Page 54 of Bound by Their Christmas Baby

He spoke in Italian, words he couldn’t have recalled later, words that came from deep within him, whispering them in her ear as his fingers pushed her underwear aside and found the heart of her warmth, sliding inside her until she bucked against him.

‘Please,’ she groaned, breaking the kiss to look into his eyes. ‘I need you, Gabe. I need this. Please.’

He understood and it was instinct alone that pushed him, his hands freeing his arousal from his trousers, just enough to take her, to hold her to him, to bind them together.

She was panting against him, kissing him frantically, her hands running over his shoulders and arms, her body trembling until finally they both exploded in unison, one singular, perfect release for the tempesta that had been raging between them—and probably always would.

‘Oh, my God,’ Abby murmured as sanity began to seep back into her passion-addled brain. ‘What just happened?’

Gabe straightened, his smile one of such indulgence that her heart tripped heavily inside her. ‘Well, we’ve done it before. Quite often. I presumed you understood…’

‘We didn’t use protection.’ She dipped her head so that her forehead was pressed to his shoulder. ‘That was so stupid.’

‘Stupid? I can think of other words to describe it.’

‘You don’t understand,’ she groaned. ‘I’m not on any form of contraception.’

Comprehension dawned, but apparently produced a very different reaction for Gabe. ‘So?’ he asked, a brow lifted. ‘Then we have another baby.’

‘Another baby?’ Her words were a sharp rejection of the idea. She pushed away from him, placing her feet on the ground and straightening her dress with fingers that shook. Panic seared her belly.

‘Yes, another baby. Two more. Three more. We already have Raf. We’re getting married. Why not more children?’

‘How can you be so cavalier about this?’

‘Calm down, tempesta. You’re acting as though this is the worst thing in the world. You don’t even know if there will be any…complications…’

‘It would be the worst thing in the world!’ Abby shouted, the stress and the confusion of the last few weeks beginning to mount inside her, so that she was pale, her eyes flashing with emotion.

In contrast, Gabe was completely frozen, his expression like granite. ‘Why, may I ask, is that?’

She bit down on her lip and looked over his shoulder. How could she explain how she felt? How could she put into words the misgivings she had? About this wedding, their marriage, the ability to raise Raf in a way that wouldn’t completely mess him up? Another baby would be heaven on earth if they were a real couple. ‘It’s irresponsible to bring another baby into this environment,’ she said crisply. ‘Raf happened, and we’re getting married to give him a family. But there’s no sense compounding that with any more children. Raf is enough.’

CHAPTER TWELVE

GABE USED VOICE-COMMAND to call his best friend.

‘Noah?’ His voice was gruff when the call connected.

‘Gabe. What’s up?’

Gabe swallowed, staring at his desk. An excellent question.

‘I just wanted to see how you are,’ he lied anxiously. Noah had enough going on in his life—he didn’t need Gabe adding to it.

‘Fine. I’m cured, remember?’

Gabe frowned. The therapy he’d made Noah enter might have been paying dividends. But wasn’t it too soon? Gabe silenced the doubts. He wanted to believe his foster brother was improving. He wanted to feel some degree of relief.

‘I’m glad.’ Gabe sighed heavily. ‘I’m…’ He clamped his lips together. What did he want to say? I’m getting married. No. Too problematic. Noah would want to know what the hell had happened. Gabe had sworn until he was blue in the face that he would never marry. He’d promised himself repeatedly that emotional commitments were for fools; he’d sworn to be smart.

And he was being smart. This marriage wasn’t about emotion.

‘Do you ever wonder what the Sloanes are doing?’

‘Those bastards? No. I never think of them.’ The anger in Noah’s voice made a liar of him. Their foster family had influenced both their lives, no matter how they wished that weren’t the case.

Gabe pushed back in the leather chair, his eyes closed.

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