grew wide, becoming almost all pupil. Her apprehension hiding almost all of that beautiful brown. He didn’t want that. He didn’t want her to worry. To be afraid. He wanted to gather her into his arms and hold her tight, to smooth her hair, kiss her eyelids, and trace her mouth with his fingertips.
“Yes,” she said again as if he had hesitated too long.
Slowly, almost afraid he’d startle her with his touch, he pressed his palm against her belly. Now that he really took the time to look at her, he noticed the subtle changes to her body. Beneath her shirt, he could see where her breasts were spilling from the confines of the bra she wore. Her waist was thicker and the rounded curve of her stomach more pronounced. And firmer. Before, she’d been soft and cuddly. Now, there was a firmness to her stomach that could only be attributed to one thing—his baby growing inside her.
His legs went weak beneath him and he dropped to his knees beside her chair. When Roark had announced Kayley was pregnant, he’d given his brother hell for the look of fear that had crossed the other man’s face. Now he knew exactly how Roark had felt. Hopeless and so damn ferocious at the same time.
This had changed everything and changed nothing at all. He’d come to Riverton to find Julie, prepared to chase her around the world had she decided to flee. Why? Because she was his. He’d fought his way out of hell to be with her. Every feeling, every ounce of passion, every dream he’d had since he first laid eyes on her rushed through his mind. The tender and passionate feeling he felt for her in that moment sprang from the bottom of his soul. He closed his eyes, not certain he wanted to share that much of himself with her. Not yet.
As he caressed her stomach, her breasts swelled and her nipples hardened, taking his emotions, and his body, down a totally different path. He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to rip open her shirt and remove her bra. Kiss her breasts, feel their shape and size in the palm of his hands now that they had changed. He wanted to spread her legs and taste her sweet juices. He could do that right now. He moved to part her legs when Remington’s voice cut through the sexual fog he found himself in like a sharp knife.
“Hey now, bro, I thought you said no threesomes.” Remington’s sharp reprimand reminded him that he and Julie weren’t alone.
And that someone was after his woman. And child.
CHAPTER FOUR
RAFE
He LOOSENED HIS hold on
Julie’s
her legs and rose reluctantly back to his feet. Picking her up, he sat down in the chair with her in his lap once again. He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her close for a kiss. As much as he wanted to ravage her, he kissed her softly, gently as was befitting for the mother of his soon-to-be child. He realized suddenly that she hadn’t said anything about the baby. “Are you happy, sweetheart? Do you want the baby?”
She bit her lip and slowly nodded her head. He had a feeling she wasn’t necessarily answering his first question in the affirmative. He squeezed the nape of her neck in reassurance before gathering her to him. He let out a sigh of relief when she allowed him to pull her close and nestled against his chest. In that moment, as both heaven and hell as his witness, he vowed to make her never regret her choice that day when she’d accepted his offer to buy her a drink and the consequences of that decision.
“So what do we do?” He turned to his brother, wishing that Roark was here with them. There was nothing the Conroy brothers couldn’t accomplish when they set their minds to it.
“Talk to Luke.”
Rafe snorted as he stroked Julie’s hair, loving the feel of the soft texture beneath his calloused palm. “Yeah, that worked out swell for Roark and Kayley.”
“Who’s Roark and Kayley?”
Rafe smiled down at Julie. “He’s our older brother and his mate. Or wife. Woman.”
“You mean
Learning to Kill: Stories