I rolled on my side. The windows were open and I could smell the salt rolling off the ocean.

“Good morning,” Asher growled into my ear. “Ready to get out of bed and go for a run?”

I smiled. “You want to leave my warm bed for a workout?” I twisted my body to face him. I had lost my motivation for morning runs on the beach.

“We could work out here instead,” I suggested.

He pulled me under him and I gasped. We had slept naked. We always slept naked. He pressed his hard erection against my thigh.

“But you love the beach,” he teased.

“But I don’t want to get out of bed,” I complained.

My legs widened as he settled against my slick folds. He slid back and forth, building my want for him. I arched against his chest.

“Journey,” he moaned as his cock pushed inside me.

“Ohh,” I whimpered.

He was inside me before I knew it.

We settled into a slow rhythm, deepening the thrusts with each stroke. My heels dug into his backside, urging him to move harder. I loved it when he fucked me like this. It was inevitably my favorite new routine of ours.

My eyes drifted over his shoulder, catching a glint of the awards lining my dresser. It was called a full house. I had swept best actress at every awards show. I was still running off the adrenaline of the season.

But I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Asher. He was there for every event. Every detail. Not as my bodyguard, but as the man I loved. The man I trusted with my life. With my soul.

He reached for my ankle, dragging it to his shoulder. He pushed off the bed, angling with intensity. I bit down on my lip.

“Oh God, Asher,” I mewed.

“Feels so fucking good.”

I nodded, knowing I was losing control.

My breasts perked. They were sensitive and ached for his touch. He leaned forward, flicking his tongue over one and the other.

I sighed, loving the new ways my body reacted to him. My skin had never glowed like this. My orgasms had never been so intense.

“It won’t hurt the baby, will it?” he asked. “I’m so deep. I love being inside you. But is it ok? Is it too much for the baby?”

I smiled. “The baby is fine.” I drew my hands to his jaw. “Don’t you dare stop. I love how you feel. Don’t. Stop.” I struggled to form the words.

He grinned wickedly. “Never.”

He pounded against me as my panting grew louder and wilder. I gripped the sheets as the orgasm sprung from my core.

“God, I love it when you come.” He watched in awe as I wriggled and convulsed under him.

I saw the desire light in his eyes and he pushed into me, groaning with his own release.

Asher collapsed next to me, resting his palm against the new swell of my belly. It was hardly noticeable except to us. I had made it through awards season without a single dress alteration, but my boobs were busting through every neckline I had. I wouldn’t be able to hide it from the public for much longer.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“Are you talking to me or the baby?” I teased.

“Both.” He rubbed my belly like a genie lamp. “Sorry kid, your mom is fucking hot.”

“Language is going to be a thing once the baby is here.”

He laughed. “I’ll set some kind of alarm.”

“Language security for new parents,” I mused. “I like it.”

He laughed. “Have to keep things new at work.”

“And with us.”

I rolled on top of him, straddling him. I peppered him with kisses.

“I don’t even have to try to keep things new with you.” He gazed in my eyes.

I didn’t know I could be this happy. I didn’t know a man who had shattered my heart could mend it so easily. I didn’t know having his baby inside me would make me love him more than I already did.

Our platinum wedding bands were simple, but matched. I traced over his. “What time do we pick up Avajean?”

He looked at his watch. “I told her grandparents we’d be there after breakfast. We probably have a couple of hours.”

I smiled. “I miss her on these weekends. But I love spending extra time with you. And I think it’s good for her to see them more than just a few times a year.”

I had done my best not to alter things too much once I became Avajean’s stepmother. I was cautious at first, but eventually found my footing. I thought it was important that she had a relationship with Gene and Shelly. They had welcomed me as well. It was surprising that we all fell into an agreement so easily. I knew that was because everyone loved Avajean.

The day we met at Big Bear, all my worries dissolved. We spent the afternoon making blueberry muffins and watching old Wonder Woman re-runs. We had an instant bond. Ashe joked that he sometimes felt outnumbered, but I knew he was happy we were close.

With award season behind me, and our elopement announced, I could focus on my pregnancy and being Avajean’s mom. We had a summer ahead of us that would take us to the East Coast as much as Asher wanted to be in his office. I was taking at least a year off for this new phase of my life. As reigning best actress, I could afford that luxury. I was going to take advantage of it.

We still hadn’t decided on a permanent home base. I still joked that Kansas was the happy middle. I knew we would land in the right place to raise our family. We would know it when it happened. And if I knew anything about my husband, it would be the safest and most secure house to ever be constructed.

That morning, we stayed in bed as the sun started to peek over the horizon. There was plenty of time to get up and go for a run before collecting Avajean. Asher’s empire could wait. The Journey Tessier world wouldn’t fall apart.

Right now, we were home. We were a family.

And nothing else mattered.

Thank you for reading Pretending She’s Mine. Don’t miss my latest steamy romantic suspense series.

Sneak Peek of Sounds Like Obsession

His fingers curled around mine. Tight and strong as if he was offering to let me siphon his strength. If we could hold on a little longer this would be over.

Over.

It was a word that had fractured us before. Now, it was more threatening and severe. A finality I hadn’t been willing to face. Not when he slipped out of my life. Not when darkness consumed me. Not when I struggled to carry on. Not when everything barricaded my next step.

He squeezed again. I looked down at the way our fingers threaded through each other’s. It was as if they belonged that way, tangled and meshed. As if they fit together. As if they had never held any other hands but these.

Maybe he clasped with such a fierce grip to siphon my strength. He needed me as deeply as I always had needed him.

Was that our connection? Had it always been? Was it give and take? Need ingrained with want? Or something so consuming we drained each other?

The suitcases and crates rattled across from us. We were wedged in a corner. Our backs against the metal cavern. Our feet tucked under us in an awkward position. I was grateful I wasn’t alone, but I didn’t want it to be like this.

I lifted my eyes to AJ.

There was no explanation for why he was here now. For how we had collided in this cruel joke. It almost didn’t matter. I had gotten past the shock. Enough to realize we weren’t going to have a happy ending.

“I’m sorry, Syd.” The words sounded bitter and full of regret.

I nodded. I didn’t think I could put it into a sentence. “I know,” I whispered. “I know.”

“I should have told you sooner. I should have—”

I stopped him. “It doesn’t matter now.”

“If only I had—”

“No,” I snapped. “Just no.”

“I haven’t given up,” he replied.

“And if I have?”

The only light came from a crack under the door. Our ankles were bound with zip ties. Any movement and they pinched together, cutting into my tender skin. The blood had seeped through my jeans. A few droplets oozed into my shoe.

My head pounded. The cut over AJ’s left eye looked vicious. He needed stitches. I knew the skin over his brow was thin, and the bleeding was naturally worse in that area, but it looked like something out of slasher film. For the time being it had crusted over enough to keep the blood from running into his eye.

That was how I was measuring our wins down here. The breaths I could still take. The beats my heart could still make. The pain my body still felt.

Pain was good.

Pain meant we hadn’t died.

Yet.