Page 28 of Pregnancy Clause in Their Paper Marriage

A thrill of wonder—and a little fear—rippled through her. ‘I guess I can manage that.’ She started to unbutton his shirt, her fingers trembling a little because, as wonderful as this was, she couldn’t deny that it felt emotional. Physical intimacywasemotional, she realised with a jolt. How could it not be? She’d known that all along, but she’d tried to deny it—to herself and to Christos. Yet standing here in front of him, she knew she couldn’t any longer. She slid her hands along the taut and sculpted muscles of his chest as she parted the folds of his shirt and he shrugged out of it, his eyes now dark with desire, his breath turned uneven once more.

Lana ran a single fingertip along his pectoral muscle and a shudder escaped him. ‘You drive me crazy, you know,’ he murmured in a husky voice, and she could feel how much he meant it.

‘You drive me crazy, too,’ she whispered, trailing her fingertip lower, past the ridges of his ribs, to the light sprinkling of hair veeing down below his waistband. Christos sucked in a breath as he wrapped his hand around her own, stilling it.

‘I mean it,’ he told her in a low voice. ‘You really do drive me crazy.’ He drew her hand upwards before he cupped her breasts with his hands, flicking his thumbs over her nipples. A shuddery gasp escaped her. ‘And I’m glad I drive you crazy, too.’

It felt like a safe sentiment to say, for them both to feel, but Lana knew it wasn’t. There was already too much invested in this aspect of their relationship, where they exposed and revealed, not just their bodies, but their very selves. It was too late to remedy that, she knew, and in truth she didn’t even want to. Being touched by Christos felt far, far too good. She didn’t think she wanted to go without the wonder of it again.

But shecouldkeep the emotional side of things confined simply to sex, she decided. They wouldn’t talk about their pasts again, they wouldn’t share their fears or hurts, their dreams or desires, and they certainly wouldn’t ever need or depend on each other in any tangible way.

She’d be able to keepthatessential part of herself safe still, at least, in a way she hadn’t been able to before. Just thinking of Anthony, the sneer that would twist his face when she begged him to listen, to love her... She would never let herself feel so humiliated and exposed again. Ever. No matter what.

‘Lana.’ Christos framed her face with his hands. ‘What are you thinking right now?’

‘What?’ She glanced up at him, startled, a tremble going through her as he ran his thumb over the fullness of her lower lip.

‘You suddenly got a very ferocious look on your face.’

His voice and expression were both so achingly tender that, despite the resolution she’d just made, she found herself blurting, ‘I was just thinking how different this is from what I’ve known before, and how—how it is hard to accept that it truly is different.’

Christos’s eyes darkened as he cradled her face so tenderly. ‘I won’t hurt you,’ he said, a promise, a vow, and one she knew he believed he could make.

Lana nodded shakily. ‘I know,’ she said, compelled to even more honesty. ‘Because I won’t let you.’

Christos stared at her hard for a long moment, and then he kissed her long and deep, and Lana surrendered herself to it, because that part, at least, was easy.

Because I won’t let you.

The words reverberated through Christos as he lost himself in their kiss. What the hell was that supposed to mean? He suspected she’d meant it as reassurance, if not for him then at least for herself, but he hadn’tfeltit that way. It had stung, because if anyone was going to make boundaries, it would be him. Right?

As they fell back on the bed, he told himself to stop thinking about it. He unhooked Lana’s bra, drawing it away from her body so her lovely breasts were on full and wondrous display, ready for his touch. There were so many other wonderful things to think about now, after all.

An hour later, they were both sleepily sated, limbs tangled among the sheets, Lana’s head resting on Christos’s shoulder, her cheek against his chest, which was, he realised, exactly where he wanted her to be. He toyed with the long golden strands of her hair as they both let their breathing settle.

If he’d thought their first encounter had been explosive, their second had been even more so, but in a long and lingering way that had been just as, if not more, satisfying—and emotional.

Yes, emotional. He had to use that word, as wary as he was of it, because he could not deny that what he felt with Lana was different from what he’d felt with any other woman. Every time they came together, he felt as if he were offering a little bit of his soul. He didn’t even mean to, but it happened anyway, and he didn’t know whether she would accept it or not. Did she even know?

I won’t let you.

Lana was clearly going to keep her heart and soul tightly locked away, Christos realised, even as she gave him everything else. And meanwhile he was starting to have the awful, sneaking suspicion that he might not be able to keep from serving his own up on a plate. It was a conundrum, but one that, oddly, wasn’t bothering him too much in this moment. He simply felt too happy.

‘Do you think we made a baby?’ he asked her, and she let out a sleepy laugh.

‘Thatwould have been quick.’

‘But possible.’

‘Yes.’ She sounded happy too, and he liked that. He liked that a lot.

‘Imagine—there might already be a tiny, tiny baby nestled in there.’ He slid his hand down to her flat stomach, spreading his fingers wide, feeling a ripple of desire go through him even though he was absolutely spent.

‘I don’t think it happens that quickly.’

‘How long does it take a sperm and egg to do their thing?’

She laughed, a pure, clear sound. ‘I don’t actually know.’