Everything was all right again. I couldn’t believe it. For the past week, everything had seemed horrible, and I was sure it had been the end of whatever there could have been between Nick and me. And now? He wanted me in his life. He was asking me to stay. I wanted to stay with him. For the first time, I truly understood why Carly had wanted to stay in Miami. I had told her before that I understood because I would always support her as my friend, but now I knew exactly how she felt.

Nick kissed me again and every thought slipped out of my mind until it was filled with only him and who he was to me. Nick may have treated me badly, but he’d been amazing in so many ways, and he had apologized and changed it. Finding the perfect guy didn’t mean finding someone who never made a mistake. That was impossible. It meant finding a guy who would fix it when there was a mistake, a guy who would fight for me, not with me.

And right now, Nick looked a lot like the perfect guy to me.

He pushed me up against the wall, pinning me with his body, and I melted. I loved it when he dominated me like this, taking charge. He was in control, but he did it with respect, and I never felt like I couldn’t ask him to stop. Control like that was so attractive.

Nick’s hand was on my jaw, the other massaging my breast, and he ground his hard cock against my crotch. I moaned when he moved his lips to my neck and nibbled the skin, giving me goosebumps.

His hand slid down to my hip, and he stroked me with his thumb. With his hand so close to my stomach, I suddenly remembered about the baby, and I ran cold. I was pregnant, and Nick didn’t know. Was I going to lose him again if I told him this? I was almost scared to find out.

But if my identity had been the wrong secret to keep before, a baby was that much worse. I wouldn’t have been able to hide it forever.

“Nick,” I said.

“Hmm?” Nick mumbled, nibbling my earlobe, and it was hard to concentrate. But I couldn’t let him distract me.

“Stop,” I said with a giggle.

Nick lifted his head, his eyes glazed, and I could see the hunger on his face. God, it got me when he looked at me like that. Every. Time.

“I need to talk to you,” I said, pushing through. I had to do this.

“We can talk afterward,” he said and came in for another kiss, but I pressed my fingers lightly against his lips and shook my head.

Nick frowned. “Is everything okay?” he asked.

I took a deep breath. “Will you promise not to get upset when I tell you? Because last time, it didn’t end very well.”

Nick took my hands and led me to the bed. We sat down together.

“I messed up once. I nearly lost you and learned my lesson. I won’t do that to you ever again.”

It wasn’t exactly a promise that he wouldn’t get upset, but I didn’t want to harp on it. I looked at our hands, mine still holding his, and I was so nervous, I felt sick to my stomach.

“I’m pregnant,” I said. Best to throw it right out there.

I glanced up at Nick when he didn’t respond immediately. He looked a little shocked.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

I nodded. The positive line on that pregnancy test had been too solid to be a mistake.

“I’m not sure how I could be with all the protection we used, but I’m sure.”

I pursed my lips, waiting for him to react, not knowing what to expect.

“I knew something was up,” he said. “You were so distant.”

I nodded. “After everything that already happened, I wasn’t sure what you were going to say.”

I had been terrified, if I had to be honest about it.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

Nick shook his head. “No, don’t be. This isn’t your fault. I know what it might be, actually.”

“You do?”

Nick nodded. “That first night, the condom had a small tear in it. It was in my wallet, and that’s a risk. I thought we’d be fine because you’re on the pill too.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.

“I didn’t want to ruin your first time.”

It was a fair reason. And he was right, it shouldn’t have happened anyway. But it had happened. I was pregnant.

Nick took my hands and kissed them one after the other.

“We’ll figure this out,” he said. “We’ll make it work.”

I was surprised. “You’re not upset?”

Nick shook his head. “It’s not planned, sure. But I’m a family man. And I feel more for you than you know. I want to do this with you.”

I couldn’t believe it. I had thought he would be mad. I had anticipated some kind of bad response, even if he’d said it wouldn’t be like the last time. I hadn’t dreamed he would be happy about it. I didn’t even know how I felt about it. I had panicked about how he would react so much, the whole thing had been a nightmare until a few seconds ago.

“So, now you have to stay, eh?” Nick said. “That’s good news for me.”

He winked at me, and I laughed. I hadn’t thought for a second, we would be joking and laughing as soon as I told him.

“So, you’re really okay with this?” I asked.

Nick nodded. “Really.”

I smiled, and Nick leaned in to kiss me again. He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger, and I felt delicate. He kissed me, his tongue slipping into my mouth, and I reached for his shirt, working it up his body and over his head. When he was shirtless, I ran my hands over his muscular body, feeling the individual muscle groups. He was so hot.

