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  “Oh,” she pressed herself against him and kissed him gently before repeating the word. “I love you, Dr. Ben Allary.”

  He hugged her tight. “It was worth waiting for. Now take your bath and I’ll be waiting.”

  Tricia kissed him one more time and after getting undressed she got into the water that was the perfect temperature. The scent of eucalyptus and lavender filled her nostrils as she lay back and let the heat of the water and the scented oils soothe her back. When she got out she was very relaxed and it seemed Ben wanted to put her to sleep because when she slid into the bed with him, the second part of his surprise was Ben rubbing her back and giving her a slow massage with her favorite lotion. It felt delicious, his strong hands worked her muscle until she felt languid and in bliss. Tricia turned over and he massaged her upper thighs, stomach and arms. Each time her hands grazed her nipples or the apex of her thighs, her desire grew until she stopped his hand on her breasts and reached up to lace her fingers around his neck.

  “That’s enough foreplay, kiss me,” Tricia said with a saucy smile.

  “There is no such thing as too much foreplay,” he teased. “Besides this was supposed to relax you.”

  “And it did, thank you, honey. But your hands felt so good I want to feel more, please,” she begged sweetly.

  “Like I could resist you,” Ben kissed her hard. “Let me wash my hands and I’ll be back.”

  “Hurry,” she called after him and laughed as he gave her a thumbs up.

  He was back in less than a minute and undressing as he moved towards the bed. When he pulled her into his arms, Tricia was ready and she initiated the kiss, spearing her tongue into his mouth. Her action rewarded her with a groan from Ben and he ran his hand down her naked thighs.

  “I love your arousal and how you make me feel.” Tricia pressed herself against him. “Make love to me, Ben, I need you so much.”

  He kissed her thoroughly until she could barely breathe. Ben’s passion always consumed her and Tricia was glad to be in the midst of the heat. Ben kissed her with such raw passion yet infinite care that she was stunned at the sweet feel of it. Then the kiss became unrestrained until they were gasping and trying to take more, feel more and have more all at the same time.

  He cupped her breasts and she moaned into his mouth. He tore his mouth away from hers to lick the rise of her breast. “I was hot for you before, but now with you luscious curves and this round tummy.... We may have a dozen kids because I won’t be able to keep my hands off you, pregnant or not.”

  Tricia laughed huskily. “I’ll have to say no to a dozen, but one or two more is fine with me.”

  “Fine, we’ll just have fun with the process of making them,” Ben teased.

  He caressed down her body slowly and she gasped when he ran his hands down her thighs and began to fondle the full lips of her sex. She lifted her hips into his touch while his kisses seduced and aroused her. Tricia shuddered when she felt his finger slide between the velvety folds of her sex and slowly rub her clit.

  Ben gazed into her eyes. “You look so sexy with your lips parted and all aroused and wet for me. You’re going to come for me, aren’t you, honey?”

  “God yes,” she whispered.

  Ben kissed her again and the muscles he’d massaged till she was languid and relaxed were now tense with desire. Tricia moaned, as her pregnancy progressed her desire didn’t abate. Instead it grew even though her tummy was bigger. He nipped and sucked at the soft skin on the rise of her breasts until he got to her nipple. He tasted her with his warm breath and circled the tip with his tongue. When he pulled her nipple deep into his mouth and sucked, Tricia cried out in pleasure. Pure need speared its way through her body and she felt her pussy release a gush of fluid at the sensations. Ben moved to her other breast and she closed her eyes and held on to his head as waves of heat cascaded through her body.

  “I just tasted your first milk,” Ben said and his voice was raw with desire.

  Tricia looked at him confused. “Milk? Isn’t that when I have the baby?”

  Ben shook his head no. “I’m going to put my doctor hat on and explain. Paging Dr. Allary.”

  Tricia laughed. “Please enlighten me, Doctor.”

  “Late into your second trimester and for the rest of your third, your body begins to make a type of pre-milk, filled with nutrients the baby will need when she is born,” Ben explained. As he spoke he circled her nipple with his finger and it was deliciously distracting.

