A WEEK SINCE FINDING out the sex of our baby had gone by. The night we told the family, we also invited my mom and dad to come over. There wasn’t even a word in the English dictionary to express their joy when we said it was a boy. Actually, apparently Dodger had pulled Camden aside and told him before everyone else. I guess brothers needed to display some sort of male competition or dominance. He told his brother.

“We have balls.”

To which I slapped his arm, and Camden chuckled. Dodger had shrugged and grinned proudly.

Donna couldn’t stop sobbing that her first grandchild was going to be a boy. My parents hugged me, confirming that they were happy with the news. Keegan gushed that she was going to be an auntie and her little man was going to have everything in the world. Then she proceeded to tell Camden her biological clock was ticking and she wasn’t getting any younger. It was all very entertaining.

Tonight I was off after a long three-day straight work week. I hated it when they did that to me. Barely gave me time to come home, shower, eat, and sleep before I had to head back in for another twelve-hour shift. I had just put a lasagna in the oven. I’d been craving it for weeks now and just the smell of it was making my mouth water. Actually, the way I was feeling these days, I’m not sure food was what I was craving.

Dodger came walking in, setting his keys down and removing his coat. I was in the doorway of the kitchen and watching him with rapt attention. His every movement was the most delicious thing I’d seen. Maybe I was going crazy. Or maybe I was a sex craved pregnant woman that wanted nothing more than to be sexually satisfied and spent. The last time I’d had any action was with Dodger when he put the bun in the oven, and I’d say I was long overdue.

He had yet to see me standing here staring at him. I had no clue if I had marinara sauce on my face, or splatters of food on my shirt. In fact, just watching him, I wasn’t sure if I had drool forming in the corner of my mouth. The scent of him wafted in my direction and like Peppy La Pew, I fluttered on my feet toward him. His brown hair was still long and uncut. When he caught sight of me, his blue eyes sparkled, and his crooked smile made my heart flutter. I didn’t stop my forward momentum when I got right in front of him and he was about to say “hey how was your day” my mouth slamming against his halted his words.

Dodger stumbled backwards into the wall but recovered himself, grasping a hold of me so I didn’t fall. He grunted when his back hit, which quickly shifted into a moan. There wasn’t any space between us as I assaulted his mouth. My lips shifted and moved against his as I battled to stay in control of the kiss. My tongue slipped out and touched his lower lip. He flicked his against mine, then sucked my lower lip between his teeth, letting them scrap the tender skin.

We’d done this a few times already. Had heated make out sessions where I clawed and pawed at him, doing what I could to get him naked and inside of me. Every time he’d grab my wrists and prevent me from going further than heavy petting, then he’d tell me to go take a hot bath and it would settle me down. I knew why he was doing it. He was trying to remind me that he was the one in control of us and he dictated when any sexual acts would happen. After I’d given him my ultimatum, he wouldn’t budge. He told me he wouldn’t do anything with me until I was thoroughly begging for it. Well, I’m there. I’m begging.

His lips lightly brushed mine as I tried my hardest to seduce him into stupidity.

“Dodger.”

“Hmmm?”

I reached down to feel his rock hard cock between us. What I wouldn’t give to drop to my knees and unzip his pants and watch him spring free.

“Let’s play a game.”

He chuckled, grasping a handful of hair and gently pulling me away to look at him.

“What kind of game?”

I smiled. “A game called ‘just the tip’. It’s loads of fun, I promise. You won’t even have to do anything. Just lay there and I’ll do all the work.”

He barked a genuine laugh. “Macie.”

“Dodger, c’mon. Are you still going to hold out on me?”

I grasped him firmly in my hand a hiss came from his mouth. He paused briefly as my fingers walked up his pants and to the space between his shirt and belt line. That little bit of skin I was touching was enough for me to take as a signal to push it further. Flattening my hand, I pushed it down his pants and into his briefs. The soft skin was taut and warm. I wanted to feel him in my mouth. Taste the head of his cock as I swirled my tongue around it. I wanted to feel him writhing beneath me as my hand tenderly held his balls and touched the spot right behind them. The very thought sent a gush of wetness into my panties.

