Sealing the Deal (22 page)

Beth wouldn’t allow it. With her hands against his chest, she lightly pushed him away before she wriggled out of her panties. Falling back against the mattress, she opened her arms in welcome.

Robert answered her invitation, blanketing her with his body and kissing her again, a mating of their tongues until he thought he’d go mad for want of her. Moving to his side, he stroked up her thigh until he was caressing her core, seeking the spot he knew would drive her wild.

Her hips bucked when he found the sensitive nub, and she drew in a sharp breath. He tormented and taunted and gave her no quarter. He kissed her neck, teasing her with nibbles as he worked his way to her chest. After pressing a reverent kiss to the valley between her breasts, he closed his mouth around one tight nipple and suckled.

A low moan escaped her lips. Arching her back, she raked her fingers through his hair.

When he slid his fingers deep inside her, Beth’s body clenched around them, telling him she was close. He shifted to her other breast, laving the nipple before pulling it gently with his teeth.

“Robert. I need you inside me. Please.” She tugged hard on his hair.

His need was every bit as desperate as hers, so Robert answered her call, moving over her and using his knee to push her legs farther apart. Before he could guide his cock inside her, she grasped it and led him home.

One thrust found him deep inside his wife’s warmth, and the feeling was so sublime he had to close his eyes and breathe deeply to maintain his self-control. Before he could start to move, Beth wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him as deeply inside her as he could go.

He was lost, mindless to anything except giving her pleasure and seeking his own. Again and again he pushed into her, each thrust a little harder until she caught her breath and held it. Then her thighs squeezed his hips as she moaned his name, the sound of her pleasure hitting him hard and forcing his own orgasm as he poured his essence into his wife.

Robert was so spent, he could barely hold himself up on his elbows to shelter Beth from his weight. She lazily trailed her fingers up and down his back, humming softly. Another of her endearing habits.

After reluctantly withdrawing, doing a hasty cleanup, and then slipping his boxers back on, he slid beneath the sheets. As she went into their bathroom, he waited for her to join him.

When she flipped off the light and crawled into bed, he pulled her into his arms. She laid her hand on his chest, pillowed her head against his shoulder, and let out what he hoped was a contented sigh. “That was… amazing.”

He gave her a quick squeeze. “Damn right it was. You’re a wildcat, B. And it’s dark in here, so don’t even bother blushing.”

She pushed herself up enough to check the monitor before dropping her head against his shoulder again. “She’s still asleep.” Her body tensed. “I’m afraid, Robert.”

“I am, too.”

“What can we do?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Her fear was understandable because he shared it. Every time he thought about them losing Emma, he bordered on a panic attack. His chest would become heavy and tight, as though everything were pressing in on him. To have his daughter raised by another man, even if that man was her biological father, seemed wrong. Darren might have contributed his DNA, but Robert was her
Bobber
, the man who chased away the monsters from under the crib. The man who read to her every day, who pushed her swing while she squealed in joy. No one could love her as much as he did.

“Robert? Are you okay?”

Having not realized he’d tensed, he eased the tight hold he had on his wife. “I’m fine.”

“You still haven’t answered me. Should we squirrel away some money and, I don’t know, try to hide?”

He shook his head. “We can’t run away from our lives.”

“I need you to help me with this,” she insisted. “What are we gonna do?”

After a moment of searching to find the right things to say to calm her fears, he decided honesty was the best thing he could offer her. “We can trust Alexis to do her job and hope things turn out right.”

“If we lose Emma—”

“One day at a time, love. Instead of driving ourselves crazy with worry, let’s just take things one day at a time.”

Chapter Twenty

The moment Beth saw Darren, the past came rushing back. In her eyes, he was still that kid who liked to stir up trouble, the bad boy who Tiffany claimed to love. The good times and the bad were right there, plain as day.

How could Tiffany have hidden his child from him? Why was her sister too afraid to tell him about Emma? What did Tiffany know that Beth didn’t? Or was it something Tiffany feared?

The unknowns were the hardest to fight, and Beth would drive herself insane thinking about them before this whole ordeal was over.

