"You are stunning," he growls and kisses my shoulder as he begins moving in and out of me fiercely. "I can't take my eyes off you. Even in a roomful of people, you're all I see."

"Oh my G.o.d, Zack," I whimper, trying to thrust my hips back to meet his hips, but he has me held still.

"You make me crazy. I dream of you, whether I'm asleep or wide awake trying to work." He suddenly pulls out, turns me around, and boosts me up onto the bed, lying back so my hips are at the edge. He wraps my legs around his hips and dives right back in, locking my gaze with his own.

I cup his cheek in my palm and guide his lips to mine.

"You are the best part of my life," he whispers gently. "I didn't know it was possible to feel this f.u.c.king fiercely about anyone aside from Seth. To want to protect and love anyone the way I do you."

"I love you too." I wrap my arms and legs around him tightly and hold on with all my might as he pounds in and out of me, riding me hard as though he's been swept away with too much emotion and just can't hold it in anymore.

He pushes a hand between us, presses his thumb against my c.l.i.t, and sends me right over the edge into oblivion. I cry out with the surprise of the intense o.r.g.a.s.m wracking my body.

"Jilly," he breathes and stills, his whole body clenched hard, as he comes, surrendering to his own climax.

He's sweating, panting, and his heart is pounding a fast beat as he braces himself over me and tries to compose himself.

"Did I hurt you?" he asks softly.

"Never." I hold him closer and kiss his cheek. "You'd never hurt me."

He stands and pulls out of me, then leads me to the bathroom. I reach for the pins in my hair, but he stills my hands. "Wait. Leave it up." He turns on the bath and while it fills, he boosts me onto the countertop, helps me out of my shoes, and rubs my feet with firm thumbs.

"Sweet Jesus, you're good with your hands," I moan.

"Like that, do you?"

"Mm," I reply and sigh as his thumb pushes up my arch. "Just do this for about a year, and I'll be good to go."

"If the shoes hurt your feet so much, why do you wear them?"

"It's not the shoes' fault." When his hands still I open one eye to find him staring at me with disbelief. "They don't hurt my feet. You just have magical hands. You could rub me all day every day and I'd never get tired of it."

"Would it sound as sweet if I said that you could rub my c.o.c.k all day every day and I'd never tire of it?" he wonders aloud, making me snort.

"No. It doesn't sound as nice. s.e.xy, but not nice." I grin up at him as he switches feet and administers the same attention to the other foot. "You looked so handsome tonight. Thank you for dressing up for me."

"My pleasure. I don't really mind wearing a suit." His hands glide up my calves to my thighs. "Mom used to make Josh and me wear suits to church on Sundays."

"I like your mom."

"She likes you."

He nibbles my lips as he lifts me off the counter and lowers me into the steamy water.

"Hot," I mutter and take a deep breath.

"Too hot?" he pauses.

"No, just need a second to get used to it." I grin and then sigh deeply as I feel my muscles loosen in the steam. "This tub is big enough for two."

"I was hoping you'd say that." He winks and climbs in behind me, pulls me against his chest, and kisses my head.

"Thank you for celebrating with me tonight."

"You're welcome. Congratulations, sugar." He kisses me again and pulls a washcloth off the ledge, wets and soaps it, and begins dragging it over my body. When he reaches my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, I suck in another breath as the soft cloth feels like it's going to peel my nipple right off.

"I'm sorry, baby. You're that sore?"

"Yeah. It's okay. d.a.m.n hormones."

He continues cleaning the rest of me, and when he's done, I take the cloth and return the favor, running it over his legs, hips, and stomach and then pay his d.i.c.k special attention. He hardens in my grasp, but doesn't make any moves to make love to me again. Instead, once we're clean, he helps me out of the tub, dries me off, and leads me to the bed. I yawn widely.

"Tired?"

"It's been a long day," I reply.

He peels back the covers and tucks me next to him, covers us both, and wraps me in his arms. I glance up at him in surprise. He doesn't want to make love again?

"You'll most likely wake up with me inside you," he whispers and kisses my cheek, drags his nose to my jaw, and plants another kiss there. "But for tonight, I just want to hold you while you sleep."

I grin and sigh, luxuriating in his strong embrace, and let myself drift into blissful sleep.

CHAPTER.

Sixteen.

"Hi, Jill," Hannah says with a smile as she enters the small exam room. I'm naked under a worn blue hospital gown that's gaping open in the back, and there's a paper blanket over my lap.

"Hi, Dr. Malone," I reply with a grin.

"It's just Hannah," she says with a wave. "I'm not that formal."

"Oh, good," I reply.

"So, tell me what's going on." She sits on a black rolling stool and looks up at me expectantly.

