Beyond words now, he leaned in and kissed her, less gently this time, and she matched him move for move. Her skin was awash with heat, almost singeing his fingers, and he couldn’t get enough. He was addicted to her.
“Hold that thought,” he said, reluctantly summoning the willpower to tear himself away, and took off at a run for his own room, returning seconds later with a foil packet. Once he lay back beside her, she took the condom from him and sheathed him with efficient movements. His heart kicked into a higher gear.
He entered her in one fluid motion, finding himself home again, unable to stop the groan of pleasure that came from deep within him. She whispered his name, then again, and it was like a vow, a promise, and he whispered her name back, sealing the vow between them. As he moved inside her, he gave himself over to her. Surrendered himself. To Harper. She enveloped him, besieged him, possessed him.
She gripped his shoulders, and the bite of her nails in his flesh made everything more real. It was too much, not enough, too much, then her release took him further, wanting, reaching, then imploding into electric light, floating, happy. With her.
Snuggled together on the bed minutes—or hours—later, she stirred, and he found the energy to rearrange their bodies so she was tucked into his side.
“Nick,” she whispered against his skin. Then she lifted herself onto an elbow and met his gaze. “Stay with me tonight.”
“Don’t ask me that,” he said, his voice gruff.
“Please?” she added softly.
His heart tore in two. Denying her two nights ago had been hard. After what they’d just shared, denying her was close to impossible.
The memory of the horror on her face when she’d witnessed his nightmare still haunted him, and it rose again now, chilling the blood in his veins. What kind of monster would subject anyone, let alone the woman pregnant with his babies, to that kind of torture? He leaned away and prayed for strength. Spending the night in her bed was out of the question. He wouldn’t let her go through that experience again.
The problem was, if he couldn’t stay, and he couldn’t walk away—what other option was there?
“Please, Nick,” she whispered and laid her hand flat over his heart. “Stay with me tonight.”
Maybe it was because it wasn’t the first time she’d asked, or maybe it was the way she’d said “please,” like all she wanted in the world was him, but he couldn’t hold out against her another second. He nodded, and twenty minutes later when they were finally ready for bed, he grabbed the edge of the sheet and slid down beside her, his legs rubbing against hers as he got comfortable.
She sighed as he wrapped an arm around her waist and snuggled her back into his chest a little more. Carefully, he dropped a kiss in the place where her neck sloped into her shoulder, the scent of her warm skin filling his head, wrapping around him, luring him into never letting her go.
But she was pregnant and needed solid sleep, and she wouldn’t get that if he slept, too.
Only one of them could sleep. And no way in hell would he let her be the one to miss out.
Her breathing changed into a soft, steady rhythm, and despite his own sleepiness, he called on all his SEAL training, every ounce of self-discipline he had, and refused to give in to the pull of slumber.
And, as the dark of night eventually gave way to the early morning light, he realized something: holding her all night while she slept might be difficult, but it was also a blessing. He was damn lucky to have an angel like Harper in his life, no matter the complications, and he’d never let himself forget that.
* * *
Harper checked on the tray of cupcakes in the oven and began a batch of pink icing. Nick would be back soon with Ellie for their day together, and she wanted freshly baked treats to greet her. This time she’d be ready, unlike when they’d first met two weeks ago. Sure, it was practically bribery to make the little girl like her, but Harper didn’t mind—if a judge asked Ellie if she liked spending time at her father’s house, she wanted Ellie to have no hesitation.
Since Nick had started sharing Harper’s bed at night, they’d become closer. And their lovemaking had only gotten better, too—her hormones were going crazy, and carrying twins, she had double the amount swimming through her bloodstream.
Even Frank seemed to be improving with Nick’s love. He was more interested in food and had begun to relax when they gave him affection. He still hadn’t made the step of approaching them for attention, but he was making progress, and that’s what counted.
The sound of the garage door opening floated through the house just as she pulled the cupcakes from the oven, and a few minutes later Nick emerged from the internal stairs with Ellie on his hip, one hand over her eyes.
He threw Harper a smile before saying to his daughter, “Are you ready for your surprise?”
“Yes!” she yelled, pumping her little arms in the air.
Staying a safe distance from Frank, who was lying on his soft bed, but still keeping the dog in his line of vision, Nick took his hands away from Ellie’s face. She blinked, looked around, then her gaze landed on Frank. She stilled, not moving a muscle, then burst into tears and threw her arms around Nick’s neck, holding him in a death grip with her face buried in the crook of his shoulder.
Alarmed, Harper moved closer. Was Ellie scared of real life dogs? Should she do something?
“Do you want me to take Frank outside?” she whispered.
Nick looked up from soothing his daughter, but his face was smiling. “Come closer,” he said. Harper did, and he added, “Listen.”
Ellie was sobbing, but on each exhale were the words, “Thank you, Daddy, thank you.”
“She’s happy?” Harper asked, confused.
He kissed his daughter’s forehead and held her a little tighter. “This is a very happy girl. Just a bit overwhelmed.” He smoothed back Ellie’s hair and crooned soft words to her.
