Waking up with Lena’s sweet curves pressed against my body was the best damn way to greet another day. I couldn’t help but smile as last night, and later last night, and early this morning, replayed in my mind. She was a wildcat, bursting with hellfire as I made sweet love to her, fucked her to within an inch of her life, and made her scream my name. It had all been a fucking revelation, one I couldn’t have conjured up in my wildest dreams.

After I admitted to her how I felt about Lena, everything had felt different. The sex, for starters, had been totally different. Crazy intense and hot as fuck. She’d been eager and her enthusiasm had fired my own, so much so that now I wondered if I’d been as gentle as a pregnant woman deserved. Pregnant. That word resonated with me, deep and penetrating. Pregnant. Lena was having my baby. I leaned over and pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder, loving the way she moaned even in sleep.

Even if she hadn’t said the words back, the way she moved against me and the way she touched me told me the truth. She hadn’t said the words yet, but I knew she would. The way she looked at me, like she wanted to devour me, told me that as much as she claimed her feelings for me were a thing of the past, she still felt something.

I knew it.

She moaned again as my lips brushed the curve of her neck. “You didn’t get enough last night,” she purred.

One hand shot to her breast and the other to her now, slightly rounded belly. “Never, or didn’t I make that clear last night?”

Her soft, husky chuckle hit me low in the belly, and as she turned and gave me a glimpse of heavy, rounded breasts and stiff, pink nipples, my cock sprang to life. “Oh I got it, I was just making sure.” Her lush mouth curved into a sultry smile as she slowly pressed her lips to mine, kissing me like she meant it.

When she pulled back I looked at her. Really looked at her. “I meant it. I love you, Lena.”

She sighed and leaned back. “I believe that you believe that, Rex. But as much as I want to believe that you really love me, I can’t help but notice it came after you found out about the baby.” She pushed out of my arms and out of bed, distracting me with miles of smooth, creamy skin and lush curves. My eyes were drawn to the dip of her hips, the patch of golden hair shadowed between her pale thighs.

“Yeah I get that, Lena. Did it occur to you that maybe the fact that you’re pregnant forced me to honestly confront my feelings for you?” Of course she hadn’t because I’d given her no reason to believe that I had any feelings for her beyond annoyance. And lust.

“No,” she said, seeming deflated by that answer. “It didn’t. Sorry.” She stood there, nervous and uncomfortable, fidgeting with her hands. “It’s all really hard for me to believe, Rex.” Another sigh escaped and I could see how conflicted she felt.

I smiled. “I know, and I’m happy to prove it to you. All I need is a chance. And time.” I knew that with those two things, I could win her over.

“How are you so sure? Just a couple months ago, you were very adamant that a baby was the last thing you needed, and I was the last person you wanted.”

My gut clenched at her reminder. The worst part was, there was no blame or resentment in her voice, just acceptance as she repeated the facts as she saw them. “So there are still traces of the asshole I can be, deep inside,” I told her and patted my chest with a balled up fist. “But I’ve thought about it, believe me I have, and I’m sure. You and me and the baby. A family.”

She shook her head, another excuse already prepared. “It doesn’t matter, Rex.”

“It damn well does,” I told her and jumped out of the bed, closing the gap between us until the heat from our bodies bounced back and forth. My cock stirred but I had to tamp that shit down. I was losing Lena, dammit.

“Actually,” she began and took a big step back, “it doesn’t. Your life and your work is in that cabin up on Shadow Mountain and mine isn’t even in Cody.” She sucked in a long breath and let it out slowly, sadness swimming in those green depths. “I have to support this baby, Rex, which means I need to work.”

“But I’m right here. I want to be there, for everything. I want to help with the baby, help you through this pregnancy. Like partners.” Why didn’t she understand? I was offering her an easier way and she didn’t want it.

“That all sounds great, Rex. For you. But I don’t want to spend my life on that mountain and I don’t want to work for someone else until I die. My life in Cody is temporary. Period.” She looked at the nightstand when her phone chirped and vibrated, and let out a frustrated groan. “Look, I have to get to work. We can talk about this later if you want, but I don’t really see a point.” With a sad look filled with longing, she slipped into the bathroom for a quick shower, leaving me staring at the door. Like a fool.

I couldn’t believe it. I offered her everything, and like always, it wasn’t enough. Still I waited for her to finish in the bathroom, getting dressed and putting on coffee for me and tea for her. Because despite what Lena thought, I was a good fucking guy. “I made you tea and toast,” I told her when she rushed in, mostly dressed with wet hair.

She froze and looked up at me like she didn’t recognize me. “Thank you.”

“I told you, I’m here.”

She stared up at me and grinned. “I know, Rex and I appreciate it. But you have to admit that our lives are not heading down the same path.”

I could admit that, but I refused. It felt like a trick. “But we could. Just tell me one thing, Lena.”

She shoved a slice of toast in her mouth, chewing quickly as she nodded. “What?”

“Do you love me?”

She stopped chewing and those big green eyes slammed into mine as she began to chew again. I waited, with my fucking heart in my throat, for her to finish that damn dry toast. “Does that really matter?”

“Lena it’s the only damn thing that matters. Do you love me?”

Finally, she swallowed the last of the toast and washed it down with the ginger tea before she looked at me again. And then she dropped her head and my heart sank. “Yes, I do love you, Rex. Does that make you feel better when it can’t come to anything?” she shook her head, took another big gulp of the tea and turned on her heels.

But a slow smile formed on my mouth because, fuck yeah, it made me feel better. A hell of a lot better.

That’s all I needed to know.

Now, the gloves would come off.