The Baby Surprise

by Brenda Harlen

  But somehow Zach sensed her inner turmoil because he paused with the key in his hand and turned to face her.

  “We didn’t do anything wrong, Paige.”

  “I didn’t say that we did.”

  “I had a good time tonight,” he said. “I especially enjoyed dancing with you. Holding you.”

  Paige remained silent.

  “And I thought you had a good time, too.”

  “I did,” she finally admitted. “I just think we need to remember that we’re on opposite sides here.”

  “I’m not entirely sure that’s true. After all, we both want what’s best for Emma.”

  “We just can’t agree on what that is,” she reminded him.

  He stepped closer. “I don’t see why that has to prohibit us from being friends.”

  “I have no objection to us being friends,” she said. “I just don’t think there should be any more dancing.”

  “What about kissing?”

  Her gaze shifted automatically to his mouth, now hovering mere inches above hers. She hadn’t forgotten that long-ago kiss, hadn’t stopped wanting more. But she’d learned, a long time ago, that she couldn’t always have what she wanted. And that sometimes when a person got what she wanted, she realized it wasn’t what she wanted after all.

  “Definitely no kissing,” she said, but the breathless tone of her voice contradicted her words.

  “Because you didn’t like it when I kissed you before?”

  She raised her hands to his chest, a physical barrier. “Because I did.”

  She turned to go, but Zach grabbed her arm, preventing her escape.

  “Dammit, Paige, you can’t say something like that and then just walk away.”

  “You’re Emma’s father, Zach. And Emma’s mother was one of my best friends.”

  “I was Olivia’s lover,” he agreed. “And I’m not going to apologize for that, especially because the little girl we both love wouldn’t be here if not for that relationship. But I can tell you honestly that I never felt about Olivia the way I feel about you.”

  And then his lips crushed down on hers.

  And in his kiss she tasted anger and frustration and need. It was a merciless sensual assault that made her pulse pound and her knees weak. She reached for him, her hands curling around his biceps, holding on.

  His mouth was hard and impatient, his body was tight and tense. But even as he ravaged her with his kiss, she knew that he was holding on to control, that he wouldn’t take more than she wanted to give.

  So she gave to him, answering his need with her own. And in doing so, she found that there was more than anger and heat—there was gentleness and affection. With a sigh that signaled both surrender and desire, Paige melted into his arms.

  Zach didn’t misinterpret her response. His arms came around her, and he yanked her against him so they were pressed together from chest to thigh. The full-frontal contact sent her body temperature through the roof.

  His dark, masculine flavor slipped into her blood like a drug, rushed through her veins, leaving her hot and aching and desperately wanting.

  She hadn’t expected anything like this. Or maybe the reason she’d fought against the attraction for so long was that she’d been afraid of something exactly like this. Maybe, somewhere deep inside, she’d known that her response to Zach would be off the charts.

  His tongue delved into her mouth, tangled with hers. His fingers sifted through her hair, tipping her head back so he could deepen the kiss even further.

  When he finally lifted his head to say, “Come to my room with me,” she responded simply, “Yes.”

  Without another word, Zach took her by the hand and led her into the house. He wanted her as he couldn’t remember wanting any other woman—with a fierce desperation. He wanted to lower his body over hers, into hers. He wanted to take, to devour, to possess.

  And as he drew her into the darkness of his bedroom, he knew that he could. He could take her here and now, up against the wooden door or on the hard floor, and she wouldn’t protest. And maybe then he’d find some release from the need that burned inside of him whenever he was near her.

  But he wanted more than a fast and reckless possession of the woman who had been driving him to distraction for weeks—and she deserved more. So he forced himself to go slow, to savor the moment, the pleasure, the woman.

  His woman, he thought, and even as he wondered where the unexpected possessiveness had come from, he didn’t doubt the rightness of the feeling. From this moment forward, she was his.

  He stripped away her dress, leaving her clad in only a couple of scraps of sheer black lace, then he lifted her into his arms and laid her back on the mattress. Her hair spilled over the pillow, a coppery halo. Her eyes were dark and fathomless. Her lips were moist and erotically swollen.

  He quickly discarded his own clothing, then fumbled around in the drawer of his nightstand. When he came up empty-handed, he swore.

  “What’s wrong?” Paige asked.

  He felt like a complete idiot. He finally had her exactly where he wanted her, naked and willing, and he was completely unprepared to take advantage of the situation.

  “I don’t have any condoms,” he admitted.

  She slipped away from him, but instead of reaching for her dress, she reached for her purse. “I do.”

  “I didn’t get the impression that you expected this to happen tonight,” he said, when she handed him the small square packet.

  “I didn’t,” she said, obviously shocked that he would even suggest such a thing. “I just believe in being prepared.”

  “Well, I’m glad you were.” He reached for her hand and drew her toward him. “And very grateful.”

  “How grateful?”

  He eased her back onto the bed. “Let me show you.”

