by Ellen March
“Well?” he pressed.
Oh Micah, I love you sweetheart, she thought. So very much. “Don’t rush me. I’m thinking.”
“I bought you a present.”
“Blackmail doesn’t work with me,” she lied smoothly, but swiftly followed up with, “What is it?”
“This. It’s the reason I left when I said I was visiting my sister.” He slid off the bed, dropping to one knee.
Savannah stared at the empty space where he’d been. At first she wondered where the hell he’d gone.
Finally she looked down, a frown line furrowing her forehead. “What are you doing down there?”
He pulled out the box he’d carried everywhere. With exquisite tenderness he touched her lips with his finger. “Hush.” The lid flicked open.
Savannah’s eyes shone wide as saucers as she stared at the rock glinting against the navy-blue velvet. Hell, she thought, I should put on sunglasses.
She swallowed.
It couldn’t be. Could it?
She noticed he was on bended knee. He took her left hand and slowly slid the ring on. “Savannah, my Anna, will you marry me?”
Chapter Twenty
The breath whooshed out of her and the darkness came again. She collapsed back against the pillows.
Micah swore, long and hard.
For Christ’s sake, he was trying to be romantic, to make it special, and she kept passing out. He dabbed at her forehead with the cloth. He was worried. She’d never fainted in all the time they’d been together. And now, twice in a short time?
“Anna?” He continued to pat at her face.
She blinked, and peering into his anxious eyes, croaked, “It happened again, didn’t it?”
He nodded. “I’m taking you to my consultant to get you checked over.”
“No I’m fine, honest. It’s just ….” She blinked and turned her attention to the glittering diamond. To hell with her fainting; she was more concerned with her gift. Savannah stared at the ring on her finger. “Micah, it’s beautiful, but how did you know my size?” She held her trembling hand out and admired it, still shaky and weak after her latest fainting spell.
“Never mind that. I’m getting you checked out by the best team of doctors.”
“Ssh, Micah, leave it there. I’m not ill. So come on, spill the beans, how did you get the size right?”
“I filched your mother’s ring when you left it in the bathroom, got the size off that.” He soothed her forehead. Micah was terrified there was something seriously wrong with her. But first he needed an answer. “Is it a yes?”
She looked up at him. “If this is a day of revelation, I need to own up to something first.” She swallowed, unsure how he’d take the news. Maybe he didn’t want children.
Micah took her hand and waited, his inners shredded.
“And you may want this ring back.” Like hell, she thought. Now that it was on, Savannah was determined to keep it.
He felt a flip in his stomach. Micah didn’t like her words, but he knew that whatever was wrong, whatever she admitted to, his views wouldn’t change. He might scream and shout, but he’d still want her for his wife. He’d had four weeks of absolute torture and she would be a permanent fixture in his life. “Go on.”
“I lied to you.”
“About what?” He noticed how she refused to meet his eyes.
“I wasn’t really on the pill,” she muttered. “Well, sort of. I had it, was taking it, but kept forgetting.”
A sudden scurry of nerves slammed over him and he glanced down at her stomach that appeared a bit more curvaceous. But no way was he mentioning it. Calling her fat was way off mark. “And …?”
“And I’m pregnant.” She glanced up at his face, noting the shock that slackened his features, the way his eyes widened and continued to drop from her face down to her stomach then back up. “Which is probably the reason I fainted. Look, I understand if you don’t want me … us. You don’t have to make an honest woman of me. I’ll manage.”
His hand dropped to her rounded belly, then he glanced up at her. His eyes sparkled and his lips curved into a wide grin.
“You don’t mind?” she asked, gauging how his reaction flipped from shock to happiness.
“Are you for real?” Micah pulled her to him. His arms swirled around her, his lips seeking hers. He was relieved when she snuck her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.
“I love you, Micah,” she managed to whisper before he branded her with a searing kiss. His hands were already yanking at her clothes and his own, which soon formed a pile on the floor.
