Page 23 of Sterling Heat

“No,” he growls at my ear, standing close enough my body leans into his. His fingers tighten on my waist. “You’re going home with me. You need someone to look out for you because Adara is counting on you to be here for her.”

The ferocity in his demand has me catching my breath. I should be upset that he’s commanding that I go with him, but instead, a rush of comfort and relief ripples through me. No one has ever taken care of me.

Plus, he’s right. I shouldn’t be unsupervised until the medicine regulates. “But I need to do things, like breast pumping and—”

Sebastian groans beside me while his fingers dig into my sides. “We’ll figure it out. You’ll have privacy with your own bedroom, and I’ll be down in the bakery most days. Plus, you’ll be coming here. We’ll hardly cross paths.”

The thought saddens me. I’ve enjoyed his visits to my room and his video calls with Adara. He’s been a pleasant distraction during long, mundane days and I’ve looked forward to seeing him. That’s dangerous. Because I don’t want to become attached to him. He doesn’t need a single, new mom, and her baby to muddle up his life.

The nurses here are ga-ga about him and I don’t want to be in the way of . . . whatever he does with women. Not to mention, I have my limits. Picturing him with another woman is difficult enough. Sharing space with him, and hearing him or seeing him with someone else would be too much. I’m not strong enough to tackle that because I already have a little crush on him myself.

“What about a girlfriend? Or a lady friend?” Friend with benefits? Or even just a random hookup. “I don’t want to cramp your style.”

“What style?” He chuckles, shifting me so I face him better, but I peer down at Adara.

“You know what I mean.” He can’t be oblivious to his good looks and brooding charm.

Two strong fingers tip up my chin. “Explain it to me.”

My eyes close. I can’t look at him, but envy has no place here. I just called him my friend. “I don’t want to be in your way . . . with women.”

“Sugar, there’s only two women in my life right now. You and her.” He nods down at Adara. “And the two of you are more than I can handle.”

His tone is teasing, but I’m still uncertain. “I still don’t want to be a nuisance.”

“You won’t be.” His blue eyes narrow, the heat in them like a low-lit flame. Watching me, it’s like he’s almost begging me to stay with him. Yeah, I’m definitely imagining that.

“Only for a couple of weeks?”

“Only for a couple of weeks.” Then one of those hard-won smiles slowly curls his lip a little more than I’m used to seeing and a different organ in me somersaults.

I’m not certain my heart can continue to take the kindness of Sebastian Sylver without fully falling in love with him.

Chapter 8

[Sebastian]

Here I am again, all wrapped up in Enya like one of those blankets swaddled around Adara.

I’m learning the baby lingo.

And I’m a fucking moron because I just suggested she come home with me. Only for a few weeks, my ass. For five days, I’ve struggled—and failed—to stay away from her and the baby, and now I’m offering her weeks in my place.

But Enya has so much going on. She’s kind of a hot mess for an accountant. Not that I know anything about bookkeeping, other than I’d assumed it’s a structured, organized profession. With his glasses and his array of calculators, Judd is my money guy and a complete nerd, so that’s my experience with people who get jazzed over digits.

Enya certainly doesn’t look like a bookkeeper with her hair in a messy bun at the nape of her neck and a flannel shirt plus a pair of black leggings on her hot body. She looks . . . pretty and frustrated.

“Where did you get the clothes?” Her dress was wrecked during her delivery and unless she had a bag in her car, which she hasn’t been able to return to, I don’t know where she got these new items. She just told me she didn’t have anyone to help her.

“Oh.” She looks down at the flannel that’s a little too big on her. “Your sister came to see me. She knew I’d need something to wear to leave the hospital.”

Vale. She’s always swooping in. I could have suggested Vale take Enya in for a few weeks, but I didn’t want to put that on my sister. She’s a single mom herself and has enough going on with Hudson. My nephew can be a handful. I’ll be watching him the rest of my life to make certain he’s good to his mother and doesn’t become his father.

Standing in Enya’s presence where she’s still radiant despite unwashed hair and the purple smudges of exhaustion beneath her eyes, I worry once more that she’d been in a similar situation as my sister. A worthless man impregnated her, leaving her to raise her kid on her own. Or worse. However, I don’t let my thoughts drift to visions of the horrific. The idea of someone hurting Enya makes my blood boil.

A visceral desire to protect Enya . . .and Adara . . . fills me. No one will ever lay a hand on either of my girls while I’m around.

Enya sets Adara in the hospital bassinet. After a long stare and more tears, she finally parts from the baby.