him move the furniture to the storage unit in the basement earlier so that Ember could start working on the nursery. They had only announced the baby a week ago and Ember was already knee-deep in planning.
He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the doctor visit from earlier that day. They had had another positive ultrasound, but he felt conflicted. As incredible as it was to see the flutter that was their child’s heartbeat, the thought of something going wrong and Ember being put in harm’s way never left him. Ember’s voice took him from his troubled thoughts.
“Do you want to know the gender?” she asked as she looked at him from over her shoulder.
He leaned against the doorjamb with his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “I don’t know. Do you?”
She turned to face him and a slight smile touched her lips as she said, “I think I do.”
“Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?”
“Either, but I would love to have a little you walking around,” she said.
He’d have thought he would be used to the stuff she said, but she always surprised him. He started toward her. “Is it too soon to find out?”
“We can ask Dr. Cole at the next ultrasound.”
She walked right into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest.
“You should probably take a nap. You look exhausted,” he said.
“I am.”
“I’m sorry, Ember.”
Confusion furrowed her brow when she asked, “For what?”
“Getting us pulled into this blackmailing shit with Heidi. You’ve been through enough and just when things settle down, we’re faced with something else.”
“It isn’t your fault.”
He held her close and pressed a kiss on her head. “Doesn’t matter.”
“We’ll get through it.”
The smile bloomed involuntarily as he looked down at her. “Looking for that silver lining, are you?”
“There always is one,” she muttered.
He lifted her into his arms and started for their bedroom. “You really need to rest.”
“Rest with me.”
“If I join you, we won’t be resting.”
Her fingers danced along his jaw. “I know.”
They reached the bed and he lowered her to her feet just as his mouth came down on hers. She sighed into his mouth and wrapped her arms around him to keep him close.
“Lift up your arms,” he whispered. And as soon as she did, he lifted her shirt up and over her head. Her hands lowered to rest on his shoulders before she slowly moved them down his arms, her delicate touch making him feel almost primal. He deftly undid the clasp of her bra and slid the lace down her arms.
“My turn,” she breathed against his mouth as her fingers found his tee and worked it up over his head. She pressed her lips over his heart, as she did every time she saw her name on his skin, and he felt the heat of her kiss clear down to his bones.
He rid them of the rest of their clothes before he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her onto the bed, settling himself between her thighs. She tilted her hips, rubbing herself against him, as his mouth crushed down on hers. She reached for his face, framing it with her hands as she pulled his tongue into her mouth, sucking on it before stroking it with her own. Her hands moved over him and everywhere she touched, it felt like fire was sizzling along his skin.
He shifted so he could look at her; her eyes were closed and desire had brought a blush to her cheeks. He didn’t have the words like she did to express how he felt.
“Look at me, Ember.”
Her eyes opened and there was that tenderness that he had come to crave seeing. She touched him, her fingers running a trail along his jaw to his chin. He moved, slowly sinking into her as he joined them, her legs spreading wider as her hips lifted, and then he held himself completely still. It was as close to heaven as he was ever going to get.
“My wife,” he whispered reverently, and then he started to move. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he slowly brought her to the brink, and he watched her eyes glaze over as her orgasm took her. His was soon to follow, her body still spasming around him as he came. He lowered himself onto the bed and wrapped Ember into his arms. Protectiveness swelled in him as his arms unconsciously tightened around her. She settled her head against