Nick returned the favor and pulled my shirt over my head. He traced the cups with one finger before pushing one of the straps over my shoulder. While kissing me, he pulled the cup down, exposing my breast. His fingers found my nipple, already hard, and he rolled it between his fingers and tugged it, making me gasp into his mouth. It was a direct line to my pussy, turning me on more than I already was, making me so hot for him.

I reached behind my back and unclasped the bra, pulling it off. With both breasts exposed, Nick worked his way from one nipple to the other, squeezing, tugging, licking, sucking, until I cried out. Nick guided me so I lay down on the bed and undid my pants, pulling them down my legs, taking my panties with it. He ran his hands up my legs again, and I was so glad I’d shaved them earlier.

When he reached the apex of my thighs, my legs fell open for him, my pussy exposed. Nick breathed in as if he was breathing my scent, and when he looked at me again, his eyes were drowning me.

Nick ran his fingers down my slit, and I whimpered.

“You’re so wet.”

“All for you,” I said.

He smiled and pushed two fingers into me, pumping them slowly in and out, driving me wild with desire.

After a while, he let me go, and I moaned my protest. Nick pushed up and pulled his pants down, wriggling out of them.

“I guess we don’t have to worry about protection now,” he said, and he was right. Nick crawled over me, his body towering over mine. He pressed himself against my entrance, and I held my breath in anticipation.

“Is this okay?” he asked before he pushed into me.

I nodded. “It’ll be fine.”

“How do you feel?”

I groaned in frustration.

“I’m fine, Nick. Just fuck me already.”

Nick chuckled and didn’t wait for any further instruction.

When he pushed into me, I moaned, and I realized what they’d meant when they’d said it was better without a condom. When he pushed into me, it was pure ecstasy, better than I had experienced with Nick before, and even though I had no one to compare him to, I was pretty damn sure he was fucking good in bed. Nick moved in and out of me, slowly at first, teasing me the way I’d realized he liked to do. He picked up his pace, moving faster and faster, and the friction drove me mad. He fucked me harder and harder until an orgasm bloomed at my core, and I cried out, falling apart beneath him.

Nick paused, taking a breather. He pulled out of me and sat up. I crawled around him and climbed onto him, facing his feet. I sat down on him. I had always wanted to try this position. It felt so different from this angle, and I moved around, getting comfortable with his size.

When I was ready, I started rocking back and forth, riding him reverse cowboy style, my ass on his hips. I rocked harder and harder, and Nick put his hands on my ass as I rode him. He grunted and groaned, and I moaned, pushing my hand between my legs and rubbed my clit.

I rubbed myself faster and faster as I rode him, and an orgasm shattered me at the same time Nick cried out, and I felt him pumping, releasing inside me this time instead of into a condom. I felt him pumping and spasming in a way that I hadn’t felt before, and the sensation drew out my orgasm, making it more intense.

When it was over, I lifted myself of Nick and collapsed on the bed next to him, breathing hard. He turned his head to me and smiled.

“You’re fantastic,” he said.

I loved that he told me that. I didn’t have a lot of experience when it came down to sex, and he liked it anyway.

Nick rolled onto his side, his face close to mine.

“I’m glad you’re staying,” he said.

“Me too,” I confessed. I hadn’t been sure about it before, but I knew exactly what I wanted now. Like Carly, I was willing to leave my life behind for the man I loved.

“I was thinking,” Nick carried on. “You should move in.”

I turned my head to him, surprised. “Really? Isn’t it a bit soon?”

He shrugged. “You’re going to need a place to stay, and I’m not going to live anywhere other than with you once the baby comes. So, we might as well do it now. What do you say?”

I thought about it. When I had said I would stay, I hadn’t thought any further than that I would be with Nick.

“We can convert one of the spare rooms into a nursery, and you can make this your home.”

It suddenly sounded like a great idea. I did need a place to live if I was going to stay. I didn’t want to impose on Brad and Carly again, and I was sure even if I found a place of my own, Nick and I would be together all the time anyway.

So, like he’d said, we might as well.

“All right,” I said.

Nick grinned, pleased with himself as if he had expected I might say no.

“It’s going to be amazing. We’ll make it work, and we’ll create a home together.”

I nodded and kissed him. He was right. We would make it work. We may not have planned the child, but we could build a life together. And until the baby came, I would have Nick all to myself.