Page 35 of Taming a Heartbreaker

Carmen stared at him. “You’re kidding, right?”

He frowned upon hearing amusement in her voice and seeing her smile. He stared at her, his expression serious. She stared back and then the smile vanished. “You aren’t kidding.”

“No, I’m not kidding, and I don’t appreciate it worth a damn.” There was no reason to tell her he had dissected every second, minute, hour of their time together in order to determine what the hell had happened to him. Making love to her had literally blown his mind. He could truly say sex had never been that good with any other woman. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being totally great, he would give it a damn twenty for being undeniably exceptional. In the end, he figured it had to have been those multiple orgasms. He refused to believe such a thing was common. Okay...maybe doubles, but quadruples had to be outside the norm.

“Are you saying you haven’t slept with another woman since me, Redford? And that you haven’t desired one?” Although there was a blush tinting her cheeks, he didn’t miss the sly smile around the corners of her lips that she was trying to keep from showing. Did knowing she was the last woman whose bed he had been in please her for some reason?

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. However, I did research on the matter and discovered a way to cure my problem.”

“Research?”

“Yes.”

“And just what were the findings of your research?”

He was glad she asked. “Some of the top relationship experts all suggest we have the power of controlling our body and mind. I have to believe no one else has that control. That would be giving in to a weakness. Being strong and not vulnerable is the key. In order to accomplish that, I would have needed to take you out on a date.”

“A date?”

“Yes. A date where we would have spent a nice evening together without ending up in bed again. I would have used my willpower to control my body’s urges and not let them control me. I believe I could have done that.”

She didn’t say anything for a minute. “There’s no way I would have gone out on a date with you, Redford.”

Sloan and Leslie had said the same thing.

“Not even if you were the last man on earth,” she added. “In fact, it had been my fondest desire to never see you again.”

They’d said that, too. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “The reason I told you all that, Carmen, is to clear the air between us. There’s still a strong physical attraction between us, and we both know it. However, I want to assure you that you don’t have to worry about me acting on it because I will never again let lust control me. I now have power over it.”

She didn’t say anything, and Redford hoped he’d reassured her. He wouldn’t seduce her no matter how hot things got between them. What she might not realize was that even while she was under the weather, she was still sexy as hell and beautiful as sin. Lust was a powerful thing, but he intended to prove that his control was even more so.

“Okay.”

He lifted a brow and stared at her. “Okay?”

“Yes, okay. Because when it comes to you, you don’t have to worry about me acting on anything either. I’ve regained control of all my senses since that night, and I didn’t have to research anything to come to a certain conclusion.”

“What?” he asked.

“I was wrong. We were never soulmates and it was never meant for us to be together. I accept that.” She was quiet and then when she spoke again, she said, “I understand you wanting our child to know you were a part of its life in the early stages, Redford, and I appreciate you for wanting that. Some men wouldn’t. As long as you believe you’ll be able to control your lust, like I know I will control mine, then I have no problem letting you stay. However, I don’t think we should think about anything long term. I suggest we take it a week at a time to see how things work out.”

He intended to be around long term, but he’d go along with her suggestion. “I’ll agree to that,” he said, pulling his hands from his pockets. “Now, I’ll get your dinner.”

“Alright, and please let Leslie know I’d like to see her. I need to tell her of my decision.”

He headed for the door. Before reaching it, he turned around and said, “Thanks, Carmen. You won’t regret it.”

When the door closed behind Redford, Carmen stared at it for a long moment. Although she might not have any regrets, there was a chance he might. For her, this connection between them had never been about lust but love. She shook her head at his assumption that he could research almost every single thing. Did he not know there were some things that couldn’t be analyzed?

Then for him to admit that he hadn’t had the desire to sleep with another woman was hard to believe, but she had seen the look in his eyes and knew he had been telling the truth. He hadn’t seemed happy about it either.

And he was right that the sexual attraction between them was still hot, even in her less than attractive condition. That was proven wrong when he’d been holding her hand. And when their gazes had met, she had seen it. Intense desire. She had felt it. A longing she shouldn’t be feeling.

A longing like the one they’d shared that night at the cottage in Westmoreland Country. The night that had produced the baby she was carrying.

Knowing Redford would be returning soon with dinner, she moved to sit on the love seat where the mobile table was still in place. She couldn’t help but be amazed at all the stuff Redford had said, and couldn’t wait to see if all his research would pay off.

She had accepted that she was not his soulmate. Yet, frustration was building inside of her because there was a part of her that refused to move on. Namely, her heart. As much as she wished otherwise, she was still very much in love with Redford St. James. However, he would be the last person to know that.

---