Chapter Five
CHAPTER FIVE
A BSOLUTE RAGE CONSUMED HER . Phoebe grabbed his shirt with the intention of shoving him away, only somehow the message between her brain and fist got confused and she pulled him to her instead of thrusting him from her. The screaming tension of the last few days snapped. He took the last step and smashed his mouth on hers. Lost to sensation, she opened. Moaned. He twisted a hand into her hair, angled her head for better access, raked his tongue deep into her mouth. It was everything she’d wanted for months. She arched, banging against his body, desperate to get closer. He pushed her back, pressing her against the door with such pleasurable pressure, she almost came on the spot.
‘Damn it Phoebe,’ he immediately braced, pulling an inch back. ‘We have to be careful—’
‘No.’ She wouldn’t take it easy…she would take what she wanted . ‘Don’t stop.’
She needed to feel better. To feel him . Now. He stared into her eyes so she saw the moment he sank beneath the same wave of need surging through her—swamping all reason. It was unstoppable madness and so fantastic that she sobbed.
‘Please…please…’ She pushed up his shirt.
He got his arms out and tossed it to the floor. She gasped at the sight of him. He pressed his hot lips to hers, then roved along her jaw.
‘Don’t stop… Please don’t stop…’
He didn’t. The hot kisses became scorching. He trailed a searing path down her neck, across her collar bone. Her nipples peaked—aching painfully against her bikini top. She needed his mouth there, his tongue. Needed him lower still. Whimpering, she rocked her hips and hooked her leg around his. She ached for his hands and mouth and weight to be everywhere. All at once. She’d wanted this for so long and they were so close now that all she had to do was push his trousers down just enough—
He gripped her wrist, stopping her. ‘I don’t have anything with me,’ he growled.
‘I’m already pregnant.’ She groaned.
He paused, panting, temptation clearly tearing him apart. ‘I haven’t done this since you.’
‘Same.’
There was another snatched moment as he looked into her eyes. He released her and finished the task of pushing down his pants. Fierce pleasure surged as a wildness too raw to endure swept over her. He was beautiful. She had to indulge in this, just once more. That was all it would take. She just had to get closer—get the high of having him again.
She didn’t know how, but in a second she’d been stripped of her bikini bottoms. He lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He growled her name and thrust hard.
‘Yes!’ she shrieked.
This was what she’d needed. What she’d missed . Him lodged deep inside her. He looped his arms around her, trapping her between him and the door, and pumped into her with feral grunts that only turned her on more. She tightened her arms and legs and flexed every sexual muscle she could, so full of frenetic energy that she simply had to expend it—push him faster. But in an instant she was shaking, endlessly lost in the throes of the most intense orgasm of her life, soaring higher as she heard his shout as he joined her…
‘Phoebe.’
She couldn’t answer. Panting, she rested her forehead on his shoulder as he carried her to the bed. But she refused to release him and he grunted as she took him down with her.
‘Phoebe.’
She heard the serious edge in his voice and chose to ignore it. ‘I still don’t want to talk about it.’
They’d be forced to face reality soon enough. They might as well feel good about something now—prolong this pleasure. His pupils dilated and he rolled onto his back, taking her with him. She straddled him, immediately stretching out her hands to caress his lean, hot, hard body. Every one of his powerful muscles was hers to enjoy again and she did. Until he lifted her and slid lower until it wasn’t his thighs directly beneath her but his mouth.
He held her steady—one hand on her hip, one on her breast—thumbing her nipple. She gasped as he intimately kissed her, as he suckled and nibbled her sensitive nub. Moaned as he made her quake all over again. And then he lifted her again, only to scoot back up so he could slide her wet, hungry body onto his. To the hilt. Energised by the ecstasy, she rose and sank onto him over and over again, throwing her head back in unbearable pleasure. And then she couldn’t move for the bliss, but he flipped them both again and pressed closer, closer, closer, filling her once more with his fiery energy until she forgot absolutely everything.