Darren was still a good-looking guy, although he’d cut his long hair into a short, businesslike style. His youthful skinny body had bulked up, his arms muscular and his waist trim. Had she not been so desperately in love with Robert, Beth might even have been attracted to him.

He’d dressed in expensive clothing, and she recognized his loafers as Gucci. Clearly he was a success now, and she’d have to stop thinking about him as a kid who’d done stupid things. He owned his own business and had made something of himself.

A young woman walked by his side as they came up the carpeted hallway of Alexis’s office suite. Alexis had chosen the location, wanting there to be some formality and control in the affair. The girl was blond, her build slender. Her clothes and shoes had to be designer as well, and she was clearly pregnant. The rock on the third finger of her left hand was about two carats bigger than the engagement ring Robert had given Beth.

In her fear, all Beth could think was that Darren and this woman were having a baby of their own. Why would they need to take away hers?

“Wow.” Darren gave Beth a weak smile. “You haven’t changed a bit, B.”

Robert scowled at him, probably at the use of his pet name for her.

She’d forgotten how Darren used to tease her, almost unmercifully, and how he’d always called her B. It had bugged the heck out of Tiffany, who often gave him a playful punch in the arm whenever he joked with Beth.

“You sure have,” Beth said. “Changed, that is. A lot.” She wasn’t surprised to hear the tremor in her voice. Then a flush heated her face. “Sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay,” Darren said with a lopsided smile. “I
have
changed, and I’m damned proud of it.” His features sobered. “Losing Tiffany was a big wakeup call for me. I wanted to be the kind of man she deserved. So I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and made something of my life. Took me years to get where I am, and I was so happy when we connected again. But…”

Beth could easily finish the story. “But she ran away. Again.”

Darren nodded. “Took me a while to find out where she was, but by then she’d gone to Afghanistan and…”

She had to glance away.

“I-I’m sorry about what happened. For your loss.”

Beth nodded, trying not to get choked up. The grief over losing her only sister was still too new, too raw. “Thank you.” Then she looked at Darren again and patted the baby’s back. “This is Emma.”

Darren leveled a hard stare to where Emma lay sleeping with her face pillowed against Beth’s chest. “She’s really mine?”

“That’s what the test says.”

Alexis jumped into the conversation. “Why don’t we all get a little more comfortable? I have a nice social room we can use.”

As if on cue, her assistant rose and picked up a large silver tray full of coffee cups, a large carafe, several pastries, and pieces of fruit. She carried them through an ornate door and set them on the large table by the seating area.

The room was bathed in neutral tones, so different than the vivacious Alexis and her office. Beiges and browns were set off by light teal as accent on the two sofas’ throw pillows. A large abstract painting that reminded Beth of a Pollock work was the only art on the walls. Alexis no doubt used the room as a place to have what probably were heated discussions, hoping the muted tone would help lessen the strong emotions of any clients.

After helping Beth to her feet with a welcomed hand on her elbow, Robert, still frowning, followed the receptionist. Beth cradled Emma against her, hoping the baby wouldn’t wake up. Emma was getting heavy, but although Beth’s arms ached, she couldn’t make herself ask Robert to take her. As long as Emma was in her arms, she was safe. Someone would have to hurt Beth to get to her baby.

Robert waited until Beth sat on one of the couches before he dropped down at her side. She tried to make herself comfortable in what was sure to be one of the most uncomfortable moments of her life. He draped an arm over her shoulders, and she gave him a gentle nudge with her elbow to try getting him to ease up on the glare he was shooting at Darren.

“Be nice,” she whispered.

Robert didn’t reply.

Darren sat next to the blonde on the other sofa. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs and clasping his hands as he studied Emma.

Beth had to fight the urge to grab a blanket from the diaper bag and toss it over the baby, as though she could shield Emma from her biological father’s penetrating perusal. As though Beth had any control over what was going to happen.

“She looks more like you than Tiff, B,” he finally said. “That hair is pure you.”

The comments were so close to her own thoughts that they took her by surprise. She didn’t want to smile, but the corners of her mouth rose anyway. Even though her fear of losing Emma nearly choked the air from her lungs, she also saw how in awe Darren was of his daughter and how overwhelmed he was at seeing her for the first time. He couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away.

