Page 53 of Surprise Baby for the Enemy

“Why?!” Derrick demands. “Because I’m the sheriff and you were born in the mafia? Because I don’t care about that. I don’t care what anyone expects of me or you. I only care about what we have together. A home. A family.”

I shake my head, still hiding behind my hands. I want him to stop, but I don’t have the words to tell him so. The vision of him holding our child and me on the porch swing with another baby on the way- it’s so fucking beautiful. But I can’t have it.

“Lookat me, Raleigh,” Derrick orders. When I don’t, he puts his hands on my shoulders and turns me firmly to face him. He grips my wrists, but doesn’t pull my hands away from my eyes. “Raleigh… If you hate me, tell me. If you never want to see me again, then I’ll go. But you have to be honest. If not with me, then with yourself.”

I suck in a shaking breath.I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. But I can’t force the words out, no matter how hard I try. They’re a lie, and I’ve stopped being able to lie to this man since the moment I told him I was pregnant.

Maybe long before that.

“Can’t say it?” Derrick asks. His thumbs brush against the backs of my hands. “Thenlookat me.”

Slowly, I let my hands drop so he can see my reddened eyes and the tears I won’t let fall. I look up at him, meeting his eyes with grim resolution. There’s nowhere else for me to run.

He was always the only destination.

Derrick searches my eyes. Past my fear and doubt and all the things I’ve hidden so well from others, he must see something that makes him nod. He steps forward, and he’s so close that I have to step back. I don’t resist as he backs me up against the wall, pressing his body against mine so that I’m completely pinned.

“Don’t you see? You’re mine, Raleigh,” he says softly. “Even if you can’t say it out loud, you know it. Youwantit. Just like you wanted my baby. Just like you want me every time I touch you.”

My body is softening under his, and I don’t fight it. He’s right. Every time he touches me, surrender is the only option I have, because to turn away from his touch is unthinkable. I tried it last night, and it almost drove meinsane.

Still, who would I be if I didn’t argue, even when I know I’ve lost? “Prove it,” I say. “Prove that I want you. Because I won’t tell you that I-”

At that moment, something shifts between our bodies. At first, I think Derrick’s just tensed against me and I felt it in my stomach, but no. He’s as startled as I am. I feel the movement again, and suddenly I realize- it’s coming from inside me.

Our baby is moving.

I gasp, and Derrick drops to his knees, immediately pressing his hand and cheek against my belly. We hold our breath and wait in stunned unison. Without either of us realizing it, Derrick’s free hand has tangled with mine.

There. The barest flutter. The tiniest hint of movement. Derrick sucks in a breath, his hand tightening on mine. My tears fall into his hair, but he doesn’t move. Worshipfully, he listens to our baby turning over inside me.

When it falls still again, we stay as we are for a long moment, Derrick’s ear resting on my stomach, our fingers tightly laced. We’re breathing hard like we’ve run a marathon, even though we haven’t moved.

I’ve been totally shaken. My world’s been thrown off its axis. And all I know or care about is the tiny life growing inside me- and the man listening with all his might to hear it move again.

I’ve… never been so happy. And when Derrick looks up at me, his blue eyes shining with pride and awe, I think he probably hasn’t either.

What better proof do I need?

Derrick stands, and when he pins my wrists above my head and kisses me hard, I don’t have any excuses left. I’m ready, ready to fall into him, knowing that he’ll catch me.

He always has before.

“Let me keep you, Raleigh,” Derrick says into my mouth, an order as much as a plea. His hands slide down my body and tighten on my hips, possessing me, claiming me. “Let me keep our baby.”

Our bodies grind together, and fully clothed it’s enough to make me wet for him.

“Take me-” I gasp. “Take me then-Derrick-”

He bites at my lower lip, then pulls back, just enough to meet my eyes with his. “Lie down,” he says, and I can only obey.

I sprawl out on the bed, still fully clothed, and Derrick climbs on top of me. His sure hands strip his clothes off of me, and he uses them to firmly tie each of my limbs to the bedposts and headboard. His plaid button-down binds my wrists above my head, his t-shirt takes one ankle to the bedpost, and his pants the other. My heart pounds so hard I expect it to leap right out of my chest, but I don’t struggle. Every part of me he binds in place is a part of me I don’t have to fight to control anymore.

When I’m finally naked and spread out before him, Derrick sits back on his heels to admire his work. His eyes are twin blue bonfires. Heat spreads under my skin wherever they wander, goosebumps rising and my nipples hardening.

For just a moment, his gaze softens as it passes over my abdomen. He brushes knuckles over the soft curve of my belly, making me shiver. Then he pulls his t-shirt over his head, shucks his pants, and moves in to claim what’s always been his.

Without preamble, he stuffs three of his fingers inside me, already knowing he’ll find me wet and ready. His finger presses against my G-spot and starts thrusting, his thumb rubbing at my clit in unison. I bite my lip to stifle a whimper of happiness, and bite harder when he licks at my nipple and pinches it between his teeth. His free hand slides beneath me and grips my ass, my thigh, kneading at my body like it’s his own personal plaything.

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