An Irresistible Impulse
Page 22
“When’s she due?”
“In October, just about a month after I am.”
“Damn good thing they got married when they did. Bud didn’t waste any time.”
She nudged him gently. “Neither did you, love.”
“Nope.”
They lay quietly then, with Ben’s hand in restful possession of her stomach’s slight bulge. “Brian asked about the book,” Abby began softly. “He wanted to know if you were going ahead on it.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him you were still gathering your thoughts.”
“We’re still gathering our thoughts. And it’s really gone further than that. Brady should have a contract negotiated within the next week or two.”
“I didn’t want to tell Brian that. I think he’s a little uptight about it anyway.”
“I can see why…his image and all. I still have some doubts—”
“Do it, Ben! It’s going to be a terrific study of the dynamics of a jury. It’s not often that a skilled writer gets that kind of inside view.”
Ben chuckled. “What was it I once said about your not pushing me? I take it back.”
She ignored his teasing. “It’s fascinating. I’ve thought so all along. I can remember that first day when they were strangers and so awkward with each other. To look at them now you’d think they’d known each other for years.”
“You keep saying ‘they.’ Why not ‘we’?”
“ ‘We’ were never strangers. From the beginning there was something….”
Tilting her face up, he dotted a kiss on the tip of her nose. “Right on!” Then he rubbed her belly once more. “You look so pretty.”
“Isn’t ‘radiant’ the customary word?”
“Could be…. Is this a maternity sweater?”
“Nope. Just a big sweater.”
“You’re not that big.”
“Then why are all my clothes getting too tight? Besides, what better purpose for big sweaters than to cover up buttons that won’t button!”
“Here, let me help.” Reaching beneath the sweater, he located the button at her waist. But rather than trying to join it with its buttonhole, he lowered the zipper of her slacks and slid his hand beneath its soft wool to gently caress her.
“That feels nice,” she purred.
“It does…small and round.”
“You’ll hate me when I get—”
“—I’ll love you then too.”
“You will?” An answer was superfluous when his hand strayed higher under the folds of her sweater. She sighed, then moaned when his fingers measured the greater fullness of her breasts.
“There’ll just be more to love, that’s all.”
Looking up, she wound her arms around his neck. “You always know the right things to say.”
“I try.”
“You do, don’t you? You’ve been so good about sharing things with me.”
“I love you. You’re my wife.”
“But it wasn’t always this way. Those first two weeks—”
“Shhhh.” He put a finger over her lips. “That’s long past.”
“You’re not still frightened?” It had been a while since she’d asked him.
“Sure I’m frightened. I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes in a panic if I don’t feel you against me.” He hesitated. “You do understand why I can’t let you give birth to the baby here, don’t you?”
It was something they’d discussed at length, something Abby would have loved to do. But she understood. And she was infinitely grateful that Ben could be honest with her, rather than bottling things up as he’d done at the start. “I do. And it’s all right. As long as you’re with me through the delivery…whether it’s here or in the hospital.”
He clutched her more tightly. “If anything should happen to you…”
“It won’t, Ben. You’ll see. Everything will be easy and very, very beautiful.”
“You’re very, very beautiful,” he crooned, then kissed her thoroughly to prove his point. Wandering restlessly, his hands outlined her body. His touch held that same kind of tender possessiveness that never failed to move her.
“I love you,” she whispered, arching closer.
“And I love you,” he breathed, welcoming her fully. One kiss was followed by another, then another until their lips sought newer spots.
At its height their passion was strong, wild and reckless, a bounteous product of their love. It was their now, their tomorrow…unabashedly irresistible.
Don’t Miss These Enthralling Novels by Barbara Delinsky, Available from HarperCollins
Variation on a Theme
When flutist Rachel Busek and rough-hewn private investigator Jim Guthrie meet, they quickly discover that they are the perfect complement to each other. But there are troubling pieces of her past that Rachel must uncover before she can trust herself to love Jim completely.
Gemstone
It has been eight years since Sara McCray fled her husband, Jeff, and an opulant but stifling life in San Francisco led by her domineering mother-in-law. Now Jeff has become his own man, but Sara must decide if she can risk heartbreak again to take a second chance.
The Carpenter’s Lady
Writer Debra Barry and carpenter Graham Reid are two people seeking to forget their pasts. Debra moves to the country after her painful divorce and hires Graham to redesign her new home. But as the house comes together Debra and Graham start thinking of building a future.
