Protecting Their Baby

by Sheri WhiteFeather

  He bought the pendant, then stood quietly behind her, latching it around her neck.

  “This is good karma,” he said, sounding more like a Buddhist than a Cherokee.

  She closed her eyes. His breaths were tickling her skin. “Because we’re helping a young family with a baby?”

  “Yes.” He released the chain on the pendant.

  When she turned around to face him, her emotions intensified. By the time they left the museum and headed home to change for dinner, Lisa was steeped in everything Rex.

  The color of his eyes. The thickness of his hair. The scent of his cologne.

  He seemed steeped in her, too.

  “You look gorgeous,” he said, when she emerged, ready for the second phase of their date.

  “Thank you.” She was wearing a skirt and blouse ensemble, cinched with a belt and accented with red pumps. She’d chosen an outfit that complemented her new necklace. She wanted the good karma to continue.

  He roamed his gaze over her. “Great legs. Killer shoes.”

  Her skirt was short and her heels were high. “I’m a sexy mom tonight.”

  “I’ll say.” He looked as if he wanted to ravage her where she stood.

  But he didn’t, of course. Instead, they both turned momentarily quiet. To combat the erotic tension, she said, “I won’t be able to wear the skirt and shoes for too much longer, but the blouse will still work.”

  He tilted his head, looking at her from a different angle. “You’re going to turn it into a makeshift maternity top?”

  Self-conscious, she fussed with the tails. “It’s puffy without the belt.”

  “Damn. It’s actually starting to seem hot.”

  “What is?”

  “You getting a baby bump.” He did the eye roaming thing again, checking her out from top to bottom, then settling on the still-flat area in the middle.

  Lisa’s pulse blasted through her pregnant body. “You’re just trying to be nice.”

  “I bought you presents to be nice. This is—”

  “Weird?” she provided, trying to lighten the conversation.

  “Totally weird. Baby bumps aren’t supposed to be sexy.”

  “Says who?”

  “Guys like me.”

  He moved closer, and the air between them sizzled. She wanted to grab hold of him, press her body against his and kiss him with all of her pre-baby-bump might.

  “I want to touch it,” he said quietly. “I want to put my hand there.”

  Lisa knew he meant her stomach. Her bare stomach. In response, she removed her belt and let it slide to the floor.

  She considered lifting her blouse for him, but she stood idle, waiting for him to make the next move.

  He did, a bit cautiously. He reached out and gathered the tails of her shirt, raising the garment one thread at a time.

  “I’ve thought about this so many times,” he said. “But I kept holding back.”

  “Because getting that close to the baby scared you?”

  He nodded. “It still does.”

  But regardless, he slipped his hand under the material, which was now bunched at her waist. The connection was soft and gentle, but erotic, too. His thumb skimmed her belly button.

  “Hey, little one,” he said. “This is your daddy.”

  Lisa watched him, captivated by his introduction. He was a fascinating man, a newfound father, and she wanted him so badly, she ached in unmentionable places.

  Rex looked up, and their gazes locked. She decided to take a chance, to take what she so desperately wanted. With a deep breath, she leaned forward, initiating a kiss.

  As her lips found his, he reacted in kind, opening his mouth against hers.

  Lisa accepted the invitation and kissed him the way only a woman on the brink of insanity could.

  While their tongues collided, he fanned his fingers across her stomach. She imagined that he was painting a rainbow across their baby’s heart.

  He tasted hot and spicy, and all she wanted was more.

  More…

  More…

  When they came up for air, he said, “We’re not supposed to be doing this.”

  “I know. It’s crazy.” Sexy crazy. Beautiful crazy. “But I don’t want to stop.”

  “Me, neither.”

  Their mouths came together again, and she lost herself in the moment. While he touched her stomach, she maneuvered her way around him and unbuttoned her blouse.

  That caught his attention, and he ended the kiss. He stepped back to study her. By now, her top was completely open, her black lacy bra exposed, her navel bare.

