“I’m so sorry, princess,” Kade said, the anguish in his voice painful to hear. He gazed down into my eyes. “My staying would’ve put you in danger, and I couldn’t even say goodbye because I knew if I did, I wouldn’t be able to walk away from you. I wanted you to be safe, needed you to be safe. And I knew I couldn’t do it, but Blane could.”

I took his face in my hands, the shadow on his cheeks a soft abrasion against my palms. His eyes were beautiful pools of a blue so deep, I never wanted to stop gazing into them. “It’s you . . . or it’s no one,” I said simply.

Kade studied me intently, and I prayed he was finally hearing me, finally understanding that there was no one else for me—just him.

His gaze dropped and he slowly lowered his head. My breath caught. His lips brushed mine once, twice, then settled softly in a gentle caress. My fingers slid into his hair and it seemed my chest cracked wide open as Kade kissed me. All the longing and heartbreak of being apart was poured from me into him and back. Kade pressed kisses to my cheeks, my eyes, my jaw, then returned to my lips, the warm slide of his tongue against mine spreading heat through my body. I felt cherished as he held me, loved.

Yet a whisper of caution made me pull away. “Wait,” I said, my voice breathless from his kisses. Kade’s mouth moved to my neck and I had to tug on his hair to get his attention. “Wait,” I said again.

“What?” he asked. His lips were red and a little swollen, the slight sheen to them making me want to swallow what I was about to say and dive back into kissing him. I shoved the thought aside.

“I have to know,” I said. “Is this temporary? Are you going to leave me again?”

Kade’s expression turned solemn. “I swear to you,” he said. “I will never leave you again.”

My eyes stung, but I didn’t want to cry. I pulled his head down, kissing him with everything I felt, sure that if I didn’t find an outlet, the overwhelming love and joy and tenderness flooding through me would explode.

Kade kissed me back with the same desperation. I locked my arms around his neck, climbing out from underneath the covers until I was kneeling between his legs as he sat back on his haunches. His hands settled on my waist, my T-shirt riding up, and I impatiently pulled it up over my head and off.

Kade groaned, a sound that brought a smile to my lips, then my breath was torn from me when his mouth closed over a nipple. Pregnancy had increased the already acute sensitivity of my breasts, and Kade seemed to have figured that out pretty darn fast. His mouth and hands paid lavish attention to my breasts until all I could hear was a nonstop litany of whimpers and pleas falling from my lips. And all I could think about was the feel of his tongue, flicking against me before he sucked the flesh into his mouth. The insides of my thighs were coated with my arousal and I remained upright only because his hands were holding me up.

“Can we do this?” Kade asked, his lips moving against my skin. “I don’t want to hurt the baby.”

“I’m fine,” I managed to gasp. “The baby’s fine. Sex is fine, won’t hurt the baby. Don’t stop.” If he didn’t make love to me right then, he was going to be on the business end of one hell of a hissy fit.

Kade’s hand slipped underneath the elastic waistband of my panties, the heat of his palm branding my rear as he tugged the fabric down my thighs. The next thing I knew, his fingers were pushing into me from behind. I choked on a cry, a keening sound coming from my throat as he teased me, thrusting his long fingers inside me, then spreading my arousal to my clit, coating the flesh with moisture until I couldn’t breathe. Then he’d do it again, leisurely fucking me with two fingers, and all while his mouth, tongue, and teeth played relentlessly with my breasts.

I was hovering on the edge, each touch making me whimper and moan and beg until I couldn’t think, couldn’t process anything but what Kade was doing to me. I knew at some point I was mindlessly begging, each teasing brush of his fingers against my clit making my thighs tremble. I was so wet, I knew I should probably be embarrassed at the moisture dripping down my thighs, but was too far gone to care.

Kade suddenly withdrew his fingers and I moaned with disappointment. My eyes were closed but I felt his lips whisper against the skin of my neck, “Don’t worry, princess. I won’t leave you hanging.”

Carefully turning me, Kade laid me across the bed on top of the covers, tugging my panties farther down my legs and off. I was beyond coherent thought, my fingers scrabbling at the shirt he wore. I wanted to feel his skin, wanted his body inside mine. Kade pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it. A moment later, his jeans were kicked aside as well. The sight of his straining erection had me lifting to my elbows to see more, but then he lay between my legs.

