopes up. In case things don’t turn out like we think.”
He knew it was dangerous to get his hopes up, but it was already too late. In the brief amount of time he had known his wife was pregnant, he had already fallen in love with the baby. Their baby.
Without thinking, his hands settled gently on her stomach. “I have hope,” he said. “I know you’re scared, but I have enough hope for the both of us.”
She smiled, lighting up her entire face. “I feel braver already. You always make me feel like I can do anything.”
“And you can,” he said. “You’re going to be an amazing mother. Allyson, you’re the only woman in the world I’d ever want to have children with.”
“I love you,” she said.
His hands were still on her stomach and his eyes drifted down. Their baby was growing inside her. A sense of wonder and awe settled over him. This was their first Christmas together, and all he had wanted was to spend time with his wife. Never in a million years could he have ever expected a Christmas gift like this. This was the happiest moment of his life, and he never wanted it to end.
“I love you,” he breathed. “I love you and I always will.”
Allyson leaned forward to wrap her arms around his shoulders. Their lips met.
Her lips were so soft. So inviting. One taste of her was intoxicating. A muffled groan sounded in his throat.
When he felt her hands reach up to remove his tie, he broke the kiss and covered her hands with his. “Are you sure?” he asked. “I mean, is it safe to have sex?”
She laughed. “Yes, it’s safe in this trimester. You’re not going to hurt the baby.”
Making love to his wife with their baby growing inside her should probably have terrified him. But it didn’t. Instead, the thought of being with her now made him feel nothing but reverence for his wife. A desire to show her just how much he loved her.
Hands shaking with anticipation, he reached for her silk nightgown and helped her take it off. After he tossed the suitcase off the bed, they were completely naked in the blink of an eye. Nothing separated their bodies now. Not clothes. Not distance. Nothing.
He lay back on the bed, the sight of her full breasts making him so hard he ached to have her. “Do you want to be on top?” he asked. “That way you can be in control.” Despite her reassurances, he was still nervous about inadvertently hurting Allyson or the baby.
His wife nodded, her green eyes shining mischievously. Suddenly, she straddled him, making sure she had him between her supple thighs.
Dane stared up at her, taking in her perfect body. His eyes wandered down from her full, kissable lips to her breasts. Her pink nipples were hard, and to his mind her breasts seemed bigger. Her stomach had grown, and it looked like her waist had thickened. Allyson’s body was changing. No matter how much it changed over the next several months, she would always be the most beautiful woman in the world.