Enticed by His Forgotten Lover (Pregnancy & Passion 1)

“Come for me, Bryony,” he said. “I want to feel your heat around me as you come apart.”

Her head fell back. Her entire body trembled. Her knees shook where they dug into the mattress. Beautiful, intense, vicious tension coiled low in her belly, spread to the spots he so expertly stroked and then it gathered and burst in all directions.

The force of her orgasm was staggering. She fell forward, but he was there to catch her. She braced her hands on his chest, not wanting to leave him, not wanting to stop until he found his own release, but she couldn’t be still.

She writhed uncontrollably. All the while he held her and stroked his hands over her body as he whispered her name over and over in her ear.

She heard a sob, an exclamation of pleasure and knew it was herself, but it sounded so distant that it seemed impossible it could have come from her.

When her strength sagged from her, he simply held her hips and took over, thrusting upward into her still quivering body until he went tense underneath her.

Then he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her down until there was no space separating them. He thrust one last time and then they both went limp on the bed.

She was sprawled atop him. She probably resembled a dishrag, but she couldn’t muster the energy to care.

He rubbed his hand up and down her back, down over her buttocks and then back up to tangle in her hair. He kissed her forehead and then ran his fingers through her hair again.

“That was incredible.”

“Mmm-hmm,” she agreed.

He stroked her arm in a lazy pattern. “What happened here, Bryony? It sure as hell wasn’t just sex. I’ve had just sex before. This doesn’t qualify.”

“No,” she said in a low voice. “It wasn’t just sex.”

“Then what was it?”

She raised her head and stared down into his eyes. “It was making love, Rafael. I love you. You loved me. I’d like to think that didn’t just go away. Some things the heart knows even if the mind hasn’t accepted it or has blocked it out.”

“It scares the hell out of me that something this huge could be forgotten. I haven’t loved anyone before.”

“Never?”

He shook his head. “I’m sure I loved my parents in the beginning. I don’t hate them now. I just don’t think about them, the same way they don’t think about me. I was an inconvenience. They were merely the people who gave me my DNA. It sounds cold, but it is what it is. I’m not saying that because I’m harboring some horrible psychological defect because my mommy doesn’t love me. I’m merely saying that I’ve never deeply loved anyone and now that I supposedly have, I forgot it? It and nothing else?”

“Maybe finally falling in love was so traumatic for you that you blocked it out,” she teased.

“I can’t believe you can joke about this,” he grumbled.

“Well, it’s either laugh or cry and crying gives me a headache. Besides, you’ll remember. I think you’re already starting to. A lot of things are instinctive to you. You don’t treat me like a stranger even though for all practical purposes I am. If you really thought I was unknown to you would you be in my bed sharing your deep, dark secrets?”

“Probably not,” he admitted.

She leaned down to kiss him and then rested her head on his shoulder again. “One day at a time, Rafe. It’s all we can do and hope that each day brings us closer to the time you remember us.”

He tightened his arm around her and kissed her forehead. “I’m not sure I deserve your sweetness or your patience, but I’m damn grateful for both.”

Sixteen

When his BlackBerry rang first thing the next morning, Rafael knew by the ring tone who it was and he ignored it. Devon had called Cam in. Cam was calling to curse and yell at him that he was a moron who was thinking with his dick.

Cam was predictable if nothing else.

When his phone immediately began to ring again, Rafael cursed and leaned down as far as he could without loosening his hold on Bryony. He managed to drag his pants closer and fish the BlackBerry out. He hit the ignore button first and then hit the power button second.

His business could run without him for a couple of days. He paid many people very good money to think on their feet and be able to handle any situation that arose. It was time to give them the freedom to do what he’d hired them to do.

Oddly, in the past such an idea would make the control freak in him break out in hives. Now, he reasoned that he parted with good money so that he could occasionally enjoy a break.

Maybe Bryony was right. He didn’t have to be the person he’d always been. Furthermore, she was right in that he would make sacrifices for his son or daughter.

He didn’t want to be an absentee father. He didn’t want to be like his own father, who thought being a provider was his only obligation to his family.

There was a hell of a lot more to parenthood than providing all the material necessities. Rafael wanted to be there for all the school plays, the soccer games. He wanted to be the one to put money under his kid’s pillow when he lost a tooth and pretend that it was the tooth fairy.

