Honor Bound(41)

"I have no such arrangement in mind."

"Then what?"

"We'll get married. You'll both live with me."

It wasn't a suggestion. It wasn't even an alternative offered up for discussion. It was an edict.

When the words finally sank in, she splayed her hand over her chest and said on a soft laugh, "You can't be serious." But his unmoving features and unblinking eyes told her he was deadly serious. "Are you crazy? That's impossible!"

"It's essential. My child will not grow up branded a bastard."

"Don't say that word."

"It's ugly, isn't it? I want to guarantee that Tony will never hear it."

"But we can't get married."

"I didn't count on that either," he said, somewhat chagrined. "But we are, as soon as arrangements can be made. I'll be back tomorrow."

He leaned down and patted Tony on the behind, smiling down at him fondly and speaking something in his native tongue. Then, as though everything had been settled, he turned and left the nursery.

Aislinn ran after him, catching him by the sleeve as he reached for the knob on the front door. "I can't marry you."

"Are you already married?"

He fired the question at her and it stunned her for a moment. "No. Of course not."

"Then there's no reason why we can't marry."

"Except that I don't want to."

"Well, neither do I," he grated, bending down and putting his face close to hers for emphasis. "But we'll just have to put aside our own feelings for the sake of our son. If I can tolerate having an Anglo wife, you can damn sure tolerate having an Indian husband."

"Oh, for Pete's sake," she cried angrily. "This has nothing to do with my being Anglo and your being Indian. Don't you ever think of anything else?"

"Rarely."

"Well, make an exception this time. Considering the way we met, don't you think the idea of marriage is just a little ridiculous?"

"Meaning that a kidnapping is hardly a courtship."

"Exactly."

"What to you want from me? To go down on bended knees?"

She gave him a withering look. "I only meant to point out that we don't even know each other. We made a baby, but—" She broke off, alarmed by her own words. She didn't want to be reminded of that morning. She certainly didn't want to remind him of it.

She had been facing him squarely, her fists planted on her hips. Now, she quickly lowered her arms, suddenly aware of how her militant posture was stretching her blouse across her breasts. Nervously, she wet her lips with her tongue and looked someplace else besides Lucas's face.

"Yes, we made a baby," he said quietly. "That's really the point, isn't it? Tony had nothing to do with what happened between us, so he damn sure isn't going to go through his life paying for it. We," he said, waving his hand between his chest and hers, "we shared that lust. There's not a damn thing we can do about it now but share the responsibility for the life we created."

He placed a finger beneath her chin and yanked her head up, forcing her to look at him. "As surely as I planted my seed in you, Tony will know me." He released her and stepped back. "I'll be back tomorrow. Whether you consent to marry me or not, I'm taking my son with me when I leave."

"Under the threat of a knife?" she asked snidely.

"If necessary."

His eyes drove the words home. She believed him and was frightened into speechlessness. Nothing more was said before he left by the front door.

* * *

She was nervous. Chastising herself for acting like a ninny, she still jumped at every sound. She nearly came out of her skin when the doorbell rang. It turned out to be the postman hand-delivering a catalog that was too large for her mailbox. She felt foolish, but she couldn't curb her jitters.

She tried reassuring herself that her nervousness might all be for naught. Lucas Greywolf might never return. Seeing Tony might have made him think he wanted to take on the responsibilities of child-rearing. But upon thinking about it last night, he might very well have changed his mind.

She didn't think so, however. Lucas—strange how her mind formed his name so easily—wasn't a man given to outbursts of emotion that were quickly spent. Nor was he likely to make promises he didn't intend to keep. Sometime today he would show up on her doorstep. When that happened, what would she do?

Exercise all the powers of persuasion at her disposal.

Throughout the long night, the problem had clattered around and around in her head like the ball in a roulette wheel. Lucas Greywolf was a fact of her life now, and she would have to cope with him.

She outlined what she thought would be a fair arrangement for Lucas to see Tony. Surely he would recognize the sound reasoning behind that. A baby needed his mother, especially for the first few years. Unless Lucas was totally unreasonable, he would admit that. And she knew that he didn't really want to get married, any more than she did.

She was enjoying the stability of her life now. In her fifth month of pregnancy, she had hired another photographer to take over her duties at the portrait studio. Then, since she had been busy converting the spare bedroom in her condo into a nursery, she hired a receptionist/bookkeeper. Both young women were doing well in their jobs, and the studio was prospering as it never had before.