* * *
Edo sat on the edge of the bed and gently pulled the coverings more closely around her. He rubbed his face, failing to ease his resurging tension. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips full from kissing him so passionately, and she was fast asleep.
He cursed beneath his breath. Long and vicious and entirely directed at himself. The chemistry between them was unbelievable. He couldn’t believe how desperately he’d lost control. His only consolation was that she had too— entirely . She’d completely taken him by surprise. He couldn’t have stopped her. Part of him felt feral pleasure that there hadn’t been anyone else for her, while at the same time he felt appalled as guilt twisted. That had been extremely passionate, extremely physical, and she was pregnant . He couldn’t comprehend that either. And he needed to. Fast. Because it was the worst thing. Ever .
He rolled his shoulders and stood. Maybe they’d just needed to get rid of that tension so they could discuss the future like rational adults. Except he still had all the sexual tension. He just wanted her again. Now. They needed to get away from a bedroom. Neither of them could keep their hands to themselves when they were alone. It was avoidance, he knew. Pure avoidance to escape the horror of this reality. He couldn’t be responsible for her. Or her child. But he had to be.
He was certain she would sleep a while yet which gave him a window in which to act. Her room was too small for him to talk freely on the phone and he needed to brief his lawyer. Security. Staff. He’d go to his suite so he didn’t wake her too soon.
He glanced at her shoulder bag on the table and glimpsed her passport tucked in there. Edo was already—with very good reason—a distrustful man. Phoebe was in denial. She didn’t want to deal with this—hell, she couldn’t even have a conversation with him about it yet. Which meant she was a flight risk. He braced against another prickle of guilt, quietly slid the passport from her bag and crept out of the room. Of course he would return it to her, but right now he needed the insurance.
Then he moved. The most immediate issue was her safety. Security arrangements needed to be made before anyone found out about her. He’d never wanted the responsibility of caring for anyone. Of protecting anyone. He’d failed Dante and he couldn’t fail again. But he didn’t have time to panic, to gnash his teeth and shake his fist at fate. He had to fix this as best he could. But what was best for Phoebe wasn’t him. Yes, she needed his outward symbol of support and strength, but his personal support was severely limited. Because it wasn’t only his brother he had failed.
His mind raced, sifting through the possibilities. Only one option satisfied the anxiety rising within him. The right thing. He would stand with her—keep them safe—but at the same time keep his distance personally. Because he was his grandfather’s heir and the failings of that old jerk resided within him too. He would keep his cool and propose—but it would be like any other acquisition, a business deal for security and convenience only. He could do that—explain it coolly and rationally and she would understand. She would agree.
Back in his suite, he dictated instructions to assistants, swiftly repacked his bags and summoned a bell boy to collect them. He’d get her somewhere safe and alone so he could explain what needed to happen and why. She was smart enough to work with him on this. It would be completely manageable.
Less than an hour later, he strode back down to her room, hoping she was still asleep, but just as he got out of the lift, her door opened. He paused where he was while she paced towards him, dressed again in the bland shirt and trousers. It took her a moment to glance up. When she did, she skidded to a halt and paled.
‘You’re awake.’ He shoved his hand on his hips, trying to contain the rage that instantly surged. ‘Where are you going?
‘For a walk.’
‘With all your luggage?’
She bit her lip.
‘You don’t want to go to the meeting?’ he added when she still didn’t answer.
‘As if you haven’t cancelled it already.’
‘You’re right. I’ve cancelled all of them.’
Her eyes widened. She wasn’t pleased. Nor was he.
‘We need to work this out,’ he growled. Her behaviour fully justified the action he’d felt bad about. But he wasn’t absolved, he was irate.
‘You don’t have to have anything to do with it.’ She matched his anger. ‘You can just walk away. Right now. Go on. It’s obvious you want to.’
‘What makes you say that?’ He tensed.
Her gaze dropped. ‘You left.’
