Читать книгу The Kincaids: Southern Seduction: Sex, Lies and the Southern Belle - Day Leclaire, Kathie DeNosky - Страница 11

When Lily came out of the bathroom, she stopped short at the sight of Daniel sitting on the edge of the bed wearing nothing but a pair of dark blue boxer briefs. She had seen his body many times during their three-month affair and it never failed to cause her pulse to race. But tonight? With learning that her father had been murdered and seeing reporters camped in front of her mother’s house, how could she possibly be distracted by how sexy he looked?

But that was exactly what she was thinking. With broad muscular shoulders, well-developed pectoral muscles and enough ripples on his abdomen to make a bodybuilder proud, Daniel Addison exuded over six feet of pure sex appeal.

“Feeling more relaxed?” he asked as she walked over to the side of the bed.

“A little,” she said, wishing that she could close her eyes and things would be the way they were before his mother’s dinner party. Her father would still be alive and she wouldn’t be getting ready to have the talk that she knew would send Daniel running in the opposite direction from her. But then, that would mean she wasn’t pregnant. And no matter how strained things became between them when she told him about the baby, her pregnancy was something she wouldn’t wish away for anything in the world.

Rising to his feet, he walked around to where she stood and pulled her to him. “I’m sure things will look a little brighter in the morning when you’re more rested.”

“Daniel, there’s something we need to discuss,” she said, loving the feel of his bare chest pressed to her cheek. She had put off telling him long enough. He might not want a child but he was going to have one, and it was past time that she told him about the baby. “It’s really important.”

“Not tonight.” He shook his head and, reaching down, pulled the comforter back for her to get into bed. “You need sleep and there’s nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow.”

“But if I don’t tell you now, I might not—”

He put his index finger to her lips to stop her. “Whatever it is, you can tell me in the morning.”

Too tired to argue, she simply nodded and climbed into bed. Daniel was right. Her news had waited this long, it could wait another eight hours.

“I’ll be on the couch in the sitting room if you need me,” he said, pulling the comforter over her.

“I thought you were going to sleep down the hall in one of the other bedrooms,” she said, unable to stifle a yawn.

Leaning down, he gave her a quick kiss. “I decided that was too far away. Now try to get some rest, sweetheart.”

As she watched him walk through the open French doors and into the sitting room, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed that he had stuck to his word about sleeping in another room. She shouldn’t be, she told herself, rolling to her side. Being held by him throughout the night, even if they didn’t make love, would only complicate things and make it that much harder for her when they finally did discuss her pregnancy tomorrow morning.

Unable to stop thinking about how she should tell him that he was going to be a daddy in seven months, she must have drifted off to sleep. The next thing she knew, Daniel was stretching out on the bed beside her and gathering her into his arms.

“It’s all right, Lily,” he said, cradling her to his bare chest. He wiped the tears from her cheeks with the pad of his thumb. “I’m here, sweetheart. Everything is going to be fine. It was just a nightmare.”

Leaning back to look at him, she couldn’t tell him that it might have been a bad dream, but it was one that she feared would turn out to be all too prophetic. In the dream, she had told him about the baby and watched the attraction in his eyes turn to utter contempt.

When she had ended their affair, she might have told herself that she was calling a halt to things before she got in too deep and suffered a broken heart when he lost interest in seeing her after learning about the baby. But the truth of the matter was, she had already fallen in love with Daniel, had most likely loved him from the moment they met.

She knew it was foolish and that she would suffer more emotional pain when he learned her secret and severed all ties with her, but she couldn’t resist wanting one more night in his arms. Snuggling against his solid strength, she asked, “Will you please keep holding me, Daniel?”

“I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart,” he promised as he ran his hands up and down her back. “Not until you tell me to.”

Lily rested her head on his shoulder and her hand on his broad chest. With the steady beat of his heart beneath her palm and his strong arms wrapped around her, she felt more content, more secure than she had in several weeks. It felt as if in his arms was where she belonged, where she would always belong.

“Lily, don’t get me wrong,” he said, his voice a bit rusty. “I love the way your hand feels on my body. But if you keep that up, I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to continue being a gentleman for much longer.”

