I’m a bus. That’s what it feels like as I enter the apartment and set down the grocery bag. Being six months pregnant is no picnic. Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving every second of it, but it’s still hard when it feels like your center of gravity is completely different.

I sink down onto the couch and start flipping through the mail. I will always love this couch. It has a lot of memories, including when I sat here naked and unsure and then had what might still be the best sex of my life. Christian moved in here a few months ago after we eloped to Vegas. There’s a card from my mom, and I open it. It’s an invitation to the shower she’s throwing me in a few weeks, with a little note that says how excited she is.

There’s a sound behind me, and suddenly Christian is kissing my neck, hands coming down to cradle my belly as he leans over the couch. “Hello.”

“Hi,” I say, leaning into his touch. “I got the shower invitation.”

He chuckles. “That’s good. Does that mean she’s forgiven me?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think so,” he says. “I’m never going to forget the look on her face when we came back from Vegas.”

I roll my eyes even though he can’t see my face. “She loves you. Or rather she loves that we’re in love and that you make me happy. You, I’m less sure about.”

“Well, maybe she’ll come around once Clara gets here.”

“Maybe,” I say, kicking off my shoes.

He comes around and sits next to me, taking the rest of the mail and flipping through it quickly before tossing it on the coffee table. “Feet hurt?”

“Yeah,” I say. “Comes with the whole ‘being a whale’ thing.”

Christian raises an eyebrow. “You are not a whale. You are my beautiful wife, who deserves a foot rub.” He leans in to kiss me. “Do you have time for that before you disappear into your studio for the night?”

Another benefit of marrying a CEO besides the serious upgrade in apartments is that he completely supports your dreams. I’ve been studying privately with Mr. Prince ever since the workshop, and next month is my first solo art show in the gallery space downtown. I have so much work to do in the studio that used to be the library. But a foot rub sounds so good that I could cry. “Yeah, I have time for that.”

“Excellent.” Christian stands and scoops me off the couch. I squeak, always nervous when he does this, but he’s never had a problem. He carries me like I weigh nothing, and when I’m this big, it makes me feel good to be carried, cradled.

Sitting me down on the bed, Christian peels off my socks, and I glance over at the wall. Our portraits of each other, naked, hang she by side. It’s fitting, considering how they came to be, that they hang in our bedroom.

I’m pulled back to him by the fact that he’s slipping my leggings down my legs. “Those are not my socks.”

Christian grins. “They’re leg socks, and I promised you a foot rub. I didn’t promise you just a foot rub.”

“I’m not sure—” He stands, gripping the hem of my shirt and tugging it off over my head. I try to cover myself with my arms, which is just impossible. “I look like an alien.”

“You’ve said that for a week now,” Christian says, gently guiding me back onto the bed, climbing over me. “And it’s as bullshit now as the first time you said it.”

“Christian,” I say.

“Audrey,” his eyes are level with mine, and I can tell he’s absolutely serious. “You are beautiful. You are carrying our child. Don’t let the thoughts you’re having make you think that I find you any less attractive. I can’t even look at you without getting hard,” he says, “and I miss you.” His lips are on my collarbone, and I close my eyes.

We haven’t had sex in a week, maybe more, because I started feeling weird and unsexy. How could Christian possibly want to be with me like this? But the way he’s cradling my body right now, I can feel his cock pressed up against me, and he’s not lying. He’s hard, and I…I want that. “Okay.”

He groans against my skin. “Just relax, baby. I’m gonna take care of you.” Sliding back down my body, he parts my legs, and I moan because his tongue is already there, licking me through my panties and making me go liquid with need. I hadn’t realized how much I missed this. It didn’t seem like at all, and now my whole body is on fire.

Christian strips off my underwear, plunging his tongue deep inside my pussy, and fuck that feels amazing. I can’t reach his head around my belly, but if I could I would grab his hair and pull him closer, deeper. My hands grip the blanket, squeezing until my knuckles go white.

Being pregnant has changed sex a bit. My orgasms are always close to the surface, my whole body primed and ready to go. And as Christian drags his tongue up and over my clit, I come, lighting spiraling through me fast and out. Like a bucket of pleasure dumped over my body.

“Hmm,” Christian says, licking his lips. “Maybe you needed this after all.”

“Shut up,” I say, but I’m smiling.

Christian stands, and efficiently strips. I don’t know that I’ll ever get tired of that sight. It’s delicious. Toned skin, perfect abs, and a hard cock that are all mine. He lies behind me, and pulls me against him so I can feel his heat. His arms surround me, cradling my breasts and belly. “You know what I like best about this?” he asks, fitting his cock against me.

“The fucking?” I ask, breathless as he eases into me, and God, I hate how right he is. I needed this more than I thought.

He laughs, low and sensual. “Of course, but in this position I can feel you. I can feel you breathe. Every movement you make is pressed up against me and I like that.”

He can’t see that I’m blushing, and I can’t respond because he’s moving inside me, slow and steady, but gaining speed. I don’t have the breath or the words to tell him, but I love this position too. It’s comforting that he can hold me, and God he can get so deep. Being pregnant makes him feel bigger too. Everything is compressed to make room for the baby and he fills me up that much more. And with my orgasm so close, I’m already panting. “Christian.” I say.

He makes a rough sound in my ear, filled with lust, and thrusts faster. I let my head fall back against him, feeling the friction in every stroke. The next orgasm that hits me is overwhelming. I cry out, my voice echoing off the walls of the room, and with a final few thrusts he comes too. It’s been so long, I’m surprised that both of us lasted as long as we did.

Christian presses a kiss to the back of my neck. “I love you,” he says.

“I love you too.”

We stay where we are, wrapped up in each other for a while, him still inside me. Finally, he stirs. “I should let you go to work,” he says, and I feel him getting ready to pull away.

“Wait,” I grab his hands, keeping them around me. “Not yet. I just want you to hold me. Just for now.”

He laughs softly. “I can do that.”