The Tycoon's Marriage Bid

by ALLISON LEIGH,

  ‘You’re turning into quite the nursemaid,’ she murmured.

  ‘I don’t want to see you go through what Valerie did when she lost her baby.’

  Had it not been for the sealed lid on the water bottle, Nikki would have pushed the contents out in a geyser when her fingers tightened spasmodically. ‘Valerie was pregnant?’

  Dear Lord. Was that why Alex had been spending so much time with his ex-wife? Because they’d been having a child together?

  ‘Pull your coat closed.’ The entrance door slid open as they approached it, and he wheeled her outside. ‘It was a long time ago. Back when we were married. Tore her up emotionally, though.’

  Nikki looked up at him, her emotions righting themselves. Nearly.

  The SUV was still parked right where he’d left it a testament to just how quiet the night at the hospital had been. ‘And you?’

  ‘The baby was the reason we married.’ He pulled open the door and lifted her into the front seat.

  Nikki only stared harder at his divulgence. Her perception of him had been making subtle, yet discernable shifts since she’d wakened to find him beside her hospital bed.

  This shift, though, wasn’t subtle at all.

  ‘Were you in love with her?’ She would never have voiced the impulsive question even two weeks ago.

  ‘I’ve known Val since we were kids. Love her? Yes. In love with her?’ He shook his head, closed the door and rounded the truck.

  When he got in and turned the ignition, he glanced at Nikki. ‘You hungry? Think you could eat something now?’

  ‘I ’ She lifted her shoulders, unable to formulate even the simplest of answers.

  ‘Evidently there is something other than the hospital that’s open all night. Pharmacist told me there’s a café somewhere on the main drag. Thought we could stop by and I’ll grab something to go. But if you’re too tired’

  ‘No. It’s fine. Maybe we could eat there. A change of scenery would be welcome.’

  He looked ready to argue.

  ‘We could check with the doctor.’

  He frowned a little. And proved how sick he was already of his own cooking attempts when he went back inside the hospital, returning a few minutes later.

  ‘Okay. You’re cleared for a brief field trip. But we’re not going to linger.’ Alex drove out of the parking lot. ‘You’ve gotta be as sick of my cooking as I am.’

  ‘Not at all.’ Then she smiled a little as she turned her gaze out the side window. ‘You push microwave buttons better than I’d expected.’

  He was silent for a minute, then let out a bark of laughter.

  The sound rippled down Nikki’s spine. ‘If I were allowed to sit up more, I could cook,’ she said wistfully.

  ‘You cook?’

  She slid a look his way. ‘Ordinarily, I’m capable on a lot of fronts.’

  ‘Frighteningly so,’ he drawled

  ‘I bake, too.’ There was probably some self-help book that would have preached against her promoting her homemaking abilities, but something in his bland voice egged her on. ‘I have a killer brownie recipe. My grandmother’s.’

  His gaze didn’t waver from the road, but she had the strongest feeling he was fighting amusement.

  Embarrassed, she shut her mouth and wished she hadn’t begged to go to the restaurant.

  It was easy to find the café, since it was the only building with light shining from its front windows. A sign proclaimed it to be Luscious Lucius. Despite the late hour, there were several other vehicles parked in the slanted parking spaces in front.

  Alex turned off the engine and looked at Nikki, his wrist hung over the steering wheel. ‘Soon as you get an all-clear to sit up for more than five minutes every hour, KP is all yours,’ he assured her. ‘And you can show off your brownies all you want. Until then, you’re not lifting a finger. Not even to open the courier pouch from Miriam.’

  Now that wasn’t what she’d wanted at all. ‘But’

  He lifted his hand. ‘I can’t take another night like tonight. I’m an old man, Nik. Have some pity.’

  She exhaled with disbelief. ‘You’re not old.’

  His mouth twisted wryly and he shocked her speechless when he suddenly twisted out of his coat and yanked his sweater over his head, leaving him in nothing but an undershirt that hugged every sinew.

  ‘Here.’ He handed her the sweater.