  “What does it taste like?” she asked and gasped as he pinched her nipple gently.

  “Kind of sweet. Have you ever had coconut milk? It’s kind of like that except lighter,” Ben’s voice was low and sexy. “Your nipples are so tight under my touch. Everything, even the taste of your milk is so arousing.”

  “Well Dr. Allary, my body is yours for the taking, please continue,” Tricia said.

  “Never thought Dr. Allary would sound so sexy.”

  Ben bowed his head to tease her nipples with his lips once more and Tricia whimpered in delight. His hand was insistent between her legs from cupping the mound of her sex to the feverish caresses applied to the sensitive bud of her clit. Ben moved from her breasts to kiss her hard and passionately. She reached between their straining bodies to stroke his cock. His moan was guttural and his hips moved against her as if the pleasure she felt was coursing from her to him. Ben thrust his cock between her firm grasp and imitated the movement with his tongue in her mouth. Tricia scraped her nails against his scalp and kissed him wantonly, tasting deep into his mouth. His groan showing his approval, Ben’s fingers probed the tender entrance to her sex and she parted her legs wider, eagerly wanting more.

  Tricia nipped his lip gently in frustration before pleading. “I need you, please.”

  “After I get my taste of you,” his voice was harsh with desire.

  He placed frantic kisses down her body until she could feel his breath on her sex as he settled between her legs. He parted the soft, velvety flesh of her labia to lick at her clit and Tricia couldn’t help the whimper that escaped her lips. She clenched her hands in the sheets when he penetrated her with his tongue before licking upward. The muscles of her sex clenched reflexively as her essence released and Ben pulled her closer trying to prolong her pleasure. He pressed his mouth against her and tasted her like a man intent on possessing every part of her. Tricia gripped the sheets like they were her anchor in the swirling storm of pleasure. Color swirled behind her closed lids as her orgasm built, it washed over her in heated waves as she climaxed and bucked her hips against his seeking mouth. Ben moved up her body and kissed her savagely and she lifted her hips impatiently against his cock where it rested on her sex.

  “I want you inside me,” she said.

  “I’m going to take you from behind this time,” Ben said as he moved to help her onto her hands and knees. “It won’t hurt and I’ll be gentle. It will be comfortable for your stomach like this not pressed between us or on the bed.”

  She stretched her back in a yoga move while she was on her hands and knees and Ben groaned. “Lord, you look so sexy doing that.”

  “Hurry, Ben, I want to see you inside me,” she pleaded.

  Ben came up behind her and shivered in anticipation when he rubbed his cock up and down her slit. She moaned when she felt the tip of his cock between the velvety folds of her pussy, slowly inching deeper into her wet depths. He ran his hand down the line of her back and he gripped her hips. Each thrust was more enticing and drove her desire higher. Ben’s groans were primal and his hand roamed from her back to cup her heavy breasts and play with her nipples. Tricia caught his slow rhythm and pushed back to take more of him with each thrust. Ben said her name and it ended in an almost tortured cry. He picked up the pace of his movements but still took care to not hurt her in any way. Each nerve ending within her, against the walls of her pussy seemed to reverberate with pleasure and overtake her senses. She was on the brink of a climax so powerful that Tricia strove for
completion with breathless anticipation.

  “You’re so wet and tight, it’s running down my cock,” Ben said harshly. “Come for me, honey, let me feel it.”

  “Yes, Ben!”

  She cried out his name and gave herself over to her orgasm. He moved his hands between her legs and rubbed her clit, prolonging her climax. Tricia felt his cock throb within her and the first hot stream of his seed. She could hear his pleasure in the guttural hoarse shout and his thrusts were tempered. Ben’s legs were tense and trembling behind her while he gave himself over to his release. When his cock finally slipped from her wet pussy, Ben made sure she was lying down before he collapsed against her.

  “Give me a moment to recover and I can get a warm towel to clean you up,” he said and heaved out a long sigh.