“Baby, you don’t know how much those words mean to me. I want to make love to you, now.” His lips trailed across her skin, his tongue stroked in long, lush licks, and his hand delved between her legs. “Shit, Anna, I was going to try and wait. To take you home first. But I can’t. I need you too much.”
“Ah, Micah, I’ve missed you, sweetheart. You don’t know how much.” Savannah squealed as he tugged at her nipple. “Oh God, yes, harder please,” she whispered, arching into his mouth. She moaned when his hand played between her legs, his fingers slowly searching.
Her own hand dropped to his chest. She tried to take her time, to remember each trail. It moved over his pecs and down his stomach—a wall of hard muscle. Grasping his erection, she luxuriated in the feel. She held his shaft in her hand, taking deep breaths—God, she’d wanted this so much—and ran her palm up and down his length, debating whether to take him in her mouth. But she needed him deep inside her, now. Savannah dragged him across her, then screamed when he flipped onto his back with her sitting atop him.
“I want to see you come.” He spread his fingers over her stomach in a strum of possession. “And I don’t want to crush our little one.”
She giggled. “Micah, if he’s anything like you, he’s going to be bloody huge.” With an impish sigh, she rose above his shaft. Slowly, inch by delicious inch, she sank onto his hard erection, taking him deep. She sat and canted back. God, but sex is so much better than chocolate, she decided.
His whole length was buried inside her, filled her so she couldn’t move. Releasing a long gasp, Savannah began to push against him, then leaned over. Her lips touched his, which smashed into her in a passion-filled kiss that stole her breath away. His tongue duelled with hers. His arms tightened around her hips, gripping her tight, and Savannah melted into his body. He thrust up, going even deeper, but his lips didn’t move from hers.
Anna closed her eyes at the explosion ripping through her. Each nerve was on fire, and a red-hot swirl filled her belly. She began to squeeze her sex over him, her bones shattering like mush at each thrust. She was his, as he was hers. As the thought hit her, she collapsed on top of him.
He swallowed her groan as she climaxed. Her moans and whimpers surrounded him and she curled into each sensation assaulting her body. His climax followed close behind, and he growled loudly.
In the aftermath of their love-making, she crumpled, her cheek against his chest. After her breathing returning to normal, she peered up into a pair of sexy eyes.
“Hell, Anna, I’ve missed that. When we get home I’m going to take my time and show you just how much I love you, woman.”
“Home?”
He nodded. “I’m taking you to North Towers—my home, and now ours.”
She grinned. “Sounds posh.”
“It’s okay, I guess, but whatever you don’t like about it you can change.” Micah couldn’t help but press his lips over hers again. He couldn’t believe he had her back, that she was going to be his wife and he was going to be a father. “And we’re leaving now.”
“Really?”
“Yep.” He picked her up as if she weighed no more than candy floss, taking her off his lazy lob. Depositing her beside him, he ordered, “Get dressed.”
“Hey, I said I’d marry you, not obey every order.”
Micah looked down at her and grinned. He wasn’t about to argue because he had his woman bac
k. And that was all that counted. “Guess we’ll take that out of our vows then.”
“Too right we will.” She slowly dragged on her clothes, silencing the laugh that threatened to bounce out of her mouth. He’d asked her to marry him, and unbeknownst to him, she’d swear anything as long as he was her man. But she wasn’t telling him. Someone needed to have the upper hand in their marriage, and it might as well be her. On the way out, she paused to pick up the wooden box and blanket. At Micah’s raised brow, she gave a slow smile.
“This is Kitty’s life, sort of. And this”—she held the pink blanket close—“is my christening shawl. I now have memories of my godmother.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m glad, baby, and from here on in, we create our own.”
***
The car raced down the motorway and Savannah realized he liked speed. She tried not to wince at the landscape whizzing past. “Do you normally drive this fast?”
“Sorry, baby.” He glanced across at her pale face and eased his foot off the accelerator.
