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“Yeah, I did. Are you sure?” he asked at last.
She gave him a fiery look from those aqua-blue eyes of hers. He’d seen the passionate side of her nature, and he guessed he was about to witness her temper. “Would I be here if I wasn’t?”
He held his hand up.
“Slow down, Red. I didn’t mean are you sure it’s mine. I meant...are you sure you’re pregnant?”
“Damned straight.”
“I get it. I had to take three at-home pregnancy tests and visit the doctor before I believed it myself. But trust me, Rafe. I’m positive I’m pregnant and that the baby is yours.”
“This is a little surreal,” he said.
“I know,” she said, with just a hint of softening on in her tone. “Listen, I know you can’t turn your back on your family and marry me and frankly, we only had one weekend together so I’d have to say no. But...I don’t want this kid to grow up without any knowledge of you.”
“Me either.”
She glanced up, surprised.
To be honest, he sort of surprised himself. But he knew all the things not to do as a dad thanks to his own father. It didn’t seem right for a kid of his to grow up without him. He wanted that. If he had a child, he wanted a chance to share the Montoro legacy...not the one newly sprung on him that came with a throne, but the one he’d carved out for himself in business. “Don’t look shocked.”
“You’ve kind of got a lot going on right now. And having a kid with me isn’t going to go over well.”
“Tough,” he said. He still wasn’t sure he wanted to be king of Alma. He and his siblings hadn’t grown up with the attitude that they were royalty. They were regular American kids who’d never expected to go back to Alma. “I still make my own decisions.”
“I know that,” she said. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ve just been so crazy since I realized I was pregnant and alone. I didn’t know what to do. You know my mom raised me by herself...”
He closed the gap between them again and pulled her into his arms. He hadn’t realized she’d been raised by a single parent. To be honest, a weekend of hot sex didn’t really lend itself to sharing each other’s past like that. “You’re not by yourself.”
She looked up at him. That little pointed nose of hers was the tiniest bit red and her lip quivered as if she were struggling to keep from crying. That’s when he realized how out of character it was for Emily to be unsure. The baby—his baby—had thrown her for a loop as well.
“Thanks. I just need...I have no idea. I mean, a kid. I never expected this. But we used protection.”
“I didn’t the third time, remember? I was out and we...”
She blushed and rested her forehead against the middle of his chest, wrapped her arms around his waist and held him. He’d thought he hated being trapped, but in Emily’s arms this didn’t feel constricting.
“Ugh. My mom was right.”
“About what?” he asked. He looked over her head at the man in the mirror and remembered how many times he’d wanted to see some substance reflected back. Was this it? Of course it was. The baby would change things. He had no idea how or why, but he knew this moment was going to be the one that helped forge his future and the man he’d become.
“She said all it takes is a sweet-talking man and one time to get pregnant.”
“I’m a sweet-talking man?” He tipped her head up with his finger under her chin.
“You can be.”
“What are we going to do?” he asked at last. It was clear she’d run out of steam as soon as she entered the room. Marriage was the noble thing to do. He knew that’s what Juan Carlos would suggest, but he and Emily were strangers, and tying their lives together didn’t seem smart until they knew each other better.
She pushed away from him and walked over to the window. He knew the view she was afforded. This place had been hard-earned. He’d worked just as his siblings had to make Montoro Enterprises into the success it was today.
“I just wanted you to know. Beyond that I don’t need anything. Someday the kid is going to ask about you—”
“Someday? I’m going to be a part of this,” Rafe said.
“I don’t see how. You’re going to be jetting off to Alma to take the throne. My life is here. The baby’s life will be here.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. The timing on this sucked. But he didn’t blame Emily. He’d been running when he went to Key West, afraid to admit that he was in over his head. He’d just gotten word that his family was definitely interested in returning to Alma and as the oldest son he was expected to take the throne.
He was the oldest son. He was Rafael the Fourth. He should have been in command all the time. But the truth was, he was lost.
He wanted his own life. Not one that was dictated by rules and the demands of running a country. If he’d made the decision to return to Alma on his own he might feel differently but right now he felt strong-armed into it.
But somehow in Emily’s arms he’d found something.
* * *
Emily didn’t really feel any better about her next steps, but now that she’d told Rafe her news she could at least start making plans. She didn’t know what she expected... Well, the fairy-tale answer was that he’d profess his undying love—hey, their weekend together was pretty spectacular—then sweep her off her feet to his jet, and they’d go to Paris to celebrate their engagement.
