Beautifully Forgotten (26 page)

Trace felt a swell of love for her as she took a few calming breaths before she said, “I’m ready.”

Ember tensed, her grip on his hand tightening as Dr. Cole inserted the probe.

“Okay, let’s have a look.” Dr. Cole’s voice pulled Trace’s attention to the screen. He saw it when Ember did since she squeezed his hand. The heart beating. He couldn’t exactly say what emotion moved through him seeing the heartbeat of their child, but it was damn powerful.

Dr. Lipton moved forward to study something on the screen, which made Trace ask, “Is everything okay?”

“There seems to be a membrane that divides Ember’s uterus.” Dr. Cole pointed to a small, thin white line.

“Is that a problem?” Trace felt his heart constrict.

“The baby has room to grow, but enough room, I don’t know,” he said. “Right now, we look good. The baby’s in a good position and the placenta looks fine. Let’s monitor with ultrasounds, one every two weeks. The uterus is an incredible organ and has the ability to grow substantially, so we could all be worrying for nothing.”

“And if it’s not?” Trace asked.

“Well, depending on how far along the pregnancy is, we’ll confine Ember to bed rest to get as many weeks as we can for the baby before we deliver. And if we have to deliver early, premature babies’ chances are incredible with today’s technology. But let’s not worry about that now. Like I said, it may never come to that.”

“I’ll ask the nurse to schedule another ultrasound in two weeks. Take your vitamins, eat well, do some light exercise, and let’s take it a day at a time,” Dr. Cole encouraged.

“Okay, and thank you,” Ember said.

“We’ll see you in two weeks,” Dr. Lipton said right before he and Dr. Cole left the room.

Ember moved to sit up as Trace reached for her clothes.

“Are you worried?” Ember asked as soon as the doctors left. Trace could tell that she was, her fear practically rolling off her in waves.

“Yes, but let’s try not to worry. You heard the doctors. It could all be worry for nothing.” He turned her face to his. “But promise me something.”

“Anything.”

“If it comes down to you or the baby, I want you.”

“Trace.”

“Ember, promise me.”

He knew the words were hard for her to say, but he also knew that once she gave her word, she would honor it. “I promise.”

He’d never survive losing her—no fucking way. He pushed the thought from his head and tried for levity when he said, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but let’s get you dressed. We have cake pops to buy.”

Darcy had started biting her nails. It was a terrible habit, but nerves did that to her. Two weeks after she vowed to tell Lucien about the baby, she still hadn’t. And worse, he was off on a business trip to hear a band that he was considering sponsoring. What the hell was she doing? She knew very well what she was doing; she was procrastinating because she feared she was going to lose him so soon after getting him back in her life. There was a small part of her brain that thought she was being unreasonable, but she couldn’t get herself to listen to that voice of reason. Her fingers were back in her mouth when there was a knock at her door.

She walked to the door, peering out the peephole to see Lucien standing there.

Her heart went into her throat.

She pulled the door open.

His eyes stared boldly into hers and then quite deliberately he moved his gaze down her body.

“When did you—” Her words were cut off when his mouth crushed down on hers. Every cell in her body exploded from the contact as her arms found their way around his neck, even without her conscious thought to do so. Strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her close so that their bodies were pressed tight, the softness of her body molding to the hard planes of his.

“Open your mouth for me,” he demanded against her lips, and she was mindless to do anything but what he asked. As soon as she did, his tongue swept every inch of her mouth. He lifted her and pressed her up against the wall of her apartment, closing her door. She pulled her hands through his hair and wrapped her legs around his waist.

He wanted her, he wanted her naked underneath him. His need was so powerful he almost gave in to it, but they needed to take things slowly this time. With more will than he knew he possessed, he pulled his mouth away. She lowered her head to his shoulder, her breathing unsteady. Her heart pounded against his.

She lifted her head and her brilliant blue eyes were shining with love and desire, something Lucien hadn’t seen in a really long time. His instinct was to hold her closer. A small smile played around her mouth, and the sight of it had him answering with a grin.

“I’ve missed you,” she said.

“Understatement.” And then he took her to the bedroom. When he reached her bed, he dropped her onto it.

“Lucien.” He stopped in midmotion for the blanket and kissed her long and hard. He liked that it took her a few minutes to open her eyes after. He covered her with the blanket just as she asked, “What are you doing?”

He rubbed the back of his neck and looked thoughtful for a minute. “Taking things slowly.” He wanted to be naked and in bed with her, but it was best to be more cautious this time around. And then he said, “I know your feelings for me are keeping you up at night, but you need sleep; you’ve got dark circles under your eyes.”

“Presumptuous.”

“But right.”

“Arrogant.”

“Still right.”

“Cocky bastard.”

He pressed his lips to hers. “And right.” He turned serious and brushed her hair from her face. “I don’t want to fuck this up again. I know we had help fucking it up, but we played a part in it too.”

“I agree, but why did you come tonight if you’re leaving already?”

“I got off the plane and found myself at your door.”

“Good answer.”

He kissed her again before he stood. “See you in the morning.”

He turned, but then her soft voice came from behind him. “Sleep here.”

