Page 29 of Pregnant and Stolen by the Tycoon

He didn’t respond, merely crossed his arms over his sculpted chest, leaned back against the door and watched her.

Genie considered sitting in silence right along with him. But Dr Douglas’s voice chose that moment to gently chide her.

Take the high road.

Casting a glance out of the window so he wouldn’t see how much the words affected her, she kept her gaze on the fluffy clouds as she answered. ‘Okay. I feel lonely. A lot. All the time, actually. Even when my parents were alive.’

A furtive glance out of the corner of her eye showed his arms had dropped, a disarmed look on his face.

She’d shocked Seve Valente with her unguarded honesty.

It wasn’t a terrible feeling. So she went further. ‘I felt lonely even before I was old enough to understand what that feeling meant. It hasn’t gone away.’

Seve prowled closer, emotion in his eyes she couldn’t quite decipher. ‘That’s why you wanted a child?’ he grated out.

‘Partly.’

‘What other reasons are there?’ he pressed, not giving any quarter now she’d cracked the door open.

‘Because I’m aware of where my parents went wrong, and I’m well equipped to not repeat their mistakes.’

‘Doing the opposite of what they did wouldn’t automatically guarantee the results you require,’ he countered, a bite in his voice.

She turned from the window to face him. ‘I wasn’t planning on using the exact opposite template. Just doing things differently.’

His nostrils flared in irritation. ‘You could still go wrong elsewhere, unless you have the answer to every question being a parent entails. And that’s impossible.’

‘I know being a good parent doesn’t come from books. It comes from within.’ She knew that deep in her soul because that was where the most anguishing hurt had resided. ‘What about you? You’re so busy labelling me an unfit parent five minutes after discovering you’re going to be a father. What experience do you have to show that you’ll do any better?’

His jaw tightened when the accusation hit the mark. Shadows of bleakness and bitterness charted over his face, but he tossed them off almost instantly. ‘Unlike you, I’m willing to admit I don’t have all the answers—’

‘And yet you’re determined to emerge the winner.’

His nostrils flared in displeasure. ‘For starters, I have a better support system. And this isn’t about winning—’

‘Of course it is. You see the child I’m carrying as yours. You’re taking it away because you believe you’re better equipped to take care of it than I am.’

‘As opposed to what? Having it brought up on some grey corner of your AI lab where you can nip in and check on it in between building algorithms?’

The sting in her midriff intensified. ‘Your views are based on nothing but assumptions.’

‘Prove me wrong, then. Show me how wrong I am.’

‘You’re baiting me into showing my hand again.’

He shrugged. ‘You have to reveal your cards at some point, Genie. You can’t hold them to your chest and expect me to take you at your word. What were your plans to bring up my...our baby?’

‘What are yours? Beside kidnapping and holding me hostage for the duration of my pregnancy?’

Purpose rippled from him in waves. And somehow, she wasn’t at all surprised when he merely rasped, ‘You’ll find out soon enough.’

He was doing the right thing.

Whenever the tiny pinpricks of guilt lanced him, he pushed back.Hard.Because he couldn’t afford even an ounce of softening. Not when the stakes were this high.

He glanced at the closed cabin door and tightened his resolve.

Genie had coldly frozen him out once it became clear he wasn’t changing his mind about their destination or revealing his plans for the baby she carried.

---