“I’m not holding out on you, Macie. You can feel how badly I want you.”

I slide my hand up, then down. He groaned and closed his eyes. “Then why?”

“Because, I want you to realize you’re mine.”

“I do, Dodger. I really do.”

“There’s no question of whose you are. I want you begging me.”

“I’m begging.”

His free hand that wasn’t tangled in my hair came up and brushed my hardened nipple. My knees wanted to give out.

“No, you’re not.”

I leaned forward, trying to nip at him. “Mhmm.”

“I’ll compromise.”

I couldn’t help but whine. Damn it, the bastard wasn’t going to let me have my way. How on earth was he not dying of blue balls yet? I knew this was a hardship for him. I may be pregnant and getting rounder, but I wasn’t ugly. Nor was I so big that my belly would be in the way.

“What kind of compromise?”

He bent and whispered in my ear. “I’ll gladly take care of you, and your needs.”

Music to my ears. My eyes popped open and I swear if I had a tail, it would be wagging like my owner had the world’s biggest and best stick.

“And can I take care of you in return?”

“I’m okay.”

I poked my lower lip out and pouted. “That hardly seems fair. I get just as much pleasure out of pleasing you as I do you pleasing me.”

“Not that I don’t love to hear that, I think we will just stick to my way for now.”

We’ll see about that. I still had some sex appeal here. Maybe a little dance or wiggle? Hell me completely naked, how could he say no? He wouldn’t if I started touching myself in front of him. Stop trying to get the upper hand here, Dodger. It’s not happening. Meanwhile, the little Suzy Homemaker in me made a mental note that the lasagna had another forty-five minutes in the oven before it needed to come out and be sprinkled with more cheese.

I grabbed him by his shirt and tugged. “Come on, big boy.”

Walking back to our bedroom, I stripped off my top, which I wore a white camisole underneath. I wasn’t in the mood to put on a bra earlier, and I high fived myself for not having to do extra work. Dodger’s eyes traveled to my breasts, and I knew he could see the light brown coloring of my nipples as they hardened for him. I purposefully grasped both and pinched. A moan escaped my lips. His pupils were rapidly dilating, covering the blue. The strain of his cock in his pants has got to be unimaginable. He was still in the doorway, enjoying my show, while I was in front of the bed.

“You done?” he asked.

“Done with what?”

Unfortunately, the bottom half of me wasn’t as sexy as the top. My skinny pants no longer fit, and I’d grown to love the use of belly bands which held up my regular pants without having to button them. Slipping them off in an attractive manner wasn’t happening. Instead, I opted for quickness and stripped them as fast as I could. Thankfully, I’d had half a mind to put on some red lace, cheeky underwear. Come hell or high water, I planned on wearing pretty underwear through my whole pregnancy.

“I wouldn’t have minded helping you out of your clothes, you know? Although, I have to admit, it was very entertaining watching you do that. It’s been a while.”

His grin made me blush. He began making a slow, purposeful stride toward me. My anxiety went up a notch and judging by his heated look, he fully intended on making this last. I wasn’t so sure I was going to be able to. When he reached me, he demanded my attention. His dominant stance over me, the subtle licking of his lips, he was walking sex.

He brought his hand up and brushed a loose strand of my hair back. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhmm. It does something to me knowing you’re carrying part of me in you.”

“Well, that’s awfully caveman of you.” I smiled, pointing out the obvious.

He touched my stomach. Instinctively, I wanted to suck in, but sucking in a fetus was sort of out of the question.

“Caveman or not, you’re glowing. It’s like you were meant to be like this. Curves, and all of this.” He skimmed my body. “I love this shape.”

“You mean round.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t say round.”

“Round is a shape.”

He bent down and kissed me slow and easy. It felt meticulous and planned. Dodger was trying to control this, so then he could control himself. I didn’t want that. I wanted passion and wildness. I wanted unplanned and spontaneous. He was more than capable of giving it, but I’d have to really test his resolve to get him to crack. He meant it when he said he wanted me begging.

Slipping my tongue out, I licked his lip. Reading me, he gave me more pressure. He parted his lips and allowed me to lead this moment. When I felt his hand come up and cup my breast and his fingers pinched my nipple, I nearly came undone.

