He kissed and touched and cajoled until he was fully embedded in her, which caused them both to tremble and cling to each other. Owen was always careful not to put too much weight on her abdomen, and tonight was no exception. He took her on an exquisitely erotic journey without causing her a moment of pain or uncertainty over how much he loved her.

He told her so every time he looked at her or touched her or spoke to her. As he made slow, sweet love to her, his gentle strokes igniting her all over again, Laura wished she could make him see that there wasn’t one bit of his father in the man he’d grown up to be.

“Owen.”

“What?”

“I love you so much. I love you more than I’ll ever love anyone.”

“You’re allowed to love our babies more than you love me.”

She shook her head. “I love them as much as I love you. Not more.”

His forehead landed on hers. His hands curled around her shoulders as he pressed deeper into her.

Laura tightened her legs around him and lifted her hips to meet him stroke for stroke until they both cried out from the incredible pleasure that overtook them. Still buried deep inside her, he moved to his side, taking her with him. He pulled her leg up and over his hip as he continued to throb and pulse with aftershocks.

Touching her lips to his chest, Laura closed her eyes and breathed in the familiar scent of him. “If you really don’t want me to go with you, I’ll stay home. If that’s what you need, I’ll do it.”

“I was down on the beach before, thinking about how badly I want to spare you the trip, the trial, all of it. If I had my way, you’d never lay eyes on Mark Lawry. But since I made my stand about you not going, I’ve begun to worry that I won’t be able to handle it if you aren’t there. And that makes me the most selfish bastard on earth, because I know you’d be so much better off if you stayed home.”

“You’re not selfish, Owen. You’re the opposite of selfish. If you asked me your biggest flaw, I’d say that you think of everyone else before yourself. And that goes right back to your father and the way you were raised and how you looked out for everyone at your own expense. You’re still doing it, and all I’m trying to tell you is you don’t have to anymore.”

He tightened his arms around her and kissed her. “Keep reminding me, okay? It might take me a while to get the message.”

“We’ve got the rest of our lives to work on it.”