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While they kissed, his hand slipped down her back and over her bottom to cup her against him. His kisses conveyed a desperate hunger, an intense need for her that made her want him even more in return.
He shifted her slightly and his fingers drifted over her breast, his feathery caress electrifying. She moaned again. His touch was a sweet torment that heightened her pleasure.
Finally, she pushed against his chest. When she did, he loosened his hold and she looked up at him. “We have to wait. I’m not ready,” she said, her breathlessness denying her words.
“Yes, you are,” he replied in a raspy voice. “And I’m more than ready. I’ve dreamed of you too many nights. I’ve thought about you more than you can possibly imagine.”
His words thrilled her, but she shook her head. “No, I can’t. We wait. There’s too much complicating our lives.”
“This is the best possible time to love each other.”
She twisted free and walked away from him, straightening her clothing and trying to get her emotions under control. She turned to face him.
His mouth was red and his expression conveyed his feelings. There was no question he was eager for her.
Fighting the urge to walk into his arms, she stayed where she was. “We need to talk about the future.”
“There are other ways to solve this and be happy.”
“Lust isn’t going to solve anything.”
“That isn’t how I would describe it. All right, Ashley, we’ll make some plans.”
“That’s exactly what I hoped to avoid. Ryan, I didn’t want you to know about the baby this soon because I knew you’d want to take charge. Let me deal with this. It’s my life, and you never wanted to become a father.”
“This is my baby, too, and you might as well get accustomed to the idea, because I’m not going away.” He spoke quietly, but she detected his unyielding tone.
She glared at him. “I want to have this baby and get settled. After that, let’s talk about what we’ll do.”
He crossed the room to take her hand. “This is so simple. Will you marry me?”
While her heartbeat fluttered, she hoped she kept her features impassive. She placed her hand on his cheek. “Your proposal is kind. Thank you, but no.”
“Dammit!” he snapped, while fire flashed in his eyes. “I’m not being kind. I’d like to marry you.”
“A week ago you wouldn’t have considered proposing. This is what you think you’re duty bound to do, and it’s generous of you. No, I’m sorry, but when I marry, I want it to be with someone I’m wildly in love with, who’s just as in love with me. You know we don’t have that relationship.” She shook her head. “No, Ryan. I knew you would propose, because I know you think you should.”
A muscle worked in his jaw and he got a piercing look in his eyes. Ashley braced for whatever he’d say next.
“We’re having a baby, which is the best possible reason to wed. Sex between us is fabulous—another dandy reason. Most times we’ve been out together, we’ve had a grand time, with the exception of breakfast this morning. We have simple backgrounds, and are in better times now, so we’re alike there,” he reminded her. While he talked, she had a suspicion he was fighting to maintain patience.
“We’re not remotely alike,” she retorted. “You’re a millionaire. I’m a wedding planner, trying to make ends meet, earn a living to support myself in the city and help my family,” she said solemnly. “And that’s just a start. There’s not one thing you’ve said that has changed my opinion. We have lust between us and that’s no basis to wed. We’re having a baby, but a sham marriage won’t do anything to make our child’s life better. The few times we’ve been together, we’ve gotten along, but they’re very few and not enough to tell how we’d do in the long haul. A pleasant time over dinner means nothing. We’re not getting our lives entangled so you can run things. You’re accustomed to control, but that isn’t the way this is going to go,” she declared, determined to resist him, although a nagging inner voice urged her to accept his offer.
“I don’t think you’re taking into consideration what would be best for our baby.”
She drew a deep breath as she gazed at him. “My baby needs loving parents. I want the man I marry to be my best friend, as well as my lover.”
“I qualify on half of that.”
“The least important half,” she said. “Ryan, as I said, you’re a take-charge person and I don’t want that. I’m having this baby. I don’t want to marry you out of desperation. An unhappy marriage won’t be any plus for a baby.”
“What makes you think it’ll be unhappy?”
“I don’t know that it will. But I also don’t know that it’ll be a solid marriage.”
