Inherited:OneChild(26)

"I'm here," she whispered in her siren's song. "I'm not going anywhere."

"No, you're not." Somehow it didn't come out as an agreement, but more   as a warning. "You're mine now, and I protect and hold what's mine."

Amusement glittered in her witch gold eyes. "We're not possessive, are we?"

"Only with some things." He swept a hand from breast to thigh. Mine, his   touch seemed to say. He couldn't seem to help it, his need to cleave  to  her had grown beyond his capacity to control. He tried to explain  how  he felt, fumbling over the unfamiliar words. "Now that I've found  you, I  don't want to lose you. Now that I've had you, I don't think I  can go  back to how it was before you were part of my life."

"Then don't."

There was so much more he longed to say. To explain. But he no longer   possessed the ability. So he told her without words. He knew what she   liked, what brought her the most pleasure. And he gave it to her. Each   caress built, one on the other, and she clung to him as though she'd   never let him go.

She trembled beneath his questing hand-the elegant line of her spine,   the velveteen swell of her breast, the sweet curve of her thigh. He   cupped the downy center of her passion, feeling the gathering tension   and delicate quaking of a woman teetering on the verge. He drew her legs   around his waist and drove slowly into her, losing himself in the   delicious warmth. Her sigh of pleasure slid over him, sank deep inside   to the very core of him, to that final place of coldness. With each ebb   and flow, they moved ever closer. The eruption came, more powerful and   overwhelming than any before.

He took her. Made her his. Let go of the final fragments of his control.   When he did, the last sliver of ice melted. And in its place came  love,  a love he'd never anticipated or asked for. Never even thought   possible.

But come it did.





Nine




N aturally, Mrs. Locke chose the worst possible time to arrive on their   doorstep, descending six weeks after the birth of the puppies.

The morning started out perfectly, with Annalise in his arms still soft   and trembling from the aftermath of their lovemaking. She wrapped him  up  in a tangle of arms and legs that held him close to the urgent beat  of  her heart. Though she never actually said the words, every lingering   touch, every golden look, every whispered sigh, spoke of love.

Somehow she'd created a magical circle, a bountiful place more   comfortable and spacious and exquisite than all the rooms in his family   home combined. And in that circle she'd seeded a fertile garden where   Isabella thrived. It was a place where he could loosen his grip on the   chains of his restraint and reserve and simply let go. In that magical   place, Madam romped and Isabella would soon speak and he belonged as   he'd never belonged before.

For the first time, Jack felt hope. For the first time in more years   than he could count, he'd found his way home, and he had no intention of   ever losing his way again. He thrust his fingers deep into Annalise's   silken curls and combed them back from her face. She smiled up at him,   the words he longed to hear glittering in the brilliance of her eyes  and  trembling on the rose-petal softness of her lips, hovering so close  he  could practically hear the whisper of them on each exhalation of  her  breath. And yet, they remained unspoken.

It was time to take matters into his own hands.

"I want to change the parameters of our agreement," he stated bluntly.

Confusion clouded her gaze and a wariness settled over her. "You what?"

"I want to fire you."

She shoved at his chest and sat up, snatching the sheet to her chest.   "Fire me," she repeated in patent disbelief. "Have you lost your mind?   What about Isabella? What about CPS?"

His mouth set into a stubborn line. He reached beneath the covers and   caught one silken bare leg. He gave it a sharp tug, sending her sliding   back under him. "I want our marriage to be real. I want a wife. A   permanent one, not a temp who's going to leave us in two years. Isabella   needs a mother, and not any mother. She needs you."

For a brief instant she burned with happiness. The next instant it   winked out of existence. "I can't promise you that," she stated   categorically.

Had he misread her feelings? A rare panic swept through him and he   clamped down on it, replacing it with every bit of strength and business   acumen that he typically brought to the table whenever a deal   threatened to go sour. He could handle Annalise. He'd handle her the   same way he handled an unruly business transaction. He'd devastate her   defenses with logic, boxing her in until she had nowhere to go other   than straight into his arms.                       
       
           



       

"What's wrong with making our marriage a real one?" he demanded. "Aren't you happy?"

"I'm happier than I've ever been in my life," she conceded. "But our   relationship is still new and untested. You don't know everything about   me."

He settled on top of her, pressing her into the mattress. "That's the   nice part about marriage. You have all those years to spend unwrapping   each and every layer."

If anything his comment alarmed her even more. So much for boxing her   in. One glimpse of the opening and she shied away. "What if you don't   like what you find when all the wrapping paper's off?"

Was she kidding? "That's not possible," he stated quite definitely.

"Yes, Jack. It is." She moistened her lips and he could see her agile   mind marshalling her counterarguments. What he didn't understand was why   she found it necessary. "What happens if CPS decides to remove   Isabella?"

Did she have any doubt? "We fight to get her back," he answered   promptly. "To prove to them-no matter how long it takes-that we love her   and will do whatever we must to give her the best possible home."

A small frown formed between her brows. "I mean … What happens to us? The   entire reason we married was to provide your niece with a stable home.   But what happens to our marriage if Isabella isn't in the picture?"

"Do you think I'll stop wanting you?"

"Yes," she replied bluntly.

He shook his head. "That won't happen."

Her breath caught and she searched his face. "Are you serious? If they took Isabella away, you'd want our marriage to continue?"

"Isn't that what you want, too?"

He could see the naked longing in her gaze, but it was tempered with   caution … and something else. Something that had haunted her from the   first time they'd met. Before she could reply, the door banged open and   Isabella charged into the room with Madam. A tumble of puppies followed   close behind. Jack glanced over his shoulder and stopped the entire   menagerie in their tracks.

"That is not the proper way to enter a bedroom," he informed her in no   uncertain terms. "Please take Madam and the puppies and go outside.   Knock on the door and wait until you're invited in before opening the   door. Got it?"

His niece stood there, debating whether to turn stubborn or to obey. To   his relief, she spun around and shoved at Madam until the dog trotted   out of the room. Then she herded the puppies. The instant the door shut   behind them, Jack escaped the bed and tossed a nightgown in Annalise's   direction while he donned a pair of drawstring pants.

"I believe you still owe me an answer to my question," he reminded his wife.

"There's no time to discuss it right now," she informed him.

"Tonight, then?"

She worried at that for a minute before releasing a gusty sigh and nodding. "Okay, fine. We'll talk about it again tonight."

For some reason, she didn't look happy about it, and a wintry coldness   swept through him. He didn't know what secrets she kept, but he refused   to lose the world she'd built for all of them. He wouldn't be forced   from paradise now that he'd finally found it.

A soft knock sounded at the door of the bedroom, putting an end to the   conversation. He opened the door to Isabella who, much to his delight,   threw herself into his arms. Madam followed with matronly dignity, which   the barking, squabbling puppies spoiled by nipping at her heels and   jumping at her tail.

In the six weeks since their birth, they'd put on size and weight at an   impressive rate. The vet had been very pleased with their progress   during their last checkup and pronounced dame and puppies in excellent   health. Jack had already promised three of the pups to eager families of   business associates, and he doubted he'd have much difficulty placing   the others. He hadn't told Isabella or Annalise, yet, but he'd already   decided that they were going to keep the smallest of the six, a male  who  made up for his status as runt with a personality bigger than the  other  five combined. This one, in particular, had won all their hearts.  He  would also make a good companion dog for Madam.