  “Oh, that was the best,” Tricia stretched.

  “I’m glad that I do such good work,” Ben chuckled.

  She laughed. “You weren’t in this by yourself, Doctor.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Ben turned and kissed her shoulder, then put his hand on her belly. “Man, I think we made her mad, she is moving around in there.”

  “She was still just a minute ago,” Tricia said. “I keep saying she’s reacting to you and you don’t believe me. She did the same thing when Bryce touched my belly.”

  “One of these days, Mom will start picking names so we don’t just call you ‘she’ or ‘the baby’.” Ben bent to kiss her belly. “Hey, you’re my favorite girl, don’t go giving my love away.”

  “Neither of us will,” Tricia said and ran her fingers through his hair. “I promise.”

  Ben moved back up to hold her tight and she laughed as the baby moved as if to say, I agree with Mom. Throughout her childhood and adult life, all she and Isa ever wanted was a home. Together they bought their first apartment and became the only family each other knew and then it extended out to Bryce and the twins. Now she had Ben and her own baby on the way. While he held her, Tricia realized the house and all it contents was just the structure, it was the people inside that made it a home. She, Ben, and her soon to be born daughter would be a family.

  Chapter Seven

  She was well into her pregnancy and her body was ripe with life. The baby moved constantly and it was becoming uncomfortable to sleep but Tricia loved every minute of it. Her life was full of happiness and love, she was busy getting her business off the ground and everything felt good. The store would be ready to open by the end of September and she already had her small staff hired while waiting for her last shipment of designs from the manufacturer in Austin, Texas. They could begin making the shop window look pretty and get the stock on the shelves and hangers. She’d named the shop Lever du Soleil, in French it meant sunrise. It suited her life and the fact that the sun did rise on a new career path, love and the baby she was carrying. They were all positive changes in her life.

  Today was her luncheon slash baby shower at her house. Ben was in the living room hanging a banner because he insisted she have one to celebrate, along with balloons and little baby decorations. She didn’t want a big fuss but even for their small group it was festive and she let him have his way. Ben had taken to fatherhood as if the baby was his. Many times she forgot the way she got pregnant and by whom, Ben made it easy to ignore the bad even between the harassing calls. Since Nico had not threatened her personally or done anything since the doll incident, all the police could do was take a report. He was doing nothing wrong and each time Bryce’s investigators got a line on him, he disappeared. She had no doubt when his money dwindled he would head back to Greece so till then she ignored the calls.

  Tricia was a person who was very selective about her friends, because of trust issues from her time in foster care. So it would be only Bryce, Isa, the twins and David at her house to celebrate the impending birth of her baby girl. She and Ben would reveal the name of the baby after they ate. She found it amusing that it was easier to name her shop than the baby. Nothing fit until one night while playing the name game in bed Ben picked the perfect one. He was her doctor, her lover and the man she would love for the rest of her life. She was even looking forward to baby number two eventually and this one would be created out of love with the man who held her heart.

  She shifted her hips to release the ache in her pelvis as she made the salmon pinwheels. Even though she made sure to keep some exercise in her life by doing yoga and walking, the baby’s weight was starting to make her back and lower body hurt with the pressure. Ben walked with her three times a week and usually they ended up at her favorite gelato shop. He was just as bad as she was because while she ordered two scoops of the salted caramel, he would get chocolate. She recalled one of their conversations fondly with a small smile on her face.

  “I’m just a sympathetic gelato conspirator,” he said one day as they sat outside enjoying the treat.

  Tricia nodded sagely. “I’m sure you are. That’s why they know your order better than mine.”

  “She probably has a good memory,” Ben pointed out.

  “I’m sure she does, especially if you’re sneaking in for extra on the way home,” Tricia grinned. “I tasted the chocolate on your lips when you came home on Monday.”

  He flushed red. “Damn, I was bamboozled.”

  She laughed. “Bamboozled? Is there a woman tied to train tracks you have to go save, Dudley Do-Right?”