He placed his hands on her shoulders again. “You think about what I can do for our baby. I can give it my name, so it will be a Warner and entitled to Warner money. There’ll be more than ample funds for education and travel and nannies. There’ll be a father on the scene. You can’t just dismiss all that without giving it due thought and consideration.”
“I certainly can. At this time, I know I don’t want to marry you. In months to come my feelings might change, depending on how our relationship progresses, but marry right now? No way. Give us time, Ryan. Let’s just sit, and you tell me about your day, besides what involved the baby and me,” she said emphatically.
He stared at her as if she was asking the impossible, but finally he crossed the room to the sofa. Ashley sat on the opposite end, curling her legs beneath her and smiling at him. He sipped his cold beer while she drank ice water, then replaced her glass on the table.
“I want to hear about your day. How long have you been having morning sickness?” he asked.
“Almost from the start,” she answered, aware of how intently he watched her. She wasn’t half as calm as she hoped she looked. To argue with him about doing things for their child had been hard, but she knew she didn’t want to move fast and make lifelong decisions on impulse.
“What did the doctor say about it?”
“It should end soon. Actually, he thought it would be over by now.”
“And who is the doctor you’re seeing?”
She told him, and suspected he was making a mental note to check the man out. “So what did you do today, Ryan?”
“That weekend was awesome, Ashley,” he said instead of answering, his words slowing and his tone deepening as he talked. “I can’t forget it.”
She gazed at him, tingling over what he’d just told her. “It was a great weekend, I’ll grant you that,” she whispered.
“We can have more like it,” he reminded her, and she nodded.
“But not yet, Ryan. I’m not ready yet,” she repeated, looking at his handsome features as if memorizing them. “So what about business today? Did it go out the window completely?”
Setting his beer on the table, he scooted closer to her, to touch her shoulder lightly. “As a matter of fact, it did. That’s all right. I’ll catch up tomorrow. On Thursday, I may have to fly to Chicago, but I’ll be here Saturday.” He trailed his fingers across her cheek. “So when are you telling your family?”
She looked away, hating the question. “I dread dealing with my family,” she confessed. “I think my dad will be hurt.”
“If we wed, you won’t hurt him. Think about how much easier it would be to inform them.”
For just a moment she did consider his offer again, and she was tempted. What a burden that would lift, to announce her marriage to Ryan and then tell her family about the baby. She looked at him and shook her head. “That’s the best argument you’ve presented, but I still say no. I want full command of my life.”
“I don’t think I’m the only control freak here. You’re just as take-charge as I am, and you have a job where you’re the authority all the time.”
She nodded. “I hadn’t ever thought about it, but I suppose you’re right. I’m the oldest child in my family, just as you are in yours, and I think it makes a difference. I had to care for my brother a lot of the time.”
“I just browbeat mine into doing what I wanted, if they didn’t go along in the first place.”
She laughed, easing the tension, and they talked about growing up. Yet she had a feeling he was mulling over what he was going to do next. Finally, there was a moment of silence when he leaned away to look at her. He ran his finger along her knee, and she wondered what he was thinking.
“Ashley, I think you and the baby would both be better off if you’d marry me,” he said, abruptly changing topics again.
“I don’t happen to agree,” she retorted, wondering how many times they would argue over their future. She looked at his well-shaped hands, which too often brought memories about him.
“You’ve said you fear my take-charge ways, but you’re just as strong in that department, and I have no doubt you can hold your own with me. I think marriage is definitely in your best interest.”
“That’s not for you to decide, and we’re not getting anywhere arguing about it,” she said, impatient with his high-handed determination to get his way.
“No, we’re not, so I intend to do something, since I feel marriage is best for all concerned.”
Her heart pumped faster while she wondered what he planned, terrified he was going to tell her that he would try to take the baby from her. “Don’t do something you’ll regret later,” she warned.
“I won’t,” he stated, with so much confidence she braced herself for what was coming. “You marry me, and I’ll pay off your family’s mortgage, the debts your father has and take care of his insurance. You can’t turn down my offer and hurt your family.”
