The Things I Do for You (The Alexanders 2)

“Married?” Her mouth fell open.

“Oh, hell. I’m making a mess of this, aren’t I? Raina, I’m not just giving you my DNA and then walking away. I have conditions. If you want my baby, then this isn’t going to be a turkey-baster job. You’ll get it the good old-fashioned way. And I promise you, we’ll both enjoy it.” He leaned down until their eyes met. She shivered when he held her gaze. “But you also have to give me something I want just as much.”

He leaned down even farther until their lips were just a breath apart and then said, “You.”

* * * * *

NICK KNEW HE was walking a fine line. Raina looked like she was shell-shocked, her brown eyes slightly unfocused as she swayed against him. It probably wasn’t fair to expect her to make a decision about something this monumental right away, but a huge part of him wanted to pressure her for an immediate response.

The caveman in him wanted to get her answer, marry her, and get her pregnant before she had a chance to reconsider.

“So you’re blackmailing me?” Raina said. She didn’t sound angry as much as confused. As if she couldn’t understand why he’d want to do it.

“No. I’m not holding anything over your head. I’m not going to go running to the press with this story if you say no. I would never hurt you like that. I’m just telling you my conditions for helping you. You want something from me. Something huge. But you have to give me something I want just as much.”

“Me,” she whispered. “That’s really all you want?”

“Yes.” Talk about the understatement of the century. His obsession with her was on the verge of taking over his life. He had to have her. It didn’t even matter if she didn’t love him. If you only knew, pretty girl. I’ll take you any way I can get you.

“What happens when you wake up and realize the infatuation is over? Aren’t you going to feel trapped?”

“What was it you said earlier? Oh yes, marriages built on commonalities have a higher success rate than ones based on emotions. Let’s look at our common traits. We’re both intelligent, hardworking, driven, and value family. If you know nothing else about me, you know how much family means to me. I had the best possible role models for a successful marriage. My parents have always been a team. I think we could have that kind of partnership, too. Like I said, this is a little earlier than I’d planned, but I knew I’d want kids eventually. If we start now, our kids won’t be too much younger than their cousins.”

He pulled her to the chair he’d been sitting in and knelt at her feet, his eyes holding hers. Her hand covered her mouth.

“This is all just crazy. I don’t know what to say.”

“At the core of all this, what do you want most? A baby?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let me make that happen for you.”

Raina looked into his eyes and he let her, hoping she could see his certainty, his absolute determination to give her what she wanted. It wasn’t just that he wanted her more than his next breath. It wasn’t just that this was the only woman he’d ever wanted to give his last name to.

It was the fact that he could give her the thing she wanted most.

“Come on.” He tugged her up and before she could protest, picked her up, and cradled her against his chest.

“Where are we going?” Raina squirmed in his arms.

He didn’t answer, just walked down the hallway leading toward his bedroom. He set Raina carefully on her feet and turned on the small lamp on his bedside table.

She stood still, looking as vulnerable as a child as he stripped her tiny excuse for a dress from her body. He gritted his teeth as every inch of her honey-colored skin was revealed. Finally she stood before him in nothing more than a heart-attack-inducing black lace bra and panty set. He didn’t even want to contemplate if the panties had a thong back.

“Jesus. We have to find something for you to wear.” His goal was for her to rest, which wouldn’t be happening if he had to look at her in those scraps of black lace much longer. He turned blindly to his closet and yanked the first shirt his fingers touched off the hanger.

“Here, put your arms in this.” He helped her slide her arms into the sleeves of one of his dress shirts. Once she was mainly covered up, he picked her up again and carried her into the bathroom.

“Nick, I can walk,” she complained.

“Humor me, please. I’m very much enjoying the opportunity to carry you.” He set her on the counter and took a clean washcloth from beneath the sink. He wet it and dabbed at the mascara trails on her cheeks.

“Pervert,” she replied, but she was smiling as she said it.

“I have never pretended to be anything else.”

After her face was clean, he left the bathroom briefly to go get her a new toothbrush. When he returned, he stopped at the sight of Raina with her hair loose around her shoulders and her skin shiny and clean. A bunch of black pins sat on the counter in a neat pile.