  Her hands automatically closed over the soft wool. ‘What are you doing?’

  ‘Put it on. You need it more than me.’

  ‘But I’m not cold.’ She’d practically shrugged out of her own coat already, thanks to the SUV’s heater.

  He looked pained. ‘Just put it on, will you?’

  ‘But’

  ‘That shirt you’re wearing is fine with me,’ he stated, ‘but it might shock the patrons of the Luscious Lucius, here.’

  She automatically looked down, then flushed. The shirt was thin, and even as she began fumbling her arms out of the coat to pull his sweater over her head, she could feel her nipples tightening under Alex’s gaze.

  The gray cashmere garment was miles too big for her, but it was enveloping. And if her breasts tightened even more beneath his sweater when he climbed out of the truck and came around to retrieve her, then only she knew it.

  ‘You’re not old,’ she reiterated when he carried her inside the café, an act that garnered startled looks from the handful of occupants.

  He chose a booth near the window and tossed their coats on the empty table next to it. ‘Honey, I’m no kid anymore.’

  Honey. She suppressed yet another shiver at that. But he was right. He was not a kid. He was a grown man.

  All grown.

  After every incident of him carrying her, she had to force her heart back down into her chest where it belonged. It should have gotten less disturbing over the days.

  It hadn’t.

  Her thoughts were scattering again like a bag of loose marbles. She blamed it on the sweater, which smelled like him. ‘My helping you with the stuff Miriam sent is not what caused my infection.’ Returning to the argument in question was definitely wiser than dwelling on her emotions where Alex, personally, was concerned. It had been bad enough when he was her unattainable boss remote and preoccupied with a million duties.

  ‘If you hadn’t overtired yourself’ He broke off, shaking his head.

  She couldn’t bear the expression in his eyes. He blamed himself. She stretched her hand across the table, closing it over his wrist as he reached for the laminated menus tucked between the sugar bowl and saltshaker. ‘I still would have ended up with the infection. Things like that usually take more than a few hours to come on, Alex.’

  His hooded gaze dropped to her hand and she swallowed, quickly releasing him. But her palm still felt his warmth, and she curled her fingers, her knuckles pressing against the cool laminate tabletop.

  ‘Coffee?’

  She nearly jumped out of her skin when the waitress spoke beside them, and she felt idiotic when Alex’s eyebrows rose at her betraying start.

  ‘Hon?’ The waitress held up the glass coffeepot and Nikki swallowed down the wave of longing at the sight. Alex immediately flipped over the sturdy white mug sitting in front of him on his scallop-edged paper place mat.

  ‘Specials are written on the board over the counter,’ she said, deftly filling his cup as she nodded over her shoulder at a sizable chalkboard hung above the counter, where a half-dozen stools sat empty.

  ‘Or you can order off the menus if you prefer.’ Her voice was pleasant.

  Alex’s gaze cut to the board. ‘Short stack of pancakes. Two eggs, over easy. Wheat toast. Bacon, crisp.’

  The waitress didn’t bother writing any of it down. Nikki figured she was far too experienced to need notes. ‘And for you?’

  Nikki was suddenly ravenous. ‘The same, please. No bacon, though. And’ she slid Alex a quick look

  ‘ water to drink. Thanks.’

  ‘You bet.’
>
  The waitress moved on, filling coffee cups as she made her way back toward the kitchen. She stopped, though, when another person entered the café. ‘Still have a slice of pecan pie waiting for you, Sheriff,’ she said in greeting.

  The newcomer doffed his cowboy hat. ‘Sounds real fine, Jen.’ His gaze traveled over the occupants, as if assuring himself that all was well in his world, then he stopped next to their table. ‘Nice to see you up and around again, Ms. Day.’

  ‘Nikki, please.’

  He glanced at Alex for a moment, then back at her. ‘How’s the Tucker place working out for you both?’

  ‘It’s, ah ’ Words failed her.

  ‘An interesting place,’ the tall sheriff finished, looking vaguely amused. ‘Believe it or not, it’s better than the other rentals around here.’

  ‘How’s Hadley?’