Four
Filled with disbelief, she came to her feet. “Ryan Warner, you’ll force me into marriage when you know I don’t want to marry you. That’s despicable!” she exclaimed, glaring at him in fury. Her fists clenched and white-hot anger shot through her.
“Calm down,” he ordered quietly, but with a firmness in his voice and a commanding look in his eye that made her take a deep breath and sit down again. “I’m doing exactly that,” he assured her. “You have to accept my offer for your family’s sake.”
Knowing he was right, she stared at Ryan while the implications of his offer both dazzled and angered her.
“I can afford to pay off the mortgage on the farm completely, as well as repair all the damage from the flood. Frankly, your father might want to buy a new place where he won’t have to worry about floods, which I’m willing to finance. I can hire some hands to help him, and I can afford to pay for your brother’s college education if he wants to go.”
“This is blackmail of sorts!” she snapped, taking deep breaths to calm herself.
“I can also see to it that your father has health-insurance coverage. I’ve got good lawyers who can look into the matter,” Ryan continued, speaking as calmly as if he were discussing the weather.
“My family and I don’t want charity!” she said tightly.
“It won’t be charity,” he said patiently, “if we marry. I’ll be taking care of things because, if we’re married, your family is part of mine and vice versa. I take care of my father, and I’ll take care of yours.”
“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” she whispered. She shook her head and tears threatened, because she knew she had no choice in the matter.
“You have to accept my proposal and you know it,” he said.
Dismayed again, she stared at him. “You want to go into this forced marriage?”
He nodded. “That’s exactly what we’re going to do. You can save a lot of pain and heartache for you and your family. It should prolong your father’s life and give your brother opportunities he would never have otherwise.”
Shaking, she gasped for breath. “Damn you and your high-handed ways, Ryan Warner!”
He looked up at her calmly. “Marry me, Ashley, and solve your problems.”
“Under conditions like that, what kind of marriage would it be?”
“A damn good one when you get over your anger.” He stood to face her, and for the first time, fire flashed in the depths of his green eyes. “This is what’s best for you, our baby and your whole family, and you know it.”
“If you think I’m going to be filled with gratitude, you’re wrong. I’ll never forgive you.”
“Yes, you will,” he replied with that damnable arrogance that increased her fury. He reached down to grasp her shoulders. As she watched him, her heart pounded. The determined gleam in his eyes added to the sparks flying between them. He wrapped his arms around her and lowered his head.
“No!” she exclaimed, her anger growing over his despicable tactics. But his arms tightened, his mouth covered hers, and he kissed her hard.
Standing stiffly in his embrace, she resisted for seconds, but then it was impossible. Demanding and fiery, his kiss conveyed such obvious passion for her that she was shaken. His need stunned her, and the volatile chemistry between them flared.
Overpowered by his kiss, she momentarily forgot her thoughts and arguments. With her heart racing, she wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly, kissing him in return. Never before in her life had she felt that a man wanted her as badly as Ryan did now.
Abruptly, he released her, his arms still wrapped around her waist while he looked down at her. “There! You know what we have is spectacular, and now there’s a baby to consider.”
With a racing pulse, she struggled to gather her wits. When she did, her anger seethed once again. “Sex is sensational, you mean. And for your information, I am considering my baby. You’re a dirty fighter,” she declared.
“I just intend to win,” he answered coolly. “I’ve made a damn good offer.”
She wiggled away and paced across the room to put distance between them. When she turned, he stood with his hands on his hips, his coat pushed open. His whole being conveyed a stubborn determination to get his way. Only the muscle working in his jaw indicated his frayed emotions.
While her fury burned, she felt boxed in, unable to battle him. “I’ll think about it.”
He shook his head. “No, you decide now. This is something you don’t have to think a long time about.”
“That’s even worse!” she snapped, her rage mushrooming. “It’s a monumental, life-changing proposal and you’re demanding that I decide right now?”
“We’ve hashed it over already. We could argue over it for the rest of the year, but we’re not going to,” he said with absolute certainty.
“You’re being ruthless about this!” she protested.
“No, I’m not,” he replied with a maddening calm. “I’m being generous and considerate and practical.”
