Alaskan Nights (24 page)

He didn’t get it. “I’m over four months pregnant, Brandon.”

“You’re a liar.”

Okay, now that pissed her off. How dare he call her a liar. “Really?” She went to the coffee table and pulled out the little black and white picture Dr. Sweeny had given her the day before and shoved it toward him. “This is your child, Brandon. I thought you would be happy about it. I thought—” Damn it, she was not going to cry! She didn’t know exactly what she thought, but she had dreams. And now it looked like those dreams were shattering into a million little pieces right before her eyes.

Slowly Brandon took the sonogram printout from her fingers. He stumbled over to the couch and seemed to collapse onto it, his eyes never leaving the picture. “How?”

Still angry at his callous attitude, she folded her own arms over her chest and glared at him. “How do you think?”

“But...but you said...” He finally looked up at her. His eyes were dark, so intense, so sad. “You said you couldn’t get pregnant.”

“A one in ten-thousand chance. At least, that was what I was told when I was married. One ovary. Scar tissue. Not likely. But obviously, it happened. And now we have a child to think about. If you don’t want anything to do with it, or me, fine. Tell me now. I’ll never bother you again.”

Brandon truly didn’t want to unman himself and break down in tears, but he was getting mighty close to doing just that. His Bella was going to have his baby. And he’d just accused her of...

Ah, hell.
“Bella.”

“And who the hell are you to be upset if I was having an affair? You’ve got some woman answering your phone.”

The heat of her temper, something he’d never get tired of seeing, made him want to smile. Her eyes sparkled, her face flushed a bit, her stance so rigid she looked like she might break in half if a stiff wind came through.

He smiled. Oh, he knew he was going to have to do some major damage control, but here she was, his Bella.

“What is so damn funny?” she demanded with an added little stomp of her foot.

“I love you,” Brandon said softly.

That took the wind out of her sails. His smile grew.

“Who was the woman?”

“Her name is Emma.” He stood up from the couch and stepped over the coffee table. “She’s a student of mine. I teach a self-defense course at the university. We had a couple dates. That’s all.”

Bella’s rigid pose wilted a bit. “Oh.”

“You’ve never left my mind, Bella. Never. I spent three months searching for you. I was ready to give up. I thought you didn’t want to be found. I thought...” He took a deep breath, trying to loosen that blasted fist around his heart. He’d thought she loved him, but then she’d left. The fact was, he didn’t know how she felt about him.

“I thought if you really wanted me, you would have come after me.”

Her admission nearly brought him to his knees. Setting the sonogram picture on the coffee table, he placed his hands on her upper arms. “Sweet Bella,” he whispered. “I tried. Once I got past the anger of you walking out on me, I started searching. But you’d sold the house. All you had for a forwarding address was a post office box. And then when there was no activity on your social security number, no new apartment rental, no utilities in your name...”

She shook her head. “Mr. Camaricci gave me the apartment as part of my salary. He pays the phone and heat and stuff. Oh, Brandon,” she sobbed as she leaned into him, her face burrowing against his throat.

The feel of her against him, the scent of her skin, the soft hiccup, his heart nearly burst to overflowing. “Bella, sweetheart, I love you so much.” Wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight, he buried his face in her silky hair. “So damn much.”

Her mouth opened against his throat. Her soft little tongue laved a trail to his jaw. Hot, spiking lust shot through him like never before. With a growl of need, he cupped the back of her head, pulling her away just far enough to capture her lips with his.

His mouth was so hot, so sweet, so... She moaned. She never thought to feel him again. His lips. His hands. His long, hard body pressed against hers. Raising her arms, she wound them around his neck, pressing her aching breasts against his chest and moaned again.

Brandon trailed damp, sizzling kisses down her neck, along her jaw. “Bedroom,” he whispered as he nipped at her earlobe. “I need you.”

His words sent a shiver through her. She needed him, too. Now. As she’d never needed anything in her life. A deep ache settled between her thighs that only Brandon could soothe. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him through the living room into the bedroom. The bed was only a double, the room minuscule, but she doubted it mattered at this point. All that mattered was the man who once again wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his body, his tongue mating perfectly with hers as he took her mouth in a deep, hot kiss.

Brandon fought with the tiny buttons on the front of her dress. Control was a thing of the past. Never taking his lips from hers—he couldn’t stand the separation—he grabbed the collar of her dress and jerked it open. Buttons flew across the room, pinging against the wall, bouncing on the hardwood flooring.

As she grasped handfuls of his T-shirt, jerking it from his jeans, she let out a lusty laugh that sent another, harsher wave of need through him. He pushed the dress off her shoulders. Her hands inched under his shirt, her touch branding his skin. He pulled away just long enough to yank his T-shirt over his head. Wrapping both arms around her, he kissed the lush curves of her breasts above the lacy pink bra.

Hands shaking with need, Isabella fought with his belt buckle. Finally it opened, she pulled, and the buttons popped. Another laugh bubbled out again. She couldn’t help it. She was so lighthearted, so amazed that Brandon was here, in her apartment, in her life. And he was going to make love to her.

She hadn’t realized he was moving her toward the bed until the back of her knees hit the edge. Grabbing hold of his shoulders, she let herself fall backward and was rewarded with him coming down with her, all of his long, hard body firmly against hers.

As he released her bra, she pushed his jeans and shorts off his hips. She gasped as her panties were ripped off her. He’d never been so forceful, so powerful. He’d never been— Her mind went blank as he touched her for the first time in months. Long, calloused fingers skimmed over her, sunk deep inside her. His lips closed over one aching nipple and she exploded with a climax like nothing she’d ever felt before.