He turned back. “No, we won’t sleep.”

She looked almost nervous when she said, “I have to tell you something.”

Apprehension filled him. “It sounds important.”

“It is.”

“Can we talk tomorrow? I’m exhausted.”

She worked her lower lip for a minute. “Okay.”

He started from the room again, feeling tense. He knew she was tense too when she sought to ease it through teasing. He was happy to play along.

“You aren’t going to forget my name, are you?” she said.

“No, Gwen.”

“Get out.”

“Leaving, Nancy.”

She threw her pillow at him, which he dodged easily, and started from the room. “Sleep well, Bertha.”

He closed the door to her room on the sound of her laughter.

Darcy woke in the morning and smelled coffee, so she padded down the hall to see Lucien sitting in her kitchen reading a paper. The memory of last night in all of its glory came rushing back to her and then that wonderful voice greeted her from across the room.

“Morning.”

“You’re here again.”

He folded the paper and placed it on the table before he stood and walked over to her. He pulled her close.

“I never left. Struggled for over an hour with myself knowing you were in there and I could be too. I fell asleep on your sofa. I couldn’t seem to get myself to leave.” He kissed her and she felt his lips turning into a smile before he said, “I made you coffee.”

She didn’t want the coffee; she wanted to strip him out of his clothes and drink him down. His arms tightened around her as if he could read her mind.

“You wanted to talk.”

“Yes, but I don’t want to have that conversation at this particular moment.”

Curiosity flashed in his eyes but he seemed to move past it and asked, “There’s a party at Trace’s tomorrow night. Will you come with me?”

“Yes.”

He touched her hair, rubbing a few strands between his fingers, before he lifted his eyes to her. “I want to make love to you, Darcy, but first, I want to get to know you again.”

“Okay.”

“No arguments? That doesn’t seem possible.”

“When you make sense, I have no need to argue with you.” Her teasing turned serious before she added, “I never thought we’d be here again, so I’ll take you any way I can have you.”

His eyes darkened. “Fuck waiting.”

He lifted her off the floor and didn’t release her when they reached her room, but let her slide down against him, pressing her tightly to him just before his mouth covered hers. Her hands moved around his back to learn the body of the man he had become. She slipped under his shirt to touch his warm skin, hard with muscle. His hands moved to frame her face as he deepened the kiss, his tongue exploring every part of her mouth before he sucked her tongue into his. He moved to her shoulders, pushing the loose shirt down her arms, pinning them to her side. His mouth pulled from her and he looked dangerous as his eyes moved down her body to her breasts.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered before he closed his mouth over her nipple, sucking one of those peaks deep into his mouth. Lust shot straight between her legs. He moved to the other breast and the need to touch him was raw, but she couldn’t because her arms were pinned.

“I want to touch you.”

He guided her shirt down, freeing her arms before he lowered himself in front of her and pressed kisses down her belly. When he kissed her between her legs through the silk of her panties, she almost came. He slid the silk down her legs. “Spread your legs for me.”

The memory of their first time teased her mind and she knew he remembered it too. He pressed a kiss on the inside of her knee, then up her thigh until he reached her center. He spread her with his fingers before his tongue tasted her, right on her aching nub.

“Oh God.”

He looked up at her with a grin before he said, “Lucien. Oh Lucien.”

“Tease,” she whispered.

As if to confirm that statement, he ran a finger over her moist heat, teasing her as he played with the sensitive nub before circling her, but not entering. Her hips moved against his hand, eager for penetration, but not getting it.

The words came from her throat without conscious thought. “Oh Lucien.”

He pushed a finger into her, deep and slow, before pulling out. He added another finger, sucking on her at the same time, and she came hard. His tongue moved to join his fingers to taste the evidence of her orgasm. He kissed his way up her body before settling his mouth over hers.

“I never forgot your taste.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, tasting herself on his tongue. His arms wrapped around her before he lowered them both onto the bed. He settled between her legs and rubbed against her through his clothes.

“You’re wearing too many clothes.”

He smiled against her lips. “Agreed.”

He moved with a grace that was mouthwatering. She greedily watched him lift his shirt up over his head. His chest was spectacular, tanned and ripped with muscle, his stomach was flat, and his eight-pack was so defined it looked airbrushed. And then her eyes saw the tattoo under his right arm. One word looking lonely, even a bit lost, which she was sure was the point: “Forgotten.”

“Darcy?”

She moved to kneel in front of him and lifted his arm to trace the cursive lines of his tattoo. When her eyes found his again, there were tears in hers because he believed himself forgotten.

“Why are you crying?”

“You were never forgotten, Lucien. I thought of you every fucking day.”

Her confession left Lucien speechless. There were no words that could do justice to what he was feeling, so he showed her. He moved between her legs and when he entered her, he did so slowly and watched her face as he claimed her inch by inch. When he was fully inside her, he moaned and then started to move. Her legs came around him, demanding that he go deeper. He felt her tighten around him and he shifted so that with each thrust he was hitting the part of her that would send her over. And when she did come, he lifted her hips and pulled her against him before he really started moving. He was losing himself in being inside her again, but when he came, he didn’t roar her name, but whispered it almost reverently.