But back in the real world, she was staring at him and wondering if this was the last time she’d be alone with him. It didn’t matter what the fantasy was or that she knew how he looked naked. They were still strangers.
Intimate strangers.
“You are looking at me in an odd way,” he said.
She struggled with her blunt nature. Saying that she knew what he looked like naked but not how he’d react to their child would reveal too much insecurity. So she searched for something light. Keeping things light was the key to this.
“Well, I never heard you rap along with Jay-Z and Kanye before. Sort of changed my opinion of you.”
“I’m a man of many talents,” he said.
“I’d already guessed that.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
He walked over to her, all sex on a stick with that slow confident stride of his. His hazel eyes were intense, but then everything about him was. Last time they were together, she’d sensed his need to just forget who he was, but this time was different. This time he seemed to want to show her more of the man he was.
The real man.
“What else have you guessed?” he asked in a silky tone that sent shivers down her spine.
He had a great voice. She knew he had flaws, but as far as the physical, she couldn’t find any. Even that tiny scar on the back of his hand didn’t detract from his appeal. “That you are used to getting your own way.”
“Aw, that’s so easy it’s almost like cheating.”
“Have you figured out that I’m used to getting my own way, too?” she asked. Suddenly she didn’t feel as if things were just happening to her. She was in control. Of Rafe, the baby and this entire afternoon. The pregnancy had thrown her. Brought up junk from her childhood she’d thought she’d moved on from, but now she was getting her groove back.
“Oh, I knew that from the moment I entered Shady Harry’s and saw you standing behind the bar.”
“Did you?” she asked. “I thought it was my Shady Harry’s T-shirt that caught your attention.”
The spicy scent of his aftershave brought an onslaught of memories of him moving over her. She’d buried her face in his neck. Damn, he’d smelled good. Then and now.
“Well, that and your legs. Red, you’ve got killer legs.”
She looked down at them. Seemed kind of average to her. But she wasn’t about to argue with a compliment like that.
“I like your ass,” she admitted.
He winked at her, and then turned so that she could see it. He wore a slim-fitting suit that looked tailor-made. Given who he was, it probably was.
He was going to be king.
She had no business flirting with him. Or even staying here a moment longer.
“Sorry.”
“What?” he asked. “Why? What happened?”
She shrugged. No way was she admitting she was intimidated by his title. But that was the truth. She wasn’t in control of that. No matter how much she wanted to be.
“This suit doesn’t do anything for me, does it? I asked Gabe if these pants made me look fat but he said no.”
She had seen pictures of his entire family in the newspaper and knew that the Gabe he referred to was Gabriel Montoro, his younger brother.
She laughed, as she knew he wanted her to. But inside something had changed. She no longer owned this afternoon. “I should go.”
“Why? What happened just now?”
“I remembered that you aren’t just a rich guy from Miami who came to Key West for the weekend. That your life isn’t your own and I really don’t have a place in it.”
His expression tightened and he turned away from her. She studied him as he paced over to his bed and looked down at the expensive leather suitcase lying there. She’d interrupted his packing. He probably didn’t really have time for her this afternoon.
“You said you never knew your father.” With an almost aristocratic expression, he glanced over his shoulder at her. She had the feeling she was seeing the man who would be king. And she had to admit he made her a little bit nervous. Maybe it was simply the fact that she knew he was going to be a king now. But it seemed as if he was different. More regal in his bearing than he had been during their weekend together.
“Yes. I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”
“I did know my father and my grandfather and great-grandfather. From my birth I was named to follow in their footsteps. I’ve never deviated from that expectation, and to be honest, I took a certain pride in carrying on our family name and trying to set an example for my brother and sister.”
“I’m getting a poor little rich boy feeling here. You have been given a lot of opportunities in your lifetime and now you have the chance to lead a nation,” she said, but inside she sort of understood what he was getting at. His entire life had been scripted since birth. She understood from what she’d read in the newspapers that the Montoros may have left Alma in the middle of the night, but they hadn’t left their pride behind.
“All my life I’ve done what is expected of me. I haven’t shirked a single duty. I’m the CEO of Montoro Enterprises and now I will be king of Alma, but for this one afternoon, Red, can I be Rafe? Not a man with his future planned but your lover? Father of your baby?” he asked.
He came back over and dropped to his knees in front of her, wrapping his arms around her hips. Then he drew her closer to him and kissed her belly. “I want you to be able to speak to our baby about me with joy instead of regret.”
