The #1 Bestsellers Collection 2011(135)

“Holly!” Connor Knight shouted through the glass.

Her legs trembled as she walked down the short narrow hall and cautiously opened the front door the scant few inches the security chain allowed.

“Let me in, Holly.” His voice was liquid velvet, soft and sensual and spoke to her on a physical level that made her heart leap skittishly in her chest, yet despite the virtual stroke against her psyche there was an underlying steel in his tone that demanded he be obeyed.

Holly took a small step back. “No.”

“Open the door.” His voice grew louder.

“You can say what you need to from where you are and leave.”

“Janet said you were sick—again. Don’t think you can fob me off this time, Holly.” He bit the words out, and they ricocheted around the barren front porch.

A young boy riding past on his skateboard, stopped on the sidewalk. “Hey, miss, you wan’ me to go get my uncle? He’ll get rid of the suit for ya!”

Holly recognised the boy from the house a couple of doors away, and she had no doubt that one of his many “uncles” had been members of the throng that had partied hard on Christmas Day.

“Holly?” Connor stared at her through the gap, his brows pulled together in a forbidding line. “Would you like the young man to get his uncle? Go ahead, I’m in the mood.”

She swallowed against the lump in her throat and raised shaking fingers to the door, closing it enough to slide the chain back off then pulling it wide open.

“It’s okay. I know him.” She gave a weak smile over Connor’s broad-suited shoulder and watched as the boy gave a cheeky grin before boarding further down the street. “You’d better come in.” She gestured to Connor to follow her down the narrow hall.

“Thank you.”

Who’d have thought two simple words could have been laced with such fury? For a minute she wondered if she’d done the right thing. Maybe having one of the heavies from up the street “take care of him” for her might not have been such a stupid idea after all. Holly discarded the thought immediately. No. She had to face this, as she’d had to face every crossroads in her life. Somehow, she’d make it.

“Can I get you coffee or tea? I’m sorry I don’t have milk, though.” The fridge had totally given up the ghost during the night, and Holly had tipped out the gelatinous remains of her milk before heading to work in the morning.

“No. I don’t want anything except a few honest answers.”

“I’ve never been anything but honest with you,” Holly retorted, stung at the implication.

He pushed his hands in his pockets and looked around the room. “That’s good. So there’s no need to stop now, is there?”

What on earth was he getting at? Did he know about the pregnancy test? Holly didn’t have to wait long to find out.

“When Janet told me you’d been sick, I thought you might prefer a ride home rather than catch the bus. I sent her after you this afternoon when you left. I was surprised to hear you took a little shopping detour before going to the station.” He removed his hands from his pockets and caught her upper arms, his fingers tightening slightly. “So have you taken the test yet, Holly? Were you going to tell me the result?”

She tried to twist free, but he held her firm. The heat of his fingers imprinted on her skin and, damn it, she couldn’t help but want to feel them touching other parts of her. She was nuts. Only a crazy woman reacted this way with so much at stake.

“I can’t believe you made her spy on me.” She turned her head so he couldn’t see the flare of desire she knew reflected in her face. “Let me go.”

“Tell me.” The demand was no less forceful than the glare in his eyes.

“I don’t know.”

“Which—the result, or if you’d tell me?”

“Neither! Both! I … I don’t know!” Holly wrenched herself loose from his intoxicating hold. “I was taking the test when you arrived.”

“Where is it?” He demanded.

“On the bathroom vanity,” Holly replied in a tiny voice, frozen to the spot, as he strode past her, headed straight for the bathroom.

His footsteps halted in the bathroom, and her stomach clenched as she waited. A sound, like a muffled groan, filtered through the hallway, then silence. Eventually she heard the pipes clank in protest and water run in the basin. One look at his face and his slightly reddened eyes when he returned, and Holly’s world tilted sharply. Disoriented, she grabbed the back of one of the tubular steel chairs Connor had eschewed so disdainfully during his last visit.