“You’re no such things! You want this baby and this is your way to get it.”
His eyes darkened and a muscle worked in his jaw. “I want what’s best for all concerned, and you’re not thinking clearly about the matter, so I have to for all three of us.”
They faced each other as the silence intensified. She knew he was waiting. Marriage to Ryan … Yet it would save her family … She hadn’t allowed herself to consider his offer, which was truly fabulous. Her brother could go to college.
Would her family accept Ryan’s charity? She knew they would if he was married into the family. And she knew Ryan could easily afford what he offered.
Rubbing her forehead, she saw there really was no choice. As Ryan stood quietly waiting, she glared at him. “I don’t know what kind of marriage you think this will be, when your bride is furious with you!”
He arched one dark eyebrow and continued looking at her, steely eyed.
“All right, Ryan, I’ll marry you. But it’s not what I want.”
“Good,” he replied quietly. He crossed the room to her and grasped her upper arms firmly. Her heart pounded and she stared at him. Locks of black hair fell over his forehead and his gaze pierced her. “Ashley, when you get rid of your anger, you’ll change. I promise, I’ll do everything I can to make you happy.”
“Like you have tonight?” she cried bitterly, thinking he was making a meaningless gesture. “You’re a bully, Ryan.”
“I’ll remind you as many times as I have to. I think that I’m doing what’s best for all of us,” he stated in a tone that was so self-assured she wanted to gnash her teeth. “This is going to help your family tremendously.”
Her pulse jumped at the thought. “I’ll have to admit that your offer, as far as my family is concerned, is overwhelmingly generous and thrills me. That part will be absolutely wonderful.”
“Good,” Ryan replied with obvious satisfaction. His hands slid to her shoulders. “Look on the bright side of things.”
She shook her head. “Ryan, we’ll have an impossible marriage.”
He pursed his lips. “If I thought that, I wouldn’t persist. I think our marriage is going to be fabulous as soon as you calm down and adjust. And you will.”
“You’re incredibly arrogant,” she told him, looking into those contented green eyes.
“You’ll hold your own. I’ll pick you up tomorrow night about six and we’ll start early for dinner. All right?”
“Why do you even bother to ask?” She rolled her eyes while he gazed at her intently.
“I know you’re annoyed with me right now,” he said.
“Annoyed!” she exclaimed, deciding he was the most hardheaded man she had ever known. “I’m furious with you, and my rage won’t be gone tomorrow night.”
“Hopefully, you’re wrong,” he said. “I’ll call one of my lawyers in the morning and get him to start looking into health insurance for your dad. We need to see your family soon to tell them we’re engaged, but first we should plan the wedding.”
“You move fast, Ryan.”
“Why wait? The sooner I help your father, the better off your family will be.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m keeping you up.”
She walked with him to the door while her thoughts seethed. He turned to look down at her and his gaze lowered to her mouth, making her pulse drum faster.
“This is good, Ashley,” he said quietly, with all the conviction possible. His hands went around her waist and he pulled her to him, lowered his head and kissed her, long and thoroughly. Her resistance was fleeting, gone in seconds. She wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed him back.
Ryan pulled her closer, leaning over her, kissing her until she was moaning with pleasure and thrusting her hips against him. Desire was a hot flame, burning their problems away. She wanted him with a need that shocked her. She ran her hands across his shoulders, tugging free his shirt and sliding one palm over his warm, muscled chest.
When he released her, they were both panting for breath. “We’ll stop tonight,” he said roughly, and she couldn’t interpret the expression in his eyes. She wanted to pull him back into her arms, but she stepped away instead, and in silence watched him go out the door and stride to his car.
When she closed the door behind him, her mind was churning.
Marriage. The idea was staggering. Yet she had to acknowledge, as much as she hated to, that in some ways Ryan was correct. Marriage would solve a lot of her problems.
With her thoughts in a turmoil, she moved sluggishly toward her bedroom. Without realizing what she was doing, she stopped, standing in the middle of the room and staring into space while she mulled over everything that had happened.