Realizing that she had been moving her fingers over his pectoral muscles and the upper part of his abdomen, she stopped immediately. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize …”

When she started to pull her hand away, he covered it with his and, holding it to him, gave her a kiss that sent heat streaking to the darkest corners of her soul. “I’ve missed holding you, Lily. I’ve missed you touching me like this and me touching you. It’s all I’ve been able to think about for three weeks. But you’ve had a lot of trauma in the past several days and I won’t take advantage of that. I came in here to comfort you and I promise that’s all that’s going to happen.”

As she stared up at him, she realized that he was trying to do what he felt was honorable. But was that what she wanted? To simply be held by the man she loved? Possibly for the last time?

Considering his views on love and having children, they had no future together. She knew that and, although it made her sad, she had accepted the inevitable. Could she resist one last night of knowing the strength of his lovemaking and the ecstasy of their bodies coming together as one heart, one soul?

“You wouldn’t be taking advantage of the situation,” she said, realizing that her decision had already been made. “I want you to make me forget that outside the doors of this house there’s a world waiting to intrude.” She kissed his strong jaw. “I want you to make love to me, Daniel.”

She watched him tightly close his eyes and swallow hard before opening them again as he eased her to her back. “Are you sure that’s what you want?” he asked, propping himself on one elbow to stare down at her. “I’d rather go take a dozen cold showers than to have you regret one minute of my making love to you.”

“There are a lot of things I’m not certain of,” she said honestly. “But I do know that no matter what tomorrow brings, I won’t regret being with you tonight.”

It was apparently all the assurance he needed to hear, because, without hesitation, Daniel lowered his head to capture her lips with his. Teasing and coaxing, he masterfully built her anticipation of deepening the kiss and when he did take it to the next level, his tongue stroking hers sent a tingling wave of excitement flowing throughout her entire body.

As he explored her inner recesses, he moved his hand down her side to the tail of her nightshirt. His fingertips grazing her thigh as he slowly inched the garment upward caused a shiver of pure delight to race up her spine and she had to remind herself to breathe. But when he continued up her side to the swell of her breast, then paused to worry her taut nipple with the pad of his thumb, heated sensations spread to every cell in her being.

Unable to lie still, Lily raised her shoulders to help him remove the nightshirt. She wanted to feel his hands over every part of her and she wanted to touch all of him as well. In one smooth motion, he tossed her nightshirt over the side of the bed, and the feel of her sensitive skin pressed to his bare flesh caused the stirrings of an empty ache deep in her core.

Running her hands over his chest and abdomen, she reacquainted herself with the width of his shoulders and the dormant power lying just beneath his smooth skin. She loved his body, loved that it contrasted so perfectly with her softer feminine form.

“I’m going to love every inch of you,” he murmured against her skin as he nibbled his way down to her collarbone and beyond. “And when I get done, there won’t be a doubt left in your mind how much I’ve wanted and missed you these past few weeks.”

The promise in his voice caused a quiver of anticipation to course through her. When he reached the slope of her breast, then kissed his way to the sensitive tip, her breath caught and a coil of need began to tighten deep inside her. She held his head to her when he took her into his warm mouth. Unable to stop a tiny moan of pure pleasure from escaping, she reveled in the many sensations he was creating inside her. He was driving her completely insane and she loved every minute of it.

“Does that feel good, Lily?” he asked as he trailed his lips down her abdomen to her stomach.

“Y-yes.”

He traced the elastic waistband of her panties with his finger. “Do you want me to stop?”

“I-if you do … I’ll never forgive you,” she said, gasping for breath.

His deep chuckle seemed to vibrate all the way to her soul. “Sweetheart, there’s no way I could stop now.” When he slid his hand down inside her panties, she automatically raised her hips to help him and in no time, the scrap of silk and lace joined her nightshirt on the floor. “Those three weeks without you have felt like a lifetime.”

Before she could tell him that she felt that way too, he caressed her side, her hip and the inner part of her thigh. Her heart pounded against her ribs as she waited for his touch. When he finally cupped the soft curls at her apex, then slipped his fingers inside to stroke her with tender care, the aching desire he created was almost more than she could bear.

