Page 40 of Raising His Baby (The Sartoris 2)

“Of course not.” He held out a hand to her, and she took it. “Not to you.”

Her heart skittered, but she took a look over her shoulder at Jody. His expression had gone blank, and his posture stiffened. Like a trained soldier, he nodded to them both and retreated to his previous spot. She hoped he was okay and that with time his attraction to her would fade.

“What are you doing up this time of night?” Romy asked when they were alone in the room she discovered was an office. He led her to a loveseat across from a mahogany executive desk, and she sank onto the cushions. Romy took up a spot next to her, and she bit her bottom lip when his tight thigh brushed hers.

She looked down at their legs. He didn’t move away because he obviously didn’t notice the way his warmth burned her alive. She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. Don’t leave men wondering where you stand, right? Speak your mind.

“I just wanted to tell you…” She gulped and felt his eyes trained on her.

“Tell me what?” he encouraged her gently.

He was killing her with kindness, even more so since she had risked her life to save him. Wait, maybe they were right—Shakarri and Cason. She could get Romy if she gave it real effort, even with his distrust. Romy was made to give himself to a woman—the right woman. She was that woman!

She leaned in to bring her face nearer to his. His cheeks pinked just a bit, and the beautiful blue eyes widened. Romy’s gaze danced over her form as if he noticed her nightgown for the first time. The material didn’t reveal her skin beneath, but with her seated it did cling in the right places. Her confidence jumped higher at his look of interest.

“I’m in love.”

Chapter 14

“Sono inamorato,” she said again in his native tongue, and Romy sprang to his feet and moved to the desk.

With his back to her, he smashed his fist against the surface of the desk and growled low in his throat. “Cason isn’t the type of man to get serious about, Sonya.”

She blinked, wondering why in the world he’d bring up his brother at a time like this. Then it hit her. He couldn’t possibility think…could he?

Romy spun to face her and sat on the edge of the desk. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the wood beside him. “You’re confessing to me because you feel obligated since I’m Arron’s papà.”

“Is that what you think?”

His jaw looked so tight he might crack a tooth if he wasn’t careful, and his eyes shot fire. “I’m fine with it if that’s what you want. You seeing Cason won’t affect how you and I raise Arron.”

She snorted. Who in the world was he kidding? It was killing him to think of her being interested in his brother. No other reaction could have convinced her more that Romy cared about her. He didn’t want Cason to have her, and she could have shouted with excitement knowing he felt that way. She needed to convince the idiot of what she was really telling him.

Butterflies fluttered in her belly, but she ignored them as she stood and padded over to him. Romy watched every step she took, and she added a little extra swing in her hips as she moved. The wood under his hand cracked a bit in protest of his grip. She didn’t stop moving until she pressed lightly against his big hard frame, and then she extended to her toes and kissed his firm lips. Her heart pounded, and when she raised her hands to his chest, heat from his body scorched her palms.

From the moment she touched her mouth to his, he responded, kissing her back just as deeply. She tilted her chin up and let him claim her lips, and she grabbed both his hands to place them at her sides. Instinctively, he grasped her up so that her feet left the floor and she was crushed against him. Time ticked by with the only sounds in the room being their soft moans and the meeting again and again of their mouths.

At last, Romy broke the kiss and spoke in a raspy tone. “This isn’t a good start to your relationship with my brother.”

She laughed. “How can you be so stupid, Romy?”

He frowned.

“It’s you I want. I know you don’t believe me, but nothing happened with Cason. Well, he came onto me, probably to test how I felt about you. I turned him down.”

His expression registered shock. “I—”

She covered his lips with a finger because she didn’t think she could stand it if he rejected her on the notion that he couldn’t trust her. “I will spend as much time as I need to prove to you how I feel.”

He kissed her fingers and pulled her hand away from his mouth. “Sonya.” Raw emotion made his voice thick.

She laid her head against his shoulder and almost wept when his arms came up to hold her tighter. “We don’t have to get married. I never saw myself as a bride anyway. We can be lovers. And don’t worry. I can take anything your family dishes out. Ezio doesn’t scare me.”

Romy didn’t say a word, but neither did he shove her away. He let her lie in his arms for a little while, and then he walked her back to her bedroom.

“I can come to yours,” she offered.

He leaned in and kissed her. “Good night.”

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