  “Are you sure you want to go that far?” he asked.

  “Yes.” There was no turning back. She wanted to be with him.

  His voice all but vibrated. “I promised that I would be a gentleman. That I wouldn’t take advantage—”

  “You’re not taking anything. I’m giving it to you.”

  “You won’t get shy in the morning? You won’t regret it?”

  “No.” There was no room for shyness, for regret. No room for falling in love, either. She would fight those feelings, jagged tooth and ragged nail. “I just want you inside me.”

  He unbuttoned his shirt, baring a portion of his flesh and putting them on equal ground. “I’m going to owe you another night on the town.”

  “Another date?” She glanced at his flat brown nipples, then lowered her gaze, following the masculine trail that led to the waistband of his pants. “I almost forgot that we were on our way out.”

  “Now we’re on our way to bed.” He drew her into his arms and kissed her again.

  She gripped his shoulders, seduced by the breadth of them. Rex Sixkiller was all passion, all tall, dark and Y chromosome.

  They stumbled to her room, kissing the entire way. Inside the dimly lit chamber, the fairy figurines glittered, and she could’ve sworn the girls were dancing around the lone male. The orgy Rex had teased her about.

  And why not, she thought, as he lowered her onto the bed and she kicked off her shoes. Magic was in the air.

  He stripped her, removing every stitch of clothing. He took special care with her bra and panties, and when she was naked, he flicked his tongue over one nipple, then the other, taunting her with his desire.

  Soon he was moving his way down her body. He stopped to plant a devoted-daddy kiss on her tummy, and she marveled at his sweetness, until he tongued her navel and made her moan.

  He was still fully clothed. Aside from his unbuttoned shirt, he hadn’t undressed.

  As he parted her legs and put his mouth against her, she arched her back, dizzily aroused. He hadn’t done this to her during their one-night stand, and he was making up for lost time.

  He teased her most sensitive spot, making naughty, nibbling forays. Pressure built in her loins and fire scorched the blood running thickly through her veins.

  A climax was brewing.

  She looked down and watched him. He was intent on making her come. As the spasms started, she tugged at his hair, thinking how wicked he was.

  Lost in the feeling, she closed her eyes and let it happen.

  Only there was no quiet afterglow.

  When the wave subsided and she could breathe, he pushed her to the brink again, giving her a repeat performance.

  “One, two,” she whispered, preparing for a second orgasm.

  “Saquu, tali.”

  He counted off in what she assumed were the same numbers in his ancestors’ language. What a time for a Cherokee lesson.

  “You’re torturing me,” she panted.

  “That’s the idea,” he responded, making her warmer and wetter.

  And desperate for him to get naked, too.

  Chapter 10

  Rex sat up and looked at Lisa. He had no idea how a woman could be so wholesome yet so incredibly sensual. She was like one of her fairies come to life, only with endless legs instead of sparkly wings.

  As she reached for him, his erection strained against his z
ipper. They rolled over the bed and kissed, peeling off his clothes and discarding them in disarray.

  She roamed his shoulders, his chest, his stomach, as if she wasn’t sure what part of him to touch first. He didn’t care where she put her hands, as long as they were on his aroused body.

  She pressed her cheek against his abs. “I want to—”

  His breath hitched. “What?”

  “Do what you did to me.” She lowered her head and tasted the tip of him with her tongue.

  Heaven on earth.

  Should he stop her?

  Without giving himself a rational moment to answer, he tangled his hands in her hair, wrapping his fingers around the silky strands.

  As always, she was ladylike, even in the midst of something so primal. He watched her make him bigger and harder.

  Sensation slammed into sensation. She was milking him for all he was worth, and he was worth plenty.

  Plenty of heat…

  Plenty of spark…

  She ignited him from the inside out, from the outside in. Maybe he should stop her. Maybe he—

  She went deeper.

  “Lisa,” he ground out.

  “Rex.” She paused and said his name, too. Only she added the rest of it, and hearing her say “Sixkiller” while he was cocked and loaded made him feel like a gunslinger.

