Page 81 of The Billionaire's Demand

He’d used a condom, but that wasn’t foolproof. He lifted a hand to his jaw, rubbing it across his chin, staring straight ahead without speaking. He’d been knocked sideways by her statement, but now his brain was clicking back into gear, spinning furiously fast in an attempt to analyse this properly.

She was clearly poor.

Her choice of occupation was hardly well paid, and her apartment was further proof that her means were stretched. Pregnancy might seem like a way to get some extra cash. Was that her end game?

Not that she’d planned this, of course. How could she have? The entire thing was spontaneous, brought on by the dramatic events of that day. He’d ensured, as he always did, that protection was used. He didn’t ask if she was on contraception, he’d simply assumed a woman of her age would be, but that was obviously a stupid miscalculation.

‘I see,’ he said eventually, the words flattened of any emotion, even when he felt this news in the very core of his being.

Her head remained lowered, eyes shielded from him.

His brain whirled even as his body was in the midst of a classic fight or flight response.

Raul’s instincts were shaped by his own experiences, but he would not betray them until he understood Libby’s intentions, until he understood himself better too. A baby was just about the worst thing that could happen to him—he’d never wanted children—and yet...even as he knew that to be true, there was something about this news that was punching him hard in the gut, making him fight for the child he’d never even wanted.

‘And?’ he asked, waiting with the appearance of patience.

Her eyes finally lifted, met his, and something jolted inside of his gut.

This was the mother of his child. They barely knew one another, yet here she was, standing in front of him with the face of an angel, telling him they’d made a baby together. A primal, fierce possessiveness fired in his blood.

‘I never knew my dad,’ she said, lips pulling to the side. ‘I didn’t even know his name.’ Her brow crinkled as she contemplated that. ‘I don’t need you to be involved. I don’t need you for anything,’ she added, tilting her chin defiantly. ‘But I did think you deserved to know. And our child will know about you too. Whatever capacity you choose to be in their life is up to you, and them, when they’re old enough to decide.’

For the second time in as many minutes, the bottom fell out of his world.

It was a new sensation and he didn’t like it at all.

She’d started the conversation with such uncertainty but, having made her pronouncement, she’d really taken the bull by the horns. Could she have any idea how deeply unsettling her description was to Raul?

Of course not. How could she?

He was being forced to grapple, at lightning speed, with something he hated the idea of yet now had to accept as reality. She was, on the one hand, offering him a way out. He could provide her with money so she could live comfortably and raise this baby without him.

But not wanting a child was not the same thing as being willing to ignore his own child, now that it was a reality rather than a theoretical scenario. The very idea was anathema to Raul, and he didn’t have to be a psychotherapist to understand why.

No one had fought for him. No one had protected him. And no child of his would experience what he had—not while he had breath in his lungs.

‘You are suggesting that you will raise the child by yourself?’ He heard the derision in his voice and knew it was the wrong approach, but his emotions were moving beyond his control.

‘Why not?’ she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. His eyes dropped to her breasts before he could control the reaction. When he looked at her face once more he saw pink in her cheeks and something stirred in his groin.

He forced himself to hold her gaze. ‘What will you do for money, Libby?’ he pushed, waiting to see how she answered that. Did she see him as a meal ticket? If so, this was her chance.

Obviously, he intended to financially support his child, but it was strangely important to him to understand more about Libby. She was such an unknown quantity. She’d crashed into—and out of—his life in the most volatile, stunning way, so sometimes he’d wondered if he’d dreamed the whole encounter. They’d come together like magic and motion and then she’d left, and that had been that. The end. He knew nothing about her, and he wanted to. Not because of who she was as a woman, he told himself, but because she was to become the mother to his child.

‘I’ve got some ideas,’ she said, drawing his focus back to the conversation. ‘I’m still working out the details, but don’t worry,’ she said with a hint of disdain. ‘I’m not planning on taking a cent from you, Raul; this isn’t a shakedown.’

He stared at her, embarrassed to have been seen through, and even more so because it made him seem ungenerous and irresponsible—he was neither. He’d hated the idea of Libby using him to secure some kind of payday, but it had never occurred to him not to contribute financially. The problem was, he wanted more than just to hand over cash every month.

‘You need money,’ he said, ‘and obviously I will provide it.’

She closed her eyes, grimacing. ‘I don’t want that.’

‘Why not?’ he asked, fascinated by her response.

She lifted her slender shoulders in a shrug. ‘I just... I know I can do this,’ she said.

‘You also know I am a very wealthy man,’ he pushed, still trying to get her measure.

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