Bracing his weight on his arms, Kade gazed into my eyes. “Tell me if I hurt you,” he said softly.

I was more than ready, and the head of his cock slipped easily inside me. I bent my knees, lifting my hips to eagerly take in more of him. Kade pushed forward, sheathing himself inside me, and I gasped. There was the tiniest twinge as my body accommodated his, then it was as though we’d never been apart.

Kade retreated then thrust hard into me, once, twice. That was all it took to send me splintering into a thousand pieces. He stilled inside me as my body gripped his, my orgasm rippling through me as though it were drawn from my toes. Dimly, I heard Kade groan at the sensation. I cried out, tears slipping from the corners of my eyes.

Kade started moving again before I’d even caught my breath. Our eyes locked and I couldn’t look away. I wrapped my legs around his hips as the pressure built inside me once again. I lifted my hips to meet his thrusts, the hard length of him stroking me in just the right spot, as he moved faster. I couldn’t help my eyes slipping shut as I moaned, repeating his name over and over like a litany, until I couldn’t keep up with him. His hands dug into my hips and sweat dripped from his brow. He grew thicker inside me, moved faster, harder, until I couldn’t hold out any longer.

Stars exploded behind my eyes as Kade’s body jerked into mine, guttural moans and gasps filling the space between us. His mouth suddenly covered mine, his tongue sliding inside my mouth the way his cock was deep inside my body, and I clutched him to me as aftershocks rippled through us.

Kade tore his mouth away, gasping for breath as he settled heavily on top of me. He tried to roll away, but I tightened my arms and legs, holding him in place.

“I’m too heavy,” he murmured in my ear.

“I like it,” I whispered back.

He buried his face between my shoulder and neck, kissing me there, his lips moving up to my jaw and cheek. Tightening his arms around my waist, he rolled us over, taking me with him so I lay on top of him. My legs settled between his as I rested on his chest, the feel of his heartbeat strong against the rhythm of mine. His lips brushed the top of my head.

“I don’t know how I thought I could live without you,” he whispered.

I squeezed my eyes shut, gripping him tightly. “You can’t,” I said before glancing up at him. “And don’t you forget it.”

His smile was crooked, and one hand brushed my hair back from my face and over my shoulder. “I won’t.”

I was cold, so Kade rearranged us underneath the covers, my bare bottom nestled against his hips as he cuddled me spoon style. His arm lay in the dip of my waist, his palm pressed to my stomach. That made me self-conscious, thinking of the new bump protruding from my abdomen, and I tried to unobtrusively move his hand higher.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, the low timbre of his voice in my ear sending a delicious shiver through me.

“Nothing,” I hedged, “just adjusting, that’s all.” I laced my fingers through his, drawing his hand upward.

“But I like it down here,” he said, slipping his hand free so it curved over my lower abdomen. “Please tell me you’re not going to get all weird and start thinking you’re fat just because you’re pregnant, are you?”

My cheeks flamed and I didn’t answer because, well, when he put it like that, yeah, it sounded pretty dumb.

Kade suddenly loomed over me. “You know Branna was just being a bitch,” he said. “Hey, look at me.” His fingers tipped my chin up so our eyes met. “You’re beautiful, and your body is gorgeous. You’re creating a whole new life inside you, and there isn’t a damn thing about it that doesn’t amaze me.”

Who would have thought Kade would know just the thing to say to ease all my worries and fears?

I reached up and pulled him down for a kiss, and this time when he pulled me back against his chest and his hand settled on the little bump we’d made, I didn’t move away.

* * *

I woke to the sound of the door closing and sat up with a start.

Kade had just walked in and I guess I must have missed his departure, because he was fully dressed and setting two steaming cups and a paper bag down on the wood laminate table in the corner.

“Rise and shine,” he said, hooking his sunglasses on his shirt. “I’ve got coffee.”

It smelled wonderful, but I made myself go into the bathroom first. After brushing my teeth and showering, I came back out.

With one of the thin motel towels wrapped around me, I scurried over to the table for a cup of coffee. Kade had dug out his laptop and was sitting in front of it, a cup at his elbow. He glanced up, eyeing me with a predatory look in his eye.

“You’d better get some clothes on,” he said. “Blane’s on his way over and it’d be real awkward for him to walk in on me eating you for breakfast.”