The only thing that had kept me from stripping Libby bare and burying myself inside her last night had been fear, that if I'd seduced her and taken her the way my raging body had demanded, I'd have lost her for good. Lost her, and my chance at fatherhood with a woman perfectly suited to have my baby. She was talented, kind, beautiful and smart. Any child would be lucky to inherit genes like hers…

The only other thing that had stopped me was the simple fact that I'd lost control in the shower. It had been too goddamned long and the ache had been far too much. After holding her naked at the edge of the lake… seeing what I'd only imagined up until then…

And then knowing we'd be spending the night in the same fucking bed… Well. A man can only take so much.

I looked over at her, working her hands together in her lap as I drove. We were only minutes away from the clinic. And shit, I was as nervous as she was.

I reached over and took her hands in mine. I held them as I drove, keeping them next to my thigh. In spite of the fucking great orgasm I'd had in the shower, I'd still been hard most of the night. Just like I was now. Neither of us had gotten much sleep. We'd been awake until nearly dawn, discussing my proposal…

"Are you still up for this today?" I asked. God knew I was… "We could always postpone."

"I'm good, Jack, really." Her eyes were bright, although they had faint shadows underneath them. "I want this. And I'm ready." She smiled and I felt my chest and groin tighten at the same time. "More than that, my body is ready. I know it doesn't make much sense… but it just feels like the timing is perfect."

I smiled and held her eyes a moment too long. The back tire went over the curb hard, and we laughed together. Although she hadn't said yes outright to marrying me once my baby was growing inside her, I was sure that she would. I parked in the clinic lot and went around to open her door.

"Last chance to bail," I offered. I put my arms around her without thinking. It had started to feel so natural, to hold her like this.

"Not a chance, Jack," she shot back. "Now get your ass inside and let's get me knocked up."

It didn't take nearly as long as I'd expected. Nothing like it would have been, done the way nature intended, I thought. I'd have had Libby in bed with me for days, exploring her responses, discovering her needs… I'd have exhausted us both, satisfied us both…

As it was, I'd pushed the soft porn mags aside in the room they'd put me in, while they prepped Libby for the procedure. I had all the images I needed already in my head, of her lush round body. I unzipped and took cock in hand. Then I imagined her wrapped around me, the way I'd wanted her when I'd pulled her from the lake. Half submerged in the water and almost weightless, I could have fucked her right there, her breasts bobbing on the surface as I pumped inside her and her legs gripped me as tight as her sweet little pussy…

To her credit, the nurse merely raised her eyebrows as I emerged, specimen cup in hand, only a few minutes later. I was in the waiting room for less than half an hour when they told me to come in, that Libby was asking for me.

"I didn't want you to miss this," she said, reaching out for me from under the drape. She was on her back, knees in the stirrups. I took her hand and held it tightly.

"Okay, Mom and Dad," Dr. Tiller said, not glancing up from under the drape. "This is it." She glanced up at me. "You can do this with me, if you like."

I looked at Libby, who nodded and smiled. Her eyes were so bright, so brilliantly green. For a moment, I forgot everything but her. Then the doctor cleared her throat.

With one hand, I held Libby's warm little hand, threading my fingers through hers in an unbreakable bond. With the other, I reached down and helped the doctor press the little plunger. Though it was nothing like how I'd always imagined it, I was filling my chosen woman with my seed. This was the beginning of a whole new world… a whole new life… Gratitude flooded through me… along with something else… something even deeper…

I kissed Libby's forehead and found myself unable to pull away. The doctor left the room discreetly as I remained, holding onto this beautiful woman, who with every passing day, was becoming more and more important to me, in every imaginable way.

"So help me, Jack, if you help me with one more goddamn thing…" She was exasperated after I'd offered to carry her up the stairs. "I'm not really pregnant, at least not yet… and my legs sure as hell aren't broken."

I let her walk up to her bedroom on her own, but I kept one hand on her elbow as she went. I didn't relax until she was settled on the bed, a pillow under her head and one under her knees.

"Dr. Tiller said it couldn't hurt, didn't she?" I asked, sitting down beside her. "How do you feel? Can I get you anything…?" I couldn't seem to keep my hands to myself. I stroked her arm, her hair. I was used to feeling powerful and in control, and here I was fussing like an old woman. "When you're settled, I can make us lunch and bring it up here. Unless you'd like to sleep for a while." I held her cheek in my hand, cupping her face. "This morning I didn't think you could be any more beautiful, and yet here you are…"

I leaned in. Maybe it was gratitude. Maybe it was exhaustion. Maybe it was relief that the day I'd dreamed of was finally here. Or maybe it was just that even a strong man can only hold out in the presence of a woman like Libby for so long. But I leaned in and I kissed her. Hard, the way I needed to, the way I was meant to. A second later, her hands were tangled in my hair, my chest on her chest, my hips working their way between her legs. I was lost in the taste of her, the way her legs felt, wrapped around my waist. My cock was enormous and I could feel how hot she was at her core. I knew she was wet, just like I was. That's what snapped me back into consciousness.

"Libby," I pulled my weight off of her. "I'm so fucking sorry. Did I hurt you?" My heart was pounding. "I didn't mean to do that…" Who the fuck was I kidding. I'd meant every single second.

She laughed and pushed herself up higher in the bed. "It's okay, Jack." Her eyes were brilliantly green. "Couples have actual sex all through their pregnancies, you know." She licked her lips and I yearned to do the same. "It's not like you're going to break me."

"It's just that this is so… I've never felt this way before, Libby. I'm excited and grateful and happy and terrified."

"I know," she said. "Me too." She reached out and smoothed my hair. "It's really too early to know anything. I just have such a good feeling about this, you know? Like it's actually going to happen. That, in a couple of weeks, the doctor will be giving us good news."

"I know she will," I answered, smoothing her curls behind her delicate ear. "I can feel it deep inside, that this is right. That everything that's happening is somehow meant to be."

I kissed her softly this time. "It's why I want to start making plans. Today, if you'll agree." I watched the color of her eyes deepen. "I'm certain my baby is starting to grow inside you. Right now, right this very minute.

And I don't want to wait any longer. I want you to marry me, the sooner the better. If you'll just say yes, I know India and Mom could work miracles… They could have the ceremony planned in no time. You wouldn't have to lift a finger." I put my forehead to hers and felt the little pulse beating there.

"Say yes, Libby. Right here, right now. Don't think about anything else but me and my child in your belly…

And tell me yes."