He wanted to be a father. The best father he could be.

He gazed down at Bryony, whose head was pillowed on his shoulder. The morning sun shone on her skin, giving it a translucent, angelic glow. She looked at peace. She looked content. She looked…loved.

Then his mind kicked in with a screaming whoa.

No way was he falling for this woman after only a few days.

But had it been just a few days? Or was he responding to the weeks they’d spent together before?

It could be she was right. On some level he remembered her, recognized her as the woman he’d chosen. But the woman he’d fallen in love with?

He’d always considered that love was like being struck by lightning. This odd sort of contentment didn’t match with what he considered falling in love might feel like. He damn sure hadn’t thought it could be so…easy.

Easy. Yeah. Love was complicated, wasn’t it? No one managed to pull it off in a few days. It was the good sex talking.

But, no. Bryony had been right about one thing. It wasn’t just sex. Calling it that cheapened it on some level. Reduced it to the level of flirtatious, sex-only relationships he’d had in the past. A quick romp in bed, send the woman on her way. Move on to the next.

Nothing about his past experiences came even close to the way he felt about Bryony or the way he felt about making love to her.

Last night had felt like something he’d been anticipating forever. A sense of homecoming that was so keen, it had nearly flattened him. He’d been ridiculously emotional, like he wanted to go around blurting out how he felt and crap. The mere idea should have humiliated the hell out of him, but it didn’t.

Being forthright with Bryony just felt natural. She’d played it completely straight with him. He’d played it straight with her even when it had meant admitting or saying something that had hurt her.

It was weird being this honest and open with a woman—hell, with anyone. He trusted Ryan, Dev and Cam, but he never talked about intensely personal issues with them. Not that they wouldn’t listen, but that wasn’t the nature of their relationship.

His thoughts flickered back to the woman in his arms. Yeah, she did odd things to him. Made him want to do stuff, different stuff. Stuff that should have him running the other direction.

He sighed. This was a woman a man kept. Maybe he’d known that when he met her. Maybe it was true that a man just knew when he’d met the woman who would change everything for him.

Bryony was the marrying kind. Not the bed-’em-and-leave-’em-with-a-smile kind of woman. She had permanent written all over her sweet face.

She was…his. And hell if he was going to let her go. He didn’t care if he ever remembered. He had enough pieces of the puzzle to know that she belonged with him. They had a lot to work out—what new couple didn’t? They’d jumped ahead a few steps in the relationship with he

r being pregnant, but it wasn’t anything they couldn’t work out.

The more he settled the matter in his mind, the more convinced he became that this was right. She was right. Bryony. Their baby. Him. A family. He could have it all. The resort.

He grimaced. It hung over him like a dark cloud. It was the one thing standing between him and Bryony. She swore he had promised her he wouldn’t develop the land, which made absolutely no sense. Why buy it at all? He certainly didn’t have need of a private expanse of beach for personal use.

A hell of a lot rode on this deal.

There had to be some way to convince her and the rest of the people on the island that one resort wouldn’t change their way of life.

It was either that or he had to go back to his partners—and friends—and investors and pull the plug on the entire thing. He would lose a hell of a lot of money, but worse than that, he’d lose credibility, future backing and his standing in the business community.

All because of a promise he couldn’t remember making.

Bryony stirred in his arms and his grip tightened possessively around her. Before she could open her eyes, he pulled her close and kissed her lingeringly.

She sighed as her eyelashes fluttered, then her warm brown eyes found his and she smiled. “That’s a nice way to wake up.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” he murmured.

“What time is it?”

“Seven.”

She yawned and snuggled closer to him. “Plenty of time.”

“Plenty of time for what?”

“To do whatever we want or nothing at all.”

He chuckled. “I like your attitude.”

“Any idea what you’d like to do today?”

“Yeah, actually. I thought you could take me around the island. Private tour. Show me what makes it so special to everyone who lives here. I can’t remember the last time I went to a beach just to see and enjoy the sights and sounds.”

She leaned her head back and frowned. “You work entirely too hard. Maybe your accident was a blessing in disguise. If it causes you to slow down and reevaluate then it’s a good thing.”

“I wouldn’t have put it that way exactly. I’m not sure nearly dying is the kind of wake-up call anyone wants,” he said dryly.

She touched his cheek. “But would you be thinking the way you’re thinking now if it hadn’t happened?”