Because it wasn't like that. He'd make it up to her do something special for her. He swore it to himself as he sat up on the side of the bed, then stood.

There was a waste basket along the wall, near the corner. As he approached it, he started to pull the condom from his still-hard c.o.c.k.

Something wet met his fingertips, and for a split second, he didn't think anything of it. She'd been wet, and her moisture was spread all over the condom.

But it was more than that more than her p.u.s.s.y could account for, no matter how much she'd wanted him. Liquid trickled through the cracks between his fingers and dripped from his knuckles.

The bottom dropped out of his stomach as he looked down. Down at his wet hands, and down at the condom. The reservoir at the tip was suspiciously empty. Deflated. The liquid dripping from his fingers had to be the last of its contents.

For what felt like an eternity, he stood there with his d.i.c.k in his hand, staring.

f.u.c.k. What was he supposed to say to Belle? Was the condom only a precaution to protect against infection, or had she relied on it for birth control?

"Is everything okay?" she eventually asked.

"The condom broke." He felt the weight of his words as they hit the air, and then he felt her gaze on his back.

CHAPTER 17.

"What? Are you sure?" Belle sat up straight in bed.

"Yeah." He pulled the condom off, holding it in one palm as he lifted his other hand, showing her the fluid on his fingers.

Her eyes widened, and her lips cracked.

When he examined the condom, he found a small tear near the tip. Small, but big enough that it'd leaked his c.u.m, presumably deep inside her.

The thought made his stomach flip and tighten as a guilty sense of pleasure hit him at the thought of coming inside her, even unknowingly.

He tossed the defective condom in the trash.

"This has never happened to me before," she said, her voice higher than it'd been seconds ago.

"Me neither. Are you on the pill or anything like that?"

She shook her head. "No... I'll have to go to the pharmacy in the morning and get the morning after pill."

Her gaze was steady, but her voice gave her away. She was shocked the flush that'd colored her face moments ago had faded, leaving her pale.

"I can go for you now, if you want me to. There are a couple twenty-four hour pharmacies on the island."

She glanced at the clock, then shook her head. "No, it's late, and you have to get up early. It's okay; I'll go myself first thing in the morning."

"You sure?"

A weak smile crossed her face, gone as soon as it had appeared. "It's called the 'morning after' pill, isn't it? It's fine."

He went across the hall to wash his hands, so lost in thought that he let the water scald his fingers. When he turned for the door, he found Belle standing there.

"I need to clean up," she said, the flush in her cheeks flaring.

"Right."

Guilt hit him, along with another bolt of forbidden satisfaction. G.o.d, if he'd known the condom was going to break, he would just as soon have f.u.c.ked her without one. It didn't seem fair that they'd been cheated of that pleasure and she had to take precautions anyway.

He let her have her privacy, returning to the bedroom where he pulled his underwear back on and set his phone alarm for an hour well before dawn.

He should've been exhausted, but instead, he was charged with restless energy. When she returned, he watched her pull on a pair of cotton panties and a grey cami, his heart speeding when she shut off the light.

"You're still staying, right?" she asked, her voice soft in the darkness.

"Unless you'd rather I not."

"No, it's fine." She climbed into bed, and he lay down beside her. "You don't have to worry about any infections. I went to the doctor and got tested after Well, before I moved back here. I've only been with you since."

"You don't have anything to worry about either." He felt like a dumba.s.s for not thinking to rea.s.sure her of that sooner.

She pulled the blankets high over them both, and her body heat radiated beneath, making his skin p.r.i.c.kle with heat. The AC was cranked high, but he began to sweat anyway.

Was she p.i.s.sed at him? Afraid?

He reached out to touch her, running a hand along her arm before looping his own around her.

He was half afraid she'd pull away, but she didn't. Actually, she pressed back against him, her shoulders searing his chest. He stayed still, even when his sweating became heavier.

When her breathing mellowed into a soft rhythm, his mind and body began to wind down, as if they'd been given permission to pursue sleep. The sweat beading on his skin dried, and his elevated heart rate settled into a slow, steady beat.