  For a moment, the man’s gaze hardened a little, but it was fleeting. ‘She’s good. Taking some time off. Our sister, Evie, plans to take over running Tiff’s.’

  ‘Would you tell her I said hello?’

  He nodded. ‘You two let me know if you need anything while you’re staying in town. Don’t want you to have bad memories of the place once you head back home.’

  Nikki couldn’t prevent herself from glancing at Alex. Only she found him watching her, and looking away seemed incredibly difficult. ‘I won’t,’ she finally answered.

  The sheriff smiled, but it didn’t last as he slid his phone out of his pocket and peered at the display.

  He sighed. ‘Duty calls.’ He settled his cowboy hat back on his gleaming blond head and turned to leave, calling out for Jen to hold the pie, after all, as he went.

  ‘Are you going to have bad memories?’ Alex lifted his coffee mug, his gaze unwavering over the rim.

  Nikki finally dropped her eyes, staring hard at the place mat in front of her. Would she have regrets?

  ‘I came here to put memories away,’ she murmured after a moment. Memories of an impossibly sweet boy she’d loved. Memories of an impossibly demanding man whom she hadn’t known as well as she’d thought.

  ‘So, how’s that working out for you?’

  Alex’s voice was droll and it startled her enough that she looked up. One corner of his mouth was tilted, and his gaze seemed uncommonly gentle.

  And even as that fact tugged at those unraveling threads inside her, she felt the melancholy drift away, and she smiled, too.

  There were parts of Alex that she’d obviously never known. And she was finding them impossible to withstand.

  She pressed her spine against the back of the booth, rubbing her hand over the cashmere and feeling the rhythmic thump of the baby inside. ‘Working out like gangbusters.’ By some miracle her voice was nearly as dry as his, and when the baby finally stopped kicking, she felt a squeeze in her heart, caused by the crinkling of Alex’s eyes when he smiled.

  Then the waitress arrived, bearing their laden plates. Nikki sat back a little, surreptitiously drawing in a long breath as Jen set out the meal, refilled Alex’s coffee, brought a second glass of water for Nikki and disappeared again into the kitchen.

  The silence was oddly comfortable as Alex and Nikki dived into their meals, and when she couldn’t finish her pancakes, after all, Alex slid her plate in front of him and ate the rest.

  Even though he’d spent days now carrying her about, the intimacy of that one act hit her hard.

  She wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or not when he made short work of it, then paid the check and carried her back to the truck.

  The return drive to the cabin was accompanied by the lulling song of the tires on the road. And by the time they arrived at the cabin, holding up her eyelids was taking a concerted effort.

  The chill was immediate when he carried her inside. The fire had died while they were gone.

  Alex stopped inside the door, leaving it open to catch the thin moonlight. ‘Try the light switch.’

  She reached out, sliding her hand over the wall until she felt the switch. But nothing happened when she flipped it. ‘Electricity is still out.’

  He kicked the door shut behind them and doused even that small bit of light. ‘It’ll warm up as soon as I get the fire going,’ he said as he made his way to the bedroom, as deft as a jungle cat in the dark.

  He settled her on the bed and reached around her for the bedspread, inadvertently brushing her belly.

  ‘Sorry.’ His voice was low.

  The spread settled over her, but even with that and the coat she still wore, she shivered. ‘Maybe we need to call someone about the power.’ She peered through the darkness, trying to follow the sound of his movements.

  Above her, the skylight loomed like a gaping hole.

  ‘We’ll know by morning. You’d think a place like this would have a gas furnace, instead of electric.’

  She heard the scrape of a match, saw the blue spark, smelled the sulfur. The match dropped into the fireplace and bit into the kindling that Alex must have stuck there.

  The red glow from the fire slowly crept into the bedroom, and she could see him more clearly, hunkered down in front of the fireplace as he coaxed the flame. Because of the darkness, she couldn’t see through the fireplace to the couch on the other side. It was reasonable that the heat from the fire would warm that side of the cabin just as easily as it would the bedroom.

