She couldn’t wait to tell the rest of the family. Couldn’t wait to bask in the joy of the moment. It would be her moment in the sun after a long sojourn in the shadows.
Chapter 8
“Did you enjoy your evening out?” Ethan asked as he pulled her down against him on the couch.
She snuggled in his arms, enjoying the feel of his bare chest against her cheek.
She’d changed into another of the sexy little night outfits she knew drove him crazy, and he was wearing his boxers. She loved evenings like this when they just snuggled on the couch and watched television or even just talked about nothing at all.
“It was fun. It’s been awhile since we did anything together. Everyone’s been so busy, and Sarah and Garrett and Nathan and Shea were off on their honeymoons.”
“And we were moving,” he added.
“Yes, finally,” she said with a happy sigh.
He went still against her, his breathing soft and even, but he was tense, his muscles firm and unrelaxed. After a moment she pushed herself upward and cocked her head in a questioning manner.
“Is something wrong, Ethan?”
His brow furrowed a moment, and then he pushed up to his elbow so their faces were more level. He seemed hesitant to say what was on his mind.
“I get the impression you were eager to move,” he began.
She nodded.
“I mean I know you were excited about the new house. I guess I don’t understand…”
He drifted off and then closed his lips, almost as if he’d decided not to bring up whatever it was that was nagging him.
“What don’t you understand?” she prompted.
“I admitted that I was surprised you went with a design so dramatically different than our old house. It was almost as if you wanted nothing at all to be the same. And then you seemed so relieved when we moved out, and I’ve noticed that you’re happier since we started living here.”
She studied him a moment, hating the conversation she knew they were going to be forced to have. “That bothers you.”
She didn’t pose it as a question because it was obvious that it did bother him.
“Yeah, I guess it does,” he admitted. Then he shook his head. “It’s stupid of me. I’m just glad you’re happy. I want you to be happy.”
“I am,” she said gently.
“But you weren’t happy at the old house.”
Slowly she shook her head, knowing she couldn’t lie to him. She wouldn’t lie to him, not even to spare his feelings.
“Why?” he asked, his voice cracking with that one word.
She pushed herself upward until she’d repositioned herself so that she sat opposite him with her knees bent against his chest and her hip firmly nestled into his groin.
“You have to understand what it was like for me,” she said in a low voice. “Regaining memories at random times. And each time something came back to me, it was fresh and vibrant in my mind. As though it had just happened instead of years before. Not all of them were happy memories.”
She glanced helplessly up at him, knowing there was no way to make it any easier for him to hear.
He flinched but maintained her gaze, as if he were determined to pay his penance and not back away from the reminder of the things he’d said and done.
“Some of the worst moments of my life happened in that house,” she said, an ache in her voice. “I just felt that if we were ever truly going to have a fresh start, that we had to begin with a completely clean slate. And we have that now. A brand new home just in time for the precious babies we’ll have. A place where we can start over and make new memories to replace the painful ones.”
Moisture glimmered in Ethan’s eyes before it was blinked away. Then he pulled her down, his hand cupping the back of her neck. Their foreheads touched and then their mouths.
“I love you,” he said, his voice clogged with regret and so much pain.
“I love you too,” she whispered back.
“This house will hold only happy memories for you,” he vowed. “For you and me and the babies. We’ll start right.”
She smiled. “Yeah, we will.”
“We haven’t yet christened the new bedroom,” he said, his voice husky and laced with suggestion.
“Mmm, however did we miss out on that?”
“It’s an error I have to correct immediately.”
“I agree.”
He sat up and then scooted down the couch so he could get up without sending her sprawling. Then he simply reached down and plucked her from the sofa.
She landed gently against his chest, his arms firmly around her. Protective. And so loving.
He carried her into the bedroom and laid her out on the bed, staring down at her with sinful promise in his eyes.
His hands skittered up her thighs, and he slid his fingers underneath the waistband of the satin shorts. As he began to slowly pull them down, his eyes darkened, and he stared accusingly at her.
“No underwear? You intended to seduce me all along.”
She gave him an exaggerated innocent look, widening her eyes as she stared up at him. “Maaaaybe.”
He chuckled and then lowered his mouth to the soft juncture of her legs, pressing a kiss to the vee. She shivered and closed her eyes as chill bumps raced each other over her belly and to her br**sts.
As he nuzzled deeper into the soft flesh between her legs, his hands wandered upward, sliding the top up over her br**sts. Just as his fingers found her painfully erect ni**les, his tongue swiped over her clitoris sending another spasm of bone-melting pleasure through her body.