Page 16 of Finding You

That’s just how good it felt to hold her again. To touch her and to have her hugged up against his body.

Several things hit him at once. One: her floral scent, with a hint of jasmine, smelled incredible as it swirled around him like a hypnotic elixir. Then there was how soft she felt under his touch, and he never wanted to let her go. But the thing that shook him the most was when he looked down at the baby she was holding in her arms. Zanaya.

The cutie was beyond adorable, and the way her pretty eyes stared up at him. Zion’s heart banged against his rib cage, and it felt as if he’d been gut punched. No doubt she was breathtakingly cute, but with that thought, came another. Hemighthave a daughter… this beautiful baby girl who was looking at him with such innocence was going to be totally dependent on him for the rest of her life.

Zion swallowed hard at the realization that just seemed to hit him suddenly.

Slow down dude. Don’t get ahead of yourself,he thought.

He needed to stay in the moment because, if he thought too hard about all this, he might freak the hell out again. He had already acted like an ass last night. He was trying to be better tonight.

When his attention shifted back to Raven, she was looking down, and he only had a view of her profile. Still, he noticed her pinched expression and the way she was biting on her lower lip.

“Hey.” He shook her slightly and quietly asked, “What’s wrong?”

He maintained his hold around her waist, conscious of the way Andrew squirmed in his other arm.

“Zion, this might not be a good idea,” she said, matching his low volume. “I’ve never left them with…”

When Raven’s words trailed off, he understood the problem, or at least part of it.

He tightened his hold, and unable to stop himself, he pressed a lingering kiss to her temple. He had no right to hold her like this, let alone kiss her, but it felt right. She fit perfectly against him, like she was right where she belonged.

“Listen,” he said. “I know this is all a bit wild, and you don’t really know me or my family. But I promise you that no one will take care of the babies better than my mother. She adores them.”

Zion had a feeling that it was more than just leaving the babies with his family. This would be the first time she and he would spend any real time alone together since that night in Vegas. Though his intentions were honorable, he understood her hesitancy because right now, with how good she felt in his arm, he wanted her. Just like he wanted her that night almost a year ago.

“What can I do to make you feel more comfortable with the setup?” As he glanced down at her, he saw Zanaya was dosing off in Raven’s arms.

“I don’t know, Andrew… I mean Zion.” Again, she huffed out a frustrated breath.

“You know, if you prefer to call me Andrew, I would answer.” Heck, he kind of liked that she called him something that no one else called him by.

She chuckled. “This is… this is so crazy,” she whispered, then eased out of his arm.

When she moved away from him, he immediately felt the loss. They might not have seen each other in a while, but being with her still seemed right. There was still a bond with her that he had never felt with another woman.

“I know, baby, but hopefully after we spend some time getting to know each other, it won’t feel as strange. Would you prefer we take the kids with us?”

Zion asked the question, but he hoped she’d say no. Not because he didn’t want the twins with them, but because he really did want to spend time with her alone. Depending on what the results of the tests were, they might have to make plans about the future. The more he knew about her and what was going on in her life, the easier that would be. Because if these were his kids, he planned to be a full-time dad.

“No,” she finally said. “Zion, your mom is a godsend. I’ve only been here a good twenty-four hours, and she treats melike family. I guess I’m just a little… I don’t know. Tired. Overwhelmed. Nervous. All the above.”

“I can understand that, but maybe a night out is exactly what you need. We’re going to have a nice time, and I’m sure you deserve a break.”

When she glanced up at him, her long eyelashes accentuated her beautiful light-brown eyes, and she smiled. Zion felt it to every cell in his body, and suddenly, his goal for the evening was to not only make sure she had a nice outing, but also to keep that smile on her gorgeous face. And if he was lucky, maybe he’d get a goodnight kiss at the end of the evening.

Yeah, he was a bastard for thinking along those lines, but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted this woman just as much as he’d wanted her back in Vegas.

“Let me change Andrew’s diaper, and then we can head out,” he said, suddenly remembering what his mother had instructed him to do before she left the room. He glanced around the large space until he saw a stack of diapers on the dresser.

“Wait. You really know how to change diapers?”

He turned back to Raven, aware of the shock in her voice. “What? Baby, I’m not just a pretty face. I’ve changed diapers before,” he said while grabbing one before heading to the bed with Andrew.

No way would he tell her that he hadn’t changed a diaper since his seventeen-year-old nephew was a baby. He just hoped the process hadn’t changed much.

Twenty minutes, three attempts at changing Andrew, and a quick change into one of his father’s button-down shirts, Zion was finally driving his truck away from the B & B. It wouldn’t take long to get to the restaurant that was near the lake front, but right now, he wanted to do what he should’ve done in Vegas. He wanted to get to know the beautiful woman sitting next to him, the one who he hadn’t been able to forget.

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