"I might as well start at the beginning, so get comfy." I take a deep breath and start my story. "I have a diagnosis of unexplained infertility. My ex-husband and I tried for many years to get pregnant. We went through everything from artificial insemination to in vitro, and nothing worked."

"I did have a chance to read through your records from the other office," Hannah says and nods. "Sounds like it must have been a very frustrating time for you."

"That's an understatement," I reply softly. "Since the last treatments over a year ago, my cycles have been all screwy. I sometimes go several months between periods, and when that happens, I'd just get a medication to sort of jump-start my system again, then I'd be regular for a few more months."

"So, I take it you've been irregular again?" she asks while jotting down notes.

"Yeah. It just occurred to me the other day that I haven't had a period since about October."

"Are you having any sort of symptoms now?"

"Sore b.r.e.a.s.t.s, sleepy during the day, typical PMS for me, although my b.r.e.a.s.t.s are more tender than usual."

"Hmm, interesting. I see that you stopped by for a blood and urine sample yesterday and"-she taps some keys on her iPad-"it doesn't look like those results are in quite yet, so I'm going to leave you here for a moment and call the lab to see if they're ready."

"Thanks, Hannah. I appreciate it."

"No problem. Be back shortly."

When Hannah leaves the room, I grab my phone and see that I've missed a text from Zack.

Zack: How was the dr?

Me: Still here. Waiting for blood results. What do u want for dinner?

Zack: Mexican?

Me: Yum. ;) The door opens and Hannah breezes back into the room, closes it behind her, and is examining her iPad closely.

"That was faster than I expected," I say jokingly. Hannah grins and finishes reading the report.

"The report just came through," she murmurs then looks up at me with bright eyes.

"So, do you need the name of my pharmacy?"

"Yes, but not for progesterone." Hannah sets her iPad down and faces me squarely. "Jill, I have a feeling this is going to shock the h.e.l.l out of you, but you're pregnant."

I blink at her for several seconds and suddenly my stomach drops to my knees and a cold sweat breaks out all over my body.

"Excuse me?"

"You're pregnant, Jill."

I shake my head and fight to wrap my head around the words coming out of her mouth. "That's impossible."

"No, apparently it's not."

"I'm infertile."

"You have unexplained infertility. Many things can factor into that. It doesn't mean that you can never get pregnant, it means that your doctors could never understand why you weren't getting pregnant."

I bite my lip and keep my eyes trained on Hannah's face.

"I'm sorry. Did you just say that I'm f.u.c.king pregnant?"

"Yes." She smiles softly and waits for my mind to catch up. "I take it this isn't a good thing?"

"I don't know," I whisper. "I mean, of course it's good. It's a baby. Do you know how long and how hard I tried for this? What I put my body through for years?"

"Yes, Jill, I do. So, now we need to figure out how far along you are."

My heart stills and I feel my eyes go wide. "I haven't had a period in a while, but Zack and I first started sleeping together at the beginning of December. If I'm having symptoms already, that must be when I ovulated."

Hannah is nodding in agreement. "I agree. The symptoms you're having are typical for a pregnancy this early. No morning sickness yet?"

"No, just hungry. And really thirsty."

"That's normal too."

"Well, s.h.i.t, those are also PMS symptoms."

"I know-why do you think women who are trying to get pregnant make themselves crazy, misreading symptoms?"

"This wasn't even in the realm of possibility for me," I whisper. "I think I'm in shock."

"That's perfectly normal too. I'm going to prescribe some prenatal vitamins for you. Get plenty of sleep, watch what you eat, and take care of yourself."

"No ultrasound?"

"It's way too early for that yet." Hannah smiles gently and squeezes my shoulder. "Congratulations. I'll want to see you again in four weeks."

"Thank you." I smile back at her and watch as she leaves the room. I move in what feels like slow motion, pulling my clothes on with shaking hands. I can't make the shaking stop.

Holy s.h.i.t, I'm going to have a baby! Zack and I are going to have a baby. I smile widely and briefly wonder what Seth will think. Oh, I hope he's happy.

s.h.i.t, what if Zack isn't happy?

The thought stops me in my tracks, but then I shake it off. He just told me he loves me. We're in a monogamous, committed relationship, for crying out loud. Life happens and sometimes it throws you a curveball.

This curveball just happens to be in the form of a baby.

A baby.

I make my appointment for a month out, pick up my prescription, and walk on numb feet out to my car, where I sit in the driver's seat and stare at the building before me for long minutes. All that work. The long months-years-of medication and giving myself shots in the a.s.s and hot flashes. The hundreds of ultrasounds and needle sticks and being told over and over again, No. No, it didn't work. No, you're not pregnant.

And now, after I'd given up all hope that it could ever happen, here I am in my hometown, finally truly in love with an incredible man, and pregnant.

I can't freaking wait to tell Zack.