‘Did you think I wasn’t coming back?’ His stomach dropped, stunned she’d think that. Instantly defensive because he’d failed already. He curled his hands into fists, needing to vent the emotions rising within him. ‘ I’m not the one currently trying to run away. Where were you going?’
His anger mushroomed in direct correlation with her silence.
‘Well, you weren’t going to get far without this.’ He pulled her passport from his back pocket.
Her jaw dropped. ‘You stole my passport?’
‘Stole’ was harsh. Borrowed was better. He’d needed the information.
‘Good thing I did, given you were about to leave without even talking to me.’ He put her passport in the inner pocket of his jacket.
‘Because I really don’t want to talk about it right now,’ she snapped with low voiced fury.
‘We have to discuss the future—’
‘Not now. I need space, I can’t think clearly—’
‘You can have space without walking out on me.’ He lost his temper entirely, asking everything that had been bothering him the last hour. ‘How could you not know you were pregnant? Have you been taking care of yourself? You’ve been working long hours.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with working long hours. You do that too.’
‘ I’m not pregnant,’ he gritted.
‘Edo.’ She closed her eyes and sighed. ‘I just want to go home .’
He steeled himself against her sigh. There was no choice—he needed to ensure her safety. He’d already made a mistake by leaving her earlier and she was even more vulnerable than he’d realised. ‘And so you shall.’
* * *
Phoebe could only stare as Edo grabbed her luggage. He guided her downstairs to where a massive car waited. One heavy set guy held the door for her while another two sat in the front behind the thick glass screen. Had he requested extra bodyguards? Why? As well as taking her passport? What the actual hell?
‘Are we going straight to the airport?’ she asked tensely.
He watched her fasten her seatbelt before fastening his, taking his time before answering. ‘We don’t have a huge amount of time, Phoebe, we need to make secure arrangements.’
His concept of time clearly differed from hers. ‘It might be later than is ideal to learn I’m pregnant, but we do still have months before this baby arrives.’
A frown furrowed his forehead. Apparently he couldn’t stand to think of it being an actual baby.
‘Once word gets out, it’ll cause problems,’ he said.
She flinched. ‘What business is it of anyone else’s?’
He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘How can you go from writhing in my arms to running away the second my back is turned?’ He dragged in a breath. ‘I’m getting whiplash.’
She could hardly explain it to herself. Maybe it was just the culmination of tension over the last few days, or the need to delay the realisation of what had happened. But it wasn’t even lunchtime, she was pregnant with his baby and the first thing she’d done when finding out was sleep with him again. Her attraction to him was unstoppable—even now she was burning with desire to move closer to him. But he’d left her. Alone. And he’d taken her passport. And she didn’t understand anything.
‘What happened this morning was just a primal reaction to the pregnancy news,’ she murmured vaguely. ‘I wanted to forget.’
‘Sex is a stress release for you too.’ He nodded acceptingly. ‘We’re good at it.’
Phoebe masked her flinch. Maybe that afternoon in Tuscany had been carefree fire because it had been meaningless. They’d not shared surnames let alone thoughts of any future. It was meant to have been one time—merely sexy hijinks with supposedly zero consequences. But Phoebe suddenly realised that what had happened this morning had been hugely different. She’d ached for him on a level that was actually terrifying. That need had been too much—too undeniable. And their encounter had been too good not to mean something—to her.
He regarded her from hooded lids. ‘Marry me and the stress-release sex can continue indefinitely.’
She stared at him for a long moment. ‘Are you joking?’
‘It would be for the best.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Marry me, Phoebe.’
She couldn’t believe he was even suggesting it. ‘Edo, neither of us want to get married.’
‘This isn’t about either of us any more.’
She tried to ease her breathing, but she was beginning to feel like she was into the fourth hour of an ultra-marathon and each inhale hurt. ‘We can parent this baby perfectly well without some piece of paper.’
His jaw hardened. ‘Doesn’t it deserve to have legitimacy and social acceptance?’