A Time to Love
Arielle Pasteur flies to St. Maarten, to a villa on a private beach, looking for solitude. Instead, she finds herself sharing the hideaway with a man who gives the impression of being an overbearing, scornful egotist. Yet behind the facade lurks a gentleness that makes Arielle question whether it’s solitude she really craves.
Rekindled
Here are two Barbara Delinsky novels in one volume. The Flip Side of Yesterday and Lilac Awakening are two of her favorite romantic stories. Revised by the author and republished by HarperCollins, these stories have been rekindled.
Sweet Ember
Stephanie Wright was a nineteen-year-old camp counselor when she met and fell in love with Douglas Weston, a devastatingly handsome, older tennis instructor. Eight years later Stephanie returns to the camp where she was loved and betrayed, and the truth of that long-ago summer comes to light.
A Woman’s Place
Claire Raphael is stunned when, upon her return from a hectic business trip, her husband serves her with divorce papers. He takes the house and custody of the children, too. But Claire has had to fight for every success in her life, and she’s not about to give up now.
Finger Prints
Carly is the name she was given by the witness protection program. Even with a new identity, however, she is afraid her enemies will find her. Ryan Cornell is a young attorney who is fascinated by this secretive woman. But Carly cannot so easily reveal herself to another, however great the temptation.
Sensuous Burgundy
Small town assistant DA Laura Grandine and big-city lawyer Maxwell Kraig face off in an explosive courtroom battle. Yet it is the first time either has met their match for wit or will, and neither can deny the power of their attraction.
Together Alone
Emilie, Kay and Celeste have been best friends forever. When their daughters go off to college, however, each mother must find herself as a woman again. Barbara Delinsky expertly interweaves their stories in a beautiful work that is at once moving, romantic and real.
Moment to Moment
From the first moment Russ Ettinger meets Dana Madison, he feels the overwhelming urge to protect her. But Dana has been protected all her life and is determined to be loved only as a strong, independent woman.
About the Author
Barbara Delinsky was a sociologist and photographer before she began to write. A lifelong New Englander, she and her husband have three sons, two daughters-in-law, and a cat. More than thirty
million copies of her books are in print—and, title-by-title, PerfectBound is catching up with new e-book editions. Please visit www.barbaradelinsky.com.
Praise for Barbara Delinsky
“Barbara Delinsky knows the human heart and its immense capacity to love and to believe.”
Washington (PA) Observer-Reporter
“Delinsky is an expert at portraying strong women characters.”
Booklist
“Delinsky is one of those writers who knows how to introduce characters to her readers in such a way that they become more like old friends than works of fiction.”
Flint Journal
“Delinsky is an engaging writer who knows how to interweave several stories about complex relationships, and keep her books interesting to the end. Her special talent for description gives the reader almost visual references to the surroundings she creates.”
Newark Star Ledger
“Delinsky’s prose is spare, controlled and poignant as she evokes the simplicity and joys of small-town life…She capably balances her narrative on the tightrope between spirituality and earthly love.”
Publishers Weekly
“Delinsky steers clear of treacle…with simple prose and a deliberate avoidance of happily-ever-after clichés.”
People
“Barbara Delinsky should touch even the most jaded of readers.”
Chattanooga Times
“Delinsky creates…a remarkably beautiful story.”
Baton Rouge Advocate
Books by Barbara Delinsky
Shades of Grace
Together Alone
For My Daughters
Suddenly
More Than Friends
A Woman Betrayed
Finger Prints
Within Reach
The Passions of Chelsea Kane
The Carpenter’s Lady
Gemstone
Variation on a Theme
Passion and Illusion
An Irresistible Impulse
Fast Courting
Search for a New Dawn
Sensuous Burgundy
A Time to Love
Moment to Moment
Rekindled
Sweet Ember
A Woman’s Place
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A previous edition of this book was published in 1983 by Silhouette Books, under the pseudonym Billie Douglass.
AN IRRESISTIBLE IMPULSE. COPYRIGHT © 1983 by Barbara Delinsky. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of PerfectBound™.
PerfectBound™ and the PerfectBound™ logo are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Microsoft Reader July 2003 eISBN 0-06-059196-X
First HarperTorch paperback printing: October 2002
First HarperPaperbacks printing: March 1995
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