Read More Than He Expected for Free Online Page A

anymore.
    Gwen hadn’t really realized it until that moment, but she had bonded with the baby. With four more months to go,
how much worse would it get? She didn’t even want to think about it. She was too
prone to getting emotional lately.
    Confused, she turned away from Sabine and found Alex watching
her from across the patio. He was leaning casually against one of the white
wooden posts, while either Jack or Wade, she couldn’t be sure, talked to him.
But he wasn’t looking at them or even pretending to. He was looking at her.
There was an intensity in his hazel eyes, but there was something different
there than the desire he’d directed at her in the past. It almost felt like
admiration, although she had no idea why Alex would look at her that way. She
was pregnant, broke and overworked. That was no condition to admire.
    “He is one sexy piece of man,” Sabine commented, still
oblivious to the effect her words had on Gwen.
    The comment startled Gwen into turning back to the woman beside
her. Sabine’s gaze was focused exactly in Alex’s direction. Gwen had no claim to
him, but the thought of him and Sabine together brought on a surge of jealousy
that chased away the last of her confusing emotions. She opted to play dumb.
“Who? Wade?”
    “No, the guy who came late. Alex.”
    “Ahh,” Gwen said, not trusting herself to comment further
without sounding either bitter or jealous to the other woman’s ears.
    “Pity for me, but I think he’s into you.”
    That perked Gwen’s attention. Her head snapped toward him, but
he had returned to his conversation. “Why would you say that?”
    “Because he keeps watching you.”
    “Maybe I’m just funny-looking.” She sighed.
    “Nope,” Sabine said with certainty. “When you’re not watching,
he’s looking at you like you’re the sweetest strawberry tart in the bakery
window. He definitely wants a taste.”
    Gwen subconsciously stroked her rounded stomach and shook her
head. “I appreciate you thinking so, but somehow I doubt he wants to take a bite
out of this.”
    At that, Sabine cracked a crooked, knowing grin. “Oh, he does,”
she assured.
    “Well, even if that were true, my life is a little complicated
right now. I’m not interested.”
    Sabine laughed and shook her head. “I hardly think that
matters. I’ve had my share of experience with those rich, cocky types. They get
what they want, and they don’t care who they have to roll over in the process.
If I were you, I’d let him have his way with you. And let me tell you something
if you don’t already know. Between all the hormones and the increased blood
flow, sex in the second trimester can be absolutely mind-blowing. I bet that in
the experienced hands of a man like Alex, you can multiply that by ten at
least.”
    Gwen’s jaw dropped open, but she didn’t have the words to
respond. Instead, she shifted her gaze back to Alex. This time he was watching
her, and his obvious, heated appraisal was enough to send a surprising surge of
desire down her spine.
    Well, hell. She hadn’t counted on him still being attracted to
her. That certainly complicated things.
    Willpower, she reminded herself as
she sucked in a deep breath and began fidgeting with her bracelet. She was on a
man-break, and Alex was just the kind of man who had necessitated the break to
begin with. Her attraction to him was nothing more than hormones and months of
celibacy conspiring against her. But she could fight it. She had to. It didn’t
matter what Alex wanted. He couldn’t just snap his fingers and get his way.
    And yet, as she looked at him across the patio, Gwen was fairly
certain her celibacy streak was on the verge of coming to a wild, passionate
end.

Three
    B y the time Gwen had taken the last bite of
her dinner, she thought she might literally burst. She’d recently regained her
appetite, and everything tasted so good, she couldn’t help herself. She’d had a
grilled chicken breast and a cheeseburger in