Awakened (Intimate Relations) by Kate Douglas

slowly out of Mandy. Her muscles still rippled around him, but something did feel different. He wasn’t sure what, but … “Crap. The condom broke.”
    Mandy started laughing. She lay on the bed, laughing until tears ran down her cheeks. When she finally got it together, after Marc had disposed of the rather messy condom, he crawled back into bed beside her and, propped up on one elbow, stared at her until she took a deep breath, blinked, and then smiled at him. “For what it’s worth, this isn’t the right time of the month for me to get pregnant. It’s okay, Marc.”
    “Why the hysterical laughter, then?” He brushed her tangled hair back from her face and kissed her.
    “Because I think this has probably been the very best and very worst day of my life. The broken condom was sort of the candle on the cake.”
    He nodded. “Yeah, one of those trick candles you can’t blow out?”
    She smiled. “Exactly. I’ll stop by the pharmacy tomorrow. There’s stuff I can take that…”
    “If you think the risk is low, I’d rather you didn’t. I’m a wuss, but there must be side effects with stuff like that. I don’t want you to take anything to make you feel bad.”
    “The risk I’ll get pregnant really is pretty low,” she said. Then she kissed him, just a short, sharp reminder of her taste. “So, unless you have mega powerful little marathon swimmers that can hold their breath for days and days, I think we’re okay.”
    He pulled her close for a long, very satisfying kiss. Satisfying for him, definitely. From the look on Mandy’s face, okay with her, too. He rested his forehead against hers. “We can talk about it in the morning, okay? For what it’s worth, if by chance you do end up pregnant, I will be here for you and whatever little whatsit we end up with. I promise. You okay with that?”
    “Definitely okay. G’night, Marc. And don’t worry. I feel very safe with you. I always have.”
    He awoke once during the night, momentarily disoriented when he realized he wasn’t in his own bed. Then Mandy moved in her sleep. He identified the slight weight of her snuggled close to his chest. She rubbed her face against him, sighed, and settled back into sleep. He lay there a moment, going over the night they’d had, the things he’d discovered about Mandy.
    About himself.
    He had definitely fallen hard over the past weeks. Fallen hard and figured it was just something he’d have to deal with, because he couldn’t risk Mandy’s safety. But lying here with her cheek resting on his chest and her fingers curled against his belly, he realized that holding her like this, having her close to him, his body sated from their lovemaking, was the closest thing to perfection he could imagine.
    She was willing to fight for him. The least he could do was fight just as hard.
    *   *   *
    He heard the front door, whispered voices, recognized the soft sound of his best friend’s familiar voice. What the hell were Jake and Kaz doing here? He’d thought they were headed to Italy early this morning for a photo shoot—at least that’s what Jake told him when they’d talked yesterday.
    Careful not to disturb Mandy, Marc slipped out of bed, grabbed his pants off the floor and headed out to the kitchen. He glanced at the clock—it was well after nine. He never slept this late, but then he’d never had a night like last night.
    Intense didn’t even come close. Intense and satisfying on so many levels.
    He heard them in the kitchen. Kaz had lived here for a couple of years before she and Jake hooked up, and now, because of Kaz’s hectic modeling schedule, Mandy and her sister were deep into plans for Kaz and Jake’s August wedding. He hoped there weren’t any problems with the Italy trip—Kaz was calling it her pre-honeymoon—because they should already be in the air.
    “Good morning. I thought you two would be on your way by now.”
    “Hey, Marc.” Jake laughed. “The place is so quiet, I wondered if