He desperately wanted to touch her and comfort her, but he knew that to touch her now would be fatal to their conversation. So he persisted. “This isn’t your fault—or mine. Your contraception failed, mine didn’t work, and then this rift happened.”
She cut him off angrily. “Benjaminhappened! He is a child, not a rift!”
“I know that!”
“Say his name!” He couldn’t, even though the child had been named after his two grandfathers. When they began dating, they found it hilarious that both of their fathers were named Benjamin.
“Shaundra, sweetheart.”
She whirled around and left the kitchen, with him following all the way down the hallway to the bedroom. His swift reflexes were the only things that stopped her from slamming the door in his face. He was in before she could shut him out.
“Phylicia will hear me if I scream,” she warned.
“Not unless she’s finished her favorite raspberry sorbet in record time,” he responded with a mocking quirk of his lips.
Thwarted, she cursed out loud. “You really are a dick, you know that?”
He didn’t allow her to drag him down that road. He needed to remain focused, to remember the reason for his visit. “I’ve tried to explain. You know I never wanted kids.” Not exactly true, but… “I want you back, Shaundra. Please. We are good together. I know I was an ass—still am—but I want us to be together again.”
Her expression was one of suspicion. “Do you mean that?”
“Yes! I have a plan.”
Her doubt became tinged with curiosity, sprinkled with hope. “Tell me.”
He knew he had her now. He knew with perfect certainty that this woman loved him, just as he knew he was undeserving of that love. “I was wrong to leave. I apologize for that. I’m pleading with you to have me back. Forgive me for my past behavior.”
Her dark brown eyes were searching, uncertain, but full of longing. “We can be a family? The three of us?”
He paused, letting that one hang in the air. If he answered that directly, everything would collapse around his ears. Lamely, he directed the course of the conversation. “I bought an estate in Provence, just minutes away from William’s château. We can start anew in France. You can be near your friends, acquaint yourself with my homeland, and we can try to put aside the pain we experienced here. Would you be willing to do that?”
Her smile was uncertain at first, but then it widened. Even as she slowly nodded, she whispered, almost to herself, “I can’t wait for you to meet him. Our son.”
Instead of answering, he reached for her, pulling her close to him and kissing her softly, penitently, on the lips. When she began to kiss him back, he felt as if he’d won a prize of great value. A thing precious and rare. He struggled to contain his jubilation.
As he felt her body soften against his, he let his hands slide behind her to her full, round bottom, pulling her towards him, pressing her against his already burgeoning excitement in a silent question. He took her non-resistance and deepening kisses as a green light.
He began walking her backward, as if they were dancing, until her bare legs came up against the edge of the bed. It only took a single nudge for her to fall back.
He eased his body over hers, well aware of his superior weight and strength. This was different from that moment of madness back in the restaurant. Today, the stakes were higher—much higher. If he frightened her or hurt her now, he might as well lose her—permanently.
A question hovered in his eyes. Despite his aching arousal, if she said no, he would get up and leave without hesitation.
But it was Shaundra who didn’t hesitate. Her hand came up to grasp the crisp, dark hair at the back of his head, trapping him. Then those long-lashed eyes of hers fluttered shut as her full lips seemed to blossom as she waited for his kiss.
He made love to her with the care and tenderness reserved for a virgin. She was a survivor, an extraordinary woman, but she was fragile, too. He would not be the one to break her.