Shotgun Groom

Folding his arms across his chest, Jack grew quiet and increasingly thoughtful over the following moments. Beth knew he was contemplating her words, and she wondered frantically what the outcome would be. Taking a deep breath, she held it and waited.

It was strange what occurred between two people when a little pressure was put on a long-standing relationship that had ages ago been taken for granted by both parties, she thought during Jack’s silence. Scary, in fact. She had a lot to gain by what she was asking of Jack, but she also had a lot to lose, too, if she wasn’t careful.

But she would be, she told herself. If he agreed to father her child, she would be very, very careful. Of that much she was certain.

“Look,” she said, swallowing the umpteenth lump in her throat, “if you don’t feel you can do this, I’ll understand. Truly I will.”

Giving a low, frustrated whistle, Jack ran his fingers through his hair. His gut was now boiling with an acid that was eating him alive. Beth was the one woman in the whole world who could turn him inside out like this.

He didn’t particularly want the job of fathering a child for her, but then he didn’t want anyone else to have it, either. Suddenly he couldn’t stand the thought of her going to bed with some guy, just so she could get herself pregnant. Uh-uh. No way. He couldn’t let something like that happen. Not to his Beth.

His real problem was, he’d never learned to refuse her anything. For better or for worse, he generally gave Beth what she wanted at some point. Why? Because it made him happy. But until today, she’d never before asked anything quite like this of him. Without question, this request was in a league all its own.

Drawing in a deep breath, Jack shook his head.

Of course, if he were going to be completely honest with himself, he was going to have to admit that the idea of sleeping with Beth wasn’t all that foreign to him. She might be his best friend, but that didn’t stop him from seeing her as a very attractive woman. He was, after all, a healthy male. Fortunately, though, he had always been able to keep his fantasies under control. Beth trusted him to be her best friend. He never, ever planned to betray that trust. Not for any reason.

Parenthood had always been her gig, not his. In fact, he didn’t want the responsibility of being anyone’s father. Not even to please Beth. So it was safe to say that if he did decide to go along with her idea—which he doubted he would—that she was right in thinking the child would be hers, not his. Of course, if he were to agree to her plan, he would always be there to lend a supporting hand when it came time for Beth to make all those tough parental decisions. He was her best friend, after all. She would need someone to lean on from time to time. And if she or the kid ever needed anything—anything at all—all they would have to do was ask.

Tossing Beth an anxious glance, he said, “Have you even thought of what will happen to us if I should decide to help you?”

Beth’s heart began to pound. “What do you mean?”

“Us. You and me. We’ve been close friends a long time. How is that relationship going to be affected?”

She frowned. “Why should it be affected at all?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. It just seems to me that it would be.”

Beth gave him a smug look. “Well, it won’t. The way I have it planned, we won’t be married long enough for it to affect anything. I figure I’ll be pregnant in two months, tops.”

“Oh, really,” he replied incredulously.

She could feel the adrenaline flowing through her veins as she sensed the rhythm of the moment changing in her favor. It made her feel flushed...excited. “I’m in good health. You’re in good health. I feel quite certain that you’ll have me pregnant in no time at all.”

Stepping back in astonishment, Jack gave her a starded, though cocky grin. “Is that a fact?”

Beth beamed with renewed confidence. “That’s right. Two months tops. I ought to be pregnant by then.”

And what makes you so sure?”

She shrugged. “Just a feeling I have.”

Jack searched her eyes for a long moment. “You’ve got this all figured out, haven’t you?”

Every detail,” she said proudly. ”I knew it was imperative to our existing relationship that we set up the ground rules from day one.”

Jack shook his head. “You and your damned rules, Beth. One of these days, those same rules are going to backfire on you.”

She sucked in a hopeful breath. “Does that mean that you’re thinking of helping me, Jack?”

He gave her a skeptical glance. “Do you really believe that this is the only way for you to get what you want?”

“Yes,” she said, keeping a firm hold on the tidal wave of emotion suddenly raging through her body.

Using the tips of his fingers to rub his temples Jack rocked back on his heels for what seemed like an endless moment. Finally, after releasing a heavy sigh, he said, “What the hell...I’m fighting a losing battle anyway. Besides, if it’s what you need me to do... if you’re sure it’s what will make you happy in the long run, then what’s a couple of months out of my life? You’d do the same for me.”

“Oh, Jack,” Beth said, biting back the flood of sudden tears. “Are you sure about this?”

“No...yes.”

She gazed at him, her heart evident in her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” he said at last, and in spite of a growing anticipation inside of him, he actually managed a grin.

“Oh, Jack, I don’t know what to say. Thank you so much.”

Beth couldn’t contain her joy a moment longer. She threw her arms around his neck and planted a big, grateful kiss right on his mouth. It was just because she was so happy and wanted him to know it.

But all of a sudden, the kiss took a hundred-andeighty-degree turn into something much more powerful than a mere thank-you peck on the lips. In fact, for one fleeting moment, Beth thought the ground was rocking beneath her feet.

Her mouth was covered by his.

He tasted like...well, like Jack. Just as she had always known he would. He tasted hot...and sexy, and the reality of what they were doing made her blood curdle. He opened his mouth and it seemed to her that he was beckoning for her to do the same.

This, she knew, was no longer just a simple little kiss between friends.

It was leading them somewhere—fast. Somewhere neither of them needed to go. Frankly it was going against every rule in her book. She had to end it now. She had no choice. Too much was at stake.

Immediately pulling away, Beth fought to regain her equilibrium. “I—I don’t know why I did that,” she stammered.

Jack gave her a scorching glance that seemed to penetrate right through her.

Then without so much as a single word of warning, he groaned deep in his throat and jerked Beth back against his hard, solid frame in less than a heartbeat.

A second later his mouth came crashing down to claim hers.

This time, when the earth moved beneath her feet, Beth knew exactly what it was happening. But this time, instead of fighting it, she simply clung all the tighter to Jack and prayed that the moment didn’t end too soon.

Because she knew without a doubt that she was going to hate herself when finally it did.

This was not part of her plan.

Nor could it ever be.

But since the moment was already out of her control, she saw no reason why she simply couldn’t enjoy it while it lasted. Without a doubt, it was going to be the last time she ever let things go this far between herself and Jack.

For heaven’s sake, he was her best friend. She felt almost guilty for enjoying his kiss.

It was just plain weird.

And yet unforgettably wonderful at the same time. Why else would she be pressing her body against his as though she wanted to become a part of him?

The weirdness she could handle.

But the part that was unforgettably wonderful—the part that was making her feel all hot inside—she could not.

She had to make sure this never happened between them again.

Chapter Three

Unfortunately Beth couldn’t stop what was happening between herself and Jack, nor did a secret part of her really want to. And it was clear that Jack had no immediate plans to stop the kiss. She was trapped in the clutches of a sweet, agonizing hunger.

She moaned from the pressure of his lips on hers. It was the absolute craziest moment of her life. But what made it even crazier was the fact that, thus far, it was also her most thrilling.

But it was all a fluke. A faux pas, to be sure. Something that definitely shouldn’t be happening.

Only it was.

Big time.

They were over the line, no doubt about it.

Someone needed to regain control of their outrageous behavior before it was too late.

It was probably already too late.

Jack deepened the kiss and again Beth moaned. Her response, as insignificant as it was to her, only seemed to ignite Jack’s passions all the more. Keeping her pinned against him, he pushed his tongue into her mouth.

After the first shock waves of desire subsided, Beth began struggling to free herself.

She soon realized that her efforts in gaining her freedom were to no avail. Jack’s hold on her was so much stronger than her puny effort, and she remained lodged in place against him.

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