“It’s Daniel, mom.” Emma replied softly as she watched him.
“The man you told me about?” Amy asked.
“Yeah that's him,” Emma clarified, her heart soaring and sinking, swooping every direction as she drank in the way Daniel took command of the room simply by entering it.
His tailored suit clung to his powerful frame and if his eyes looked deeply set and bruised from travel, it only added to his air of dangerous mystique.
She didn’t ask herself what he was doing here, though. It was devastatingly obvious why he was here.
He didn’t trust her.
----------------------
Daniel knew his mistake the second his searching gaze found the somber pair of eyes he was looking for. She was staring right her him, her eyes big and beautiful. Beneath her surprise lurked accusation and worse, disappointment.
"Believe me when I say I’m coming back." she had said at his off
Emma gave her mom a small smile. "Sure, mom. Just a minute" she said. She turned her attention to Daniel once again and tucked her hair behind her ear. He was watching her carefully. "You heard her. I'm a guest." he said grinning, but the grin faded quickly as he asked. "Unless you don't want me here. I could go if you want, though I really hope you don't want to that. I really want to fix things between us and meet your family. They all seem really nice" "They are" Emma replied with a small smile. "And you don't have to leave. You’ve come all this way. Besides if you do, they won't stop asking me why and I really don't want to get into that right now... Especially when Isabel and Aunt Jen are around" Daniel smiled back at her. "Thank you" he said. "How's the baby? Are you sleeping well... Feeling well?" Emma simply nodded. "Let's go back into the house" she said, and began to walk to the door. Daniel followed closely behind. ---------------------------- They went back into the h
“I would never hurt you like that.” He threw his head back with insult. “I will never step out on you. Ever.”Distantly, she knew that was probably true, given the betrayal he’d suffered at the hands of his ex, but all she could say was a tormented, “Why the hell would I give you the chance to say anything? You can’t even—”“I trust you, Emma! Damn it. I do” he cut in, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I came all this way to tell you that. To make you believe it.” he said“And started by asking why I was talking to another man? Samson was asking about the baby and you. He wanted to know if I was leaving with you. Okay? You said so without even talking to me about it. Still being controlling as always. That’s what we were talking about.” She looked blindly toward the blackened windows.After a pulse of silence, he said, “I was talking to Isabel about getting you a ring.”“You were talking about getti
She tentatively set her trembling fingers on his open palms. Swallowed the thickness in her throat..“I know you have every reason to hate me—” he said.“I don’t hate you, Daniel. I don't—”“Shh. Let me say this. I shouldn’t have made presumptions that day when my brother said those things about you. I shouldn't have said what I said. I should have protected you. But instead I made everything worse. I’m so ashamed of the way I acted. You were hurt and worried and I should have taken that burden from you. It was wrong and I won’t let anything like that happen again, no matter where in the world you live.”“I’ll live with you.” Emma said. She bit her lips to keep them from quivering. “If that’s what you want, I will come home with you.”“Because you want to believe in m
Emma rolled her eyes. “I think I’m capable of leaving the house alone.”“I know you are,” he said quietly. “I just worry and I’d prefer to be with you.”There wasn’t much she could say to that, so she nodded. “I’ll see you at lunch.” she said.He lifted his hand in a wave and then walked away. For a moment she stared after him and then she closed the door, leaning against it.One week of attempting to forget the past and forge ahead.“How’s that working out for you?” she muttered as she traipsed into the bathroom.She wanted a long, hot bath, then she would go sit in the balcony and get some work done on her laptop.After drawing a tub full of steaming water, she sank up to her ears and sighed in complete bliss. She hadn’t made the water too hot, and she wouldn’t stay long.After twenty minutes, regretfully, she toed the lever for the drain and then hauled her
As they looked over their menus, Daniel stole a glance at Emma. Seeming to sense his perusal, she looked up and offered a tentative smile. He smiled back, captivated by the sparkle in her dark eyes.She was…beautiful. And this time when she looked at him, he didn’t see the dark anger that had sparked so often the past weeks. That made him happy.----------------------------Emma stared out the window as she munched on one of the tasty little confections whose name escaped her. It had cheese and shrimp. She wasn’t sure of the other ingredients, but it was good and she was starving.The sky had started to soften. Wispy pastel tendrils flirted across the horizon as the sun sank lower. She closed her eyes and allowed the soft breeze to soothe her fried nerves.She’d expended more emotional energy over the past months than she had in a lifetime. She wanted to exist free of distress. Just for a little whi
Her eyelids grew heavy as he slowly, ever so slowly, lowered his head until their mouths were so close but not yet touching. The moment stretched on, their breaths mingling, their gazes never breaking apart.His head moved closer but he didn’t touch her. Instead, his mouth hovered tantalisingly close to hers, the expression in his eyes knowing and wickedly sexy as he prolonged the torture for both of them.Her stomach tumbled and her senses hummed and when finally he brushed his lips over hers. His lips were cool and the tip of his tongue gently caressed her lower lip.He kissed her fully then.It was the most romantic, exquisite kiss she’d ever been given. It was a kiss that told her more than words ever could that this man cherished her. He wanted her. He would have her.Heat exploded inside her and she made a soft sound in her throat and leaned against him, seeking more. Her eyes closed, but still she saw stars as everything inside her erupted with excitement.His fingers closed har
Daniel lay beside her, his hand around her, her back pressed against him and waited, waited until her breath grew slow and steady and the tension fled her muscles. He knew she asleep.And then he moved and rolled her over, easing her into his arms again. Her hand slipped across his chest, settling close to his heart, and her head nestled into the crook of his shoulder. She curled up against as though she'd done it a thousand times before, one leg the top his, the soft probing of her knee giving him fits.He gritted his teeth, determined to endure.But the final victory, the one that gave him peace enough to rest, came with the sleepy kiss she pressed against his jaw and the murmured words he shouldn't want to hear.Only then did he allow sleep to claim him too.Emma woke up the next morning, feeling relaxed and happy. Daniel had held her throughout the night. Every time she awakened, he had been right there, h
He cupped his hand just above her pelvis and caressed the round, firm bulge of her abdomen.“Our baby,” he said hoarsely.Then he hovered over her and lowered his head so that his mouth pressed to the center of her belly in a tender kiss. The gesture brought tears to her eyes, stinging the lids, and she swallowed against the quick knot that formed in her throat.“Beautiful,” he murmured. “I know things sucked between us, but it's been amazing watching him grow in you, watching you expand and watching your shape change. You’re so unbelievably sexy.”“Him? You think it’s a boy?” she asked.Daniel smiled down at her. “I don't know... I guess.... I really don’t care if it’s a girl or boy. I just want you both to be okay.” he said.Emma felt a little light headed, as if she had an alcohol buzz without the alcohol. He trailed his fingers lower, to her pelvis and through her damp, slick fo