Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Scarlett
W hen I rushed back to my apartment this morning, the guilt chased me like a shadow as I glanced in the rearview, but I still drove away with tears tracking down my cheeks. Last night was incredible, but with the passion and tenderness that came with it, I realized I’ve fallen hard for this man whose heart is unattainable. I couldn’t face him in the light of day after what we shared all night.
Could he ever love me the way I want and need to be loved? Would he stay forever? Those are questions I don’t know the answers to, and I’m not sure I could bear the truth. He may not be able to love me at all. What would I do then? Have to witness women come in and out of his life in front of our child so his needs are met?
No, I can’t live that way. I’m not strong enough to do it. For my baby’s sake, I figured drawing a line and ending whatever we stumbled into is best for all of us. Safer. I’ll come up with something when I talk to him again.
I’m about to get in the shower when a knock sounds at my door. It’s probably Anna. She stops by as much as she can. Even so, uncertainty washes over me because she knew I was staying with Zander this weekend and she wouldn’t expect me back until tomorrow evening.
I open my front door, and the breath is sucked from my lungs when I find Zander standing there. My ridiculous heart jumps at the sight. Did he really come and find me? I’m sure he only wanted to be sure I was okay since I’m the woman carrying his child because silly me, in my haste to escape, I didn’t leave a note.
But still, he could’ve called instead of driving an hour here.
“Hello, sunshine,” he says with his southern drawl.
“Zander, what are you doing here?”
He steps inside and I close the door behind him.
“When the mother of my child leaves without so much as a note the morning after we had a night filled with lovemaking, I’m going to find her,” he says, his intense, dark gaze holds me in place.
“I, um, I didn’t think…” I trail off.
He steps close to me and tips my chin up. “You asked me to make love to you, Scarlett. But I don’t think you knew what you were asking, or maybe you did. I swore I wouldn’t open up to a woman again, but I did for you. Imagine my surprise when I woke up to find you missing when last night all I could think was how much I wanted you to stay.”
“You didn’t say anything, Zander. You said you couldn’t give me more than something physical. And I don’t believe one night changed your mind,” I say.
He leans in and presses a soft kiss to my lips, still holding my chin. “I know what I said, and even more what I should’ve said. But, Scarlett, one night can change a lot of things,” he says as he protectively rubs my swollen belly where our baby grows…proof that a lot of big things can happen in one night.
Tears cloud my vision. “I’m scared to love you, Zander. I’m sorry. I know that sounds selfish when you’re here putting yourself on the line for me, but it’s the truth. It’s not just me and you to consider. I’m not sure I’d survive you changing your mind and leaving us.”
He pulls me into his strong embrace and rests his chin on my head. “My sweet sunshine…I’m scared too. But the world hasn’t been the same since I found you. If we don’t crash and burn, we might just love each other forever. I think we owe it to ourselves and our baby to find out. Don’t you?”
“I want to say yes,” I answer.
“Say yes, Scarlett. Give me a chance to be the man who holds your heart. I didn’t come all the way here to give up on you.”
My hopeful heart leaps to my throat. “Yes,” I say while nodding.
“Yeah?” he asks while his dark gaze roams over my face.
“Yes. But please don’t break me.”
He bends his knees so he’s eye level with me. “I’ll always protect your heart.”
I take his face in my hands and pull him closer until our lips meet. Heat courses through my blood as our hands roam. I don’t know if it’s only the pregnancy hormones making me insatiable for this man, or if it’s him all on his own, but I do know I’ve never been under a spell so intense.
“I need you…now,” I tell him.
“You’ve got me. Tell me what you want, sunshine, and you’ll have it,” he says, voice thick with desire.
“Sit on the couch and I’ll do the rest.”
His brows shoot up in surprise, but he sits on the couch. I slowly strip out of my clothes, not once self-conscious about my changing body because the way this man is looking at me says everything.
When my clothes are gone, I make my way to where he sits and help him out of his clothes. His hands caress my skin, sending chills all over me. I straddle his hips as he stares in my eyes. “This thing between us—all of it—it was destined to exist,” I tell him.
“I’m glad it does exist,” he says.
I kiss him again and sink down on his length. I grind my center against him as he takes my nipples in his mouth one at a time, swirling his tongue around each tip while his hands grip my hips. I’ve never felt confident enough to stay in this position long, especially in the light of day. But he reinforces my confidence without words. His actions and the look in his eyes tell me all I need to know. And I continue to move, baring my body, heart, and soul to him.
This connection is more than physical. I feel it with everything I am, same as last night. Which is why I ran this morning. But after his plea to give us a chance and his promise to protect my heart, something shifted. The storm lifted revealing blue skies as the sun broke through.
His breath gets heavier and he says, “Fall over the edge with me, sunshine. I need to feel you.”
His words do the trick. I come apart, triggering him too, and we hold one another together. We stay that way, catching our breath before he takes my face in his hands. “I’m falling in love with you, Scarlett. I need you to know that.”
I hold his face in my hands as well. “I’ve already fallen,” I admit.
“Will you consider staying with me? I know your life is here, but can you work remotely, or maybe just come here a few days a week in person? Greendale Valley isn’t that far,” he says.
“Is that too fast?” I ask.
His grin makes me giggle. “What?”
He rests his hand on my rounded belly. “We pushed fast-forward on day one together, sunshine. Besides, I think we need to spend as much time together as we can before this little guy or girl makes an appearance. It’d be good to find steady ground as a couple. Don’t you think?”
I can’t stop the smile that turns up my lips. “You make a compelling argument. How am I supposed to say no?”
He kisses my lips and says, “You’re not. Say you’ll stay with me.”
“Okay. I’ll stay.”
Somehow, the same man who managed to save me by trashing a wedding dress when I was about to drown in heartbreak has saved me again by giving me what I didn’t know I needed. His love and a promise to protect my heart. That happens to be a promise I have no doubt he’ll do everything in his power to keep.