“Yes, you are, darlin’.” Giving instructions to his driver to take them to her apartment, he put his arm around her shoulders. He could tell she was still overwhelmed by the news and now wasn’t a good time to press her on the issue of moving in with him. “We’ll spend the night at your apartment and move you into my home tomorrow morning.”
“No, we won’t. You’re going to drop me off at my place and then go home to yours while I call my brothers. End of discussion.” She sounded quite adamant, but he noticed that she wasn’t scooting away from him, was allowing him to hold her close to his side.
“Sorry, darlin’, but I told you that I would be with you every step of the way.” He kissed the top of her head. “And that means from here on out, we’ll be doing whatever needs to be done together. Everything from doctor appointments to breaking the news to your brothers that we’re going to have twins.”
By the time they arrived at her apartment, the fact that she was going to be the mother of twins had sunk in and she was regaining some perspective. “I think it might be better if I’m the one to break the news to my brothers.” Removing her cardigan sweater, she walked over to hang it in the entryway closet, hoping Zach would take the hint that she needed a little time alone. “While I make the call from my bedroom, please make yourself comfortable. I’ll only be a few minutes.” She’d given up on him going home.
“I’d rather you stay right here and make the call on the speakerphone.” He shrugged out of his suit coat, loosened his tie and released the button at the neck of his white oxford cloth shirt, then walked over to place his hands on her shoulders. “I promise I’ll keep quiet as long as they don’t give you too much flak.” He used his index finger to raise her chin until their gazes met. “But I reserve the right to break my silence at any time if I think they’re upsetting you.”
Where was all this concern almost four months ago when she discovered he was gone and cried for days feeling like such a fool? Or a few weeks later when she realized she was pregnant with no way of contacting her baby’s father?
The heat from his hands permeated her shirt and sent an excited little shiver up her spine. Trying to ignore the way his touch made her feel, she advised, “I’m a big girl, Zach. I can take care of myself.”
“You don’t have to, Arielle. Not anymore.” Her breath caught when he took her in his arms, but it was the look on his handsome face that sent her heart racing. “From here on out, that’s my job. And believe me, I have every intention of taking it very seriously. I give you my word that I’ll do everything in my power to protect you and our babies. And if I have to, I’ll have no problem taking on both of your brothers to keep that promise.”
She could have asked him who was going to protect her from him, but he chose that moment to lower his head and cover her mouth with a kiss so poignant it brought tears to her eyes. At first, it seemed just a kiss to seal his vow to take care of her and their babies, but as his lips moved over hers, it quickly evolved into so much more.
As Zach tasted and teased, she tried her best to suppress her reaction to him. She started to push against his chest, but just like the first night at his ranch, her will to resist evaporated like morning mist on a hot summer day and she melted against him.
She briefly wondered how she could succumb to his charm after all that had happened. But as he parted her lips with his tongue and began a tender exploration, she quickly forgot the past and lost herself to the mastery of his caress.
Heat coursed through her at the speed of light as he coaxed and demanded that she respond, drawing her into his sensual web. A tingling sensation spread throughout her entire body as he slowly moved his hands down her back to the tail of her oversize shirt.
He slipped his hands beneath the gauzy lavender fabric, then up along her ribs to cup her breasts. She knew she should call a halt to things right away and regain her senses. Nothing had changed between them. She still wouldn’t complicate matters by agreeing to get married, or moving into his home. But when Zach rubbed her overly sensitive nipples through the satin and lace of her bra, all rational thought deserted her and she leaned into his embrace.
“I think before this goes any further, we’d better make that call to your brothers,” Zach said, nibbling tiny kisses along her jaw to the hollow just beneath her ear. “Otherwise, there’s no telling when we’ll get around to it.”
He continued to tease her with his thumbs. When she realized what he’d said, her cheeks heated and she started to back away from his electrifying touch. But to her dismay, he slipped his hands from her breasts and around to her back to hold her to him.
“We’ll pick up where we left off after we make the call,” he whispered, sending a wave of goose bumps sliding over her body.
She shook her head. “That wouldn’t…be a…good idea.”
“Sure it would, darlin’.” He nuzzled his cheek against her hair then took a step back. “Now, why don’t we make this a conference call and tell them at the same time?”
Still feeling a bit lightheaded from Zach’s drugging kiss, Arielle nodded and, dialing Jake’s number first, put him on hold while she called Luke. When she had both of her brothers on the line, she switched the phone to speaker, sank down onto the couch beside Zach and took a deep breath.
“I have some news to share and I decided to tell you both at the same time.”
“Will this explain why you cry every time I’ve talked to you for the past few months?” Jake asked, sounding uncharacteristically serious.
“And the reason you’ve avoided talking to me?” Luke added, his tone stern.
“I’m sorry, Luke,” she apologized, feeling guilty. She’d known how concerned her brothers were, but she wasn’t sure how to tell them that she was in the same predicament as their mother all those years ago. “You know how much I love both of you. I just had some things that I needed to work out.”
“You know we’d have done everything in our power to help,” Jake reminded her.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed Zach nodding his approval, feeling the same way about his own sister. “I know you would have, but this was something I had to work through on my own.”
“So you’ve done that and you are ready to tell us what’s been going on?” The more serious of the two men, Luke never wasted time getting to the heart of the matter.