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cracked open in case he wanted to get out.
In the kitchen, he toasted a couple of English muffins and found fruit and juice in the
fridge.  Thank you, Hannah, he said aloud. The woman was a godsend, filling his
kitchen with food. He had to remember to do something nice for her.
Melons and strawberries piled in a bowl, he put all the food on a tray and carried it
back to his room to find Elyse had kicked off the covers. She lay sprawled sideways
across the queen size bed. The sight of all her creamy skin made him pause. He had to
take a moment just to appreciate the awesome beauty of her in all her naked glory.
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 Are you going to stand there staring at me or are you going to feed me? Elyse
raised her head and smiled at him before she sat up and pulled the sheet around her like a
sarong.
Jack considered throwing the food to the floor and taking her again, but they needed
nourishment. He put the tray in the middle of the bed and sat beside her. He picked up a
strawberry to feed her. When she nipped his finger, he moaned and kissed her long and
hard.  We re never going to get anywhere if you keep that up. He handed her a fork.
 What? She tried for an innocent look, he thought, but it had quite the opposite
effect on him.
 Eat, he ordered.
They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Elyse finally spoke.  What about your
other clients? Since you ve been with me non-stop, you couldn t have got much done.
 I don t really have a lot going right now. I cleared most of my cases when I knew
Kelly, she s the receptionist&  he added when her brow furrowed.  & when I knew she
would be gone for her honeymoon. She takes care of all the office work and she d have
my hide if I messed with her filing system. A couple of other cases have stalled, so
you re not keeping me from anything.
He grimaced at his own words. He made it sound like she was just a way to pass the
time. But, either she didn t hear it that way or she was too polite to point it out because
she didn t say anything, didn t freak out as one might have expected after all he d learned
of her past.
Watching her, he again tried to wrap his mind around her going into a clinic for a
mental breakdown. He d found no evidence anything stressful had plagued the marriage
and now& Sure she d had several panic attacks lately, but who wouldn t? Especially
now, with her embroiled in some major shit. He couldn t imagine what in her marriage
could provoke such drastic measures.
He thought, too, of her family s overprotective nature. Was there more to the story?
Surely just because she was the youngest of five didn t make them all so overprotective
that they would try to prevent her from attending her ex s funeral. But he had been with
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them at Thanksgiving. They didn t seem to treat her any different from any of her
siblings.
His thoughts volleyed to Megan and Mike s announcement of their pregnancy. The
strain in her eyes had betrayed the smile she wore when congratulating her sister. Worse,
the pained expression had torn at his gut. She obviously wanted a baby. He wondered
why she and Matthew never had children. It seemed like the natural thing to do. With a
woman, a lover, like Elyse, he couldn t imagine not trying every day for a child.
He lifted the forkful of fruit to his mouth and paused.
A child with Elyse. The thought warmed him more than it should. Whoa, was it
possible?
 Uh, Elyse.
She looked over at Jack. A smile curved her lips.  Hmm?
 We, uh forgot to, uh use protection.
The smile fell from her lips and she cast her gaze down. The hysterics he expected
didn t come.
 Did you hear me? We didn t& 
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Chapter Twenty-One
 We didn t use any protection. Yeah, I know. She wiped her mouth with a napkin
and let it fall to her lap.
 And& 
 And nothing. She looked at him, not liking the glare in his eye. Did he think she
was trying to trap him or something? Far from it.  It doesn t matter.
 How can you say that? Jack s face reddened.  What if& 
She held up her hand and stopped him from speaking.  It doesn t matter
because& because I can t have children.
An emotion crossed his face that she couldn t discern. Disappointment? No, couldn t
be. Pity? Please, anything but that.
 Are you sure?
Elyse cocked her brow in disbelief. Did he really think she wouldn t be sure? Did he
really think she wouldn t have had doctors opinions?
 Yes, I am quite sure. She glared at him and dared him to comment further. He
didn t.  Look, Jack, it s something I dealt with a long time ago. I am as over it as I m
going to be, but I don t want to talk about.
 Okay. But just so you know, I d have been honored to have children with you. He
didn t say anything for a long moment. Then the corner of his mouth quirked up.  So we
could&  he let his words trail off and he wiggled his eyebrows.
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Denise Belinda McDonald
She did a mental headshake. Leave it to a man to look at the bright side of things as
long as that bright side ended with sex. She d have to admit, she liked his train of
thought.
She pushed the tray aside with her leg and pulled Jack down on top of her. His hands
cupped her breasts as he ravaged her with his mouth. Elyse shifted her hips. Jack s
erection nudged her inner thigh through the cotton sweatpants he wore. Sliding her hands
down his back and to his waist, she gripped the elastic waistband and pushed the material
over his firm ass God how she loved his ass. As soon as the material was free, Elyse
wrapped her legs around him and he slid into her with the ease of long-time lovers.
A mechanical chirping noise awoke Elyse. Pushing her hair back from her face, she
opened her eyes. The room had filled with light as they slept away the morning. A smile
spread across her face when Jack snuggled closer to her under the quilt.
The chirping noise sounded again. It was her cell phone ringing. Careful not to wake
Jack, she slid out from under his arm. Grabbing his T-shirt, which lay bunched on the
floor, she pulled it over her head and searched for the phone.
Her purse sat near the door. Inside she found it. The LED screen was unreadable due
to the many times recently she had dropped it on the ground. She stepped into the hall
and closed the bedroom door so she wouldn t disturb Jack. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]