Alexis nodded at the blonde. “Beth, Robert, let me introduce you to Kelly Dalton, Darren’s fiancée.”

Kelly smiled and gave them a little wave. “We’re getting married in June.” She held up her left hand to show off the enormous solitaire on her third finger.

“Congratulations,” Robert said drolly. “When’s the baby due?”

Beth jabbed him with her elbow again, hoping he’d get the snide tone out of his voice. “Be nice,” she whispered again.

“August,” Darren replied, shifting his eyes to Robert. “You must be Beth’s boyfriend.”

“Husband.” Robert’s tone shifted, but instead of softening, he now sounded angry. “I’m her
husband
.”

Beth was tempted to haul him out into the reception area and scold him the way she often did with rude or disrespectful students. “We were married over spring break.”

“That’s so sweet,” Kelly said. Her voice was high-pitched, so much so it made Beth wonder if she’d considered a career doing cartoon voices.

Alexis stood and went to the tray her assistant had carried in. “Where are my manners? My mama would be horrified.” She smiled and held up the carafe. “May I offer any of you some refreshments? Coffee? A pastry, perhaps?”

Everyone declined, so Alexis poured some coffee into a cup, dropped in a couple of sugar cubes, and then took her beverage to her high-backed chair. The leather groaned in complaint as she sat back and sipped her coffee, but there was no relaxation seen in her features. She watched them all intently, yet she said nothing.

Beth stared at her in stunned silence. Shouldn’t Alexis be doing something? Shouldn’t she suggest that Darren take a good look at how happy and healthy Emma was? Shouldn’t she push him to think about how much work raising a child could be, even point out that two babies would equal double that already challenging task? Shouldn’t she demand that he give up his paternal rights right this flippin’ moment?

That was the problem. They couldn’t—probably shouldn’t—
demand
anything from Darren. The poor guy was clearly stunned over this whole situation. Forcing his hand wouldn’t get them what they wanted, and it might even make him dig in his heels and refuse anything they asked.

The reality was that Tiffany had lied to him by never telling him she was pregnant. A lie of omission was still a lie. Darren had every right to blow his stack, to tell them to hand over his daughter, and to march right out of there with her.

Thank God he didn’t.

Emma stirred, pushing herself back and looking up at Beth. Blinking sleepily, she smiled.

Robert reached for Emma at the same time she shifted to reach for him. “You’re up, squirt.”

“Bobber!” Once he had a good grasp of her, she stood on Robert’s thighs, clapping and bouncing happily while he held her around her waist.

Darren’s gaze had followed his daughter. The moment she was in Robert’s arms, a frown darkened his features.

“Her name’s Emma, right?” Kelly asked.

Emma stopped moving and turned her head to peer at the other people in the room. Robert let her swivel around; then she plopped onto his lap, leaned back against him, and stuck her thumb in her mouth.

She hadn’t sucked her thumb in weeks, which meant she’d probably picked up on the tension in the room. That, and she didn’t cotton much to strangers. Despite the fact that Darren was her biological father, he was still a stranger.

That notion made Beth sad and helped her understand a little of what the poor man was going through.

“When’s her birthday?” he asked.

Robert replied before Beth could. “Last week. The sixteenth.”

“We could plan a belated birthday party,” Kelly said with a naïve grin. “Cake. Balloons. Maybe a clown.” Darned if she didn’t clap her hands just like Emma had.

How old was she anyway? Twenty? Twenty-one? It was as if she was oblivious to the antagonism shooting between Robert and Darren. All her ridiculous offer did was make the men glower more deeply.

“No, thanks. We had it covered,” Robert said with a shake of his head. “We had a family celebration.”

Kelly knit her brows. “I’m confused.” She cocked her head as she looked to Darren. “I thought you said we’d take her—”

“Kelly, stop!” Darren barked like a drill sergeant.

Alexis spoke a moment before Beth could push aside her incredulity at what Kelly was clearly going to say and find her tongue. “You’d take her
where
, Mr. Brown?”