Harper’s eyes misted over—partly in reaction to Ellie’s joy and partly from watching a father’s love in action. She couldn’t take her eyes off her husband—the scene was too beautiful.
It was a good five minutes before Ellie had calmed enough to actually meet the dog. Nick explained to her that Frank had been sad, so she had to be quiet and gentle with him, and Ellie took that advice to heart, practically becoming Frank’s nursemaid. Nick supervised, and Harper retreated to the kitchen to ice the cupcakes and watch the father-daughter bonding time.
The morning was going even better than she’d hoped. Fingers crossed, the rest of her plan for the day would be as much of a hit.
After a while, Nick brought Ellie into the kitchen.
“Do you like Frank?” he asked.
Her face was earnest. “I love him, Daddy.”
“Do you want to know whose idea it was to bring Frank into the family?”
Ellie nodded her head solemnly.
“Harper’s.” Ellie turned wide eyes on Harper, and Nick continued. “She called the Royal Safe Haven Animal Shelter and asked about all the dogs, and when she heard about Frank, she thought he’d be perfect for us. So she came home to get me and we went to meet him. We both loved him right away, so we brought him home.”
Ellie grabbed Harper’s hand. “Thank you, Harper. Frank is the best dog in the world.”
Emotion thickened her throat, and she had to swallow hard before she could reply. “I’m glad you like him.”
Then Ellie’s eyes landed on the iced pink cupcakes on the counter and widened more. “Who are they for?”
“They’re for all of us,” Harper said. “I was thinking we might want to have a tea party today. What do you say?”
“Yes! Can Frank have one, too?”
“Dogs shouldn’t eat pink cupcakes, but we have some other treats here that Frank will like even better.”
“I will give it to him,” Ellie said as if that settled the matter, and Harper smiled at Nick.
“Absolutely, you can,” Nick said.
Once they were set for their tea party—all sitting cross-legged on a picnic blanket on the living room floor, Frank sprawled between Nick and Ellie, a cupcake on each plate—Harper brought out a bag she’d left on the coffee table.
“We bought you something,” she said as she handed the bag to Ellie.
Ellie drew in a quick breath. “A present?”
More of a way of explaining the news to her through a picture book, but it probably counted as a present, too, so she nodded and said, “Yes, it is.”
The little girl pulled the book from the bag, ran a hand over the shiny cover and passed it to Nick. “Can you read it to me?”
“Sure.” He held out his arms, and Ellie scrambled into his lap. As she snuggled into his embrace, Nick began to read the story of a little girl who gets a baby brother. Ellie watched the illustrations on each page, enthralled. When he finished, Nick said, “We have some news for you.”
Ellie looked up expectantly into her father’s face. “Am I getting a baby brother?”
Nick chuckled. “Actually, you’re getting two baby brothers or sisters. We just don’t know if they’re boys or girls yet.”
“Really and truly?” Ellie asked, seeming close to tears again.
“Really and truly,” Nick said solemnly.
She threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Daddy!”
Harper sighed happily as she watched them. Ellie was having a pretty good day, between the babies, Frank and the pink cupcakes, and there was something so very satisfying about being part of the team that made a little girl so happy.
When Ellie released her father, she looked over at Harper and said, “Can I keep it?”
“Of course you can, honey, it’s yours.” Harper settled back against the sofa and laced her fingers over her stomach. Maybe she was starting to get the hang of this stepparenting thing.
Ellie picked up the book from Nick’s lap and put it on her own outstretched legs, stroking her hands over the shiny cover. “I love new books.”
“I do, too,” Nick said. “Harper bought me a new book, too.”
Still playing with the cover, she turned curious eyes to him. “What’s yours about?”
“It’s about a policeman who looks for clues,” Nick said.
Ellie nodded as if that was just the right plot for one of her daddy’s books. “Does the policeman get a new baby at the end, too?”
“No, at the end of mine, the policeman solves the case then gets a new job.”
Harper’s breath caught. He knew the ending? She’d bought both books yesterday, and Nick had only started his when they went to bed last night. The book wasn’t short. If he’d finished the entire thing, he must not have slept a wink...
Nausea that had nothing to do with the pregnancy rolled through her stomach. He’d agreed to sleep with her at night, but it appeared no actual sleeping was happening for him. She thought back—she was always the first to fall asleep, and he was already awake when she woke in the mornings.
He’d been lying to her.
They were in the middle of a crazy situation, a marriage of convenience to achieve several goals—but at the core, she’d thought at least they could depend on each other. That they were open and honest with each other.
Their marriage might be a practical arrangement, but that only made it worse—you don’t go into business with someone you know you can’t trust.
“Daddy?” Ellie said as she jumped up. “Can I give Frank my teddy?”
“I’m sure he’d like that, sweetheart. Which one will you give him?”
“Can Harper help me choose?”
Harper glanced over. This overture from Ellie was exactly what she’d been hoping for—Nick’s daughter had accepted her enough to want her help with something special. And yet, she couldn’t feel the joy the way she’d hoped. Not when she was starting to question everything.