“I know what you like, Macie. Don’t tell me what to do.”

The smart ass knew what I was up to. He was trying to stay a step ahead of me. I pulled the strap of my camisole down and exposed my right breast. Heat flashed in his eyes as he took in what I was showing him. My nipple was peaked and wanted attention. And attention is what he started to give it. Dodger took my nipple in his mouth and sucked, swirling his tongue then tugging slightly. My hands dove into his hair and my head fell back. He was holding me around my lower back, as I tried to arch into him. A low “mmm” came from my throat, as I tried to verbally commend him. It was all that would come out.

While his greedy mouth was attached to me, his other hand came up and pulled the other breast out of my top. His fingers flicked across the tight peak and my knees nearly gave out. He looked up at me and released me so that I could sit down. As he stood in front of me, Dodger grasped the edge of my panties and took them off, flinging them somewhere behind him. God, I wanted him undressed. I made eye contact with him and he knew. He shook his head no and I growled.

“You, Macie. I’m taking care of you.”

“Yeah?” I reached forward and took a handful of the bulge in his pants. “And I would like to do the same. So quit being so stubborn.”

“No,” he stated firmly.

“I’m going to get what I want.”

“Spread your legs.”

I did so without question. My body was being commanded and I responded like he held the controller.

“Tell me how wet you are.”

The rotten bastard was going to tease. “I’m very wet, Dodger.”

“Show me. Touch yourself.”

Taking my right index finger, I touched the lips that my clit hid behind. I pushed downward, giving myself pleasure at the same time. I desperately wanted to continue, and let him watch. Instead, I lifted my finger and held it in the air.

“Soaking.”

I brought the wetness to my mouth and my tongue touched my finger tip.

“No.”

I smiled. “No what?”

He grabbed my wrist to stop my motion. “You’re not the one tasting you. If anyone does, it’s me. And I want every drop to belong to me. Is it mine?”

“Do you want it to be yours?”

The light from the hallway made it so I could see my wetness glistening. His eyes were impossibly dark. His jaw worked as he swallowed and forced down his own need. I knew if his pants came off, he’d take no time fucking me. I wanted him to. I wanted him to stand me on the side of the bed and bend me over. I wanted to feel him gripping my hips as he drove into me. I wanted to grasp the bedding because he was pushing me forward. I need to look over and see him in the mirror as he watched with me what he was doing to me. Instead he held on to his control by a hair.

“Answer the fucking question, Macie.”

“Yes,” I whispered.

He cupped my sex, but didn’t touch my throbbing clit. He brought his mouth to my ear. “Yes, what?”

I started shaking in anticipation. Words wanted to form, but my voice betrayed me. I bit the inside of my cheek and brought my hips forward. I was demanding that he slide his fingers between the folds and give me pleasure.

He pulled back ever so slightly. “Give me what I want, or I walk out of this room right now.”

My tightly shut eyes flew open and I glared at him. “Yes, it’s yours. Every mother fucking drop is yours. You do this to me. You make me wet. I crave every part of you. I want anything you’ll give me. And I swear to God. if you don’t give me what you’re making me beg for, you will regret it for the rest of your long sorry life, Dodger Brooks.”

He grinned. “Music to my ears, Beautiful.”

With that, his long finger dipped inside of me and I cried out. He brought it in and out, coating himself with the slickness. Stopping the brutal pattern, he swirled the tip of his finger around my clit. I shook with such fierceness that I couldn’t hold back the orgasm that slammed into me. My nails bit into his arms and I held on as a wave of ecstasy bowled over me. He flicked his finger back and forth, over and over, causing my pleasure to extend. I shook my head back and forth.

“Dodger.”

Using two fingers this time, he pushed inside of me. As he pulled them out, he curled them upwards, brushing against that sweet spot inside. Oh Jesus, he was going make it happen again. Instead of fucking me with his fingers, he kept them deep inside of my pussy and he let those two fingers do all of the work.

“I want to feel your pussy pulsating.”

I nodded. “Fuck, don’t stop.”

