Holiday Baby Scandal

Laney stirred, blinked until she focused on him, then jerked awake. The tousled hair, the slight crease on her cheek from where she’d lain, the flawless face void of any makeup staring back at him...maybe that time had come.

He started forward as Laney swung her legs off the side of the couch and stood. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” she stated, tugging her long shirt in place over her leggings. “I just wanted to wait until you got home so I could see you were safe.”

Something stirred inside him. Something primal. No one had ever waited to see if he was okay. Nobody had ever gone to the trouble of checking up on him. Oh, Mac and Braden checked in, but they were friends, brothers.

Laney was...special.

“I didn’t think you’d mind if I used your code.”

She’d only been to his house once, but every O’Shea had his code for emergency purposes and he had theirs. This was clearly an emergency for her. That primal feeling turned into a warmth he didn’t want to recognize.

“But now that I can see for myself you’re okay, I’ll just go.” She was adorable when she was nervous. “I’m sure you’re tired and need to rest.”

Ryker moved closer as she rambled, his eyes never coming off that lip she was biting. She’d been scared—for him. More scared than he’d ever seen her—for him. She was the most beautiful sight, and after the hellish past day and a half, he needed something beautiful in his life. He needed Laney.

“After we left things, and then we couldn’t get in touch with you—”

His mouth slid over hers, cutting off her words. His arms wrapped around her waist, jerking her flush against his body.

Finally.

He felt like he’d waited forever to have her in his home, in his arms again. There were countless reasons why he shouldn’t have been doing this, why he should’ve let her walk out that door.

But he needed this. He needed her, and he hadn’t realized how much until he’d walked in and seen her curled up on his couch.

Laney melted against him, her fingers threading through the hair at his nape. Her mouth opened to his instantly, and Ryker didn’t hesitate to take everything he wanted from her.

He wanted to devour her, wanted to take her into his bedroom and lay her flat out on his bed, taking his time the way he should’ve in Miami.

Laney was in his home, and this was one fantasy he’d had for way too long. No way in hell was he turning her away. He neede

d this. They needed this.

Before common sense or those red flags could wave too high, Ryker secured his hold around her waist, never breaking away from her lush mouth. He lifted her up, arousal bursting through him when she wrapped her legs around his waist.

“I didn’t think you wanted me,” she murmured against his lips.

Ryker spun and headed toward his bedroom. The sleep he’d needed moments ago was no longer on his radar.

“I never said that. Ever.”

Laney nipped at his lips. “You push me away.”

Ryker stopped, pulled away and looked into those engaging eyes. “Do you feel me pushing you away now?”

Her hips tipped against his as her ankles locked behind his back. “I wouldn’t let you at this point. But what about tomorrow? Next week? What then, Ryker?”

On a sigh, he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers. “Right now, Laney. Let’s concentrate on right now.”

She hesitated a second longer than he was comfortable with, but finally nodded. “I’m going to want answers, Ryker. I’m going to want to talk, not fight, about us.”

About us. Those words terrified him and thrilled him at the same time. He’d worry about that conversation later. Right now he had the only woman he’d ever wanted in his bed actually here. He sure as hell wasn’t going to talk, not when his emotions were raw. He had Laney and that was enough.

The second he crossed the threshold to his master suite, he hit the panel on the wall to close the blinds, encasing his room in darkness—much like the way he lived his life. Laney was the brightest spot he’d ever had, and he didn’t need anyone to tell him he didn’t deserve her, or their baby.

But heaven help him, he wanted both.

Laney tucked her face into the crook of his neck, her warm breath tickling him as he led her to his bed in the middle of the room. Easing down, he laid her on his rumpled sheets. He hadn’t made a bed in...well, ever.