As she stepped in front of her door on the second floor, it suddenly flung open. “God, Beth, where have you been? You got off work hours ago. I called you several times and no answer. I was afraid something had happened to you.”

Beth was surprised to see Nick visibly disheveled. “Um, sorry, you knew I was meeting Suzy for a drink after work.”

“That was hours ago. Where the hell did you go for a drink, Atlanta? I called you, Suzy, and Gray. Have you all stopped answering your damn phones?”

Good grief, what had gotten into him? Sure, she was a little later than usual, but she hadn’t thought he would notice, much less be upset about it. Walking over to him, she went up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt the familiar desire start to hum through her body as she looked at his handsome features. Nick Merimon was every woman’s wet dream. He made her heart pound and her body go slick with need in an instant. He turned her into a wanton, intent only on having his body any way she could.

With Nick, she could pretend that she was someone else. There was freedom with him because he never knew “fat Beth.” She didn’t think she could ever be comfortable dating—much less sleeping with—anyone who knew her when she was heavier. In her mind, they would be turned off by who she used to be. She felt like someone other than that plain, overweight girl she’d always been when she was with Nick. In his eyes, she was pretty and sexy and that is exactly how she felt with him.

Beth had come to the realization a while back that in order to find someone to spend her life with, she would have to date outside her circle and, boy, had she been. Things had gotten complicated when she became involved with Nick and suddenly her two worlds were colliding.

The feel of Nick’s warm mouth against the side of her neck had her nipples suddenly standing at attention. God, did that man know how to use his tongue. Outside the impressive package between his legs, that had become her favorite part of him. When did I turn into such a guy? Shouldn’t I be concerned about his feelings or love him for his mind or at least his sense of humor? Instead, I just lust after his body. I’m a T and A girl now. Well, tongue and ass that is.

Between nips to her lower lip, Nick growled, “I missed you today, princess.”

Beth smiled at him. She knew this was a part of his whole seduction routine. If she ever let herself believe that she was special to him, then she was finished. Nick was an all-around good guy and he really loved women. He not only wanted you to feel special while making love, he wanted you to feel special before and after. It was probably why women seemed to love him even when he was showing them the door. It was one of the things she respected about him. He would go a mile out of his way to keep from hurting someone’s feelings, especially a woman’s feelings.

He slid his hands from her waist to the bottom of her dress, bunching it up in his hands. Pulling it up her body, he moaned low in his throat when he brushed his hand against her bare bottom. “The thong was the single best invention of this century. I hope you aren’t attached to this, princess.”

Before she could answer, Nick snapped the fragile lace on one side and let it slide down her legs. When it reached her ankles, she kicked it off. Without releasing her, he quickly lowered the shorts he was wearing and kicked them away. He lifted her off her feet and she automatically wrapped her legs around his waist. He backed her up against the wall and her breath left her lungs on a whoosh as he impaled her on his cock.

Beth’s neck arched back as she moaned in pleasure. He held her hips, setting a relentless pace as his body pumped into hers. Her body recognized his from the first stroke. The emptiness she felt when they were apart was only ever truly filled when his body was joined with hers. She tried hard not to think about what would happen when he was no longer there to take that ache away.

Sweat rolled from their bodies and Nick continued to claim every inch of her. His tongue licked her neck and then took possession of her mouth. She moaned at the taste of him. She could spend hours a day twirling her tongue with his. As her body started to tighten, she ground her hips against his, desperate for a release from the tension that threatened to split her apart.

As if sensing that she was close to the edge, Nick started swiveling his hips causing his cock to rub against her clit. The sensation was exquisite as pleasure radiated out from the sensitive nub. With another hard thrust, Beth exploded. The tremors shaking her body sent Nick to his own orgasm and, with a shout, he emptied himself inside her.

Still joined with her, he staggered to a chair. She collapsed against his chest, too tired to move. Sitting in the chair with her legs still wrapped around Nick and his cock still nestled inside her was one of the most intimate moments of her life. She felt his lips brush against her forehead as one last shudder shook his body.

“I guess you’re forgiven for being late, princess. Wall sex is gonna make me forgive and forget most every time.”

Beth chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind. Ugh, I need a shower, but I don’t have the energy to get there.”

“Just hold on, baby, I’ll get us there.”

Beth sighed with regret as he gently pulled out of her and then tried to protest as he lifted her and walked through the bedroom to the bathroom. She was flattered to see that he didn’t look winded by the trip.

The shower was a quick affair. Both of them were too tired to attempt anything other than washing. They were already snuggled under the bedcover when she remembered that she had decided to tell him her news tonight. With a yawn, she decided it could wait until tomorrow and she drifted off.

* * *

Something woke Beth from a sound sleep. She lay there for a moment, disoriented until a crushing wave of sickness rolled over her. Pressing a hand to her mouth, she stumbled from the bed, almost sprinting to the bathroom. She barely got the lid up on the toilet before she emptied her stomach of its contents. As she sat on the floor wondering if there was going to be another round, she heard Nick knock on the door.

“Princess, are you okay?”

Before she could answer, round two was well on its way and she was again hanging over the toilet, even though there appeared to be nothing left. She felt Nick’s hand on her back and then he was pulling her hair back from the line of fire. After a few moments, she was down to nothing but dry heaves so she dropped to the floor and sat back against the bathroom cabinet. Nick grabbed a cloth and wet it under the faucet before gently cleaning her face. She felt the strange urge to start crying when she looked into his concern-filled eyes.

“Honey, are you all right?”

Beth nodded, too weak to say the words. Nick finished cleaning her up and then left the room. He came back a few moments later with a fresh gown and, without saying a word, he pulled her to her feet and used one arm to support her while using the other to strip the now soiled gown off and put the clean one on. He helped her brush her teeth and rinse her mouth and then he leaned down and hooked his arms under her knees, lifting her in his arms. Had she not been so weak she would have been horrified at him carrying her, but now she was just grateful for the help.