He wiggled his fingers, causing that area to swell. I felt like I was going to pee everywhere, but I knew better. He was building up my orgasm before he’d draw it out of me. He pressed on my G-spot, then stopped, then he’d do it again like a brutal assault. It was growing like a wave starting way off shore. It built, my body was on a high. When his mouth latched on to my nipple, I lost all control. Blackness rolled across my eyes, and I was hardly aware of my surroundings. Just as the orgasm crested and I quaked, Dodger brought his fingers in and out of my opening in fast succession. Never in the time that I’d been with him before now, had he controlled me so thoroughly. He brought me over the edge of pure gratification, and he slowly brought me back down as the tremors rocked my body.

Gently, he kissed my lips. “You okay?”

I grunted.

“Can you speak?”

“Shhh. I can’t breathe think.”

He hovered over the top of me. “What?”

Waving my very limp arm around, I tried to repeat myself, knowing that last sentence didn’t come out right.

“I can’t breathe or think.”

“Oh.” He grinned proudly.

How did I get on my back, I wondered? I didn’t remember laying back. He must’ve done it while I was in the throes of passion. I popped an eye open and looked at him. He had his chest puffed out, but I noticed his cock was still straining in his pants. Honestly after all of that, how could he deny my reciprocating what he’d done to me? No way would he be able too. Wiggling my toes, I tested the movement of my legs. Nope, not numb. Pretty sure I could roll over and get on my knees. If I just straddled him, he would never toss a pregnant girl off his lap. Yes, this was the plan, and it would work.

“Are you plotting over there?” he asked.

I sat up, and swung my leg over his. “Nope. Not at all.”

His hands gripped my hips, holding them in place, as I purposefully rubbed myself against his length. I probably shouldn’t have because I was still sensitive.

“You are persistent.”

I raised a brow. “Would you expect anything less?”

“With you? No.”

I gave one head nod and began unzipping his pants. Shockingly he didn’t fight me. I was just about to pull his trapped cock from his briefs when his cell phone rang. I paused, then tried to continue.

“Wait, wait, wait. Not good timing, but I need to see who it is.”

“They can leave a message.”

“Not if it’s the patient I had just before I left. I told him he could call me if it was an emergency.”

I sighed. Weren’t there doctors for this kind of thing? What sort of physical therapy emergencies could there possibly be? A cramped hip? I climbed off him and watched as he dug it out of his pocket. He made a face at whatever was on his screen. I was busy pulling my underwear back up and putting the straps of my cami back on when he answered.

“Hello?”

I couldn’t hear who was on the other end, but I could hear it was a female. I continued to get dressed as I listened on.

“Why did you still go? I told you what would happen.” He closed his lips while the other person spoke. “Okay, that’s understandable, but I don’t know why you did it after everything you said today.”

This conversation was sparking my interest, despite the timer going off in the kitchen. Fuck the lasagna. I wanted to know who in the hell Dodger was talking to.

“Well, nothing is going to get done tonight. The best thing you can do is to stay home, and let him cool off. Maybe you both can be more reasonable tomorrow morning.”

Dodger looked at me, as I leaned my hip against our dresser. I turned my head slightly, letting him know I was curious what was going on. He shook his head no, but something seemed off. Whoever he was talking to, he didn’t want to deal with it, nor did he want to talk to me about it.

“Listen, I’ll talk to you later. Now is not the best time. Yeah, something like that. Mhmm, bye.”

When he ended the call, he knew I was waiting for him to speak. Why wouldn’t he look at me?

“Who was that?”

He kept his eyes down. “Dana.”

Every person I’ve ever come across has that one thing that could set them off. That one thing that makes you go from zero to one hundred really quick. We all had a hot button that made us see red. Dana contacting my boyfriend, again during his off hours, was mine. Had the light been on, Dodger would have taken notice that my face was likely getting red.

“What? I’m sorry did I hear you correctly?”

Dodger stood up from the bed and walked toward me. I raised my hand, telling him to stop in his tracks.

“Mace, come on. I didn’t know she would call.”

“So why is she?” I crossed my arms, feeling suddenly cold.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “She was telling me that her and her boyfriend had gotten into a pretty bad fight.”