Within minutes, he pa.s.sed out.

Belle awoke sometime between midnight and dawn. That was as specific as she could be her eyelids were heavy and opening them would've been too much work. Still, her mind and body buzzed, shedding sleep like a jacket that was too heavy for the weather. Jackson stirred against her, and she realized that was what'd woken her up.

Or maybe she'd woken him up. She was pressed tightly against him, her back arched and her a.s.s pinning something hard and thick above his hips. A fragment of a dream drifted back to her, hot and tempting. As it faded, she realized she was breathing too fast.

"You okay?" His voice was a rough rumble in the darkness, grainy with sleep.

"Fine." Her belly clenched, the tightness radiating far below and making her aware of the heat between her thighs. She couldn't resist pressing back against him a little harder.

He groaned, the sound wordless and deep.

Next thing she knew, the hand that'd been lying fisted below her breastbone was cupping her breast. A sharp bolt of mingled pleasure and pain pierced her chest when he pinched her nipple, and he flexed his hips in reflex, pressing his hard c.o.c.k against the crack of her a.s.s.

"Since we already messed up and you're getting the pill in the morning, can I?"

An electric thrill tore through her, making her shiver despite the heat. "Can you what?"

"f.u.c.k you bare." He pulled one of her cami straps down and rubbed her aching nipple. "Come inside you on purpose, this time."

The skin on her arms and legs p.r.i.c.kled, and for a moment, she didn't say anything her voice was frozen deep in her throat, where a moan was threatening to rise. Her sleep-fogged mind was suddenly clear and sharp, brought to life by the idea that he'd planted in her head.

Would it hurt anything? As he'd said, they'd already made a mistake. Not on purpose, but still the risk was there. And she was going to buy and take the pill first thing in the morning to make sure she didn't get pregnant.

This seemed like a free pa.s.s a rare chance to forego precautions and indulge in pleasure. Her entire body buzzed and tightened just thinking about.

Turning beneath the weight of his arm, she faced him, slipping her hand between their bodies and into his underwear.

Maybe it was the thrill of what they were about to do influencing her perceptions, but he felt thicker and harder than ever against her palm. The rush of his breath against her neck jolted her fully awake, and then his knuckles were sc.r.a.ping her belly, shoulders and thighs as he stripped her under the covers.

When they were both naked, she wrapped her arms around his neck and arched against him as he moved over her. There was a faint ache between her thighs, where he'd been just hours ago. Antic.i.p.ation made it throb, made her feel intensely alive in the dark and the quiet that was underscored by the hum of central air.

The lack of light heightened her other senses. She felt the heat of his touch like firecrackers snapping all over her skin. Buzzing with expectation, she inhaled his warm, clean scent until her lungs were so full that she had to release the breath she'd been holding.

The exhalation turned into a gasp as he pressed the head of his d.i.c.k against her p.u.s.s.y, a moan rumbling in his chest while he rubbed it against her lips.

The ma.s.sage was teasing, exhilarating. She was wet and growing more so by the second. He spread that moisture over her skin and his, until he was able to push smoothly past her lips and into the tight, aching confines of her p.u.s.s.y.

The difference was breathtaking. Without a condom in the way, there was less friction but more feeling. His smooth, hard heat sent a thrill through her as he thrust deep, knocking the air from her lungs.

She felt closer to him than ever before, and so she held him tighter, her chest pressed against his as his lips brushed her ear. He let some of his weight rest on her, but she didn't mind. It felt good to feel him move, to feel his heart pounding as he rocked into her.

"f.u.c.k, Belle." His voice was rough and sent a shiver of pleasure racing down her spine. "Feels so good."

Her heart leapt into her throat, melting her words down to a moan.

She was sure she'd never felt anything so good, until her bliss reached a peak and she came. When that happened, the brand new pleasure of f.u.c.king him bare multiplied, narrowing her world to an intense awareness of his heat and hardness, of how deep he was inside her.

