by Anne Mather
The baby reached for the finger he held in front of her, gripping it with amazing strength for her age. ‘You must be tired,’ he said, touching her soft cheek with amazing gentleness. ‘Your mother’s fed you and changed you, and you should be ready to give us a few minutes’ peace.’
‘Babies are unpredictable,’ said Olivia, with the knowledge gained from mixing with other mothers at the baby clinic. Her eyes twinkled. ‘Perhaps you ought to be honest with her and tell her you want to take her mother to bed.’
‘Is it that obvious?’ Joel grinned, his teeth very white against the tan that had deepened all summer long. It was much hotter in Massachusetts than it was in the north-east of England. Olivia thought he looked well-nigh irresistible in a black vest and cargo shorts, and she couldn’t wait until they were alone together either.
Half an hour later, Joel rolled onto his back beside her, giving a groan of satisfaction that Olivia shared. ‘I wish we weren’t going out tonight,’ he said regretfully. ‘I’d rather stay here with you. Alone.’
Olivia looped one hand behind her head. Her hair was damp from the humidity in the atmosphere and she had no idea how tempting she looked to her husband at that moment. ‘We have to go,’ she said. ‘Or you do, anyway. They’re giving the dinner in your honour. A kind of send-off to say they’ll be sorry to see you leave.’
Joel turned onto his side to face her, his fingers stroking one swollen nipple into an instantaneous peak. ‘I know,’ he said, his voice thickening as he bent to suckle from her breast. ‘I guess I’m just feeling possessive, that’s all. When we go home, I’m going to have to share you with your family again.’
Olivia tried to steel herself against what he was doing. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing Dad,’ she said a little breathlessly. ‘According to Linda, he gets about in his new wheelchair a lot. He’s even talking about getting a car with hand controls only. It’s wonderful that he’s feeling so much better about himself.’
‘Thanks to you,’ said Joel, his fingers straying down over her ribcage to her navel. His hand dipped between her legs and Olivia felt the sympathetic flood of heat his tongue and lips had engendered. ‘Your coming home was the best thing that happened to all of us. Me, particularly. I can’t imagine what my life was like before you came.’
‘Well, I suppose I have Linda to thank for that,’ she murmured weakly. And then, trying to be sensible, ‘I must remember to leave a bottle of milk for Marsha to give Natalie if she wakes up while we’re gone.’
Marsha had proved to be a godsend. An elderly black woman, she’d answered their ad for a housekeeper when they first arrived. Olivia had been grateful to her for so many things, not least being there when she’d gone into labour. It was Marsha who’d driven her to the hospital and made sure Joel was there when their baby was born.
‘Marsha’s had half a dozen children of her own. I think you can rely on her to know what to do in all circumstances,’ said Joel drily. His mouth sought hers and Olivia gave up the fight to keep her head.
With a little moan, she turned onto her side and wrapped one leg over his hips, bringing his semi-aroused sex close to her throbbing core. ‘OK,’ she said, ‘I’ll stop talking. But you’re wasting time now. We’ve only got about twenty minutes before Sean will start wondering where we are…’
ISBN-13: 9781460346082
THE PREGNANCY AFFAIR
© 2007 Anne Mather
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