Page 26 of Billion-Dollar Baby Shock

He noticed she was holding the baby monitor in her hand.But that was not all he noticed now.Her robe was partially open and he could see she was wearing a vest top.The firm swells of her breasts visible under the fabric.

He leant a shoulder against the wall, something illicit and dangerous fizzing in his veins.Lust.The urge to throw caution to the wind, in spite of everything that had transpired over the last couple of days, was overwhelming.He needed to connect with this woman again on a level that he could understand when so much was veering wildly out of his control.

Then she said, ‘He’s fine.I just changed him and fed him and he’s asleep again.He’s the most—’ She stopped and then asked a little breathlessly, ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

It had never been in Dion’s nature to be coy or disingenuous.One of the reasons he’d done so well in business was because he was straightforward.

‘Because I still want you.’

Tara’s mouth opened and closed again.‘I…well, I was not expecting you to say that.’

‘The truth is that the other night was…unprecedented for me.I told you it wouldn’t happen again but I was lying to myself.I would have wanted to see you again.’

* * *

That admission caught at Tara somewhere vulnerable.The shock of seeing him in the dimly lit corridor was receding and she couldn’t help but take in his tall, powerful form in a grey suit and white shirt, open at his throat.

There was stubble on his jaw.He still wanted her.She hadn’t considered for a second that that night had been anything but a passing diversion for him.

‘But…we can’t.’The elephant was literally sleeping in the room behind her, legs and arms splayed out like a starfish.

‘Why not?We’re two consenting adults who want each other.’

‘Until this moment I was pretty certain it was just a one-night thing.’

He shook his head and all Tara could see was that thick hair and the hard angles and planes of his face.She wanted to go over and put her hands on his face, soften the edges for him.

The truth was that she didn’t justwanthim, he’d caught her on a much more profound level where her emotions lived.And she knew—because of her family—that when she loved, she loved fiercely and unequivocally.Like the way she already loved Niko.And to be thinking of Dion in the same vein was not a little terrifying.

‘Not true,’ he said.‘I want you more than I’ve ever wanted a woman.’

It was also scary for Tara to acknowledge that, even after knowing him for only a couple of days, she trusted him enough to know that wasn’t a line.Her heart thumped and she went against every cell in her body when she said, ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea.There’s too much…stuff between us.’

Like a baby.Their son.And what would happen.

‘I think we can keep the two separate.You know I’m not remotely interested in a relationship.’

A half-laugh came out of Tara’s mouth.She put her hand to it and then let it drop, saying, ‘You’ve made that more than clear by choosing to become a single father.’

‘So…we know where we stand.’

He made it sound so simple but Tara knew it wasn’t.For her.And yet…she really, really wanted to repeat what had happened that first night.Before the world had imploded around them with the bombshell of discovering who he was.

And something else struck her then, a very earthy primal feeling of connection.This was her baby’s father.And they might not have conceived him in a conventional way but the fact that there was this chemistry between them—completely unexpected—was an unbelievable aphrodisiac.The fact that in some alternate universe, theycouldhave created him together.

He pointed out, ‘You’ve said yourself you’re not planning on leaving.’

Now Tara shook her head.‘No, I want to be with my son.’

‘Then why don’t we let this…mutual chemistry run its course?At least then, when we go our separate ways, we won’t have any loose ends.’

Tara chafed at that.‘I’d call Niko a pretty permanent loose end.’

‘We’ll come to an arrangement—I don’t intend to stop you being in his life, Tara.You have a point about his needing a mother.’

Tara had a strong suspicion he was just humouring her and that he didn’t trust for a second that she’d stay in Niko’s life, but he’d soon learn.

‘I know I have rights.There’s no question I’ll be in his life as his mother, for ever.’