Tomorrow night she was having dinner with him, and he intended for them to make wedding plans. She was still in shock over the prospect. The minute Ryan had reappeared in her life, he’d turned it as topsy-turvy as her first encounter with him had been.
She thought again how little they knew each other, and ground her teeth together. She might as well decide what she would wear, she figured—anything to try to keep her mind off what was happening. She knew sleep would be a long time coming.
Trying to collect shards of self-assurance that had been shattered by Ryan’s demands, she left work an hour early the next day. She wanted to take her time getting ready, so she would feel and look her best. Even though he hadn’t said where they were going for dinner, somewhere casual or dressy, she selected a clinging black dress with a dramatic slashed V-neck trimmed in white that dipped to her waist. The skirt ended above her knees. Her black spiked heels gave her added height.
She swept her hair up on one side and let it fall loosely across her back and down the other side.
Finally she was ready, and while she waited, she thought that Ryan would probably be a great father. And her family would love her baby as much as a child could be loved. For the first time the prospect of telling them excited her. Married to Ryan, she would be able to inform them about the baby with joy and without all the worries she’d had before.
Ryan had been correct about that prediction, and eventually she might admit as much to him. But at the moment, she was so angry with him she didn’t care to tell him he’d gotten anything right.
When she heard a car, she glanced at herself in the mirror one last time, seeing a woman who looked poised and dressed for a night out. Uncertainty sent a ripple of worry through her. Had she overdressed? If he’d decided on barbecue and cooking at his place … She put the thought out of mind. With a toss of her head, she picked up her purse and went to the door as the bell rang.
The moment she opened the door, she was reassured about her dress. Ryan wore a dark brown suit and was stunningly handsome. As usual. And she saw the warm approval in his eyes when he looked at her, stepped inside and closed her door behind him.
“You look fantastic!” he said, touching her cheek lightly and then drawing his finger down the edge of the vee of her dress. She inhaled, because his feathery touch stirred hot tingles.
He bent his knees to look into her eyes. “Still angry?” he asked. “Hopefully, I can change that tonight.”
“Don’t count on it, Ryan,” she replied grimly.
He placed his hand on her shoulder. “I hope someday soon you’ll forgive me completely.”
“We’ll see,” she said tightly.
He gave her a long, probing look and she wondered what he was thinking. Then he reached for the door.
“I don’t need to ask if you’re ready to go, so shall we leave?”
She nodded and set her alarm, going out ahead of Ryan. In his sleek, black sports car, she sat far on her side, riding in silence, letting anger smolder and wondering how long he was going to put up with her fury. Or would it wear him down enough that he’d withdraw his offer? She’d soon see.
Then she realized they’d been driving a long time, and she glanced at him with curiosity. “Where are we going?”
“Someplace that I hope is special,” he replied easily.
“If you’re trying to bribe me into a good humor about this, it won’t work,” she said, frowning at him.
“Not at all. I want to show you a good time and a night to remember.”
“Ryan, how can I possibly forget one moment with you?” she asked in a tight voice.
Then she watched as they swung into the lane for the airport. Her amazement grew when they pulled up to a hangar and crossed the tarmac to a dazzling white jet.
“What are we doing?” she asked, realizing he was completely unpredictable to her.
“I’m just taking you to dinner at a place I hope you like.” He took her arm, leading her to the plane while the sun slanted toward the horizon on the warm spring afternoon.
In minutes they were airborne in his private jet. Ashley watched Dallas slip away below, and realized they had banked and were heading south toward the Gulf.
She turned from the window to find Ryan watching her. Her racing heartbeat was one thing that her anger with him hadn’t changed. Whenever the magnetic tug of his bedroom eyes focused on her, her pulse accelerated, no matter what she thought about him.
He sat across from her in a plush seat, and the well-decorated, comfortable interior of the plane reminded her of his money everywhere she looked. His money, and she was marrying into it. The idea amazed her, but didn’t help her ruffled feelings over his authoritarian manner. She could get along without Ryan and his money. She always had. And she had a family who would love her baby and support her, whether Ryan was on the scene or not.