The Girl Next Door - Emma Hart Page 0,19

too long tonight.”

“Technically, it’s the morning.” I shut myself in the bathroom, cutting off whatever response he had, and peed like my life depended on it.

It damn well felt like it did.

God, pregnancy was so dramatic, and I was only a couple of weeks in.

I was going to be unbearable at the end, wasn’t I?

Ugh. Get ahold of yourself, Ivy. You’re not the first woman to ever be pregnant.

But seriously, the first pee of the day was so good.

Now three liters lighter, I washed my hands and quickly scrubbed my teeth with my toothbrush, then headed for my bedroom. As I’d suspected, Kai hadn’t listened to me at all, and I had to avoid stepping on his clothes as I moved to my side of the bed.

He was in his underwear, wasn’t he?

I crawled into bed. Immediately, I wrapped myself in the covers and curled up on my side.

The bed squeaked when Kai rolled over. He plastered his body against mine and threw one of his arms over me, locking me in place.

“What on Earth do you think you’re doing?” I muttered, not even bothering to open my eyes.

“Snuggling. Shh.” He moved in further.

“Kai.”

“Shh.”

I supposed I didn’t really have a leg to stand on here. I had, after all, been sleeping on him all night on the sofa.

And, God, it felt good. His body was large and hot, and there was something so comforting about having his arm wrapped around me. The last couple of days had been insane and uncertain, but now, lying here…

I shook off those thoughts. The last thing I needed to do right now was think about Kai like that. I couldn’t trust my thoughts right now. Was it hormones? Was it real? I certainly wasn’t about to pay any attention to post-pee, early-morning, half-asleep thoughts.

Nope.

Not a single one.

Not even if it was about how comfortable it was to be tucked against his strong body and wrapped up like a burrito in my blankets.

No.

Most definitely, absolutely, positively not.

Shit.

***

“What is that goddamn noise?”

Kai rolled over, leaving me noticeably cold, and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. “My alarm.

“Your alarm? I’ve been asleep for five minutes!”

“I know. You snore.”

“I do not snore!” I rolled over with a huff and glared at him. “If I snored, it’s because you were crushing me with your fat arms!”

Kai side-eyed me, but he was fighting a smile if the twitching of his lips was anything to go by. “Some of us start work early.”

“Ugh.” I rolled over and pulled the blankets over my head. “Sorry, we’re going to have to fake break up. This marriage already isn’t working for me.”

“We’re not fake married yet,” he reminded me, knocking his foot against mine before he got up. “We need to organize that, by the way.”

“Ugh. I don’t wanna.”

“What? You don’t want to be the fake Mrs. Kai Connors? My heart bleeds.”

I yanked the blankets down and glared at him, ignoring the fact he was shirtless and his abs were just begging me to touch them.

No, really, they were.

I could hear them.

Ivy. Touch us. Touch usssssssss.

See? Totally begging.

“I don’t need to be Mrs. Kai Connors, fake or otherwise,” I said, sitting up so the blankets pooled at my waist. “I’m already going to have your baby and that’s a longer sentence than a marriage.”

“A sentence? You make it sound like I’m going to imprison you in a nursery and force you to raise the baby alone.”

“I’d probably get a shorter sentence if I killed you.”

“This conversation took an unexpected turn.” He chuckled, pulling his shirt on. The action made his biceps flex, and the elaborate phoenix tattoo seemed to fly across his skin. “That’s the last time I creep into your bed.”

“I bet it’s not,” I muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” I smiled, gripping the blankets. “Nothing at all.”

“Mm.” He tugged out some wrinkles in his t-shirt, then climbed back onto the bed. He leaned right over so that his face was inches from mine. His gaze locked onto mine, and for a moment, everything else in the room melted away. “You’re right,” he said in a low voice. “I doubt it will be the last time I creep into your bed.”

With a wink, he pulled back and grabbed his socks from the floor.

“If you insist on waking up at this ungodly hour,” I said, lying back down. “I’m hungry.”

He laughed from his perch on the end of the bed. “I see how this fake marriage is going to work.”

“If you wake me up early, you