Having Nathan's Baby Read Online Free PDF Page B

and I frowned in an effort to keep my emotions under wraps. These hormones ... and I was so tired. I stopped searching, deciding I needed to lie down.
    “Let’s just go to bed.”
    I glanced at him over my shoulder. It was as if he’d read my mind. He was leaning back against the counter, his arms folded across his front. The frown was heavier but the accusation in his eyes was gone. He gave no visual indication of being particularly receptive to my mood.
    “We can talk a bout all of this in the morning,” he said, and he exhaled slowly, rubbing his face. “Come on. It’s after one. Let’s go upstairs.”
    I took his cue, leading the way towards the hallway and stairs. It would have eased the tension if I’d spoken, but I felt too emotional to say a word, too out of control. I hated it.
    “I’ll get the bags.” He skirted around me before I could finish leaning down to retrieve mine. “Go on up. Third door to the right. I’m going to check that everything’s locked up.”
    Tiredness was trying to pull me under. I murmured a quick sound of thanks and then took the stairs, holding on to the banister with each step. I felt as though I were moving through molasses as I progressed down the long, dark hallway. My only guide was the moonlight against the carved wooden doors. When I came to the third, a set of double doors, I pushed them open. The sound of lush carpet brushing against the wood was soothing.
    Inside t here was a large, white bed. There was also a loveseat, a television on the wall, and some pieces of dressing furniture that my tired eyes skirted across. Then I focused on the bed. The moonlight cast impressions across the soft and inviting covers. I unzipped my jeans and my jacket one after the other, tossing them on to the loveseat. I’d shower in the morning. Right now I needed to sleep so badly I thought I might pass out. I couldn’t even wait for Nathan to come up with my bag. I pulled my jumper and t-shirt across my head, and then walked to the bed in my underwear. Pulling back the covers, I slid inside the cool, crisp sheets with a groan.
    Today had been far too long. I’d be able to deal with it all tomorrow. Right at this moment I was looking forward to a badly needed lie-in. My head spun as I closed my eyes, and I had the sensation that I might slip into unconsciousness immediately. Breathing carefully, I listened to the silence, feeling very at peace.
    The muffled sound of feet at the doorway entered my consciousness some time later. Too tired to open my eyes, I guessed it was Nathan dropping off my bag. When I heard him approach the bed, my eyes fluttered open of their own accord. He was taking off his jumper, his t-shirt riding up across his flat stomach. I watched in silent appreciation for a moment, my mind blank.
    When his face emerged again, he was smiling at me. “Still awake?”
    “Just about,” I said groggily. I smiled weakly back. “I’m so tired…”
    “I bet.” He took off the t-shirt, giving me a very pleasurable view of his torso. Despite everything, I wanted him to come over and hold me. It tore through me like a forest fire, the yearning.
    He padded back over to the doorway and I closed my eyes again. The fire subsided almost as quickly as it had flashed. Seconds went by and I was aware of a light in the bathroom before the door was pushed ajar. I heard him brushing his teeth. I hadn’t gone to bed without brushing my teeth in twenty years. How could I have forgotten? I thought about dragging myself up but the weight of exhaustion rendered me motionless.
    The light clicked off some time later as I hovered dangerously around the abyss of sleep. I heard him padding towards the bed. A spark of hope flickered; would he caress me before he left, even kiss me? Disappointment filled me as his movements passed again. I shut my eyes more tightly, frowning, and prepared for the silence to return. It wasn’t until I heard the covers moving and the bed shift that I realized he