Ignoring the confusion buzzing through her brain, she found a smile for the little girl. All she could do was compartmentalize the thoughts about her marriage, focus on Ellie and talk to Nick once they were alone.
So she helped Ellie choose a teddy for Frank from the collection in the room she had at Nick’s house—“A brown one like him, so he will know it is his”—and then walked back out to the living room with the little girl.
Nick had cleared away the plates and assorted clutter from the tea party and was back on the blanket, sitting beside his dog.
Ellie carefully sat beside Frank and placed the teddy on his front paws. “This is for you,” she said.
Frank sniffed it over, nudged it a little with his snout, then laid his head on it. Harper suspected he wanted to lay his head on his paws anyway and the teddy just happened to be there, but, either way, Ellie was thrilled.
“He likes it!” she said. “Good boy, Frank.”
For the rest of the day, as they played with Ellie and had a barbecue lunch, Harper felt like she was simply going through the motions. Nick had said he’d sleep in her bed, but he’d been staying awake all night. He’d purposefully hidden what he was doing, lied about it. It was vital that she understand the reality of Nick’s condition, partly because she could be called on to make a statement to the court in Ellie’s custody hearing. She was a lawyer and would already be lying to a court of law—that was bad enough. To be caught in that lie because her partner in crime had withheld information from her? That would be bad for all of them.
More importantly, she was bringing two precious babies into the world with this man—she had to be certain she knew how he was handling his condition, and that he’d tell her of any changes, so she could mitigate any issues for the babies and for Ellie. Sure, she knew he would plan around any sleepovers Ellie might have in the future so she wasn’t affected by his nightmares, but Harper would be irresponsible not to wonder if there was anything else he wasn’t telling her...
How could their arrangement survive if she couldn’t be sure what was truth and what was lie?
Ten
Nick arrived back from dropping Ellie at Melissa’s house feeling like crap. It was getting harder and harder to let his daughter go—one day with her every two weeks wasn’t nearly enough time. The only thing that made it close to bearable was knowing Harper was waiting at home.
But when he walked into the living room, emotionally wiped out, he found her sitting on the edge of the sofa, strangely alert. And she wasn’t happy—there was an air of tension radiating from her.
“Everything okay?” he asked warily as he dropped his keys and wallet on a side table.
“We need to talk.” Her voice was clipped and precise.
Nick winced. It was worse than he’d thought. He headed for the sofa and sat across from her, needing the angle to see her expressions—he hadn’t seen Harper angry before, so he didn’t want to be flying any more blind than he already was.
He paused to take a breath, then plunged headlong into whatever was waiting for him. “Have I done something you’re not happy about?”
She crossed her legs, and the foot hanging in the air bobbed to a silent beat. “You could say that.”
Hell. He squared his shoulders. “Tell me.”
“The question is whether you were going to tell me,” she said, her cheeks flushed pink.
Pulse racing now, he scanned through everything that had happened since breakfast. They’d definitely been happy together then—Harper had kissed him as he left and made all sorts of promises about tonight. He’d ducked out to pick up Ellie, introduced her to Frank, and Ellie had thanked Harper for getting the dog. Harper had seemed really affected by the moment, so things were still good then. After that they’d had a picnic on t
he blanket, told Ellie about the babies, then had a barbecue. In fact, they’d both been with Ellie all day—there hadn’t been much chance to do or say anything controversial, so he was at a loss.
“You’ll have to give me a hint,” he admitted.
She reached behind her to a long table that ran along the back of the sofa that had photos and other paraphernalia on it. She grabbed the murder mystery he’d been reading—and which he’d left beside the bed—and held it up. “When did you read this?”
His stomach dropped as it all clicked into place. “Last night.”
“The entire book?” she asked calmly, but her eyes were steady in their focus. “In one night?”
“Yeah,” he said and blew out a breath.
She tossed the book onto the cushions beside her. “Have you slept at all since you started sharing my bed?”
He shook his head and admitted the truth. “I normally catch a nap in the morning before I start work. I don’t need a lot of sleep.”
She crossed her arms under her breasts. “You’ve been lying to me.”
The accusation was like a slap to the face, even though it was true. He had been lying to her—lying by omission—and it had felt wrong every time he hadn’t told her. But he’d chosen the lesser of two evils, and he still thought it had been the right call for them. Convincing Harper of that would be another matter, though.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been honest about when I sleep, but you have to see that it’s the best option for us.”
“How?” she asked. “Explain that to me.”
“Harper,” he said gently, “I saw your face when you witnessed me having a nightmare. It’s burned into my memory banks—there’s no way you can pretend it didn’t scare you.”
“Yes, it did scare me. Of course it did—I had to try to make sense of your anguish and agitation while I was half-asleep. I had no warning, so it was a shock. Now that I know, I’ll be prepared if it happens again.”
“You need your sleep while you’re pregnant and working full-time. Being woken each night because of my nightmares is not good.” He scrubbed his hands through his hair. “Look, I can see why you’re upset—I’m just not the man I used to be. I can’t do all the things I used to.”
Tempted by the Wrong Twin Page 13