  She kept pleasuring him, over and over, using her hands and her mouth. Finally, before he lost complete control, he lifted her up.

  By now, even his brain was on fire.

  Encouraging her to straddle him, he guided her onto his lap. This was one of the positions they’d mastered on their first night together, and he was desperate for an encore.

  But before she sank onto him, he asked, “Do we need a condom?” He gave her the option of putting a barrier between them, even if she was already pregnant.

  She refused the protection. “I want to feel you. Only you.”

  Flesh-to-flesh, she was impaled by him. She tipped her head back, and he fought for survival, especially when she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. It made her look naughty yet innocent.

  Wholesome. Sensual.

  Up and down she went, and as her breasts rose and fell, he circled her waist. Together they created a hot, wet ride.

  Damn, but he loved sex. She seemed to love it, too. Or maybe she just loved it with him. He hoped so. He liked being the object of her lust.

  Kissing her hard and fast, he nudged her down, switching to a missionary position. He slid between her thighs, and she wrapped her dancer’s legs around him.

  Good and tight.

  He never wanted the feeling to end. They forged an emotional joining; they made wild love.

  He looked into her eyes. “Are we going to keep doing this later? Are we going to keep being lovers?”

  “You mean, after you’re not living here anymore?”

  “Yes.”

  She made a soft, breathy sound. “If you want to.”

  “I do.” He filled himself with her fragrance, inhaling her misty perfume. “Do you?”

  She nodded, her nails digging into his skin. While she clawed his back, he increased the bed-hammering rhythm.

  She came right before he went off, right before he thrust one last soul-rocketing time and spilled into her.

  Sexual synchronicity.

  Spent, he waited a beat and collapsed in her arms. She held him, accepting the full weight of his body.

  He inhaled her skin, as he’d done before, only now it was a combination of her pretty perfume and his post-sex pheromones.

  Lethal to the last scent.

  Finally he rolled onto his side. Slick with sweat, they faced each other.

  Had he just made a commitment, admitting that he wanted to remain lovers?

  Yes, no, maybe? He wasn’t sure. But what difference would it make if they kept sleeping together? They were already bonded. She was carrying his child.

  “One day at a time,” he said, making his intentions known. It wasn’t as if he was going to marry her.

  She leaned on her elbow, and the pale bedroom light cast angelic shadows across her body, softening her nakedness. “Are you talking about our relationship?”

  He nodded, being as honest as he could. “No serious strings attached. Except for the baby.”

  “That works for me. Lord knows, I don’t want to fall for you.”

  She’d already given this some thought? Curious as he was, he wasn’t about to ask how deeply she’d considered it. As long as they were on the same page, it was better not to know. He reached out and put his hand on her stomach, touching the tie that bound them.

  “Kamama,” he said.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Butterfly. But in some contexts it means elephant.”

  “That’s great.” She scrunched up her face. “It’s a butterfly now and an elephant when I get bigger?”

  He kept his hand softly in place. He wasn’t making fun of her. “Elephants have butterfly-shaped ears.”

  “That sounds better.”

  “Kamama is a name, too, but only for the prettiest of girls.” He gazed at the woman with whom he’d just been intimate. “Of course if we have a girl, she’ll be as pretty as you are.”

  “Thank you.” Her smile was sweet. “What if we have a boy? What would you call him?”

  “How about Atsutsa?”

  “What does that mean?”

  He grinned. “Boy.”

  “Oh, that’s clever.” She play punched his ribs, and they both laughed.

  Afterward, Rex gave her a tender kiss. She was still bathed in an ethereal light: golden hair, fair skin, pink nipples.

  He imagined their baby at her breast, then ran his hands down the sides of her body, molding her curves and making her quaver.

  “Make love with me again,” he said, needing her.

  She moved closer, apparently needing him, too. He climbed on top of her and cuffed her wrists with his hands. When he let go, their fingers linked.

