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She shrugged. Part of her wanted to get as far away from him as fast as she could. But another part, a treacherous, yearning hopefulness that she seriously despised, kept raising its own little chorus in her head, reminding her of the ecstasy she’d known in his arms and the dreams she’d woven during the long weeks since she’d seen him last. “I suppose we might.”
“You’re planning on keeping the baby, correct?”
She nodded. “That’s correct. But I don’t expect anything from you. I merely felt an obligation to inform you that you had fathered a child.”
“You mean your sister felt that obligation,” he reminded her. She bristled immediately and he held up a placatory hand. “I’m sorry. The point is, I would like you to stay in Arizona for a while as a guest in my home.”
She couldn’t keep the suspicion from her voice. “Why?”
He took a deep breath. “We—you and I—are going to be parents. We barely know each other. For the baby’s sake, we need to learn more about each other and discuss the rearing of the child.”
“This baby is mine!” Elizabeth put a protective hand over her stomach. “You wouldn’t even know about it if you hadn’t noticed for yourself, and you certainly weren’t thrilled when you did. I told you, I don’t want or need anything from you.” On the verge of tears, she halted, unwilling to relive the hurt and shock she’d felt after their meeting in the restaurant, when she’d realized how little the moments in the garden house had meant to him.
“You’re being unreasonable,” he said. “You just walked into my life again two days ago and I learned you’re carrying my child. It was a shock, and I’m sorry if I reacted badly. Elizabeth…” His voice softened, and those devastatingly direct blue eyes caught and held her gaze. “I’d like to get to know you better.”
She hesitated. Staying here was a very bad idea, when all the man had to do was walk into the room, and her body began to yearn for his touch. But he was probably right. They did have some things to talk about. If she could just remember that his caresses meant nothing, that he had only kissed her in an effort to get her to weaken and agree to stay, she could handle a few days of this.
The problem was that she couldn’t even remember her own name when he touched her, much less any principles.
Still, she owed this to her child. If her baby’s father wanted to be involved in its life, then she was just going to have to learn to deal with Rafe Thorton. Only for the baby’s sake, she reminded herself as she felt her insides automatically loosen and warm beneath the smoldering intensity of his gaze. He was only interested in her because she carried his child.
Slowly, she nodded her head. “All right. I’ll stay for a few days. But you have to promise me one thing.”
“Anything,” he said, clearly pleased with his persuasive technique.
“No more kissing,” she said.
His big body had relaxed when she’d agreed to stay. But now his muscles tensed, and his dark brows snapped together in clear displeasure. “Why?”
“Promise me.” She ignored his question.
“We’re attracted to each other. Don’t you think it’s natural for us to want to…kiss?”
The devil. She knew exactly what he was doing. His purposeful hesitation had brought all manner of memories rushing to the surface of her mind, distracting her from the conversation as she remembered the hot, wild ecstasy she’d known in his arms. Firmly, she said, “I’m not interested in casual sex. Promise me you won’t start that kissing again or I’m getting the first plane out of here.”
“All right,” he said, and there was a grim set to his mouth. But as she watched, his lips curled into a lazy grin that curled her toes inside her shoes. “There was nothing ‘casual’ about the night we were together and you know it. Pretending you don’t want me and I don’t want you isn’t going to work.”
“It will have to,” she insisted, though her stomach did a wild flip-flop at the look in his eyes, “or I won’t stay.”
It was probably just as well that he hadn’t told her she’d be staying longer than a few days, Rafe reflected the next afternoon as he pulled into his driveway. He had no intention of letting her go back to Wynborough. His child was going to be a citizen of the United States of America.
He strode into the house, wondering what she’d done with herself all day. They’d agreed that she woul
d rest and he would work as usual. He’d spent his time at the office getting things in order so that he could take a few days off.
“Hello.” Elizabeth stood framed in the doorway to the kitchen.
He told himself the relief and satisfaction that rushed through him were merely a response to his concern that she might have packed and left while he was out, though she’d promised him she wouldn’t. “Hello,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
To his surprise, she laughed. The sound of her husky, feminine chuckle touched chords of sexual awareness inside him, but he firmly shoved those impulses away.
“I feel fine,” she said. “I’m pregnant, not ill, you know.”
He smiled in return. “I know. It’s just instinct, I suppose, to feel protective toward a woman carrying a child. Especially to a mere man who can’t even imagine what it must be like.”
Especially when that woman looks like a green-eyed angel, and she’s carrying your child.
He started forward. “What did you do today? I felt badly, leaving you to your own devices, but I wanted to get my staff in order so that I could take a few days off.”