I blinked. “Uh, okay. Two things: first, I had no clue the Hoe Bag had a boyfriend. Not sure who would want to hit that, but okay. Second, why would she feel that it’s okay to contact my boyfriend when apparently she has her own?”

“I think they’ve been having problems. She talked to me about it earlier today, and I gave her some advice. Guess she went against my advice and did what she wanted anyway, and it backfired.”

I guess I’ve went and gone stupid. This still wasn’t making sense. Or maybe it was and I couldn’t see past my own anger.

“Again, why is she calling you this late? And why does she think you even care?”

Dodger attempted to come forward and embrace me. Sorry Charlie, but the name Dana was a mood spoiler. Looks like he’d be rubbing out one on his own, ‘cause I certainly wasn’t going to. He was getting frustrated.

“Macie, I don’t know why she does half the things she does. But I’ll remind her tomorrow that she isn’t to call my cell phone unless it’s during office hours and I’m out.”

“Not good enough.”

“What do you mean, that’s not good enough? What more do you possibly want me to do?”

“Fire her.”

He flung his arms up in the arm and slapped them on his legs when they came down. “Jesus Christ, we’ve been over this. Her calling me isn’t grounds to be terminated. As much as I know you want her gone, it just isn’t. I will reprimand her tomorrow, and be explicitly clear when contact is appropriate. And if she does this again, I will consider talking to Camden about finding a replacement.”

“I can’t even believe we are having to have this argument in the first place. You do realize she that she made up a little spat with her imaginary boyfriend just to get your attention and to try and get you out of the house and running to her. Mark my words. There’s no boyfriend, Dodger. You really can’t be that dense.”

“And you can’t really have that much hate for someone that you think everything that comes out of their mouths is a lie.”

“Well, if it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck . . . it’s probably named Dana, and it’s a lie.”

He faked a laugh. “This jealousy is a bit much, don’t you think? I mean, I’m here, Macie. I’m living with you. I chose you a long fucking time ago. I’m not going anywhere. It could be Christy fucking Brinkley standing naked in front of me right now, and I wouldn’t care. When will that sink into your head?”

I knew he was right, but women were women. Dana was playing hardball, and she had her eye on her target. That was Dodger. Even if it cost her job, she wanted to take him away from me. I had no idea if that ultimate goal was because she didn’t want me to have him, or because she actually cared for him. And he was oblivious to it all.

“I know all of that, and yes, it matters to me. But you don’t get the games that women play to get what they want.”

“I seem to know your games.”

I barked out a laugh. “You haven’t got the slightest clue what I’m capable of.”

“Are you trying to scare me?”

“No, I’m trying to get you to wake up.”

He was exasperated. “The guy has been abusing her, okay? She was trying to leave him and she asked me for advice. I gave it to her. She got scared.”

I’d fucking scare her. Who needed a phony abusive boyfriend, when I would gladly do it. She wouldn’t even have to wine and dine me first.

“She hasn’t had a single bruise or black eye on her.”

“Dana said he hits where people can’t see and she can cover it up.”

“Riiiight. Either the man is a genius, or she is.”

“Okay enough, Macie. I get it. You don’t believe her. I let her confide in me and maybe that was too much for me to do. I’ll speak to her tomorrow. There will be no more phone calls.”

I couldn’t even discuss this further. He was like Stevie Wonder walking into a trap, and I could only sit back and watch and hope like hell his instincts would kick in to make this girl go. For the third time he walked up to me and I simply didn’t have the energy to ask him not to.

He rubbed my arms. “Did I hear the oven go off?”

“Yeah.” I was looking down.

“Come eat, babe. I’ll make your plate, and we can watch a movie or something on TV.”

I stepped to the side and moved to the door. “I think I’m going to take a bath.”

His hopeful expression dropped. “Macie . . . I know you’re hungry.”

I shook my head, needing to be by myself. “Actually, you know nothing.”

I turned and walked to the bathroom, shutting the door, and closing him out. Unbelievable. This was not how I saw my night going. I didn’t know what I was going to do if Dana pulled that again. If she was capable of lying about something like that, she could take it so much further than I had expected her to. Dodger wanted me to put faith in us and our relationship, but I don’t think I could, if it meant him trying to save a girl from a burning building that she lit the match to.