  Ben burst out laughing. “Oh that thing brings back memories. I watched that every Saturday morning and my mom made French toast so I could watch it in the living room in front of the TV.”

  “You never talk about your mom or family where does she live?” Tricia asked curiously and took a spoonful of her creamy treat.

  Ben looked at her and she saw the sadness in his eyes. “She died when I was seventeen, she had cancer. I was an only child so I joined the military instead of going to foster care. I got to finish out school and then they became my family for years.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Tricia said. She knew the pain of not having parents but to have a mother and lose her that early had to be unbearable.

  “It’s ok, I made my peace with it long ago, I had an amazing mom and we’ll see each other again someday,” Ben said with a smile. “The army trained me as a medic and I got to go to med school. I did my board exams and I wanted to work as a trauma doctor. A year into my internship I got deployed and then two more posts after that. The things I saw, the pain and death of soldiers and innocent people... children. It changed my mind, so in two thousand and four when I came home, I chose not to re-enlist. Instead of finishing my internship for trauma, I went into the Obstetrics field. I wanted bring life into the world not see more death.”

  Tricia laid her head on his shoulder. “And you’re the most amazing doctor ever, and that’s not just because I love you. I saw how you were with Isa and your other patients would agree.”

  “Well, thank you for inflating my ego,” Ben kissed her on the forehead.

  “And one more thing,” Tricia added.

  “What’s that, honey?” He asked.

  “You have a family in us—me and this little one, Isa, Bryce, the twins and even David,” Tricia said.

  “The stoic David scares me just a bit, he’s seen some stuff,” Ben replied.

  “He’s as gentle as a lamb but yeah, he’s seen some things,” Tricia said. “Isa told me he’s only forty-one years old and he doesn’t need to work for Bryce, he has his own money.”

  “He seems older. I think that may be wisdom beyond his years,” Ben said. “I think it’s more like a friendship than him working for Bryce. The man doesn’t strike me as a pilot and driver underling.”

  “One of these days he’ll share his story, I guess. I’m sure Bryce already knows,” Tricia stood slowly and put her hand on her back as she winced. “Time to walk back, then I can put my feet up with some pillows at my back.”

  “I’ll give you a back rub,” Ben took her hand.

  “Yeah, I recall how those work out,” she
teased as they began to walk back in the direction of her house.

  Tricia let the memory filter from her mind as she put the last pinwheel on the tray and took it to the table. Ben had the living room filled with balloons and streamers.

  “Ta-da,” he said with his arms outstretched. “What do you think?”

  “It looks like the living room got drive-by decorated,” Tricia said in amusement.

  “Too much?” Ben frowned.

  “No, sweetie,” Tricia walked over to him and gave him a kiss. “It’s wonderful, thanks for doing this.”

  “For my girls, nothing is too good,” Ben put his hand on her belly. “How are you feeling?”

  “Feeling full, eight weeks to go,” she answered. “She’s getting big in there.”

  “Last check up she was about four and a half pounds,” Ben said with a laugh.

  Tricia poked him in the shoulder. “She’s still heavy and all the other stuff in there.”

  “I know honey,” he kissed her again and had to break the kiss when the doorbell rang. “We’ll continue that later.”

  “Promises, promises,” she teased. “You’ll be asleep before I am.”

  She went to the door and opened it to their friends and their children. Also loads of gifts including a very big box that contained a crib. The nursery had been painted and decorated and Tricia was excited to put everything together in preparation for the arrival of the baby. Soon there were squeals of laughter and a good time between them all as they ate laughed and talked.

  “Okay so, I know you guys have been pestering me and Ben about a name, so we have one,” Tricia announced over cake and fruit dessert.

  “Liza, Patrice, Curly Sue,” David announced and when everyone looked at him, he smiled. “I’m teasing, seriously teasing.”

  “Don’t make me not like you,” Tricia said.

  Isa threw a pillow at his head. “None of those, Jose Weirdo.”

  “At least you love me, right gumdrop?” David asked Ashley who was sitting on David’s knees and gave him a wet drool-filled kiss as compensation.