The Perfect Candidate (29 page)

“That he intends to let you keep the baby!” Norm snorted.  “That he is going to marry you!”

Ashley gasped again.  She couldn
’
t believe her ears.  It was lucky that she was sat down, because she really would have fallen this time if she hadn
’
t been- Michael would have
married
her-
really
married her!

She could have been his wife, but there
wasn
’
t
any baby. What would that mean to Michael?  Well, obviously there would be no
real
marriage.  Ashley tried to ignore the pain that tore at her heart.  Surely he would be relieved?  He had only been going to marry her out of a sense of duty and a desire to limit damage to his campaign after all, hadn
’
t he?

She had to tell him the truth.  Immediately!  Didn
’
t she? For a moment, just a second, Ashley wondered what would happen if she did nothing- if she let Michael continue to believe that she was carrying his child.  Ashley pushed aside that dangerous thought almost as quickly as it had occurred to her.

“I-” she started to speak, but then faltered.  Should she tell Norm the truth too, or keep it between herself and Michael?  She leaned towards the latter course of action.  “I’
ll talk to Michael,
”
she said softly.

Norm stared at her suspiciously for a moment, but he must have approved of whatever it was that he thought she was going to do, because he smiled grimly and nodded his head.

“Good, you make him see sense,” he grunted.  “I don’
t say it isn
’
t a sad business, but-
”

“I know, I know, it would ruin Michael’
s presidential campaign,
”
Ashley said quietly, interrupting Norm before he could say anything else to upset her.  She wasn
’
t exactly confessing to anything definite, and nor was she denying that he was onto something.  She wasn
’
t sure
what
she wanted him to believe. 

Norm glanced at his watch. 
“
Well, if you go now Michael should be free to see you,
”
he urged.

Ashley sighed and got to her feet. 
“
Right, well, I guess I
’
ll go now then,
”
she muttered, rubbing a hand over her forehead.

Norm stepped back to let her pass through the door and walk out into the corridor.  Ashley was barely aware of the path she took to reach Michael
’
s office.  She was too busy trying to work out what on earth she was going to say to him!  Nothing was really springing to mind
.

She tapped lightly on Michael
’
s office door when she reached it, hoping the he would be out or too busy working to see her.  She had no such luck.  Michael
’
s voice immediately invited her to enter, and when she stepped inside she saw that he was alone.

“Ash!” Michael smiled, getting to his feet when he saw her standing in the doorway.  “What can I do for you?”

“I-” she licked her lips uncertainly.  “Norman just came to see me,” she whispered, taking a tentative step towards Michael’
s desk.  She was looking down at her feet, so she didn
’
t see the furious way his eyes flashed.

“Oh he did, did he?” Michael growled.

Ashley gulped and nodded. 
“
He said- he said that you-
”

“Whatever he said, it doesn’
t matter!
”
Michael grunted. 
“
I assume he told you that I know about the baby?  Well, I don
’
t care what else he said, because I
’
m not going to let anything happen to either of you!
”

In that moment, Ashley wished, so hard, that the pregnancy test had been positive.

“Oh Michael,” she whispered, blinking back guilty tears.  “There is no baby,” she breathed, unable to meet his eyes as she broke this news.  She heard him sit down in the large leather chair behind his desk though.  When she did summon the resolve to look up she saw that he looked severely shaken. 

“But I- I saw-” he shook his head, and frowned at Ashley.  “You wouldn’
t lie to me about this would you?
”
he demanded. 
“
Norm hasn
’
t convinced you to get rid of it without telling me?
”
 

“No!” Ashley choked, unable to believe that Michael had really asked her that question!  “I’
m
not
pregnant,
”
she insisted. 
“
I never was,
”
she said quietly.
“
Why did you- why would you think that I
was
?
”
she asked softly.

Michael was staring down at his desk.  He couldn
’
t seem to bring himself to look her in the eye. 
“
I saw the test in your purse the other day,
”
he muttered, dragging a hand through his hair. 
“
I guess- well, I seem to have jumped to conclusions,
”
he murmured.  When he did finally look at her he was still frowning suspiciously however. 
“
Why
did
you have the test, Ashley?
”

“Because I thought- I was afraid that I-”

Michael seemed to know what she was trying to say without Ashley having to find the exact words.

“You must have been relieved when you found out that you
weren
’
t
pregnant,
”
Michael said slowly. He sounded so bitter that Ashley felt herself start to shake her head in denial.

“No,” she whispered, as tears strung the backs of her eyes.  “No.  I wanted to have your baby,” she confessed, but then immediately clapped a hand over her mouth in horror at what she had just confessed.

“Did you really?” Michael pressed, leaping on her confession.  He pushed himself out of his seat and moved towards Ashley.

“I- I shouldn’
t have said that,
”
she said hurriedly, wishing that she had been able to hold her tongue!

“Shouldn’
t you?
”
Michael murmured.  He eyes were bright with an emotion that Ashley couldn
’
t read. 
“
Didn
’
t you mean it?
”

Ashley couldn
’
t bring herself to lie to Michael, even though she sensed that that would have been the wiser decision.  She
had
wanted to have his child.  Perhaps she hadn
’
t realized how
much
she had wanted that until this moment?  Something about Michael made her bold and reckless.

He urged her backward, until she was pinned between his body and the door. 
“
Maybe I wanted to make you pregnant,
”
he growled, which made Ashley gasp and burn. 

Michael lowered his lips to her mouth, stealing a savage kiss as he pressed their bodies together.

“Stop!  I can’
t think,
”
Ashley gasped, trying to pull away from him, but she was denied.  Michael captured her mouth again, plunging his tongue between the seams of lips and drinking his fill of her.

“I don’
t want you to think,
”
he panted. 
“
Tell me what you feel?
”
he rasped, letting his hands wander hungrily over her body.

“Michael, no,” Ashley whimpered half-heartedly.  She couldn’
t stop herself from returning his kisses, and her arms had wound automatically around his neck. 
“
We shouldn
’
t,
”
she puffed, but only because she was certain that Michael would ignore her.

“I want to be inside you,” he growled, nipping at her neck.  Ashley shuddered and moaned.  “I want you to have my baby,” he grunted.

“Oh God,” Ashley groaned, was it possible for a man to say anything more arousing?  Every rational thought that she possessed had fled in the face of Michael’
s overwhelming desire.

“Tell me you want it too,” he urged, grinding against her shamelessly.

“I do!” she sobbed.  “I do!”

He had to stop.  Ashley didn
’
t know what she was saying.  He didn
’
t know what he was doing!
  These thoughts flashed through Michael
’
s mind, but not one of them was powerful enough to actually still his hands or lessen the ardor of his lips. 

Somehow, dimly, he knew that he was out of control.  Michael couldn
’
t put into words the crushing disappointment that had broken the bonds of his restraint, but it was tearing him apart.  Ashley
wasn
’
t
pregnant- there was no baby.  He should have been relieved, but all he could think about was his failure as a man.  

He
wanted
her pregnant, damn it!  He needed to prove his virility!  He wanted to see her swollen with the seed of his child. He wanted the world to know that she belonged to him
.