Page 64 of Blissful Devotion

But I can’t, and I don’t want to, not when he’s all but begging me.

Instead, I do the same thing I did the first night we met: I trust him.

“Okay.”

His smile is blinding as he pulls me off the counter and gently sets my feet back on the ground. He’s gone in a flash, across the room, flicking on the shower before he dashes back, and I can’t stop the smile that pulls at my lips, not that I want to.

He reaches for the large sleep shirt I’m in, only to pause, pulling back slightly; his gaze flicks down to meet mine.

“May I?”

I don’t know how to explain it: the look on his face, so open and accepting. I know that if I told him I wanted to be alone, he would leave without another word.

He isn’t Lorenzo; there’s no danger, no expectation or need to earn my keep.

Alex is here with me, for me.

Alex loves me, a fact that I’ve never questioned or second-guessed.

“Please.”

His hands are gentle, movements slow as he pulls my shirt off, letting it fall to the floor forgotten before he drops to the ground on his knees before me. I suck in a sharp breath at the sound of his knees hitting the hard marble floor, but he doesn’t seem to notice, his eyes fixed on my stomach as if it’s the most amazing thing he’s ever seen.

Again, his eyes flick up to meet mine, and I’m not sure what he’s looking for, permission or something else. He must find it because his hands come up to rest on either side of my stomach before he leans in and presses the gentlest kiss to my bare stomach, and yup, I’m crying, again.

“Sorry,” I sniffle, wiping at my face.

“Don’t be sorry,” he says, flicking his gaze up to me for a moment before he turns his attention back to my stomach. “Daddy loves you and your mama more than anything else in the whole world.”

Well, if I’d had any hope of stopping my tears, it just went out the window.

Alex pulls back, and this time when he looks up at me, he has eyes just for me. They roam up my bare stomach to my bare chest. I’ve never slept in a bra; it’s so uncomfortable, and that’s only more true now that my boobs have grown nearly two sizes.

He seems to appreciate them, though.

“Pregnancy looks great on you, Kat. You’re fucking glowing, and I just know you’ll be the best mother. You already are for Addison.”

My heart squeezes at the mention of Addison, and I want to ask where she is, demand to see her, and know she’s okay, but I don’t. I know she’s okay; they would have made sure of it. For now, I need a moment, this moment with this man, a reminder of the life I refused to give up on that was nearly stolen from me.

Alex’s warm lips pull me from my spiral as he presses another kiss to my hand, and I startle; I hadn’t even seen him stand.

“Shh, it’s okay, love. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere,” he whispers against my skin, the drag of his lips up my arm making goosebumps rise on my skin as I let his words sink in.

He kisses his way up my arm, pressing a kiss to my shoulder before he pulls down my pajama pants, leaving me standing naked before him.

I have to fight the urge to hide. I feel dirty from my time with Lorenzo, ugly from the state of my body, even if it is for the good of our child. I can't stop the little voice in the back of my head that worries he won’t look at me the same.

“Stop that.” His fingers close around my chin, forcing my head up so that our gazes meet in the mirror across from us. “Whatever you're thinking right now, stop it. You are my everything, Cherry, have been since the moment I saw you in the bar. I just didn’t know it then.”

His face is serious, eyes hard in a way that’s so not like him that I know he’s serious, and I do my best to push all the bad thoughts away—well, all but one.

“Give me one second.” I turn to look up at him, and he releases me, though he looks skeptical.

I move to the sink and grab my toothbrush, making quick work of my teeth, and this time, when he catches my gaze in the mirror, his lips pull up in a smile. He moves to stand behind me, palming my breasts and kissing my neck, making it hard to focus on anything that isn’t him.

“They're clean enough,” he tells me, stealing my toothbrush. He rinses it off and drops it back in the holder as I scowl at him.

He ignores me.