“P-please … Daniel,” she gasped, reaching down to find him. She gave to him as he was giving to her, but she wanted more. She wanted him to fill the empty ache that threatened to consume her. “I … need you now.”

Lily felt him shift as he removed his underwear, then the feel of his body pressed to hers, his arousal strong against her thigh, caused an answering flutter in her lower belly. She wanted him to join their bodies, to make them one heart, one mind, one soul.

“Sweetheart, I got so carried away, I forgot that I don’t have anything to protect you,” he said, his voice filled with regret.

“There’s, um, no need … to worry about that,” she assured him.

“It’s a safe time of the month?” he asked as his fingers continued to excite her in ways that she could have never imagined.

“Mmm.”

She knew she was being evasive and that it was unfair not to tell him that there was no need to protect them from what had already happened. But she wanted this one last time with him, wanted to store up the memory for the empty nights that lay ahead of her.

With no hesitation, he parted her legs with his knee, then levered himself over her. Reaching down, she guided him to her and Lily closed her eyes as she savored the exquisite feelings of becoming one with the man she loved.

“Open your eyes, sweetheart,” he commanded when their bodies were fused completely. “I want to watch your pleasure build until you can’t wait any longer. Then I want to watch you the moment I take you over the edge.”

Gazing into his eyes as he slowly began to move within her, she felt as if she might drown in the dark blue depths. Heat spiraled throughout her being and ribbons of excitement threaded their way to the ever-tightening coil deep within her as her body responded to his rhythmic thrusts. Holding on to his broad shoulders to keep from being lost, Lily felt her feminine muscles begin to contract around him as Daniel fulfilled his promise of creating a passion in her so strong that she lost sight of where he ended and she began.

Time seemed to stand still as the tension inside her built to a crescendo, then suddenly broke free to send waves of pleasure coursing all the way to her soul. Moments later, Daniel groaned and she felt him stiffen inside her as he found his own shuddering release. When he buried his head in her shoulder and collapsed on top of her, Lily held him close as they both slowly drifted back to reality.

Loving the feel of him still inside her and the weight of his large body covering hers, when his breathing eased and Daniel moved to her side, she felt a deep sense of loss.

“Are you all right?” he asked, pulling her close.

She wanted to tell him that she loved him—would always love him—but it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Instead, she nodded. “That was perfect.”

“Oh, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve that will make it even better the next time,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

“You’re not wearing a shirt,” she teased. “How could you possibly have anything up sleeves that don’t exist?”

“Hush, woman,” he said, laughing. “Rest assured, I have more ammunition in my sensual arsenal that I’m going to take great pleasure in showing you.”

She knew that once he learned about the baby, that would change. But snuggling against him, she decided to face that in the light of day, along with all the other recent harsh realities of her life.

The first light of day had just started to peek through a part in the bedroom drapes when Daniel lay his arm over Lily’s stomach to draw her close. He smiled at the feel of her soft curves nestled at his side. Last night had been mind-blowing and he still couldn’t get over how much he had missed Lily’s uninhibited response to his lovemaking. She was so receptive to his touch, and the fact that she wasn’t the least bit shy about touching him in return never failed to arouse him in ways a man could only dream of.

He propped himself up on his elbow to stare down at her sleeping so peacefully beside him. He had even missed waking up in the mornings with her warm bare skin against his hair-roughened flesh. Not that they had spent the entire night together all that often, but he had forgotten how pleasant it was to wake up with her the few times that they had.

Watching her sleep, he frowned. He wasn’t entirely sure he was comfortable with how easily he had gotten used to the little things like waking up next to Lily or how cute he found her propensity to crowd him on his side of the bed. It certainly wasn’t something he missed about his ex-wife. Of course, Charisma would have had to sleep with him more than a few times a month for him to have become accustomed to having her next to him in bed.

Daniel lay back and pillowed his head on his folded arms. His ex-wife had used sex as a bargaining tool—a way to coerce him into buying her a new pair of diamond earrings or the little red Ferrari she just had to have for her trips to the mall. Otherwise, she slept in the master bedroom, while he was perfectly content to sleep in a room down the hall.

