Page 93 of A New Chapter

Chapter 41

Emma could hardly wait to be alone with Zack. Sitting next to him at the restaurant for two hours turned out to be a form of sweet torture. He constantly touched her in some way or another throughout the appetizers, dinner, and dessert. They were simple gestures: his hand resting on her knee, his arm draped possessively over her shoulder, his fingers entwined with hers under the table, his side pressed up against her in the tight booth. By the time they left the restaurant, Emma was on fire for him, and based on the smoldering looks he kept giving her in the car, Zack felt the same way.

A silent look of understanding passed between Phil and Zack once they reached the house, and now, finally, Emma and Zack were alone in the guest bedroom. Emma swore that the room was charged with their sexual energy. Whether it was because they had professed their love to one another or the surge of pregnancy hormones, or just because it was them, Emma couldn’t be sure, but she welcomed the tension like a warm blanket soon to be wrapped around her.

They stood in the middle of the room, illuminated by the dim light of the bedside lamp, not speaking, hearts thumping. Zack raised Emma’s arms above her head and gently pulled her sweater up and over. She instantly felt an involuntary shiver.

“Cold?”

“No.”

Next, he unhooked her black bra and slipped it off her shoulders. Her nipples automatically stood up to greet him before he cupped her breasts in his large hands. He began to massage them, slowly, carefully, almost as if he were afraid to hurt her, and then understanding struck.

“Zack,” she whispered.

“Hmm?” He answered distractedly, his index fingers tracing circles around her nipples.

“I’m not going to break, you know. I’m pregnant, not injured.”

“Umm-hmm.” He dipped his head down and drew a nipple into his mouth, sucking gently.

Ok, he really is trying to torture me. Emma thrust her breast forward, urging him to take more of her. If words wouldn’t do the trick, then maybe actions would!

Her strategy worked, because Zack picked up the pace, drawing on her nipples with more intensity. As additional encouragement, Emma reached her hand between their bodies and stroked him over his jeans.

Zack jerked his head up, and Emma quickened her movements while he lifted his t-shirt up and over his head.

Finally! She left her post below his belt to travel her hands up and over the hard ridges of his chest, flicking his nipples on her way north. Zack’s heavy breathing was the only sound in the room while she continued her own brand of torture. Her fingers blazed a path up to his shoulders, and then she trailed her fingernails down his muscular arms, leaving goosebumps in their wake. When she reached his hands, she entwined her fingers with his and squeezed.

“Finish undressing me, Zack,” she pleaded and guided his right hand to the button of her jeans.

Zack nimbly unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, hooked his fingers into her panties, and peeled her jeans and panties down her legs. He trailed his masculine hands up the inside of her thighs on his return trip and stopped right at the apex. Emma wanted him so bad she could already feel him inside of her, but she needed him naked first.

“Lose the jeans,” she demanded and took a step back.

Zack’s grin competed with the lamp for illuminating the room. In a flash, his pants and boxers hit the floor, and before she could get a good look, he scooped her up and placed her on the bed. Next came a jumble of hands and lips and tongues and limbs. Sweet caresses and hot kisses, whispers, sighs, moans and groans. Wrestling to get closer, the merging of bodies and the melding of souls. It reminded Emma of their first time, filled with urgency, passion, and desire, but there was something else now, and as she cried out his name, she realized what it was. It was love.

Afterwards, Emma nestled her head against Zack’s chest and traced random patterns on his skin while he played with her curly locks.

“When do you think we should tell Gracie?” Emma ventured, asking the question that had surely been on his mind too.

“I think we should wait until after Christmas. I’m not sure what her reaction will be, but I don’t want anything to spoil her fun.”

“I agree, although I hope she’ll be happy to have a little brother or sister.”

Zack gave her a reassuring squeeze. “I hope so too.”

“We should probably hold off on telling the rest of the family just in case someone slips.”

“With the exception of Damian. The dude is like a vault. Plus, he’s a man of few words, if you haven’t noticed.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed. Quite the opposite of his big brother,” Emma teased.

“Hey, I can be quiet when I need to be.”

“Seriously? You talk more than Kelly, and that’s quite a feat! Speaking of Kelly, if you get to tell Damian, then I get to tell her. She already knows that something’s up, so I won’t be able to hold her off for long.”

“Fine, Damian and Kelly, but no one else until after Christmas.”