The Alpha's Baby(26)

"Sebastian, stop it," she said.

The guy looked her straight in the eye and clucked.

"Oh, for God's sake." And she, to her utmost shame, climbed the stairs to the slide. "I'm just doing this so you'll stop clucking."

"Took you long enough." He grinned.

"Watch it or I'll walk right down those stairs and take a taxi home," she said.

He made a show of zipping his lips.

Rolling her eyes, she took a seat on the slide to the left. As she settled down, Sebastian's eyes twinkled. "On the count of three."

"Do we really have to?" she asked.

"One."

"I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Two."

"I need to get my head examined."

"Three."

Sebastian seized her hand, then pulled her down the slide with him. Before she even had time to blink, she was sitting at the bottom of the slide with her sandaled feet in the sand.

"Are you in touch with your inner child yet?" he asked.

"No, but I'm in touch with my inner psycho." She scowled at him.

The guy rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Looks like I still have work to do."

"Work?" She did a double take. "What work?"

Before she had time to blink, Sebastian was pulling her up the stairs again, but this time he was leading her toward the largest slide.

"Come on, slow poke." He laughed maniacally.

"Why are you doing this to me?" She shook her head.

The guy came to a stop. "We're just having a bit of fun."

"Who's having fun?"

Sebastian pushed on her shoulders, trying to force her to sit down at the top of the slide. Groaning, she sat down, knowing that the only way she would get out of this was if she had blood squirting out of her eyeballs. As she groused, Sebastian took his place behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked over her shoulder and stared straight into his gray eyes, startled by the sudden closeness.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"What?" He ran his fingers down the soft inside of her neck. "Haven't you gone down a slide with somebody before? I thought all kids did this."

"Not me." She tried to ignore the way his thumb lingered on her throat. "I always sat on the grass and read books I checked out from the library."

He chuckled. "I should have known."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You just seem mature for your age." His hand inched lower toward the hem of her shirt.

"I got drunk and ended up pregnant." She winced. "That's not mature."

"Everybody makes mistakes sometimes." He swept a strand of hair out of her face.

"Well, when I make a mistake, I make a big one," she said.

His gaze lingered on her face. "Do you really dislike being pregnant that much?"

She chewed her bottom lip, picturing the child she'd dreamed about. "No."

"I'm glad." He placed his hand on her stomach. "To be honest, I'm kind of excited."

His hand on her waist made her stiffen, but she didn't push him away.

"Normally, a man would be running scared."

"Not me." He ran his fingers over her shirt. "Usually, a guy finds the woman of his dreams, gets married, then has a baby. In my case, I found the woman of my dreams, have a baby, and then get married. I'll still have everything I want, just in a different order. What's there to be miserable about?"

"The woman of your dreams?" She scoffed. "More like, the woman of your nightmares."

"Hey, don't talk about yourself like that." His gaze lingered on her face. "Like I said before, you're amazing. Any dream with you in it is heavenly."

"Sebastian…" She swallowed.

The man searched her face. "Uh-huh."

"If you're trying to charm me in order to get me to marry you, it's working."

"Sweetheart, I'm charming you for the sake of charming you." His gaze dropped to her lips. "Of course, if you agreed to marry me right now, I wouldn't complain."

Even though yes was at the tip of her tongue, she said, "Not yet."

"Damn shame." His tongue darted to the corner of his mouth. "Still, I know exactly how to make myself feel better."

Her eyes widened. "How?"

His mouth captured hers for the second time that day. She gasped in surprise, and he took advantage of her shock by slipping his tongue into her mouth. He pressed her against the wall of the slide and ran his fingers through her golden hair. As she tasted the sweet soda he'd drunk at the restaurant, he groaned against her mouth, tantalizing her. His fingers dropped lower until he cupped her breast and traced the aroused nipple through the sheer fabric of her shirt. She gasped in surprise, trying hard to ignore the way juices flowed straight to her sex in response to his arousing touch.