But that was one thing he never had to worry about again, he thought contentedly. He was single and intended to stay that way.

He glanced over at the sleeping woman beside him. Whatever he and Lily had going on between them was special and, without outside interference from his mother, they would be together for as long as it lasted. Then, when the time came for them to stop seeing each other, he would go his way and she would go hers. No hard feelings and no emotional pain for either of them.

As he lay there patting himself on the back for keeping his life simple, Lily moaned and stirred next to him. He wondered if she was having another nightmare until she sat straight up in bed, threw back the covers and bolted for the bathroom.

“What the hell?” He grabbed his underwear from the pile of clothing on the floor and pulled them on, then knocked on the closed bathroom door. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”

When she failed to answer, he tried the knob. The door was locked.

“Lily, what’s going on?” he demanded.

“P-please go … away,” she said a moment before he heard the sounds of her being sick.

“As soon as you’re able, open the door,” he said, wondering what could have caused the upset.

Retrieving her pink fluffy robe from the closet, every possible reason that might have caused her to be sick ran through his mind as he waited outside the closed door. It couldn’t be a case of food poisoning because they had both had the same thing for lunch and skipped dinner and he was fine. Of course, she might be sick because she hadn’t eaten. Or maybe it was a delayed reaction to learning that her father had been murdered. That coupled with the media circus outside her mother’s place and the fact that the police intended to question the family was enough to cause anyone’s nerves to get the better of them.

When he finally heard the click of the lock being released, he was waiting for her when she opened the bathroom door and after helping her into her robe, walked her over to sit on the end of the bed. “I’ll be right back,” he said, going into the bathroom to wet a washcloth. Returning to the bedroom, he knelt in front of her and patted the cool, damp terry cloth over her cheeks and forehead. “Feeling better now?”

She nodded. “Daniel …” She paused to take a deep breath. “We have to talk.”

“Why don’t you lie down and rest a little more?” he suggested. “We can discuss whatever you like after you’re feeling better.”

“I have to tell you now,” she said shaking her head. “Otherwise, I might lose my nerve.”

Something in her tone caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand straight up. “What?”

He watched her close her eyes, then she took another deep breath and looked him square in the eyes as she announced, “I’m pregnant.”

“Pregnant.”

A mixture of shock and disbelief coursed through him and it suddenly felt as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. Slowly rising to his feet, he walked over to sit in the chair across the room. Propping his forearms on his knees, he stared down at his loosely clasped hands as he tried to wrap his mind around the single most life-changing word of his life.

“You’re pregnant,” he repeated, knowing he sounded like a damn parrot, but unable to stop himself.

It had been the last thing he expected her to say. Lily was pregnant and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind it was his baby.

“The baby is the reason I’ve been sick in the mornings but ravenous the rest of the day,” she said, her tone a bit unsure. “It’s also the reason I’ve been so tired and have to take naps in the afternoon.”

Daniel opened and closed his mouth several times as he tried to decide what to ask first. Should he question her about when she discovered the pregnancy? Should he ask when the baby was due? Or should he find out how she wanted to handle things? How the hell was a man supposed to deal with something he thought he’d never face?

“How did this happen?” he finally asked when he found his voice. When she gave him a look that suggested she thought he might be a little simpleminded, he immediately shook his head. “Strike that. I know the biology. I’m just trying to figure out when it could have happened. We were always careful.”

“I think it might have been the night after Thanksgiving.” She sighed. “If you’ll remember, we got so carried away we didn’t think about protection until after the fact.”

He nodded. “That was the only time it could have happened. But when did you find out about the pregnancy?”

“The morning of your mother’s dinner party,” she said, sounding a bit hesitant. “I was going to tell you that night after the party, but—”

“Charlotte had her little talk with you first.”

“How did you know about that?” Lily shook her head. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to,” he said, getting up to pace the floor. “After I thought about it, I realized that you had stopped taking my calls and refused to go anywhere with me right after the party. And knowing my mother’s penchant for snide comments and sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong, it all added up. Then, when I asked her about it, she admitted it.” He stopped pacing as a thought occurred. “If we hadn’t run into each other in the lawyer’s office the day your father’s will was read, would you have told me about the pregnancy?”