Irresistible (6 page)

“You will.”

Sydney shook her head, and then took a deep breath that raised her breasts, drawing his eyes. “We’re getting ahead of ourselves. Have you thought about Cameron? Mom? This will crush Mom. She wanted more for you.” She worried her bottom lip with small white teeth. “Not someone like me.”

Someone like her?

What an idiot he’d been all these years. Before Sydney came to live with his family, his parents had explained her situation and told both him and Cameron a little about her life—a hard life he couldn’t even imagine. Looking back, Sean realized he hadn’t made it any easier for her. No wonder her self-esteem was lacking.

He caressed his nose along hers. “They love you already. I don’t see a problem there.”

And his family did love her. But there was no doubt in his mind that he’d get a ration of shit for stepping over the boundaries of a brother/sister relationship. Then again, if he had made his feelings known earlier, maybe neither of them would have been so desperate to react to their attraction. He pressed his lips to hers.

“Sean?”

“Baby, let’s enjoy this weekend—each other—and see where it leads us. There’ll be plenty enough time to address the other thing if need be.”

“Maybe not. I’m expecting my period sometime next week.”

Okay. So maybe they would be addressing the issue sooner than he thought.

Chapter Five

Knees pulled to her chest, Sydney sat on the cushioned window seat in the front room and stared out the frosted glass. She had never seen so much snow and it just kept falling. The mood in the house was somber, all thoughts of snowboarding eradicated with each fluffy snowflake that fell. But her mind was elsewhere.

How much time did she have to take that damn pill? And did this have to happen during her most fertile time of the month?

The weather had interfered with traveling as well as the cable connection, which included the Internet and sadly her cell phone. She couldn’t even call the drugstore to ask questions. There was no way she would broach the subject with Cameron or Louisa. She was stuck in limbo with no way of escape.

“You look like you’re miles away.” Cameron’s sudden appearance startled Sydney, as she jerked around to meet her sister’s concerned expression. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“Nothing. Just wondering how deep it is out there,” she lied.

“Planning an escape?”

Sydney’s jaw dropped before she realized it. “Uh… No. Are you kidding?” She forced a chuckle. “It’s miserable out there.” Still it was ironic that Cameron would use the exact word she had recently thought.

Cameron reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair from Sydney’s face. “You okay, honey?” her voice softened.

“Yeah. Sure. I just had my heart set on snowboarding.”

Her sister frowned. “Ummm…Sydney?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t snowboard.”

“Learning,” she added quickly. Unfolding her legs, she let them dangle from the seat. “I planned to learn this trip.”

Cameron bent her elbows, her palms resting on her narrow hips. “All right. Now I know something is wrong. Spill it.”

“I just have so much to do, so many things on my mind. I can’t even get an Internet connection on my computer,” she complained. “Dammit. I should have stayed home.”

If she had remained in her little apartment none of this would have happened. She wouldn’t be sitting here wondering if in nine months she’d be a single mother. What the hell did she know about raising a child? She sure didn’t have a role model growing up, not until the Duncans.

And then there was Sean.

If none of this had happened there wouldn’t have been that awkward silence between them at breakfast this morning, each of them dodging each other’s gaze across the table. She almost burst out laughing. No, they would probably be at each other’s throats.

Funny how things could change in the blink of an eye.

“Honey, this is what they call a vacation. You know… No phone. No Internet. No work. Just fun.” Cameron tittered. “Believe me, it will all be waiting for you when we return.” She tilted her head toward the game room. “Louisa just made a snack tray—meat, cheese, crackers and fruit. We have enough beer and wine to last a week. Let’s join the boys. They’re watching a movie. If we don’t like what they’ve chosen, we girls can go to the Jacuzzi and get drunk.”

Drunk? Now that sounded like a plan.

Reluctantly, Sydney rose and followed Cameron.

When they entered the game room, Harry and Ted were already devouring the food that sat before them. Sean looked up from where he was sprawled across a large leather chair. She felt trapped in his gaze. It took a moment to break the spell before she could glance away.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
played on the large, flat-screen television. It was a Disney movie—one that allowed the bearer of a dagger to go back in time and change the outcome of an event. If she held the dagger, would she change what had happened between her and Sean last night?

Cameron joined Harry on a love seat, the other one occupied by Louisa and Ted. Sydney settled in a chair across the room from Sean and drew her legs beneath her, a habit she’d used to appear small and insignificant since she was a girl. She pinned her attention on the television, but her mind wandered.

If she was pregnant what would she do—they do?

Memories of one foster home after another made her wrap her arms around herself. No child should ever feel so meaningless, so unwanted or used. A tremor assailed her. Those had been some of the darkest days of her life. She would never expose her child to such a life. No. If time ran out and she found herself with no alternative, then she would make the best of it.

Sean had said they would marry. But Sydney couldn’t do that to him or to their child. She had seen too many ill-matched couples. The fights. The abuse, both physical and mental.

She was strong, independent. She could do this.

“…Sydney?”

She blinked, looking up to find everyone watching her. “W-what?”

“This is the third time I called your name,” Cameron said. Standing, she walked toward Sydney with two glasses in her hands. “I asked if you wanted some wine?”

“Yes. Please.”

“
No!
” Sean barked. “She doesn’t need any.” His outburst earned him everyone’s attention, including Sydney’s. “I mean, it’s too early,” he rationalized.

“And, dear brother, what is that in your hand?” Cameron asked with a sneer on her lips.

He glanced down at his beer, and then snapped his head up, pinning his gaze on the television.

Cameron’s forehead furrowed. “What’s got into you, Sean? Sydney’s been able to drink for years now.”

Sean didn’t reply. Instead, he tipped the beer bottle and chugged the remainder of the rich ale.

