Teela wanted to protest, but honestly, her stomach was still rocky, and her bones were achy and she didn’t want to toss her cookies again, especially not in front of Ross, so she nodded weakly.
Instead of just showing her where the room was, Ross shocked her by angling around her and sweeping her off her feet. His strong arms cradled her effortlessly and swept her out of the bathroom, across the hall, and into an expansive guest bedroom with a queen-sized bed made up with a cheerful patchwork quilt, two matching nightstands and the complimentary dresser. There was a huge painting hung over the bed, just abstract purple flowers, but it was nice, even though Teela normally didn’t like art like that.
“You didn’t have to carry me,” she protested. “It was like two steps.”
“That’s fine. Your body is doing all this work, creating that baby and cooking it. The least I can do is help you out in the few ways that I can.”
Teela didn’t really know what to say so she clamped her lips together. Ross set her down gently on the bed after he’d peeled the quilt and crisp sheets back. He slipped them over her. The bed was soft and the sheets were cool and felt like heaven against her heated skin.
“I’ll bring you some water and a mint. I’m sure mom has a bag of them in the cupboard. I can’t imagine the aftertaste you have going on is very good.”
“Ugh, it’s really not.”
“When does it- you know… normally stop?”
“I hope it tapers off in a month. For some people it does. For others, they aren’t so lucky. Some women are sick throughout their whole pregnancy.”
“Are you kidding?”
“I wish I was.” Teela closed her eyes. She let her whole body relax into the bed and it was sooooo good. “I’m lucky though. I feel pretty good and then it just sneaks up on me but I’m usually fine in an hour or less. Some women feel sick all day or throw up constantly. Mine is pretty sporadic. Sometimes I go for days with just like, heartburn to complain about.”
“It sounds awful.”
“It only gets worse. I can’t wait until I’m the size of a house.” Her voice had that soft mushy tone that said that she really wouldn’t mind it too much. Really, she didn’t. She’d wanted this. She’d dreamt for years of a baby. So, pregnancy wasn’t always roses and unicorns and all that, but that was okay. Like Ross said, she was making a life and that was truly amazing. Puking was a small price to pay.
Ross’ fingers grazed down her arm gently, so gently she almost didn’t feel them. She’d closed her eyes and it was a battle to open them because they were suddenly so heavy, so she didn’t. She heard his footsteps retreat out of the room and she tried so hard not to drift off like a complete ninny, in his parent’s guest bedroom when she already had the strikes of being pretty much a stranger and a stranger who let their son eat her out on his couch while the place burned down around them, but the bed was just too darn nice. It felt like that sinkhole she’d been wishing for and she let it take her off into sweet dark oblivion.
CHAPTER 17
Teela
The craziest thing about being pregnant? The super vivid pregnancy dreams. No one warned Teela that the dreams would be so real. Or so good. Or that she’d wake up, tense and sweaty, her body craving the one thing she told herself she’d never need again.
As her breath evened out and her heart stopped racing, Teela slowly became aware that maybe the dream wasn’t just a dream.
The room was dark but she sensed immediately, even through the haze of sleep, that she wasn’t at home. She was warm and there was something solid pressed up against her. A heavy arm was draped over her waist and something uh- pokey- and uh- even more solid, was pressed into the globe of her left ass cheek.
She was still at Ross’ parent’s house. In their guest bed. She’d fallen asleep after yet another soul crushing, mortifying experience. Ross was there. With her. On a Monday night. They had to work in the morning and there was no way they could show up there together.
Teela breathed out, trying to calm the panic rising in her chest. She wriggled her hips, trying to pull away from Ross but his arm held her pinned to the bed. How could an arm be so heavy? She succeeded in moving an inch… and in wriggling just enough that the hard bulge she was trying not to think about, or feel, shifted from her cheek, over to the crack.
To sit right between her ass cheeks.
A shameful shiver swept up Teela’s spine. She slammed her eyes shut, trying not to picture what was going on behind her but it didn’t work, because she could feel it. Ross’ chest, solid and warm pressed against her shoulder and her back. He’d stripped down to his boxers, because there was no way that bulge was shaped like that through his jeans but there was also no way it wasn’t contained in something.