Andrés sat across from Chloe in the limo, stretching out his long legs while he watched her squirm. She was nervous, and rightfully so. His gut tightened with something akin to disappointment.
But what had he hoped for? That she would be happy to see him or that she would eagerly throw herself into his arms?
There was a part of him that had craved just that. Wanted Chloe to need him. To desire to be with him. He flexed his jaw and drew in a slow breath. No, the only thing Chloe had ever needed from him were the details of his life to splash in a trashy magazine.
From the moment he’d walked into the diner he’d been on edge. His emotions raw, jagged. He’d felt caged. Ready to fight. And then he’d seen her and his lungs had locked. Chloe had been gorgeous in Spain, but now, pregnant with his child, she was stunningly beautiful. Almost ethereal. Her skin seemed to glow from within and there was a new softness to her body.
He hadn’t intended to touch her, but once close to her it had been as inevitable as breathing.
As if she sensed his attention on her, she finally turned to glare at him, her eyes sparking with frustration. “How did you get here so fast? I only called you yesterday.”
“It does not take twenty-four hours to fly to Seattle.” He offered a slight shrug, but her reminder of why he’d flown halfway around the world had his gaze hardening. “Besides, what would you have me do when you threatened the life of my child?”
Chloe blinked and her mouth fell open. She looked entirely too innocent, with her little country girl dress and her hair in braids, but he knew her better. It was all an act. After all, she was skilled at the art of deception.
“Wait…I don’t understand. Threatened the baby? How?”
“You referred to our child as it, Chloe. And then in the same breath announced that it wasn’t my problem and you would deal with it.”
The color drained from her face; her stare, loaded with self-doubt, finally skittered away.
“Did I? I was still in shock. I only meant…surely you know what I meant.” She closed her palm over her stomach. “This isn’t easy for me.”
“No. How could it be? You are facing becoming a single mother,” he mocked. “Raising a child on a waitress’s salary. So—”
“I had another job. Until you—”
“You decided that you had no option other than to terminate the pregnancy,” he continued, ignoring her protests.
Her mouth fell open and her gaze returned to his, flashing fire. “That’s absolutely not true. I never planned to end this pregnancy, and how dare you accuse me of it.”
Strong words, but then, that’s all they were. Words. And after her deception in Spain, he knew they carried no weight. He intended to see that she had no way to prove him otherwise. He intended to see his child born and under his care.
His jaw hardened; the muscles in his body coiled with tension. “You can barely afford your apartment, Chloe. Or do you forget how you were almost evicted? How will you possibly afford to raise a child?”
“I…how on earth did you know that?” Her eyes went round with realization. With shock. “You paid my rent? But why? You made it clear in Valencia how much you despised me.”
He didn’t reply. Instead, he turned to glance out the window of the limo, staring blindly at the nighttime Seattle skyline and the lighted Space Needle in the distance.
Understanding his motivation for not being able to let Chloe go wasn’t something even he could comprehend. He should’ve been able to wash his hands from her the moment she’d walked out of his resort that day. But he hadn’t been able to forget her. To stop the memories and dreams of her. And he hadn’t been able to erase the guilt that he’d almost singlehandedly crushed her financially.
The fact that he had been her benefactor of rent money had never been something he’d intended for Chloe to become aware of. Nor that he’d had Pablo follow up on her wellbeing when she’d return to the States. It was how he’d discovered her near eviction. And, had she not called him, would’ve been how he’d discovered she carried his child.
When Chloe had told him about the baby and then hung up on him, his entire world had gone into a tailspin. Children were never supposed to be a part of his life. Never.
The memories assailed him then, the stinging slap of the leather belts against his back. Celebrating Dio de los Reyes—Three Kings Day—where he’d watched his cousin unwrap present after present, while he’d been lucky to get a hand-me-down toy.
Andrés blinked and looked away, ridding himself of the poisonous reminders. He’d always vowed not to bring a child into such a harsh world, and up until Valencia, until Chloe, he’d been especially careful with his lovers. And now here he was.
“In Valencia,” he ground out, anger burning in his gut, “you told me you would have difficulty conceiving. Was that another of your lies?”
“No.” She gave a high-pitched laugh and shook her head. “That’s what I was told by my physician—what I myself believed.”
Staring at her, Andrés had difficulty believing she hadn’t considered the possibility of getting pregnant that night. If she’d intended seduction all along, wouldn’t she have been more prepared?
“This isn’t fair,” she said suddenly, her eyes suspiciously bright. She seemed to be holding back tears. “You have no right to judge me. Perhaps it wasn’t a planned pregnancy and no, I’m not certain how I’ll raise this baby alone, but let me make one thing clear. I want my child, Andrés.”
He arched a brow and then announced softly, “Well, cariño, that makes two of us.”
Chloe had the sudden realization that she might get sick. Dizziness assailed her and she closed her eyes, clutching the leather of the seat beneath her.
Andrés wanted her baby. He’d stated it casually, as if he’d mentioned he wanted to purchase a new car. But this wasn’t a car, this was her child. What could Andrés, a ruthless businessman who seemed intent on never settling down, possibly want with a baby?
She opened her eyes again and met his gaze full on, deciding to call his bluff. “Do you want partial custody? Visitation rights? A damned handmade Christmas card from preschool?”
“No, Chloe. If you are indeed carrying my child—”
“If?” She sputtered, fury rising within her. “You think I would lie about being pregnant?”
Condescension flickered in his eyes. “You wouldn’t be the first woman to try and force my hand at marriage by playing the pregnancy card.”
“I would never do something so horrible, you jerk.”
“But I am more inclined to believe you,” he continued softly, ignoring her denial. “Because you, being a talented little seductress, are the only woman who’s made me lose my mind long enough to forget to use protection.”
The vision of him with other women had her stomach curdling, and she lowered her lashes so he wouldn’t see her reaction.
“I’d rather not hear about your list of conquests,” she attempted with sarcasm.
He laughed, sounding pleased. “Are you jealous, cariño?”
Yes. But she could barely make the admission to herself and would rather die than make it to him. “Hardly.” .
Andrés made a noise in the back of his throat, a sound of amusement that had her blood pressure skyrocketing. “I don’t want partial custody,” he finally continued, his words dripping with derision. “This child will grow up knowing who I am and that I am his father. I will not have him be raised by the next man you decide to take to your bed. I want full custody of our child.”
Full custody. Fear slammed into her with a force that left her quaking. Her stomach revolted and she let out a strangled groan. Then the anger seeped in. Without thinking she lunged across the space between them.
He caught her wrist before she could hit him, deftly maneuvering her until she was pinned against the long seat of the limo beneath him. “I warned you to never hit me again.”
“I’ll fight you on this,” she vowed raggedly, tears blurring her vision now. Her baby. He wanted to take her baby from her. “You controlling, spiteful bastard. You can’t have my child.”
“I can and I will. Try to fight me, Chloe. Let us see who can afford the better legal team,” he challenged mercilessly.
Her heart clenched and she bit back a sob, closing her eyes. “Why would you do this? You know I can’t win in court against you.”
“It is simple. Because the child you carry is heir to my fortune.”
His words and implications made her head spin. She finally opened her eyes and found his angry stare upon her. But there was also the same controlled heat in his stare that she’d seen in Valencia. It was the look that could reduce her to a quivering puddle, and it drove fear into her heart to see it in his eyes again.