She nodded approvingly at his concern and stared again at her ring. “Where did you get it from?”
“I had it specially made. Remember when I, er, visited my sister?”
She scowled. “Yes, and came back shattered.”
“I did a return trip to the States.”
She paused. “What?”
“My private jet. We did a return journey.”
“Private jet?” she choked. “Just how much money have you got—or are you having me on?”
“Didn’t Cato tell you?”
His words filtered back that he was Micah North and rich—beyond that, she hadn’t paid much attention. She’d been too busy missing him. “Bits, which I refused to listen to. So come on, spill the beans. What are we looking at here?”
“I’ve got a lot of money, honey.” He wasn’t telling her exactly how much because he was scared she’d pass out again.
Savannah digested the information, then glanced at him. “So, what’s this place of yours look like?” She had a strong feeling it was going to be massive.
“We’re coming up to it now.” He turned off the motorway and navigated through a posy of lanes. “Here it is.”
Savannah stared at the double electronic gates that swung open onto the long drive. Then up at the mansion in the distance, so big it looked like it should be a hotel. She turned to Micah.
“This is our house?”
He nodded. “If you don’t like it, we’ll change whatever you want or move. It’s up to you.” Micah was determined not to upset her.
The car pulled up in front of the massive building. In stunned silence she allowed Micah to take her hand and lead her to the front doors.
“Hell, Micah, what’s your definition of rich?” Savannah stepped through the entrance. “Jesus, I hope I get to have a map of this place.”
***
The grand tour of the mansion had taken over an hour. She couldn’t call it a home. It was too vast, too big.
Savannah took comfort in his promise, that if she wasn’t happy there, they could move.
They’d dined in a small, cosy area, their meal courtesy of his French chef. Savannah didn’t think it was too bad, but was convinced he couldn’t match her when it came to breakfast.
Maybe she’d give him a lesson.
Yet there was one thing on her mind as he led her into their bedroom. Again that was a misnomer, because it was too huge.
“Who else have you brought here?”
“No one, baby. This is mine. Whenever I was screwing around it was always in hotels or elsewhere.”
“Micah, I really don’t want to hear that. Think it’s a case of too much information.”
“Sorry, Anna, but you did ask.” He studied her as her eyes scoured the room. She reminded him of a hamster, rooting into every crevice. Finally he had her where he wanted—in his home. Correction: their home. He glanced down at her baby bump and tried not to grin at his chef’s disgust when she’d insisted on her biscuits and crisps.
“Yeah,” she said, “but sweetheart, don’t always tell me the truth.” She crossed the room to him and cupped his face, her eyes flashing dangerously. She remembered their row, their month apart. “Except in certain instances.”
Micah tilted his head down towards her. He intended making such sweet love to his woman. Their romp in the club was just that. Now he’d show her exactly what he thought of her. After she’d wandered around the room, he homed in on her. He knew what he meant to do.
Give her slow, lazy loving.
“Come here.” Micah sat on the bed and took note as her wide-eyed gaze scanned the area.
When she stood between his open legs, he said, “Anna, my Anna, I want to love you.”
“I thought you just did.”
“Nope, that was a quick jump. Now I need to take you slowly. To give you everything I’m feeling right now.”
“Hmm, I’m impressed.” She snaked her arms around his neck, reaching up before sliding her lips over his.
“Good.” Micah rose, and his big body enveloped her. His head bent, he kissed her, pouring his love into her. His hands crept over her. He pulled at her clothes until she was naked. Slowly he teased at her underwear, quickly releasing it. And sucked in a sigh when her hands roved over him, lightning quick as they flicked over his body. They raced over his skin and snatched at his clothes.
Until both were naked.
Micah raised her up and settled her on the bed before joining her. His lips gently moved across hers, his tongue so sweet in her mouth. He shivered at her fingers teasing over him. They splayed over his ass and dropped down, clutching his cheeks. He almost yelled when they swirled around his rectum, slipped down to his balls and cradled them.