‘What archaic world are you from?’ she whined, ignoring the steel hardening his gaze.
‘It needs the security of my name and the protection I can provide.’
‘The baby can have your name,’ she snapped. ‘But there’s no need for us to marry.’
She focused on staying measured and not screeching at him. But she saw the implacable set to his mouth and, heaven help her, it was intensely attractive. Worse, what he was offering struck deeply at some primal level within her. She lost her mind—hell, her will —around him. She was so tempted to say yes, to go all in—to indulge her weak desire to leap to the extreme. And she couldn’t let that happen. Not on this.
‘You don’t want my name?’ he asked softly.
She shook her head, denying the curling lick of pleasure inside at the prospect of having something so deeply personally his . The possessiveness inside her—the greedy part she couldn’t shut down—wanted that. But it was madness. She wouldn’t lose herself again. Certainly not in some man she barely knew.
‘Do you think that just because I slept with you again that I’m going to say yes to everything you want?’ She wouldn’t give in to everything for a guy ever again. ‘You’re too used to getting your own way, and you can’t keep me here against my will.’ She glanced out the window and saw they were still in the city. ‘We are going to the airport, aren’t we?’
‘No, we’re going somewhere private to thrash out the plan for our future.’
‘There’s no need for a plan. It’s straightforward. We’re having a baby and we’ll cope.’
‘You said you would never be married again—why, what happened the first time around?’
She shot him a scathing look. ‘You want me to spill my guts about my first marriage now?’
‘It’s as good a time as any,’ he shrugged. ‘The sooner we understand where we’re each coming from, the sooner we can smooth our differences.’
Stunned, she stared at him. He was calm, while she was chaos. She had to pull herself together and fight. She drew another steadying breath. ‘If we marry, I assume you want us to live in Italy?’
His lashes veiled his eyes. ‘Initially, that would make most sense.’
‘Am I to give up my job?’ she followed up.
‘Phoebe—’
‘Are you going to give up your job?’
‘Is that the problem—’
‘Of course you won’t,’ she interrupted again. ‘Because it’s too important to you. Because you’re more important than me. Because you earn more and have more power and more people working for you or something like that, right? So the problem is that I’m the one who’ll make all the sacrifices—’
‘Biology dictates some of this Phoebe. You’re the one literally growing the baby. You need rest.’
‘Seriously?’ She glared at him.
‘You can hardly stay awake for more than a two-hour stretch now. It’s only likely to worsen.’
He thought it was impacting on her work? ‘But—’
‘I can ensure you have everything you need,’ he growled impatiently.
Money maybe, but other things? She wasn’t so sure. ‘Everything?’ she questioned. ‘Are you promising to take care of my every need?’
His gaze skittered from hers.
‘No, I didn’t think so,’ she muttered. ‘This isn’t what you want, Edoardo.’
‘What either of us want is irrelevant. We need to do what is right . I cannot put this child at risk.’
‘From me? Will I not be a good enough mother?’ She was desperately wounded.
‘Of course not,’ he said harshly. ‘I’m sure you’ll be an incredible mother.’
She blinked.
‘You’re thorough. Organised. Conscientious.’
‘I don’t think parenting is like paperwork.’
He breathed in sharply. ‘Phoebe—’
‘I have a job I like and a home I like in London and I’m not giving them up just so you can feel as if you’ve done “the right thing”.’
It was so obvious he hadn’t wanted to propose—it had slipped out in some half-hearted effort and now he was digging in because he felt he had to.
‘You live on the ground floor of a cramped flat with no yard. You don’t even own the entire building. There’s no freedom to play outside, and with that other flat above, your front door isn’t properly secure.’
She stared at him—how did he know all that? And while he might not consider her work valuable, it was meaningful and rewarding for her. She didn’t want to be ‘kept’. She didn’t want to lose her identity and become virtually nothing again. Because then she could be tossed aside like rubbish, as she had been before. Discarded once she’d lost her apparent value. So she would protect herself—her work, her home and her self-worth.
