Erik fell on his knees in front of her. He pulled her hands from her face. His heart ripped at the raw hurt glittering in her dark eyes. “Okay, Michelle. I’ll go home, but not before I tell you why I came here tonight. I listened to you, so now you will listen to me.”
She stiffened and pulled her hands from his grasp. Her arms went around her stomach in a protective maternal gesture.
The bewildered look in her eyes sent a chill sweeping through Erik’s bones. Dear God, she thought he was here to take her baby away from her as Bridget had threatened to do. Had her opinion of him changed so much that she’d think he could be so cruel? Think that he would take a child from its mother? She knew how he felt about his own mother not being able to raise him.
“Michelle,” he said softly, “I came here to tell you what a stupid fool, an absolute jackass, a class-A idiot, dull dimwit I am.”
She put a hand to her mouth and started giggling.
Now, that was his Michelle.
“Yes, Baby. You can laugh at me. Just hear me out,” he said when her giggles finally faded and she stared at him with misty wistful eyes. “When Cassie lay dying in my arms, I swore I would find the bastard and make him pay. When I found out it was your father, I felt guilty. I had to punish myself, and in doing so, I punished you.”
“Why did you need to be punished? What did you do?”
Erik cupped her face in his hands. His voice was rough and thick. “Don’t you get it, Angel? I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you walking up my driveway hauling that suitcase behind you. I’ve loved you from the moment you made Precious laugh. You were a breath of fresh air, sunshine on a cloudy day. You were a better lover than Cassie. You awakened desires in me I never knew I had. You were awesome with Precious from the very first day. As I grew to know you, I realized how incompatible Cassie and I were. You are the one true love of my life. Then when the truth came out, I felt like a traitor for loving you more than I loved her.”
“Oh, Erik, I knew you loved me, but I didn’t know it was like that. I thought you came here to take my baby away from me.”
Erik placed his hands over hers that were resting on her stomach. “Michelle, I would never do that to you.”
“But you did. You knew I loved Precious like my own child, yet it didn’t matter. You hurt her, just as much as you hurt me.”
Tears stung Erik’s eyes. “I know, and I’m sorry, sweetheart. I promise that if you give me another chance, I will make it up to both of you. Just tell me that you still love me, Michelle. Please.” Erik dropped his head onto her stomach and gave in to the turbulent storm that had been brewing inside him for eight long torturous months. He’d missed her so much. He’d missed her touch, her voice, her laugh, her smell. Her love.
Her fingers gently stroked his hair as her hot tears fell against his cheek. “I do love you, Erik,” she said in a choked voice. “I never stopped. I can never stop.”
Just then the baby in her womb kicked. Once. Twice. Three times.
Erik slowly raised his head and gazed deeply into the turbulent depth of Michelle’s eyes. He held her hands in his. “That’s my baby in there. Tell me it’s my baby, Michelle. I want to hear you say it.”
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“Yes, Erik. It’s your baby.” Her eyes were dark and stormy, sparkling in the light from the lamp. All the love and hunger she had suppressed for months spilled from their warm depths.
“Our son seems happy that his parents are back together,” he said with a wide grin.
She gave him a relaxed, happy smile. “You’re so sure it’s a boy.”
“Of course. We already have a daughter.”
The gentle motion of the pads of his thumbs stroking the insides of her wrists caused Michelle to catch her breath. We. He’d said we. She put her hands around his neck and drew him close to her. “How’s Precious?”
“Missing you, dreadfully. I have to apologize to her for keeping you apart.”
“Yes, you do.”
“How are you, Michelle?” he asked, filial concern hanging on the edge of his husky voice. “Have you been eating right, taking care of yourself?”
“From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I’ve been doing all the right things to make sure I deliver a strong and healthy baby.”
Erik smiled and stretched his arms around her as far as it would go. He caressed the curve of her back. He pressed his head into her chest, between her swollen breasts from which their child would be suckling soon. He inhaled deeply, drinking up her sweetness. “I almost forgot how good you smell,” he whispered, raising his head. “I used to go into your bedroom and close my eyes, and let your Moonlight creep through my skin. I missed you so much. I need you. I want our son to feel me loving his mother. I want to show you how much I love you.”