“I’d never hurt you on purpose.” He withdrew from her and leaned over to kiss the small baby bump. “Or our babies.”

Aching for him, Laura combed her fingers through his shaggy blond hair. “I heard something about pulling out all the stops to prepare me?” Despite the ache, she kept her tone lighthearted, hoping it would have the desired effect on him.

“I might’ve mentioned something about that.” He never touched her with anything other than supreme tenderness, but tonight he took the tenderness to a whole new level, perhaps trying to compensate for his fear of losing control. Settling between her legs, which were propped on his broad shoulders, he opened her to his tongue.

Laura arched into the heat of his mouth, grasping handfuls of the sheet to anchor her to the bed. Encouraged by her moans of pleasure, he slid a finger into her as he sucked on her clit. The combination detonated her release, forcing her to muffle her cries with her hands so she wouldn’t wake the baby. As she came down from the incredible high, he moved over her but kept her legs propped open on his thighs.

“I think you might be more ready now,” he said, testing his theory with his fingers.

“I think you might be right,” she said between deep breaths.

“Let’s see, shall we?”

Laura reached for him, bringing him in for a kiss as he pressed his cock into her, his entry stretching and burning despite the preparation.

“So hot and so tight,” he whispered against her lips as he moved her legs from his thighs to wrap them around his hips. “It’s all I can do to hold on until you let me in. Every damned time.”

“I’m sorry it takes so long.”

“I’m not. It feels better than anything ever has.”

“For me, too.”

“I don’t know if I believe that. I get an awful lot of complaints.”

His teasing was a huge relief to her. Underneath all the worry and heartache he was dealing with, her Owen was still in there and hopefully still would be after the showdown with his father.

“They’re not complaints, per se, but rather commentary on the fact that you did, in fact, get more than your share.”

His laughter went a long way toward easing the knot she’d carried in her belly all day as she worried about the trial causing a rift between them. She couldn’t let that happen. No matter how difficult it got, she had to be the one to keep them on an even keel. He deserved nothing less after all he’d given her.