He had pulled the covers back on her side and now he sat her down and grabbed some extra pillows to prop up her head. When he had her tucked in to his satisfaction, he sat down beside her and gently brushed her hair out of her face. “Better now?” he asked.

“Oh, yes, thank you, Nick,” she rasped out.

“What happened, princess? Was it something you ate last night?”

Damn, the stupid tears were back in her eyes. What was wrong with her tonight? Had throwing up always made her an emotional wreck? Tell him, just get it over with. Beth opened her mouth to do just that and found no sound coming out at all. No matter how hard she tried, the words would not come. Chickenshit, you have to tell him.

Nick gave her a sweet kiss on the forehead and went to get her a bottle of water. Her eyes were getting heavier by the moment, and when he returned, she was already asleep.

Chapter Four

Despite Nick’s protests, Beth made it into the headquarters of Danvers International only a few minutes late for work. She took a deep breath and then tapped on her sister’s door. Smiling at the grunt she heard in response, she opened the door and walked in. Suzy would never be a morning person and even living with Gray hadn’t changed that. On those mornings when she did come in unusually perky, Beth knew exactly why. Gray brought out the soft side in her and Beth had never seen her happier. With a small sigh, Beth hoped she’d have a love like that someday.

Suzy turned a sharp gaze on her as if expecting some type of war wounds. “So, what did he say? Are you going to make me beg?”

Beth dropped in the chair in front of her desk and braced herself. “I haven’t told him yet.”

“What! Why the hell not? I thought you were going to take care of that last night.”

Shifting in her seat, Beth murmured, “Um, something came up.”

“What do you mean, something came up?” Suzy demanded.

Beth could feel the blush starting to work its way up her neck and into her face. It was too much to hope that Suzy wouldn’t notice.

“Oh, yuck! God, Beth, isn’t that how this happened to start with? Can’t you two keep your clothes on for more than five minutes?”

With a wiggle of her eyebrows, Beth purred, “Trust me, I remember exactly how this happened.”

“All right, just please stop. I already had to take the stairs this morning when I saw Nick getting on the elevator. Do you have any idea how many damn stairs I had to climb because you can’t keep your hands off the guy? You owe me a new pair of shoes and a pedicure.”

Beth tried hard, but she couldn’t contain the laughter that bubbled out when she thought of Suzy climbing all of those flights of stairs just to avoid Nick. The only person who hated exercise more than Beth was her sister. “I almost told him this morning, after I threw my guts up. I think I had my first bout of morning sickness.”

Suzy looked more closely at her with concern evident in her gaze. “Are you okay? Why did you come in today? Get your stuff and go back home, you shouldn’t be here sick.”

Holding up her hand to stop the onslaught, Beth assured her that she felt fine now. “I passed out in the bed before I could tell him. I’m going to talk to him tonight. I’ll have plenty of time to get my nerve up because we’re just planning a quiet evening at home.”

“Yeah, good, but if he says anything even remotely bad to you, call me and I’ll be right over. I don’t care who, um, instigated this, he still had to . . . you know. Ah, hell, he still shot the load without protection, so he is just as much to blame.”

“Shot the load?” Beth groaned. “It’s called sex, Suzy, and you know plenty about it since you live with Mr. Sex-on-a-Stick as you called him once.”

Waving her toward the door, Suzy said, “Just go and don’t come back for a while. Like maybe for the whole day while I try to scrub my mind of this entire conversation.”

Beth chuckled and walked to her office. As she dropped her purse on her desk, her door suddenly shut behind her and warm hands slid around her waist. “Are you feeling better, princess?”

She smiled as she heard the sexy voice whispering in her ear. Allowing herself to snuggle back in his embrace for just a moment, she said, “Yeah, I’m fine now. What are you doing down here so early?”

Nick turned her around in his arms so they were facing each other. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He trailed a finger down the curve of her cheek and placed a kiss on the corner of her mouth. “I was worried about you. You were so sick this morning.”

It was so hard to hold out against his charms, especially when he was in this kind of loving, gentle mood. Keep it casual. He probably has the same routine with every woman he dates. He doesn’t love you or even want to love you. He is just a nice guy. She gave him a quick smile and stepped out of the circle of his arms. “I’m fine, Nick, really. I feel great now.” Walking around her desk to put some distance between them, she asked, “Are we still having dinner at my place tonight?”

Nick frowned, obviously confused about the distance that she tried to keep between them unless they were having sex. “Yeah, sure.”

Beth started thumbing through a stack of papers on her desk, hoping that Nick would get the message and leave before she gave in to the urge to shove him down on her desk and ride that fabulous body.

As he started toward the door he suddenly turned around and asked, “What’s up with Suzy? Just as I got on the elevator this morning I saw her walk up and then take off like a bat out of hell when she saw me standing there.”

Beth quickly looked down, afraid her face would give her away. “Um, you know Suzy, it could have been anything. She probably never saw you.”

Still looking doubtful, Nick said, “I guess you’re right. I’ll see you later on.”

She flopped in her chair as the door shut behind him. Was it too early to be having pregnancy hormones? It was getting harder and harder not to buy into the idea of a relationship with him. But she knew that it would destroy her when he walked away and she couldn’t risk it. Of course, now thanks to the baby, their lives would always be intertwined. With a sick feeling, she wondered how she would ever live through the many women she would be forced to see move in and out of his life. In the very near future, if he decided to be a father to their child, he could well have some other woman with him when he picked up their baby for a visit. A wave of nausea swept her, and she knew in her heart that this time it had very little to do with morning sickness.