Fall for Me (Danvers #3)(17)
He didn’t say a word as she mopped up the tears that had been running down her cheeks. “Sor— Sorry, give me a minute.” Beth chuckled once more and took another breath to steady herself. Grinning at him standing there with his arms crossed and frowning at her, she asked, “So that message brought this whole he-man routine out?”
“I’m glad you think it’s so funny, Beth, because I’m still not amused. Who is Seth?”
Shrugging her shoulders, she walked to the kitchen for a drink of water. “He’s just a guy I went out with before, no big deal.”
“How do you know him and when did you go out with him?”
Still unable to figure out why he would be upset, she replied, “I, um, met him through a dating service and we went out a few weeks ago.”
Nick turned to face her, his face thunderous. “You’re using a dating service and you’ve been seeing this guy while we’ve been together?”
Suddenly it hit her how bad this whole thing must look to him. True, they hadn’t made any promises, but they had, for all intents, been spending most nights together. Well you wanted to put some distance between you, here’s your chance. If you really want to lose him, you can do it right now. Faking a carefree manner that she was far from feeling, she said, “I never said I wasn’t seeing other people, Nick. I assumed you were as well. I signed up for the dating service months ago. Before you even ask though: Yes, I do know for sure that I am carrying your child.”
“I wasn’t going to ask that, Beth. I know you wouldn’t lie to me about something like that. Tell Seth and anyone else you’re seeing that it’s over. You’re pregnant and getting married. There seems to have been some confusion about seeing other people while we are dating, but let me clear it up for you. I’m not sharing my girlfriend, and I’m sure as hell not sharing my wife and the mother of my child. Send the memo, princess, you’re off the market.”
“You’re crazy! I’m not marrying you and you can’t tell me what to do. I’m an adult, Nick. You don’t own me. In fact, I plan to go out with Seth tomorrow night.”
Nick stared at her, clearly mystified over her refusal to make their relationship exclusive. Someone perfect like Nick could never understand the insecurities that someone like Beth harbored. He was too perfect for her. She would constantly find herself flawed against his perfection. She was pregnant and, God help her, about to start gaining some of her hard-lost pounds back. How would he feel when he could no longer span her waist with his hands? Would he enjoy her br**sts as much when they were too large and far more than the current handful? Would he want to kiss and caress her lips as much when there was a double chin below them?
Nick prowled toward her and she took a step backward, suddenly nervous at his intense expression. When he had her backed up against the wall, she laughed nervously. “What’re you doing?” He ignored her question and lowered his head to her neck. She felt his warm lips slide against her sensitive skin and she gave an involuntary shudder. “Nick—”
His tongue thrusting into her mouth silenced the feeble protest she attempted to make. With a groan, she surrendered to him. They both knew she was powerless to resist how he made her feel. At that moment, she would have followed him off a cliff, so she issued no denial when he backed her toward the bedroom, never once breaking contact with her mouth. Just one more time and I’ll be stronger the next time. Everyone deserves a weak moment, right? Even as she repeated the reassurances to herself, Beth had to wonder if she would ever be strong enough to walk away from this man who took her breath away and set her body on fire with just one look. Would it be so bad to take what he’s offering?
Chapter Nine
Beth had worked steadily through the morning, and she stood up behind her desk stretching her tired muscles. It was probably the workout from last night that had her fatigued the most. My God, that man knew how to use his tongue and the rest of him wasn’t too shabby, either. She hadn’t realized how lost in her thoughts she was until a snort from the doorway startled her back to the present.
Suzy, Ella, and Claire stood there looking at her. Suzy looked disgusted, Claire looked amused, and Ella looked as she always did, supportive. “Ugh, I know that look. She’s either thinking about the last time she got lucky or she just got lucky in her office. Just for the record, Claire, as an owner of this company, now objects to any sexual activity in her building, right, Claire?”
Claire looked at Suzy and laughed. “Um. . . . Sure, yes, whatever she says.”
Beth stuck out her tongue at Suzy and grabbed her purse to join them. They all chatted about their mornings until they were in Suzy’s SUV. Suzy turned in her seat and looked over at her sister sitting in the rear seat. “Let’s go ahead and address the elephant in the room. I told Claire you have a bun in the oven. You know I suck at keeping secrets from her. Now all of us know and you don’t have to sit through lunch wondering.”
She could feel her cheeks flushing as Claire gave her a sympathetic look. Ella, bless her heart, quickly changed the subject. The conversation was light and easy and Beth was just starting to relax after placing her lunch order when Suzy decided to move in for the kill. “So, what’s the status on the whole marriage, white-picket-fence thing that Nick’s trying to sell you?”
You really had to give Claire credit. She didn’t even look surprised by her best friend’s abrupt question. Ella was looking like she wanted to crawl under the table. She still hadn’t gotten used to Suzy’s direct way of getting straight to the point. “Nothing’s really changed; he still wants to marry me, but I told him it’s not gonna happen. Boy, if you think he was pissed off over that, you should have seen his expression when I told him I was still going on my date tonight with Seth. Now, that was a Kodak moment if I’ve ever seen one.”