Captured by the Billionaire (Omnibus Edition) (15 page)

20

“Are you sure you
can’t finish it?” Adam asked, gesturing to the half eaten plate of food sitting in front of her.

Leah scowled at him. “I said that I couldn’t.”

“That wasn’t even a full meal.”

“I know,” she replied sharply. “Your son is pushing all my insides around and there is no room for a full meal. I’m sure you’ll be happy to heat the rest up for me in a couple of hours.”

“Don’t say that so sarcastically.” His voice was a bit harsh. He planted a gentle kiss on her cheek as he cleared the plates away. “Because it actually will make me happy to do it.”

Leah gave him a mischievous look. “I could probably eat a little ice cream, though.”

“Oh, there’s a little room after all, just not for actual food,” he quipped.

“Maybe.” She pushed away from the table and went over to the freezer. “But I don’t want chocolate. Do we have any blueberry?”

Adam looked at her. His brow was furrowed as if he was angry but his lips were trying not to smile. “I can’t exactly send someone down the street to the store, Leah.”

“I know,” she whined.

“Lucky for you, however,” he said as he closed the freezer door, “I anticipated this.”

“Did you actually anticipate blueberry?”

“No,” he replied, gesturing for her to sit back down. “But I did buy every kind of frozen fruit available and an ice cream maker. It came yesterday.”

“Wow.” She stayed at his side, running her hand down the length of his spine. “That was a good idea.”

“These bratty outbursts you’ve been having lately.” He turned to face her. “How much of it stems from being uncomfortably pregnant and how much is because you can get away with whatever you want now?”

Rolling her lips together, her eyes got wider. “I’m not sure. Probably half and half.”

“Well, I’m very sorry about the uncomfortable half,” he told her, laying his hands on her belly. “As for the bratty half…” His lips traveled up her neck to her earlobe and gave it a gentle bite. “Those, oddly enough, have been turning me on.”

“Really?” she gasped as he picked her up and sat her on the solid table.

“A lot,” he answered, with a hint of a growl in his voice.

Leah could feel his erection pressing against her stomach. She wrapped her legs around his hard torso as his hands brushed her hair behind her back and lifted her chin. Goosebumps covered her skin as his lips continued to explore her throat.

“Are we going to…” She hadn’t exactly pictured it being on the kitchen table.

“Relax, baby,” he whispered into her ear softly. Her body slumped into his arms as they wrapped around her. “Not here. Not right this second. I’m sorry, but it can’t be this spontaneous.”

“But will it be soon?”

She felt him nodding as he buried his face in her shoulder. “If you want it to be.” There was a hint of hesitation in his voice.

“You know I do.”

He pulled her body closer, letting out a soft groan as his arousal pressed against her. His lips were on hers suddenly, his tongue invading her mouth.

“Take me upstairs,” she begged.

“Leah…” He inched away from her, his face contorted. “Are
you-”

There was a crash outside the window shortly followed by the sound of men’s voices shouting. Leah’s body turned from putty to stone and she felt her heart beating faster and faster. The rhythm of her breathing increased to match it as the perimeter of her vision turned white.

Adam’s body stilled, his expression pained with indecision. Her last panic attack had been three days ago and when he instantly ran to comfort her as he always did, she lashed out at him. This time however she needed his arms around her so she somehow managed to lean forward until her head landed on his chest. He held her tightly as she hyperventilated and her body trembled uncontrollably, softly whispering reassurances into her ear.

It only lasted a few minutes but it felt like an eternity. When it was over, her skin was cold and clammy and she winced as he pulled away from her, instantly returning to wrap her in the blanket he always kept within arm’s reach. His fingers grazed her cheeks, wiping away tears that she didn’t know were there.

“I’m going to close the window, alright?” he asked after holding her for a few moments.

Leah nodded. He had just reluctantly opened it at her request to let in a breeze. Now she was freezing. Hot, cold, hot, cold. That’s the way it had been for the last three weeks since she decided to stay. Her body temperature wasn’t the only thing that couldn’t make up its mind.

One minute she knew for sure that she wanted to stay here with Adam forever, the next she couldn’t shake the feeling his declarations of love were just a way to continue manipulating her and she wanted to leave. Sometimes she was tempted to ask him just to see how he would react, if he would really let her.

He seemed so genuine, but she wasn’t sure if she was seeing what she wanted to see. Her body felt like it was floating as Adam lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the kitchen. Over his shoulder,
she watched as the table he’d made for her disappeared from view. It was round, no head, no foot, a symbol of equality and the only shape she could stand to sit at without feeling nauseous.

The living room was different too, the furniture rearranged, the walls repainted. No desk. She was allowed in his office, now renamed the office, whenever she wanted. Her body relaxed in his arms as she curled into his lap on the couch. It felt so safe here. His lips were in her hair as he rocked her back and forth.

“Leah.” He was always so quiet afterwards. “Will you please reconsider delaying construction until after we get back?”

“Absolutely not.” Her voice was shaky. “I told you, I want it to be ready before mating season.”

He sighed. That was a total lie and she wondered if he knew it. It took some convincing to get him to start building the research station she wanted, but he did it. At first the test made her feel a little more secure, but that hadn’t lasted long. Someone as wealthy as he was wouldn’t think twice about wasting thousands of dollars on a building to convince the woman carrying his child that he wanted her to stay when he didn’t.

All he wanted to do was soundproof the house, or so he said. But that would be noisy too, so it would have to be done while they were in Rio for her C-section. The thought of it started to make her panic, something she couldn’t afford to do right in this moment but she wasn’t able to push it from her mind. It was only 2 short weeks away. Her breathing was getting faster.

