My lungs finally released and I stepped forward, dragging her into my arms and kissing the fuck out of her. She went lax, sinking into me, and I took advantage of her open mouth to sweep my tongue inside. She tasted like sugar and her scent wrapped itself around me, reminding me of tart apples and cinnamon.
“I missed you so fucking much, beautiful,” I mumbled against her lips.
Her hands were clutching my biceps, then slid up, over my shoulders and down to rest on my chest. I was just about to swing her up into my embrace when suddenly, she shoved me hard. Caught off guard, I stumbled backward, but regained my senses rapidly enough to slam my hand against the door as she attempted to swing it shut. What the fuck?
Thick, heavy silence hung between us, our eyes glued to each other in a stare down. Finally, I’d had enough and I gripped her arms, lifting her out of my way before crossing the threshold and slamming the door behind me. She gasped and her beautiful face twisted with anger.
Almost frantically, she spun around but froze, seemingly listening for something. The room opened into a kitchen just behind her, but her attention appeared to be on the entrance to a hallway off to the side. Was there someone back there? Murderous rage burned in my veins. If there was, he better be climbing out the fucking window or he was going to find himself being booked into hospital as a woman after I tore his balls off.
When there was no sound, she pivoted back to face me. “What the hell are you doing here, Weston?” she ground out.
I started towards her, backing her up until she was up against a wall and my body caged her in. “Is there someone back there, Aspen?” I asked with deadly calm. “Did you offer up what’s mine to someone else?”
She sputtered indignantly, “What? Of course not—what do you mean yours? You gave up your claim on me, you jerk!”
I believed her, but she was dead fucking wrong if she thought I didn’t still own her. “I don’t know what the fuck happened after I left, Aspen, but I know what we had was real. I’m here for you and I’m not letting you get away.”
She peered up at me with confusion, then shook her head and fury returned to her expression. “You can’t throw me away and then just show up expecting me to fall back into bed with you. I’m not a booty call, Weston, and my circumstances have changed drastically. Arbitrary weekends of fucking aren’t a luxury I can indulge in.”
Throw her away? What the fuck?
“That was a hell of a lot more than a weekend of casual fucking and you know it,” I growled, leaning in close and wrapping my hands around her hips. I opened my mouth to say more when the air was rent with the sound of a baby’s cry.
Aspen stiffened and shoved at me again, like last time, I was startled and teetered back a few inches. Enough for her to slip past me and hurry down the dark hallway. It couldn’t be . . . right? Curiosity had me following her into a bedroom painted in a soft blue, with white furniture, including a crib, with a mobile of circus animals. As if that weren’t alarming enough, she was standing next to it cuddling an infant to her chest.
I could tell right away it was her son, they had the same nose and mouth. She’d had a baby? She’d said she hadn’t been with anyone else. Had she lied and really moved on? In my desperate and devastated state, I almost missed the fact that the child had dark hair and was peering at me from her arms with striking green eyes. Eerily similar . . . holy fuck. This was my kid.
“You had my baby?” I croaked. There were so many emotions weighing down on me, I felt almost dizzy. But at the forefront of my mind was wrath. “Were you ever going to tell me?”
Chapter 2
Aspen
I wanted nothing more than to stomp over to Weston and punch him right in his sexy face. The nerve of the man, to accuse me like that after ignoring all my emails. It was only the squirming bundle of joy in my arms which held me back from attacking him. It wasn’t the right time or place for a confrontation, even though I was filled with righteous indignation and pure, unadulterated fury.
Turning away from him, I hummed to my baby boy, completely ignoring the man standing in the nursery doorway. I counted to twenty in my head as I got him situated on the changing table and unsnapped his onesie. A bright smile and delightful giggle were the reward for my patience as I tickled his belly.
I felt the warmth of Weston’s body against my back, but I refused to look up at him. Not yet. “I need to get him changed and fed before he shouts the house down. He’s not very patient when he’s hungry, but he loves to go into his baby swing after. Once he’s settled, we can talk about your ridiculous accusation and where the heck you’ve been for the last year.”