‘Don’t dismiss my achievement just because it’s in a different league to yours,’ she said. ‘Maybe I didn’t have a wealthy family to give me a leg up the financial ladder.’
He stiffened. ‘What makes you think I did?’
‘George said your grandfather was a financier.’
‘I focus on insurance,’ he snapped. ‘My success is my own.’
She gritted her teeth. Really? He didn’t have all kinds of privilege from growing up around that wealth—with education and connections and opportunities? But it wasn’t worth the argument, there were bigger points to win here. ‘Ditto. So don’t diminish it. I love my flat. It might not be a mansion, but I worked so hard to buy it. It’s mine .’
‘It’s mostly the bank’s,’ he retaliated coldly. ‘And you know it’s not good enough to raise a child there.’
‘It’s more than good enough for me,’ she argued proudly. ‘I’m happy there. Bethan is happy there. And my baby will be happy there. Just because you have a bunch of houses means nothing. Beautiful places are horrible when there’s no warmth at their heart. Same with beautiful people.’
‘No warmth?’ He laughed derisively. ‘There’s fire between us.’
‘That will die,’ she said coldly. ‘This child doesn’t need to be saddled with parents stuck in a toxic relationship.’
‘We won’t be toxic. We can manage this like sane adults if you’d stop for a second and listen to what I—’
‘Oh, so this is my fault for not listening ,’ she marvelled acerbically. ‘Meaning not immediately agreeing to everything you want.’
‘Phoebe.’ He sighed heavily. ‘You’re right, this passionate phase between us will pass. Same with the marriage. We will eventually separate and divorce.’
She stared at him all over again. He hadn’t meant marry for life? ‘Then why marry at all?’
He pulled his seatbelt, loosening it from his chest and then letting it snap back against him. ‘Eventually you and the child will live in London. Of course you can work if you want. You can do everything you want.’ He didn’t answer her question. ‘You can have nannies, staff—’
‘Wow. Where are you going to be?’
‘I can’t be the father you had.’
‘Well, thank goodness for that, because my father sucked at dad duties.’ So the Italy thing would only be temporary? She was so confused. ‘You don’t want your child to grow up here?’
‘It will be safer with you.’
It again. And safer how?
He tensed. ‘The bond between a baby and it’s mother—’
‘Shouldn’t necessarily be more important than the bond it has with its father,’ she said shortly. ‘Look, I gave up everything for my first husband. I moved cities. I quit my studies. I blindly followed him because I was so in love and thought he felt the same. But he didn’t. I’m not doing all that again, so don’t ask me to.’
She’d thrown herself headlong into believing Ryan loved her utterly and unconditionally. But he hadn’t. She’d been an irresistible, temporary accessory who’d suited his style at the time. Once he’d succeeded there, he’d been ready to level up with a better model.
Edo looked at her directly. ‘The difference here is that you’re not blindly in love with me. We’ll have a contract, Phoebe. A written guarantee that you will be taken care of. You won’t have to give up everything you want. In fact, you’ll get far more than you ever would have dreamed.’
He meant financially . But money didn’t buy happiness.
‘You can write up a contract,’ she nodded. ‘Go right ahead. But it still doesn’t require us to be married .’
‘Phoebe, I’m an extremely wealthy man.’
‘And? Is that supposed to impress me? Are you telling me to snatch you up now before some other woman does? Sorry, Edo. You’re a controlling jerk who’s taken my passport. Right now, you’re the last man on earth I’d marry.’
He pinched his nose and released a heavy sigh. ‘I don’t blame you for being angry. But we have little choice.’
‘Why? Who’s holding the gun to our heads? It’s just you and me who get to decide this.’
‘No. It is not.’ He closed his eyes momentarily and released another breath. ‘There was an abduction in my family and I’m more wealthy now than my family was then. Which means you are even more of a target. Fortunately, I also now have more deterrent power.’