“Baby?” He held her tighter.

“I don’t want to go to Rio!” She turned her face into his chest.

“I know. Leah, it will be all right. We will come back right away.”

She didn’t know if she believed him or not, but she desperately wanted to. Before she had been kidnapped, the second time, she almost had him convinced to let her give birth at home instead of the hospital. Now that was completely unrealistic. The doctors were afraid that her heart wasn’t strong enough to be able to tolerate labor. Apparently losing nearly twenty percent of your body weight in a short amount of time and regaining a lot of it back just as fast was very bad for you even if you weren’t pregnant and chronically sleep deprived.

Her hands shook as she reached for the remote. Adam took it from her and flicked on the television, slowly increasing the volume. He always turned it down before he turned it off. Leah let out a huff and threw off her blanket, crawling out of his lap. She was so frustrated. Looking confused, Adam kept his distance as he followed her up the stairs.

No sex tonight, she thought, not that it really appealed to her now. She’d be shaky for the rest of the evening. Crawling into bed, she wrapped the covers around her and sank down into her pillow. When he went to lie next to her, she asked him to leave her alone. He looked wounded, but left and she wondered if he was trying to appear less hurt than he actually was or was faking it entirely.

An hour later, he knocked on the door softly. His eyes were down and he was holding a bowl of homemade blueberry ice cream. She smiled at him, inwardly laughing at herself because the chocolate was more appealing now, but couldn’t bring herself to mention it. Patting the seat next to her, she watched his lips turned upwards as he sat down. She moved over until her body touched his. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he kissed her temple lightly. He could be so caring. Maybe he deserved the benefit of the doubt.

But his tenderness was part of the problem. Leah couldn’t figure out if it was genuine or not. Adam started being very attentive and thoughtful after he had found out that she was pregnant, but he never became less demanding. Slightly less controlling, yes, but not much when it came right down to it. This transition to a more egalitarian relationship seemed too easy. He told her it wasn’t actually as effortless as he made it look, but not as hard as he expected because he felt so incredibly guilty.

If he actually did love her as much as he said he did, it could make sense. And honestly, it was the only way Leah could stay with him, given everything that had happened. She liked it, mostly. But a part of her, a tiny part at first but one that was getting bigger as the ordeal got farther and farther away, missed the way he used to be, some of it anyway. It was exciting, it made her feel desired, and above all, protected.

She missed that iron, unyielding backbone. Yet at the same time, was so glad it was gone. How could she explain that to him when she didn’t even understand it herself? It was fun testing his limits, seeing how far she could push him before he took the control back. She could tell he wanted to when she was at her worst. But it would probably scare the crap out of her if he did, and make her question the authenticity of his emotions even more.

He pulled her into his lap when she was done eating, holding her closely while he ran his fingers through her hair and asked her if she needed anything. Leah absolutely loved him like this. But she also liked him the other day when he blew up at one of the security guards. He was so authoritative, so dominant. Which Adam did she want? Could he really be both at the same time? More importantly though, which Adam was the real Adam?

Since they ended up falling asleep so early, Leah was wide eyed by dawn and wanted to go on a walk. She’d been so tired lately it was a rare occurrence. By the end of it she was too tired to walk, but refused to let him carry her. After a few hundred feet he apparently couldn’t take it anymore and picked her up while she protested, even chastised her a bit for being unreasonable. Pretending to pout, she laid her head against his shoulder and wondered if she should tell him that she actually enjoyed the outburst.

“Leah, we’ve been delaying an important talk and since I obviously won’t be spoiling your good mood, now is as good of a time as any.”

Adam had carried her into the office and sat her down at the desk in front of a pile of file folders. Her heart started thudding in her chest as he pulled up a chair beside her.

“I don’t understand why you are so reluctant to talk about this, but we’ve put it off as long as possible.”

“Put what off?”

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “That nanny, Leah. I’ve narrowed it down, but we need to do interviews ASAP. She will be coming to live in a foreign country and will surely need time to make arrangements. I want her in Rio when we get there.”

A sob escaped her throat as hot tears overflowed onto her cheeks. Sometimes these overreactions were so
lightening fast it scared her. Adam had a shocked expression on his face as she pushed back from the desk.

“I don’t want a nanny!” she cried.

He let out an exasperated sigh and reached toward her. She swatted him away.

“Baby, we’ve been through this,” he said quietly, his expression wounded.

“I’m not picking out my replacement. Do it yourself.”

His jaw dropped. “Replacement? Honey, that’s not what this is about.”

“Do you have another set of files on them, too? Like the one you had on me? Or will you be bringing in another girl to be your fuck toy this time?”

He stared at her in disbelief.

“I want to go back to the U.S. You said that I could.”

He inhaled sharply, his jaw clenched but shaking. “If that’s what you want.”

“What was the plan?”

“Plan?” His eyes were on the floor.

“For raising our son in the States. Surely you thought it out. Tell me.”

“I thought… I haven’t exactly…” he stammered.

“Because there never was a plan, was there?” Leah stormed, rising. “Because the plan was to make me think I had a choice so that I wouldn’t be upset. And then I’ll smile while I let your doctors cut your son out of me and when I wake up I’ll be far away from here, from him, because you’ll be done with me.”

“Holy shit, baby,” he said as he followed her into the hallway. “Is that really what you think?”

She didn’t answer, just started crying harder.

“Is that why you want to leave?”

Still no response. She was in their bedroom now, tearing through the closet.

“Leah?”

She stomped past him into the hall again, headed for the baby’s room in hysterics.