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darkness with her. She rolled to her side—about the
only position she could sleep in comfortably
anymore—and closed her eyes, only to focus her
attention on the sounds emanating from the next
room. Zack’s soft snoring punctuated by the
occasional raspy cough competed with the sound of
distant traffic. After an eternity of listening to the
symphony of coughs and cars, Sharlene began to drift
off.
“Mom, where’d you go?”
“Huh?” she said sleepily at the muffled sound of
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Zack’s voice.
“Mom?”
Sharlene’s heart felt like breaking. Zack was talking
in his delirium, crying out for his mother, his mother
long gone just like hers. She pricked up her ears and
heard the small sounds of tossing and turning, then
settling down and snoring softly once again.
Poor Zack… The awful thought of how the both of
them were orphans broke open the floodgate Sharlene
had closed tight on her emotions. Her tears fell
silently upon her cheeks.
“Sharlene?”
Zack’s voice at the doorway immediately brought
her back to the present. Sharlene sniffed and wiped
her eyes on the back of her arm, then pulled herself
up onto her elbows.
“Zack? Whatever are you doing up? Get back
under the covers and keep warm. Your temp was 102
the last time I took it. From what I read in Dr. Spock
that isn’t too bad in a child, but for an adult it’s rough.
You need some more Tylenol?”
“Yes, please.”
His voice sounded gravelly. He sat down slowly at
the edge of her bed, affording Sharlene with a clear
view of his lean, muscled body in the moonlight
streaming through the half-open blinds. The fever
had caused him to strip down to his boxers.
“Have you been crying?” he asked.
“A little, maybe, but it’s okay. Pregnant women cry
all the time. It’s our hormones, you know.”
“I... I hope it wasn’t because of anything I said or
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did. I’m sorry if it is, I—”
Sharlene pulled herself to a sitting position and put
a finger to his lips. “Sh, it’s not because of you. Let me
get you some water to take the pills with, okay?”
“Thanks. For everything. I owe you one.”
He took her hand in his and lightly kissed her
fingers. A shiver of pleasure washed over her,
engulfing her in a cloud of desire. The thin, satiny
material of her nightgown stretched tight against her
breasts, barely covering the evidence of how much his
barely clad presence excited her.
“You’re welcome,” she managed to reply at last,
slipping from his grasp and springing from the bed as
fast as her rounded frame would allow. “You’re very,
very welcome. Excuse me a minute while I go get you
the medicine.”
He closed his eyes and allowed his head to drop
onto her pillow, stretching across her bed. “You’ll
make a terrific mom someday.”
Grabbing her bathrobe hanging over the side of the
crib, Sharlene darted into the kitchen. She desperately
needed the heavy, thick material between her and her
handsome houseguest.
“It’s just the fever talking.” She pulled a cup down
from the shelf and filling it with cold water. Zack’s
male physique alone was enough to raise her own
body temperature a few notches. Grabbing the
Tylenol bottle from the counter, she walked back into
her bedroom only to find Zack sprawled out across
her quilt, snoring loudly.
She knelt down, shaking his shoulder as hard as
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she dared. “Come on, Zack. You’ve got to sit up so
you can take another pill. Please?”
“Later,” he replied groggily. He flung an arm out
to the side and captured her, pulling her tight against
his form. Her loosely tied robe opened wide.
Sharlene’s pulse quickened as her breasts enjoyed
the warmth of male skin beneath her and the firmness
of his brawny chest through the thin material of her
gown. His hands slowly roved down her sides
beneath her robe, gently cupping her buttocks. She
arched her back in response to the hardness growing
between his legs. How she longed to press herself
tighter against him, to quench her yearning…
“Oh, Zack,” she whispered. His head rolled to the
side and his hands dropped. He was still asleep!
She pulled back, frowning. “I guess I’m not
exciting enough to keep you awake, huh?”
Sharlene scrambled to her feet and placed her
hands on her hips. She didn’t have the heart to wake
him. It was obvious by his actions he was having
quite an enjoyable dream, and certainly he needed his
rest. Besides, what would people think of her taking
advantage of a sick man? Sighing, she pulled the
loose corner of the quilt over his exposed form.
“I bet your mother thought you were adorable
when you were asleep, too.” She smoothed the
wrinkles from her gown and sashed her robe in a
double knot. “But where the heck do I sleep now?
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