  Her fingers bunched the heavy bedspread, sinking into the soft velvet. ‘Maybe you should sleep on this side,’ she said quickly, before she lost her nerve. ‘You know. On the bed. It’s bound to be warmer than the, uh, the couch, with just the quilt you’ve been using.’

  She saw him turn his head, look at her over his shoulder. He had yet to remove his long black coat.

  But she couldn’t even hope to see his expression. ‘That’s not a good idea.’

  She clutched the velvet tighter. ‘I don’t know why not,’ she said, practicality overshadowing the uncertainty she felt. Barely. ‘This bed is enormous. A family of five could sleep on this thing with room to spare.’

  He didn’t respond.

  Uncertainty nosed ahead of practicality. ‘Unless I, um, snore or something.’

  He turned back to the fire, tossed another piece of wood on, sending a shower of sparks up the flue.

  The logs snapped and popped. The cozy scent of burning pine wafted gently her way. ‘You don’t snore,’

  he finally said.

  ‘How do you know? Maybe I do. Just not loudly enough for you to hear me from the living area.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘But’

  He uncoiled, rising in one fluid motion that had whatever she was going to say balling up in her throat. ‘I know,’ he said evenly, walking toward the bed, ‘because I hear every breath you take at night.’

  He leaned over, planting his hands on the mattress on either side of her head and leaning down within inches of her. ‘Because I hear every sound you make, period. When you turn over and the sheets slide against you. When you fumble around on the nightstand to find your glass of water, or your book, or your cards to play another game of solitaire. I know.’

  Her lips parted, shock streaking through her, followed hard by something else entirely.

  ‘And that’s why it is not a good idea for me to sleep in this bed no matter how damn cold it is.

  Because there isn’t a bed wide enough for me not to know you’re there, too.’ He exhaled, sharp and short.

  ‘And if that isn’t clear enough for you, Nikki, then maybe this is.’

  He caught her head in his big hand and pressed his mouth hard to hers.

  She went still. Her mind went blank and for one protracted moment, it seemed as if the universe and everything in it stopped moving.

  Then his thumb brushed down her cheek and his lips gentled.

  Everything that had gone still slammed into whirling, spinning motion. She lifted her hand, needing something to steady herself, and found his forearm, his wrist. She could feel his pulse throbbing.<
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  His lips nibbled, explored, tasted, and she discovered there was nothing steadying about him, after all. A foreign sound rose in her throat and she angled her head.

  Nikki was vaguely aware of the soft pillow cradling her neck as his fingers tightened in her hair. Her lips parted and he delved deeper.

  Devoured. She felt devoured.

  And just as the hazy realization hit her that she wanted more, he tore his mouth from hers.

  His lips burned along her jaw. His forehead pressed against hers. His breath came fast, hard, stirring her hair. For an instant, his hand tightened in the strands that tangled around them.

  Need clamored inside her and she thought he would kiss her again.

  And the fact that she wanted it, desperately, was enough to yank her to her senses.

  What was she doing?

  He abruptly released her, shoving himself off the bed.

  If she hadn’t been prone, she would have swayed.

  ‘I’m sorry.’ His voice was low.

  ‘Of course.’ Hers was just as low. She wasn’t even sure he’d hear. Naturally he was sorry. She was someone he’d depended on, and now was someone he pitied.

  And she didn’t even have the spine right then to summon her defenses over it.

  But he did hear. ‘Aren’t you?’

  Sorry? She couldn’t begin to answer that. How many times had she entertained the fantasy of kissing Alex?

  But a fantasy was all it had ever been.

  And now now

  Oh, Lord, she could still taste him on her lips. ‘I don’t know,’ she whispered.

  ‘Well, you should be sorry,’ he said, his voice suddenly as businesslike as if they were standing in the middle of Huffington’s conference room. ‘We can’t take things like that back, Nikki. Can’t pretend it didn’t happen. Particularly when we’ve just spent three hours at the emergency room.’

  And she was well and truly exhausted, as a result. Which was probably why her eyes were burning and her throat felt like a vise had clamped around it.