When he came it sent echoes of her own climax through her sensory ghosts that made her p.u.s.s.y tighten around him just like the real thing had.

Afterward, she fell back asleep with his arm draped over her body, just like before. The only thing that was different was the heat that remained deep in her core and the strange, exhilarating satisfaction that came with it.

Seeing Sanders at roll call never got any easier. If anything, it p.i.s.sed Jackson off a little more every time. Now that the shock of seeing him there had worn off, there was nothing but anger.

And yet, on Sunday morning, he was distracted from the feeling by an emotion that was even more pervading: concern for Belle.

It'd been hard to leave her in bed at five am that morning. The events of the night before had welled up inside him, bittersweet. He'd wished he'd gotten up earlier and gone to the pharmacy to get that pill for her so she wouldn't have to worry about going herself, but he hadn't thought of that until it'd been too late.

It was the least he could've done, but he hadn't done it.

Silently, he resolved to do something for her after he got off work. What, he wasn't sure. But he had all day to come up with something.

His brain buzzed with the effort as officers filed in, taking seats, and he caught himself sinking deep into his own thoughts as the night before replayed inside his head.

f.u.c.k, it'd been hot. Just thinking about it made his uniform feel overly tight and warm. His head swam with the knowledge that Belle had been okay with it, that she'd trusted him enough to repeat their mistake on purpose. And now that they both knew the other was clean, he couldn't help but wonder whether she might want to go on the pill so they could forego condoms permanently in the future.

The pill was supposed to be more effective than condoms, anyway. And last night had proven that condoms were definitely fallible. His heart picked up pace, beating faster than sitting on his a.s.s in a chair accounted for.

When the shift sergeant walked into the room, he had to force himself to pay attention to what he said.

Afterward, when he pushed back his chair, Belle was still all he could think about. Was she up yet? And was she regretting the night before, or was she fantasizing about it, like him?

Belle woke up at a quarter till eight, and for a few fuzzy seconds, she didn't think about anything at all. Then reality set in and she noticed the wrinkled hollow in the sheets where Jackson had slept and the folded corner of the blankets where he'd climbed out of bed.

The night before came back to her in a bittersweet rush, making her skin p.r.i.c.kle with heat despite the air conditioning.

What had they done? What hadn't they done? She smiled despite herself, even as she tossed off the covers and hurried into the bathroom.

There, she started a shower. She was still naked she'd fallen asleep without dressing after the second time she and Jackson had gone at it the night before. The only thing she wore was a transparent stain on her inner thigh. She felt it when she ran a hand down her body, spreading soap bubbles.

A shiver raced down her spine, hotter than the water pouring from the shower head, and her stomach flip-flopped.

They'd had unprotected s.e.x, and it'd been a first for her. Resisting the urge to press her nails to her mouth and bite, she washed her hair instead.

It hadn't been irresponsible, had it? Not when the condom had already broken, exposing her to the possibility of pregnancy. She probably wasn't any more likely to become pregnant than she would've been if they'd used protection the second time.

And she was going to take precautions, anyway. They'd be okay.

After her shower, she hurried to the nearest pharmacy, sh.e.l.led out fifty dollars and returned home. Plunking down at the kitchen table, she opened the pill box and unfolded the instruction sheet.

As she read, her heart beat a little faster with each paragraph.

All she had to do was take the single pill, which apparently prevented seven out of eight pregnancies.

Seven out of eight? Her empty stomach clenched as her odds. .h.i.t her like a ton of bricks.

There was a one in eight chance she'd conceive. She'd expected something more like a ninety-nine percent effectiveness rate.

Then again, she'd expected the same from the condom.

Standing, she retrieved a gla.s.s from the cabinet and filled it halfway at the faucet. Without wasting any more time, she took the pill.

After washing it down with cool water, she didn't experience the feeling of relief she'd expected.

One in eight. What if she got the short end of the statistic?

What if she and Jackson had a baby?