She looked down at him as he rested his head against her body. Tunneling her fingers into his thick black hair, she understood that from this point on, when she left this penthouse they couldn’t be this couple again.
She sighed, and the woman she’d always been, the one who lived by the motto Never Say Never, took over. Rafe and she might not have more than this time together. And she wanted this one last time with him.
She hadn’t expected to be a mom this soon. She had made all these plans for her life and then when she’d taken those pregnancy tests it had all gone out the window.
But for this moment she could forget about tomorrow. She hoped this would be enough, but feared one more afternoon in his arms would never be enough to satisfy her.
Two (#ud4afa1ee-3426-5d08-b5d6-7090015dc2e2)
Rafe pushed aside all of his thoughts and just focused on Emily. It was amazing that she’d come to find him. She was strong enough, independent enough to keep the baby from him if she’d wanted. It embarrassed him a little, humbled him, too, that he would never have known about the baby if she hadn’t shown up.
He’d been focusing on the royal legacy and managing everyone’s expectations. Especially people he didn’t even know and hadn’t cared existed until last month. Funny how he’d gone from worrying about financial targets and managing a multinational company to worrying about a little thing like protocol.
But as long as Emily was here he could forget all that. Concentrate on being the man and not the king.
He held her tightly as he stood up, lifting her off her feet and letting her slide back down his body. She was curvy and light, his woman, and he wanted to be just her man. He carried her to the big brass bed and stood next to it, just waiting for a signal from her.
She owed him nothing.
She sighed and then lowered her head and brushed her lips over his, and something tight and frozen inside him started to melt. She kissed him not like the bold bartender she was when they’d met, but like a woman who wanted to relish her time with her lover.
They both knew without saying it that this was the last time they’d be together like this. Maybe if they’d met two years from now after he’d been on the throne and had time to figure out what being king meant, their path would have been different. But they hadn’t.
They had this afternoon and nothing more.
He wanted these memories of the two of them to keep for himself as he moved into a life that was no longer his own.
He pushed his hands into her thick red hair, cradling her head as he took control of the kiss. He thrust his tongue deep into her mouth, tasted peppermint and woman. Her arms slipped lower and she stroked her hand down his back as he deepened the kiss.
Though he knew this long, wet kiss was just the beginning, he wanted to savor it. Dueling desires warred inside him as he wanted to make every touch last as long as possible. The intensity of his lust for her was almost unbearable; he needed to be hilt-deep inside her right now.
He lifted his head, rubbed his thumb along the column of her neck. Her pulse was racing and her eyes were half closed. Her creamy skin was dotted with freckles and the faint flush of desire.
He dropped nibbling kisses down her neck. She smelled of orange blossoms and sea breeze. She was like the wildest parts of Florida, and he felt as if he could hold her for only a fleeing moment and then she’d be gone. Tearing through his life like a hurricane.
He slid his hands down her back, tightening them around her waist, and lifted her off her feet again. She wrapped her legs around his waist and put her hands on his shoulders. Then she looked down into his eyes with that bright southern-Atlantic-blue gaze of hers. He felt lost. As if he were drowning in her eyes.
She nipped at his lower lip and then sucked it into her mouth and he hardened. He was going to explode if he didn’t get his damned tailored pants off and bury himself in her body.
He reached for his fly but she shifted on him, rubbing her center over his erection. He shook, and the strength left his legs as he stumbled and fell back on the bed. She laughed and then thrust her tongue into his mouth again. And he gave up thinking.
She was like the wildest hurricane and all he could do was ride this storm out. She moved over him and made him remember what it felt like to be alive. The same way she had four weeks ago in Key West. She made the rest of the world pale, and everything narrowed to the two of them.
The heat flared between them and his clothes felt too constricting. He needed to be naked. Wanted her naked. Then she could climb back on his lap. He tore his mouth from hers, his breath heavy as he drew her T-shirt up and over her head and tossed it aside.
She wore the same beige lace bra she’d had on the last time they’d had sex. He traced his finger over the seam where the fabric met skin, saw the goose bumps spread from her breast over her chest and down her arms. Her nipple tightened and he leaned forward to rub his lips over it as he reached behind her back and undid the bra.
The cups loosened, but he didn’t lift his head from her nipple. He continued teasing her with light brushes of his tongue over it until she reached between them and undid his tie, leaving it dangling around his neck as she went to work on his shirt buttons.
He shifted back, taking the edge of her bra between his teeth and pulling it away. She laughed, a deep, husky sound he remembered so well. And he got even harder. He had thought there was no way he could want her more, but he’d been wrong.