Watching Bella reach completion so fast, so furiously at his slightest touch, almost made him come undone right there. His woman. His love. And she would be his forever, he vowed silently as she gasped for breath, her eyes closed, hands limp, fingers curled in ever so slightly near her face.

Carefully withdrawing his hand from her slick heat, he never took his gaze from her as he shucked his shoes, socks, jeans, and underwear. Laying down next to her, his own body aching for release, he pulled her against him, feeling her delicious body against his from chest to his toes.

“Wow,” she breathed against his shoulder as she wrapped her arm around him.

He chuckled. “Yeah.” Sucking in a harsh breath when her belly rubbed against his almost painful arousal, he skimmed his hand down her side, over her hip. Grasping her behind, he snuggled her even closer, pressing against her.

Isabella finally opened her eyes. With a shuddering breath, she leaned away so she could see him. She saw so much in those deep, dark eyes. Passion, lust, need, and so much love that tears gathered in her eyes. “I shouldn’t have left,” she whispered.

“No,” he said, his voice gravelly. “You shouldn’t have. I went crazy after you left.”

“I’m sorry.”

“We’re together now.”

She nodded, her heart near to bursting with love. “You really searched for me?”

His hand skimmed up her side, his fingers trailed over her nipple, bringing it back to a hard peak before he lowered his palm against the baby growing inside her. Her breath caught. She saw the sadness in his eyes then. “Oh, Brandon,” she whispered as she hugged him tight.

“Why’d you wait so long to call me, Bella? Why four months?” He gently rubbed against the small, hard mound of her abdomen.

“I didn’t know until yesterday.” At his incredulous look, she tried to reassure him. “I wasn’t supposed to be able to have a baby. I never thought... I’ve been working so many long hours at the shop, I excused all the signs. I was never sick, I was gaining weight, but Mr. Camaricci’s wife is always sending food home with me. I never thought about pregnancy.”

He eased away from her and slid down the bed until he was eye-level with her stomach. When he placed a tender kiss on her belly, she nearly cried at the sweetness of it. She’d known he wanted children. This, above anything he could have ever said, proved it.

“What finally made you think you were pregnant?” he asked.

The heat of a blush crawled up her neck and she almost giggled. “I felt the baby move, but I thought I had some strange disease.”

Brandon’s deep chuckle vibrated through her, making her feel whole for the first time since she walked out of his mother’s pretty little house. He rubbed his whiskered cheek against her stomach, sending tingles of renewed need through her.

“Brandon,” she whispered as she gently pulled on his shoulders. “Make love to me.”

Kissing a trail up her belly, over her ribs, he stopped to lave her breasts with his hot tongue, nuzzle between them, nibble on her throat, before he returned to her lips. This kiss was so tender, so sweet, so all consuming, tears fell from her eyes. How could she have ever thought that living forever without this man was a possibility? How had she survived those long, lonely months without him?

Brandon settled himself between her thighs. When he made no move to take her, she rubbed herself against him, but he still withheld himself. “Please,” she cried as she grabbed his butt and tried pulling him inside her.

He fought to control himself and not sink into her welcoming heat. “Two things,” he said, his breath coming in puffs. He wasn’t going to take her until she made a promise to him.

Bella’s eyes widened. “Two things?”

He nodded. “Two things.”

She wiggled against him. “Yes,” she said, as breathless as he was. She dug her sharp little nails into his behind. “Whatever it is, yes.”

He shook his head, had to grin. “Not good enough.”

With a huff of frustration, she sank back into her pillow. “What?”

“You’ve never said the words, Bella.” He eased himself down, so he rested lightly on top of her. “After you left, I realized there were a lot of things you never said. I was the only one who’d talked of love and a future together. You never disagreed, you never said no, but then you snuck away while I slept.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

He shook his head at her. “I don’t want an apology, Bella. I want to know that you love me, even if it’s just a fraction of what I feel for you.”

She raised her hands to his cheeks. “I love you with all my heart, Brandon. I think I fell in love with you the minute I dragged you from the bottom of that lake. But I couldn’t give you what you needed.”

“I needed
you
.”

This time she shook her head. “You needed a family. A woman who—”

He cut her off with a kiss. He wasn’t about to let her tell him what he needed. Everything he needed was right here in his arms. The baby was a wonderful, exciting bonus, but he would be here no matter what.

When he was sure she wouldn’t argue any more, he slowly ended the kiss. “I love you, Bella. I love our baby, too, but you are the reason I’m here right now. Children, no children, it wouldn’t matter. I want you in my life.
Need
you in my life.”

She took a shaky breath then nodded. “Okay.”

He smiled. “Good. You really should learn to curb your tendency to argue.”

She grinned. Then she squirmed under him again, trying to get closer. “Ah, ah, ah. That was only one. Now, for the second thing.”

She wound her legs around his hips, trying to take him inside her. “I said I love you. Now I want you.”

Brandon laughed with her as he rolled onto his back. She straddled his hips and tried again. He clamped his arms around her and held her still. “Number two.”

With a sigh, Isabella rested her head on his chest, his heartbeat strong and steady against her ear. She loved him so much. Even if he was driving her insane with lust, it was this laughing, teasing Brandon that she’d fallen so madly in love with. “Okay, what’s two?”

“Marry me.”

Her heart stopped. She was sure of it. It just stopped. Again.

“Please.”

Shoving herself up, she looked down at him. After she’d walked out on him like she had, he was proposing? He’d never proposed before. He’d talked about their future, but he’d never said the words.

“If you want to stay in California, then we will. Mom will be upset, but she’ll get over it. I did buy a really big log house on the river, but we’ll sell it and buy something here if you want. I’d prefer Alaska, but I’ll live wherever you—”

She cut him off with a long, hard, wet kiss. As their tongues touched and tasted, there was no question what her answer would be. She believed in him. Trusted him. Loved him.