Stunned, she gaped. ‘Someone in your family was abducted.’
‘My brother.’
‘What?’
‘He was thirteen.’
Shocked, Phoebe’s breathing shortened. ‘What happened? Is he okay?’
‘We got him back eventually, but he was never the same,’ he said stiffly. ‘I won’t take the risk of it happening to you.’
‘No one is going to want to abduct me,’ she whispered.
‘Unfortunately, you’re very wrong.’
So many questions raced through her head. Why had they targeted his brother? Had they caught the kidnappers? Where had he been held? But the one that popped out was fully needy. ‘Why didn’t you tell me sooner?’
‘I hadn’t the chance before you tried sneaking out of the hotel,’ he snapped.
‘I wasn’t running away entirely,’ she said defensively. ‘I just needed space to think.’
Space from him because he was overwhelming—at least, that was how she felt around him.
‘How was I supposed to know that?’ He breathed hard. ‘This is why we need to talk. And we can’t make arrangements without consulting the other first.’
‘Okay, then tell me where we’re going now.’ She shot him a sharp look.
He hesitated again. ‘Back to the vineyard. There’s both space and privacy there.’
‘It’s also isolated and difficult for me to get to an airport.’
He rubbed his hand over his head. ‘I thought you liked it there.’
She’d loved it there. But returning to the scene of the crime would be a risk to her self-control. This really was about safety. Duty. Not any kind of desire. He didn’t want the baby. He wanted to do what was right for the baby. She felt the rejection deeply personally. ‘No one needs to know it’s yours,’ she said softly.
‘What?’
‘I can leave the father’s name blank on the certificate.’
‘You would deny my paternity?’ He looked outraged.
‘If it makes my child safer, then yes.’ Phoebe lifted her chin. ‘You’re the one saying they’re in danger. The fact is you’re the source of that danger.’
She didn’t really mean it. But his high-handedness infuriated her. He was railroading her. Rushing her. She’d worked hard to rebuild her life and she needed to retain her independence because he was powerful. He had money. And how he made her feel was terrifying.
He paled. ‘I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure the child’s safety. And your safety.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘It means don’t get in my way, Phoebe.’
She glared at him. ‘You’re threatening me?’
He sucked in a sharp breath, clearly trying to calm down. ‘No, I’m telling you that I will keep you safe.’
‘Well, I don’t feel particularly safe, given you’re effectively holding me prisoner here.’
‘I’m not,’ he growled and set her passport on the seat between them. ‘Truce, okay? Let’s start over.’
She took back her passport. ‘Difficult for me to use the thing when I’m locked in an armoured car.’
He breathed in and out again. Twice. Then turned to her. ‘Would you mind terribly if we remain in Italy for a few days while we work through this issue?’ He ground out the question with aggravatingly false politeness. ‘Or do you wish to return to London immediately and we’ll make our plans from there.’
Phoebe stared at him, suddenly aware of her own flip-flop thinking. Because she needed time to absorb the shock of all of this, and either way he wasn’t leaving her alone. And at least the privacy here was a bonus and honestly the last thing she felt like was getting back on board another plane.
‘We can stay here for a little while,’ she muttered. ‘I do like your vineyard.’
He blinked. ‘I appreciate your accommodating my difficult demands.’
She’d accommodated his demands really well a few hours ago. And he hers. And that heat was building in her body all over again.
But she realised that half of his problem was that he was worried. He didn’t need to be.
‘Just so you know, I’m sure everything is fine, I’ve been ridiculously healthy,’ she muttered. ‘Maybe I had a little nausea a few weeks back, but I put it down to new-job nerves. I’ve not been out partying or anything.’
His mouth twitched. ‘Do you usually go out partying?’
‘A while back my friends and I went through a phase,’ she declared loftily.
Elodie had made a deliberate point of it, while Bethan had seriously needed some laughs when she’d first come back from her hellish honeymoon in Greece.
