Page 55 of Secret Baby for Mr. Grump

But it didn’t mean I left her alone.

I no longer tried to hide my heated looks, watching her as she moved around. She was always aware of me, and sometimes her eyes would flare with desire, but she would always scurry away like she wasn’t quite ready for it yet.

I knew she wasn’t sure about me, that she still doubted everything I said. And to be honest, I didn’t blame her. She had to take care of her son. She couldn’t just let anyone into her life easily. And even though the fact that she didn’t fully trust me stung a little, at the same time, I was proud of her for doing so.

I was willing to give her time to see who I was, to accept me.

Of course, all that changed about one week later.

I decided to hold off on destroying the resort as I wanted to run models and see if I could salvage it first. I told myself it was a business decision, but it was more for the way Allie lit up when I told her.

She immediately jumped into my arms, throwing her arms around my neck.

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Marcus!” she exclaimed, her voice so light that it brightened up the room. I loved it. “You won’t regret it, I swear!”

I wouldn’t, I knew. Even if I lost a million dollars on the place, I would do anything to see her as happy as she was.

Allie insisted on playing a role in planning the modeling, and I let her. Even though she knew very little about construction, she seemed to have a knack for design. So, more often than not, I sought her out in her little corner office to see what she thought about the changes I wanted to make.

It was while I was doing so that I walked in on her as she was laughing at something.

I stopped, drawn by the light and beautiful sound, and pushed the door open slowly.

She was standing by the windows, her expression far off, and she gave one of those laughs again.

“No, Ken, don’t worry about it,” she said, and my good humor died. “I bet it’s difficult to get cell service over there.”

Ken. Her ex-husband. Dark, heady jealousy overwhelmed me.

I knew it was irrational to feel how I felt, but that was beside the point.

He was the one she was smiling for, the one making her laugh. The thought burning in my gut made me furious.

“Yeah, and I really am sorry,” she continued, clearly oblivious to the menace she caused. “It was unprecedented.”

She went silent again, and the man was probably saying something. She turned in the process, and her eyes met mine.

The smile slipped from her lips.

I had no idea what expression was on my face, but it couldn’t be good.

To her credit, there was no fear in her expression. I saw her throat move as she swallowed, and her eyelids fluttered.

“Um, Ken, I’ll have to call you back.” She quickly hung up, her eyes tracking me as I moved. I was stalking her, and she watched me carefully like one would eye a dangerous animal.

“I was talking to Ken,” she said.

“I heard.” My voice was low and deceptively quiet, hiding the depth of the emotions coursing through me.

“I was just telling him that…that…” she stammered as I was right in her face, one finger moving to trail down her cheek.

“That what?” I asked, leaning down to drop a kiss on her head. Meanwhile, my other hand was under her skirt, running up her thighs and feeling the goosebumps that broke out over her skin.

“Marcus,” she whispered, and I responded with a hum, playing around with the edge of her panties. Her eyes suddenly went hazy. I held her gaze as I tore her panties off with a snap.

She didn’t look away as they fluttered to the ground because my hands were already cupping her heated center.

I ran a single thumb down her slit, and she gasped, her mouth falling open and her hands flying to my shoulder.

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