Cameron rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “Here.” She handed Sydney a glass of wine. “Drink up, sweetie.”

As Cameron walked away, Sydney stared at the alcohol. Until she knew whether she was pregnant or if she could remove the possibility, she’d better refrain from drinking. When she set the glass on the end table next to her, she saw Sean nod his approval, and then he returned his attention to the movie.

For the next hour and a half she sat quietly contemplating her life, and then she chastised herself for worrying. There was a good chance that everything would be okay. Still, when the movie ended, she couldn’t wait to leave, to check on the weather, and maybe take a trip into town.

Harry stood and stretched. “What do you say we hit the Jacuzzi? Work out the kinks from sitting for so long.” He pinched Cameron on the ass when she rose.

She squealed, swatting his hand, before she turned to Sydney. “And we won’t take no for an answer.”

“But—”

Cameron hiked a brow. “No excuses.”

Sydney rushed from the room ahead of everyone, straight for a window. The sight of white powder still falling made her sigh, shoulders drooping.

Discouraged, she glanced up at the sky. “I could use a little help here.”

The second Sydney entered the sunroom, Sean’s pulse took off like a freight train out of control. Her petite figure was heart-stopping in a yellow bikini that barely hid a thing from his roving eyes. Her long braid was secured on the top of her head. As she carefully eased into the warm, bubbly water, he wanted to reach out and guide her to his side. Instead, she situated herself between Louisa and Cameron.

His sister offered her some wine and she refused, flicking a glance in his direction. Good. Better safe than sorry.

Louisa snuggled close to Ted. A big grin spread across her face. “Should we tell them?” When Ted nodded, she blushed a pretty pink. “I’m pregnant.”

Cameron squealed, lunging from where she sat, splashing water, to fling herself into Louisa’s arms. “A baby. How wonderful. How far along are you? Do you know if it’s a girl or boy? Oh my.” Her eyes widened. “Does this make me a god-aunt?” She giggled with excitement, squeezing her friend.

Both Sean and Harry rose to shake Ted’s hand and extend their congratulations, before taking their seats once again.

When Cameron released Louisa, Sydney turned and hugged the woman. “Congratulations,” she whispered.

From that moment forward the conversation focused on all the questions Cameron asked and more. Sean watched Ted and saw happiness sparkle in the man’s eyes. He held his wife as if she were a delicate piece of china, fragile and cherished.

And then Sean flicked a glance toward Sydney.

Her cheeks were flushed. She smiled, but her brows were tugged low and her eyes glistened. She looked miserable.

“So do you want a boy or a girl?” Cameron rambled on. “What about names? I really like—”

Sean shot to his feet. “Screw this.” His outburst silenced everyone.

Wading through the water, he stopped before Sydney. She gazed up at him with surprise widening her eyes, especially when he grabbed her hand. For a brief moment she struggled, but in the end he led her across the Jacuzzi. When he sat, he forced her onto his lap, his arms wrapping around her waist.

Cameron’s eyelids rose with shock. Her slacked jaw had yet to rise.

Harry smirked, earning himself a frown from his not-so-timid better half. “You knew about this?” Her shrill voice was accusatory. She whipped her attention back to Sean and Sydney.

“Not a word, Cameron. Not one damn word,” Sean growled.

Only the percolating bubbles in the spa made a sound, until Harry cleared his throat. “Sooo… How about those Dodgers?” Cameron slapped his shoulder and he cringed, laughing. “What? You should have seen this coming.”

“Me? How?”

Harry just grinned, while his sister leveled a disapproving glare on Sean, one that matched Sydney’s.

Sean had to give Cameron credit. She didn’t make another remark, but he wasn’t a fool. The tightness in her face and her unusual silence said she had granted him a brief reprieve, but a scolding lay just around the corner. And if he wasn’t mistaken, judging by the rigid spine of the woman in his lap, he had earned yet another tongue-lashing.

Looking up beneath half-shuttered eyelids, Sean pressed his lips against Sydney’s bare shoulder, tasting salt and woman.

Shaking her head, she fought a smile, mouthing, “You’re a dead man.”

After that everyone seemed to relax, and conversation flowed freely, but all Sean could think about was the silky skin beneath his hands. The foam atop the water helped to conceal the movement of his hand as he caressed his palm across her flat abdomen. In several months, could it be rounded with his child?

A father.

Would he soon have a little dark-haired girl staring up at him calling him daddy? And God help them if she gave birth to a boy made in Sean’s own image. It’s a wonder his mother had any hair left from the trials he’d put her through. Of course, nothing might come from their incident.

Unease struggled with a blend of excitement that shocked and scared the shit out of him. Damned if he couldn’t picture himself waking up each morning with this woman lying beside him, making love to her when and wherever he felt the need.

A tingle spread across his groin. His cock hardened with each wicked thought of touching her—kissing her. When he slipped his fingers down the front of her swimsuit bottom, she startled with a little jump.

“Oh!” A flood of color rolled over her pretty features as she gaped at him for only a second. “Look.” She jutted her hand out, staring down her arm where her finger pointed. When the others followed her line of sight, she grabbed his wrist and pulled, unsuccessfully. “Uhhh… It s-stopped—”

He slid his sinful fingertips across her slit, finding her clit to give the bundle of nerves a little pinch.

“S-snowing,” she choked. Pushing against his chest, she slipped off his lap. As she released a nervous breath, she licked her lips. “Let’s go into town.”

“Town? Let’s hit the slopes.” Cameron and the others were already climbing out of the Jacuzzi.

“Damn you, Sean,” Sydney hissed through clenched teeth. Not waiting for a reply, she waded through the water away from him.