Page 41 of Arranged with Twins
In my apartment, I pour myself a scotch and prepare sparkling water with lime for Sienna. She accepts the glass withoutcomment and settles onto the couch while I remain standing, too restless to sit.
“You’re planning.” She studies my face with growing recognition. “I can see the wheels turning. Bulletproof cribs, no doubt.”
She’s making a joke but not really. “Would that be wrong?” I ask.
“No, it’s very you.” She takes a sip of her drink, then sets it aside with a sigh. “I just wonder if you ever think about anything beyond threat management and damage control.”
I sip my scotch before answering. “What else should I be thinking about?”
“I don’t know. Maybe normal things, like nursery colors, baby names, and if we want to find out the genders.” I hear wistfulness in her voice that makes my chest contract. “The kind of stuff regular expectant parents worry about. The cute stuff.”
“We’re not regular parents.” The reminder comes out sharper than I intended. “Regular parents don’t have to worry about kidnapping attempts or assassination plots.”
“I know that.” She stands and moves closer. “These babies are going to need more than just protection though.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying you keep everyone at arm’s length, including me. If we’re going to raise children together, if we’re going to make a merger into a real marriage, you have to let me in.” She steps closer still, until I see light blue flecks in her gray eyes. “Why do you guard yourself so carefully around me if you don’t actually want me?”
The question cuts to the heart of everything I’ve been avoiding. “Wanting you is the problem.”
She frowns. “How is that a problem?”
“You’re my greatest liability.” The words come out raw and honest. “The single point where my entire world could collapse. Every enemy I’ve made in twenty years now has a target they can use against me. A single point of failure.”
“So, you think the solution is to keep me at a distance? To treat me like a business asset instead of the woman carrying your children? How does that help you?” She sounds mostly confused by my thought processes.
“The solution is to be smart about this instead of letting emotions compromise our safety.” I drain my scotch and need the burn to steady my nerves. “Caring about you makes meweak.”
“Or maybe it makes you human.” She reaches up to touch my face. “When’s the last time you let yourself want something just because you wanted it, not because it served a strategic purpose?”
I should step away from her touch and maintain the distance that keeps us both safe. Instead, I lean into her palm and crave the connection I’ve been denying myself. “I want you.” The admission comes out like a confession. “I’ve wanted you since before the first night we made love, and it terrifies me.”
“Why?”
I hesitate, trying to articulate properly. “Wanting you changes everything. It makes every decision about more than justbusiness or survival. It makes me vulnerable in ways I swore I’d never be again.”
“Good.” She brushes her thumb across my cheekbone, and the simple touch sends heat through my entire body. “I don’t want to be married to a machine who only thinks about profit margins and security.”
The restraint I’ve maintained snaps. I capture her face in my hands and kiss her with all the hunger I’ve been suppressing. She responds immediately and presses against me with equal desperation as she fists her hands in my shirt.
This kiss is different from our previous encounters. There’s no anger driving it this time. Just raw need and the recognition that we’ve been denying ourselves something we both crave. I devour her mouth with pure hunger, making no effort to hide how much I want her. If I’m going to surrender to this, it’s going to be all the way.
When we break apart, we’re both breathing hard. “Are you sure about this?” I ask against her lips. “I won’t be able to pretend it’s just physical anymore.”
“I don’t want to pretend.” I hear certainty in her breathless voice. “I want this to be real.”
We stumble toward my bedroom while kissing and touching each other. In my room, I step back and take a moment to just look at her. She’s beautiful in the afternoon light filtering through the windows with her soft curves and fierce eyes. The knowledge that she’s carrying our children makes her even more precious, more essential, and sexier than ever.
“I want to take my time with you.” My voice comes out raspy. “I need to show you how much you mean to me.”
“I’m not going to argue with that.” She reaches for the buttons of my shirt and works them open with steady fingers. “I want to feel everything.”
I help her with my shirt, then reach for the zipper of her dress. She’s wearing pale blue lace underneath, delicate and feminine, and the sight makes my cock twitch. “Beautiful.” I trace the edge of her bra with one finger while she shivers at the touch. “You’re so beautiful.”
She unhooks the clasp and lets the lace fall away, baring her breasts. I can’t resist bending to taste her. I touch my tongue to her tight pink nipple, and she gasps, arching her back as she pushes into my mouth. I take my time and lavish attention on each breast while she tangles her fingers in my hair and makes soft sounds that drive me wild.
“Leo...” She speaks my name as a plea as I glide my tongue down her body while occasionally pausing to kiss or bite gently. She trembles with growing desire and presses against me. I kneel before her and hook my fingers in the waistband of her panties, drawing them down slowly. When she’s completely bare, I press a kiss to her hip bone, then another to her belly where our children grow. There’s no external evidence yet, but they’re there.
