An Act of Persuasion(79)
When he’d started this process to woo her and convince her to marry him, his goals had been simple. He wanted Anna and the child in his life. It was a logical thing to want. She was carrying his only child. She and he were obviously compatible. A marriage with a child between them would only make them more so. Emotions hadn’t come into play.
Now, however, the more he tried to tug her close, the more he could feel her trying to pull away. Not because she didn’t want him—what they did together in bed showed him the level of her desire for him. Even if she’d wanted to fake an orgasm, she couldn’t because he set off all her sexual triggers.
But she was obviously afraid of something, or fighting something and withholding because of that. He needed to overcome that. He needed to show her what their life could be like and that there was nothing to fear from him.
It wasn’t only about what he saw as their future together. It was about her and wanting all of her.
He was sure the something holding her back was her past. That experience of being abandoned probably drove her fear. It made her cagey and elusive even when she craved having someone close.
Ben considered what he’d learned about her parents and wondered if he shouldn’t tell her the truth now. Although he thought about why he’d held on to the information this long and decided now was absolutely the wrong time. He needed more time with her like this, more time to overcome her fears without adding to them. With every weapon at his disposal he needed to bond her to him completely. So the idea of her life without him in it wouldn’t make sense.
Once she was truly his, then he would tell her everything.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
AS THEY WAITED for the lab technician to show up Ben grew increasingly frustrated. It had been a few weeks since they had begun what he liked to refer to as the sexual part of their relationship—a fact that made him gleefully happy. But that development certainly hadn’t made Anna any more malleable in her opinions.
Clearly, she was not a woman to be controlled by intense sexual gratification. Damn it.
She squirmed on the examining table, clearly trying to find some relief for the pressure on her bladder while he attempted to overcome her stubbornness about a topic they’d surprisingly butted heads on.
“We’re two intelligent people,” he began, attempting another logical approach to persuade her to his way of thinking.
“We are.”
“Then let me please present you my rational and sound argument one more time.”
“Go for it.”
“If we find out the gender now, we will be more prepared as parents. First, we can eliminate an entire spectrum of names to consider, which should reduce the chance of a conflict between us as your pregnancy advances. Also, we can buy the appropriate type and style of baby clothes we should have in preparation for this blessed event. Finally, while I believe we shouldn’t necessarily conform to any gender stereotypes, we can begin to cater the child’s toys.”
“Those are all really good reasons.”
“So when the technician comes in can we tell her we want to know the sex?”
“Nope.”
Ben imagined if the sonogram technician found him with his hands around the pregnant woman’s neck, it might not look good for him. No matter how justified he might be in his actions.
He gritted his teeth together. “I don’t suppose you can provide me with a logical reason for your decision.”
“Nope.”
“You see how unfair this is?”
“Uh, buddy, take a look.” Anna pointed to her exposed and quite round belly. “I’m sitting here about to burst with pee while I continue to get bigger by the minute. My reason... I think there really aren’t many surprises left in life except maybe this one. So I say, let’s be surprised.”
“It’s going to drive me insane knowing this information is out there but I do not have access to it.”
She smiled. “Uh, yeah. That’s part of the fun, too.”
The technician chose that moment to enter the room and Ben considered it a small miracle that she found him doing nothing more menacing than scowling at the mother of his child. Seriously, Anna would drive him insane.
He watched as Anna’s belly was covered with clear goo and the technician took a wand to her belly.
“Gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee.”
“Hold it a little longer,” Ben ordered as he stepped closer to take her hand.