  And stayed that way.

  All through the night.

  Lisa had been Rex’s lover for two days, and she was doing fine. Or as fine as a pregnant woman fighting her feelings could be.

  But this evening her semblance of fineness vanished. While she was at the studio, with her parents acting as her bodyguards or babysitters or whatever, Rex had called. He’d told her to bring her parents home with her, instead of them dropping her off like they normally did.

  Rex would be waiting to speak to all of them.

  “It must be bad,” Dad said, as he pulled into Lisa’s driveway. “Or he wouldn’t have been so cryptic.”

  Had there been another threat? More violent than the last? Lisa glanced at her mom, who’d volunteered to sit in the backseat. She seemed to be thinking the same thing.

  Dad put the car in Park and killed the engine. They exited the vehicle and went into the house.

  Rex popped up from the couch and approached them. He looked at Lisa, and they exchanged a couple’s gaze. She could tell that he wanted to hold her, to comfort her, to make her less afraid of whatever he was about to reveal, but he kept a proper distance in front of her parents. Lisa hadn’t told them that she was sleeping with him.

  It didn’t matter. Mom noticed. But for now, there were bigger issues at hand.

  “Why don’t we sit on the porch,” Rex said.

  Lisa agreed with his suggestion. The walls of her little house seemed to be closing in.

  “I’d like to make some tea first.” Mom insisted on brewing an herbal drink.

  Lisa agreed with that suggestion, too. Tea and honey might help calm her nerves.

  While Mom went into the kitchen, Lisa and the men waited on the porch. A light breeze blew, making leaves on the lone tree in the yard stir.

  “It’s a nice night,” Dad said, filling the silence.

  Rex nodded, and Lisa wanted to reach for his hand. But she didn’t. She just sat at the table, gazing at the tree.

&n
bsp; Mom finally appeared with a serving tray. She’d prepared tea for everyone.

  Lisa sweetened hers and took a sip. So did Mom. The men didn’t drink theirs. No one had asked them if they’d wanted it, but it was the thought that counted.

  “This is about Maggie and Tim,” Rex said. “I discovered that they belong to a church associated with white supremacy. They’ve been part of the same group for over thirty years. The name of the church has changed since then, and the leader claims it no longer has those ties. But I think that’s a front to protect its members.”

  “Does it have a history of violence?” Dad asked.

  “Yes, though nothing lately. But that doesn’t mean that hatred isn’t being taught behind closed doors. Most of these types of churches claim to pursue legal, nonviolent means to attain their goals, so it wouldn’t matter if they admitted who and what they are. Freedom of religion is protected by the First Amendment.”

  “I’ve met some of their church friends,” Mom said, clearly struggling to take it all in. “And they seemed like average people.”

  “As opposed to what?” Rex asked. “The skinheads and white-robe-wearing types you’ve seen on TV? It isn’t always like that.”

  “Obviously.” Dad’s shoulders tensed. “So are Maggie and Tim the bastards trying to hurt our girl?”

  Rex responded, “It certainly seems so, but I don’t have any proof.”

  Mom gave a shudder. “They’ve been sending cruel e-mails and leaving vile things in cars and on doorstops? I thought they loved us. I thought they loved our daughter.” Her voice vibrated. “How naive could we be, not knowing how evil they were? How evil they are.”

  Lisa thought about her white neighborhood, her white studio, her mostly white world. “We lived in a bubble.”

  Mom cleared her throat. “We don’t anymore.”

  Rex went quiet, and Lisa glanced at her lover. A stream of emotion stretched between them, and suddenly she could tell that he had more on his mind, that what he’d shared was only the tip of the iceberg.

  She clutched her tea and the cup felt breakable in her hand. But everything seemed breakable now. “What else is going on?”

  He frowned. “I don’t know how to say it.”

  “Not saying it is worse.” She couldn’t imagine what it was, and now the anticipation was tightening her stomach. She hoped the baby couldn’t feel the pressure.