Stranded but not Alone (Midnight Moanings Collection) by Cora Blu Read Free Book Online Page A

from her stomach to her face.
    “You’re pregnant, Sim?”
    The pit of her stomach flipped as the word formed in her mind, leaving a stain on her heart that would be a part of her forever. “Miscarried.” She sighed.
    “The father?” His voice was a bark of anger, unreleased anger from deep inside him.
    “The father wanted nothing to do with his baby. Oh, he offered to take care of his financial responsibilities, but he just couldn’t handle being a father.”
    “You went through that alone?”
    “No, my family saw me through most of it,” she said, her voice just above a whisper. “My girlfriend, Kim, and my mother suggested this trip. They said the fresh air would reinvigorate me.”
    “This guy—he offered money and left you with the responsibility of raising his kid?”
    “Shocked me too,” she confessed. “He did call me before I left the states.”
    “For what—?” his tone surly.
    “Don’t worry. He’s a part of my past. However, his company needed a freelance photographer for a customer… a cruise ship line.”
    “You’ll work with him after what he did?”
    “I turned it down. They asked me to take a few weeks to think about the offer. They claimed I would be working with their chef. I’ll be honest with you. I’m freelance and that kind of exposure could do wonders for my career. Even though Ronald wasn’t the right man for me, when it comes to business, he’s  the best,” she said and caught the tightness in Seth’s jaw that rested on the top of her head. “I’ve accepted that he wanted the single Simone, not the Simone that’s ready to start a family. Walking around cursing him out all day only drains me and will make it harder to accept true love when it comes my way.” She peered up at Seth’s whiskered chin. “You okay?”
    “Your reaction to sharing a bed makes sense now.”
    “Sharing the bed wasn’t the issue, like you said, it’s a part of camping,” she said, feeling heat rise to her face, as she hated to admit what she was about to. “I have nightmares of losing my baby. I wake up crying which is not something I want to share with a stranger.”
    “I think my chest is big enough to catch a few tears, Simone,” he assured her while stroking her back. “You’re caring, intelligent, and a very pretty woman. You’ll find the right guy and have that child,” he pointed out.
    “Oh, I’m not giving up, just lying low for a minute.”
    “My chest is all yours while you do that.”
     

 
     
     
     
    Six
      
     
    The next morning Seth woke with his regular hard-on cradled against Simone’s thigh. He cracked a soft smile and rose up on his elbow to find her tucked beneath him on the sofa. A soft smile greeted him. His thigh was pressed between her legs, the heat of her core saturating his skin through his jeans.
    “It’s six-thirty, I made coffee. It’s on the stove.”
    “Mmm… so you did,” he said and made no effort to move. “Do I lie here and enjoy how good you feel or should I be a gentleman and get off you?”
    “I got cold so I added more logs to the stove, made some coffee, and then crawled back under you. You’re like a furnace.”
    Through tired eyes that were barely open into slits, he peeked at the time on her laptop.
    “What time you say it was?”
    “Six-thirty,” she repeated. “What time do you want to head out?”
    “Let me get off you so I can think straight.”
    “You’d have that erection regardless of who’s lying beside you,” she said with a smile. “But thanks for trying to make me feel attractive and for insisting we sleep together. Last night was the first time in weeks I slept without waking up with tears dried on my face.”
    He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I need the toilet. Stay under the covers until the room heats up more.” He stumbled to the bathroom. Once inside, he cursed under his breath. Simone was turning out to be a temptation he didn’t need.
    Seeing her huddled on the sofa after coming