‘I’ve always had quite light periods,’ she added with excruciating awkwardness, but she had to explain it. ‘Honestly, I’ve just been really busy and distracted, and didn’t pay attention to it.’
‘The incomparable, efficient PA doesn’t keep a spreadsheet to track all that data?’
‘I have enough spreadsheets at work. Life outside of the office is messier.’
His eyebrows lifted. ‘Do you leave the towel on the floor? Dishes in the sink? I don’t mind if you do.’
‘Why would you when you have staff to clean up after you,’ she drawled. ‘You get to make messes and pay other people to fix them for you.’
‘Not this time,’ he countered. ‘I’m sorry that your liaison with me has put you in this position. It’s the last thing I wanted to happen.’ He fiddled with his seatbelt again. ‘Do you have family support? Will your parents be helpful?’
No way was she telling her parents. It would never be a good time, but it was competition season. They were miles away on a training camp—helping others in a way they would never help her. They certainly wouldn’t drop all that and come to her aid.
‘They’re very focused on their own lives,’ she fudged. ‘What about yours?’
His mouth compressed. ‘They’ve both passed on.’
A hit of pain whistled through her. ‘Oh, Edo—’
‘It was a long time ago.’ He dismissed her sympathy before she could even express it. ‘So you don’t have any support.’
Right. Nor did he. And he definitely didn’t want to talk about his family either.
‘I have friends ,’ she said stoutly. ‘I’m going to tell them once we’ve worked the basics out. They’re more my family than my mum and dad are.’
‘I would prefer this didn’t hit the press any sooner than can be helped.’
‘They won’t say anything, they’re my friends ,’ she repeated bullishly. And the press wouldn’t even be interested. His obvious scepticism needled her.
‘You don’t trust your friends?’ she asked.
‘I don’t have friends.’
‘None at all? No work buddies? No old schoolmates?’ She didn’t believe him. ‘What about those guys you were running with on the day—’
‘They’re my bodyguards.’
‘But you were laughing with them. You were talking like—’
‘A boss banters with his employees,’ he said bluntly. ‘We work out together. We compete. But we’re not friends. I pay them to protect me.’
Her breathing went choppy again. The man was very fixated on protection.
‘There’s no one else?’ she asked. His parents were gone but what about his brother?
His lips curled into a mirthless smile. ‘Why do you look so appalled? It’s a deliberate choice.’
‘I don’t believe you don’t like people. I don’t believe you’re not social—’
‘I like seeing people sometimes . I like sleeping with beautiful women sometimes . None of them are friends and none are permanent fixtures in my life. None ever will be.’
‘So everyone has a use-by date?’ She was shocked. ‘Where does that leave your child?’
‘With you.’
She sucked in a breath. Was he really that cold? ‘If you’re really not interested in either of us, and have little desire to have any real involvement in our child’s life, why insist I stay here now?’
‘Because we need to ensure your safety. We need to ensure you have the best healthcare for the remainder of your pregnancy. For the birth. We need to prepare the property in London—’
‘With what—a panic room?’
‘That will be the least of the alterations.’
Seriously? ‘And in this grand plan to keep me safe in every way possible, am I to be all alone all day?’
His jaw tensed. ‘Would you like to invite one of these amazing friends to stay for a while?’ He looked like it was the worst thing imaginable.
Oh, hell, no. Firstly she needed to get her wayward hormones under control. Secondly, she didn’t want anyone to see how non-existent her relationship with him was. She was pregnant by a virtual stranger who didn’t want to be involved with the baby in the long term.
‘What if I meet someone else?’ she asked tartly. ‘What if there’s another man who wants to be more of a father than you’re willing to be?’
‘If it ever arises, we’ll deal with that situation,’ he said stiffly.
‘You don’t think I’ll ever meet anyone else?’ She was really hurt by that.
‘I thought you said you had no intention of marrying again,’ he said shortly. ‘Was that a lie?’
‘No. I’m definitely not getting married again. Especially not to you.’