“Honey, slow and easy,” he murmured. “Please.”
Taking his time, he slid down her body. His mouth loved her breasts and nibbled on her nipples, relishing her moan as she curled into him. Micah continued down over her stomach, planting a host of tiny kisses. Then he ran his lips across her pubes, eventually sucking on her clit.
He smiled at her whimper, teasing her with his mouth as she thrust up into him, her hand tight and her sex greedy.
“Oh God, Micah,” she whispered. Savannah almost screamed when he moved away. His body covered hers, along with his lips. She tasted herself and it felt strange yet crazy lusty. She guessed she was getting used to it. Maybe the erotic books she’d read were right.
Raising her legs, he stared down and slowly entered her. She closed her eyes as his erection devoured her.
“Look at me, baby,” he ordered.
Immediately her eyes flashed open.
“I love you, Anna, so goddamn much.” He thrust slowly, leisurely. His balls tickled her ass. His shaft was buried so deep that he felt as if he could drown in her sex as she clenched him hard, pulled him along with her need.
“Then make love to me, sweetheart,” she said. “I need your heart’s breath in me, taking and showing what you want.”
“You, sweet Anna, only you.” Holding her hips, he dove in, tunnelling deep. His lips smashed over hers and he held her to him as he began to come.
“Shit, baby,” he cried, “I can’t hold back.”
“Micah, I want it all. Come for me,” she whispered into his ear. Her tongue traced inside. Legs wrapped around his waist, she arched into his erection, which was pounding her with the intensity of a storm lashing a beach.
And Micah did. Thundering in, he poured himself deep inside. He bit down on her shoulder, nipping as he came, drawing her into him.
Savannah screamed and curled into her climax, so strong it was painful. Each lunge sent her spiralling into an intense, orgasmic, blissful eddy. It continued washing over her until he’d finished pummelling.
She collapsed against the pillow. Micah lay over her, taking his weight on his forearms. Their bodies shone with sweat.
“I love you, woman, more that you’ll ever know.�
� He clasped her chin, tilting her head. “If you believe nothing else in your life, trust me on that.” He glanced down. “And of course, our baby bump.” He slid down and pressed a kiss on her stomach.
“You really don’t mind?” she asked hesitantly, still unsure.
“Anna, honey, I want to give you lots of babies.” He flashed her a dirty wink. “And just think of all the practicing we can get in.”
A wave of hormonal tears blew over her. “Oh, Micah …” she cried.
“What the hell is it now?” A confused frown wrinkled his forehead.
She sucked in a breath. “It’s nothing, I just love you so much.”
“Ditto, baby.”
“And Micah? Do we really have our own pilot and jet?”
“Along with the three properties abroad, a stable of race horses, a large ship, and a fleet of cars. That’s just off the top of my head.”
“What business are you in?” She shot him a suspicious frown. “It’s legal, I hope?”
“Perfectly. Well, some might call me a robbing bastard, I suppose.”
“Not in front of me they won’t.” A surge of protectiveness drove over her.
“Anna, stop talking, and let me love you again.”
“What, there’s more?”
He kissed her softly. “As long as you’re up for it.”
“Christ, yes. Just don’t spring any more surprises on me, okay?”
He nibbled her lips. “Anything you say, baby, anything you say.”
A grin teased her lips. At last he was leaving it up to her, as he should. “I love you, Micah North.”
Micah smiled, a deliciously sexy curve of his lips, and pulled her close. “I echo that, baby. Now how about you show me.”
“Oh, I intend to, over and over.”
“I just hope you’re up to it,” he teased.
With a roguish grin, she replied, “Then let’s put it to a test—see how many marks out of ten you achieve.”
“Whatever you want, teacher.” He silenced her with a blistering kiss.
***
Over an hour later, she murmured sleepily, “Micah, you scored eleven.”
His chuckle bounced around the room. She lay wrapped in his arms, her stomach covered by his protective hand. “Is that all? Then there’s room for improvement, baby.”
