An Act of Persuasion(16)

“Of course I’m going to be part of its life. We’re its parents.”

“Right. We’ll need to work out the details of how that happens.”

He released her hand and stood again. This time not to pace but to tower over her. “Anna, I don’t think you get it. I’m not talking about some arrangement where we split this child’s time between us.”

Not letting him intimidate her, she stood, too, and got in his face. “If you think for one second I’m going to let you take my child—”

He put his hands on her shoulders. “Calm down. Your face is turning is red. I’m not taking the child. You’re not keeping the child. We’re raising the child. Together. Anna, you’re going to marry me.”

The words hit her in the face like a slap. He wanted her to marry him.

How completely and totally awful.

“Oh, hell no.”

* * *

BEN WAS FURIOUS. When he finally pulled into his driveway he turned off the ignition and allowed himself a moment to express his fury by slamming his hand against the steering wheel.

He’d succeeded only in hurting his hand.

Her face. The completely and totally horrified look she had on her face when he told her they would marry. He didn’t think he would ever forget it.

It’s not like he was an ogre. Yes, he’d been sick, but the cancer was in remission and he was getting stronger every day. He still had a very successful business and all the money they could ever need and then some. The Tyler Group was proving to be an infinitely more profitable source of income than the United States government.

Yet, given her reaction, a person might have concluded that he’d asked her to go to the pits of hell instead.

“Oh, hell no.”

The words rattled around in his head. What kind of answer was that? She was carrying his child. Since the moment she’d told him about the baby he’d been unable to think of anything else. Anna and his child. His child. Anna. His.

Maybe that wasn’t entirely true. He’d also thought about how they created that child. Memories of that night came flooding back. Where once he’d ruthlessly suppressed them, now he didn’t see the point. There was no pretending it hadn’t happened. In six months there would be undeniable proof.

That night when he’d felt as if his grip on life was slipping, she’d given him a taste of why it was so important to hold on. God, she’d been so sweet. Hot and wet and welcoming. Soft all around him.

Yet another reason why he would make a suitable husband. Good sex.

Because it had been good for her. She couldn’t deny that. As clumsy and as urgent as he’d been, he’d still felt her orgasm. Now that he was healthy, he could make it even better for her.

Moaning, he leaned his head back against the seat and felt his body react to the images in his mind. It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten hard since his recovery. No, he’d had a few morning erections, which he considered a good sign that his body was healing.

Each damn one had been brought on by the memory of that night.

When he’d thought about seeing her today, when he’d thought about what might happen after he proposed—because his plan had been to propose rather than announce that they were going to marry—he’d thought that maybe that night might happen again.

The image he’d created was very different from what had actually happened. In his fantasy she was thrilled with the idea of having him as a husband. They would kiss to seal the deal and then she would have taken him to her bedroom where they could formally solidify their status as a couple.

Ben snorted. Formally solidify their status as a couple?

Truth was he wanted to screw her brains out.

He wanted another chance to see her breasts with her soft brown nipples and he wanted to slide into her body knowing that the act that they were doing had created life. Life, when he’d been so close to death.

It occurred to him that maybe he should have led with that. Maybe he should have told her how special that night was to him. How much he thought about it. How much he thought about repeating it.

It would shock her, he knew. The way he’d acted after it happened probably made it seem as if it had all been a big mistake he wanted to forget. Not something that impacted their relationship at all.

He had his reasons certainly. The biggest and most undeniable one was that, at the time, he’d made a decision he knew could cost him his life. He hadn’t wanted her to dispute that decision and he didn’t want her to think of him in any long-term capacity. On the off-chance he actually did die.