  He lifted her arms over her head, then cuffed both of her wrists with one of his hands. With the other, he flipped open the clasp at the front of her bra. Then he nudged the fabric aside and closed his mouth over one peaked nipple.

  She gasped and arched beneath him.

  He continued to tease and torment her breasts, moving from one to the other and back again. He took his cues from her, listening to the rhythm of her breathing, letting her moans and sighs guide him.

  Keeping her hands pinned, his mouth trailed lower. Sweeping down her torso, dipping into the hollow of her belly, dallying at her navel. She struggled against his hold, wanting—needing—to touch him as he was touching her.

  When he finally released his grip on her wrists, she reached for him, desperate to touch him, to feel his warm and solid flesh beneath her palms. She stroked her hands over him, savoring the delicious contrast of smooth skin and hard muscle.

  In one quick movement, her panties were stripped away and tossed aside.

  Now, she thought and braced herself for the glorious press of his body into hers.

  But Zach had other ideas. He parted her thighs and lowered his head, and with the first touch of his tongue to her moist core, she simply and completely shattered.

  Her hands slid limply from his shoulders to fist in the sheets.

  “Zach.” His name was a whimper, a plea.

  But he wasn’t finished. With his tongue and his teeth, he drove her up again so that she had to bite down hard on her lip to keep from crying out.

  She wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but somehow the second climax was even more explosive than the first, and her body was still pulsing with the aftershocks of pleasure when he finally rose up over her and plunged into her.

  She thought there could be no more, that she had nothing left to give, but as her body moved in rhythm with his, he proved her wrong again.

  She’d had sex before. Numerous times, in fact. And with different partners, too. She wasn’t ashamed to admit it or embarrassed by the fact that she enjoyed sex. She wouldn’t have wasted her time with it otherwise.

  But she’d never before had sex with someone who made her want so much, n
eed so much, feel so much. It wasn’t just physical satisfaction—although every pass of his hands over her skin made her quiver and yearn. There was a sense of connection with Zach that she’d never felt with anyone else.

  When his mouth captured hers again as he shuddered with his own release, she realized that what they’d just experienced was more than a joining of their bodies—it was a mating of their souls.

  Or maybe she was just being fanciful.

  Zach brushed his lips over hers again. Now that their mutual desire had been sated—at least temporarily—there was more gentleness than passion in his kiss, and the sweetness of the gesture nearly brought tears to her eyes.

  She wasn’t the type of woman that a man snuggled up to after sex. At least, she never had been before. And she knew that was her fault—or maybe it was more accurate to say it was her design. Because, although she recognized and accepted that she had sexual urges like any other woman, she didn’t want or need intimacy. She was a strong, independent woman. She valued her space and her autonomy. She didn’t need to cuddle. She didn’t want to share confidences or hopes and dreams.

  But she had no energy left to push herself away from him, to slip out of the warmth of his arms and into the cold emptiness of her own bed.

  Instead, she snuggled close to him. And fell asleep listening to the beat of his heart beneath her cheek.

  Chapter Ten

  When Zach woke up, it was with a sense of contentment and satisfaction that he hadn’t experienced in a very long time. And he knew the soft, warm female pressed against him was responsible for the feeling.

  He was tempted to show his appreciation by skimming a hand down her back or touching his lips to the top of her head, but he resisted because he suspected that the slightest movement or lightest touch might wake her. And despite the incredible passion they’d shared through the darkest hours of night, he knew that with the light of day might come recriminations and regrets.

  He didn’t want her to regret what they’d shared, but he couldn’t deny that spending the night together changed things between them. And although he believed the change was for the better, he understood that Paige had some issues with his uniform that weren’t likely to be resolved by one night of passion. Maybe not even two or three nights, although he was more than willing to give it a shot.

  Just the thought had his blood stirring. And when Paige sighed and snuggled closer in her sleep, the stirring became a churning. He closed his eyes and mentally cataloged the morning chores in the vineyard. Though it had been years since he’d worked in either the grape-growing or wine-making aspects of his family’s business, the exercise helped him get himself under control. Mostly.

  He heard the patter of little feet in the hall and experienced a brief moment of panic as he realized that Emma had somehow managed to get out of her crib and was probably looking for Paige. He wasn’t worried that she would come into his bedroom because he’d locked the door, but he did worry that the child might be upset if she couldn’t find Paige. Then he heard his mother talking to her, and he relaxed, reassured that Emma hadn’t got out of bed on her own and wasn’t alone.

  He could have pinpointed the exact moment that Paige awoke, because every single muscle in her body tensed. And in that moment the warm and languid woman in his arms was again distant and wary.

  “Emma’s up,” she said, sliding away from him in the bed.

  “My mom’s with her.”

  Paige’s only response was to toss back the covers and turn so that her back was to him.

  He couldn’t help but notice that it was a lovely back—her skin was pale and smooth and soft and fragrant. He’d definitely neglected her back last night. But she had so many parts that had demanded his attention—and he’d enjoyed giving it.

  Watching her wiggle into her panties, Zach temporarily lost track of the conversation. Although he had to admit that as enticing as it was to watch her dress, it had been a lot more fun to take her clothes off.

  “I should be with her,” Paige said, scooping her dress off the floor.

  He snapped his attention back to the present. “You don’t have to be with her 24/7,” he told her.

  “She’s my responsibility. At least until the court says otherwise.”

  He sighed as her comment brought reality crashing down on his fantasy. “I thought we were going to forget about the custody issue while we were here.”

  “I can’t.” She looked at him, those beautiful dark eyes pleading for him to understand.

  But he couldn’t. Or maybe he didn’t want to even try to understand why she was pushing him away. “Were you thinking about it last night while we were naked?” he challenged, needing her to remember what they’d shared, to think about what they could build together.

  Her cheeks drained of all color. “No.”

  “Jesus, Paige, stop feeling so damned guilty. Wanting something for yourself isn’t a maternal defect.”

  She shook her head, obviously not convinced. “I’ve only known you for three weeks.”

  “Which, coincidentally, is precisely how long I’ve known you,” he pointed out.

  “Men aren’t judged the same way.”

  His eyes narrowed on her. “Do you think I’d somehow use what happened between us last night against you?”

  Her silence was damning, and though he wanted to grab her and shake her, to force her to acknowledge that what they’d shared had nothing to do with anything except the way they felt about each other, he knew that any show of anger on his part—justified or not—would only cause her to withdraw from him even more.

  “When you have a child, you’re not supposed to forget about her when it’s convenient for you,” she said softly.

  Although he knew Paige’s comment was directed more at herself than at him, he said, “I’m not trying to forget about her. I’m trying to get you to admit that there’s something between us.”

  “The only thing between us is the unresolved issue of Emma’s custody,” she insisted.

  “If you really believe that, then you’re lying to yourself.”

  The only response he heard was the click of the door closing at her back.

  Paige had to talk to someone.

  She was so completely confused she didn’t know what to think or how to feel. She decided to call Ashley because Megan had never been a morning person and probably wasn’t any more so now that she had a baby waking her up at frequent intervals through the night. But the sleepy “hello” that came across the line suggested that she’d miscalculated and awakened Ashley.

  “I’m sorry,” she said quickly, sincerely.

  “Paige?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Where are you?” her cousin’s voice was drifting, as if she was still half sleeping.

  “I’m in California.”

  “So why are you calling?”

  “Because I slept with Zach.”

  She heard the rustle of sheets and imagined that her cousin had just bolted upright in bed.

  “Okay, I’m awake now,” Ashley said. “But you might want to repeat that because I thought you just said that you slept with Zach.”

  “I did.” She closed her eyes. “It was a mistake, of course, but—”

  “How was it a mistake? Are you saying you accidentally had sex with the man?”

  Paige managed a smile. “No, it was a deliberate decision, just not a very well-thought-out one.”

  “It definitely complicates things,” her cousin agreed.

  Paige felt like banging her head against the wall, but settled for leaning back against it. “I never should have agreed to this trip.”

  Ashley was quiet for a minute before she asked, “Was it lousy sex?”

  “What? Why would you ask that?”

  “Well, it just makes sense that you’d be more likely to regret getting naked with someone if the experience was…disappointing.”

  “The experience wasn’t disappointing,” she said. In fact, just the memories
of making love with Zach were enough to send her pulse racing.

  “Then why are you on the phone with me instead of dallying in his bed?” Ashley asked.

  “I don’t know how to dally.”

  “I’ll bet Zach could teach you,” her cousin teased.

  Paige sighed. “This isn’t helping, Ash.”

  “Well, what do you want me to say?”

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I just woke up with Zach beside me this morning, and I panicked.”

  “That isn’t like you,” Ashley said.

  “I know.” It wasn’t like her to fall into bed with a man without careful consideration of the consequences, either, but all she’d thought about before getting naked with Zach was how very much she wanted to get naked with Zach.

  “Zach’s a good guy,” her cousin said. “And I think he could be good for you, if you let him.”

  “If I let him?” Paige frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means that you have a habit of shutting out any guy who tries to get too close.”

  “Well, if it turns out that he is Emma’s father, that won’t be an option, will it?”

  “You still haven’t received the test results?” Ashley asked, obviously surprised.

  “No. I got a text message from Megan’s friend at the lab, but I haven’t had a chance to get back to him yet.”

  “Haven’t had a chance?” her cousin wondered. “Or don’t want to know?”

  Paige sighed. “The truth is, I think I do know.”

  “You’ve accepted that Zach is Emma’s father?”

  “Yeah,” she said, because she knew it was ridiculous to continue to deny what was obvious to everyone else.

  Ashley was silent for a moment. “Can I ask you one more thing?”

  “Sure.”

  “Had you accepted that fact before you slept with Zach?”