His eyes narrowed as he took a step toward her. “Oh, I intend to be completely involved in every aspect of my child’s life, Arielle. And as far as shared custody, visitation rights and child support are concerned, there is no need to work out any agreement.”
“What do you mean?” Surely he didn’t expect her to hand over full custody of her baby. If he did, he was in for the biggest, nastiest fight of his life. “I love this baby and I’m not giving it up to you or anyone else.”
Closing the distance between them, he stood over her much like her older brothers used to when she’d been called on the carpet for doing something they had disapproved of. “I’m not telling you I want full custody, darlin’. But spending time with my baby and supporting him won’t be an issue because once we get back to Dallas, you and I are getting married.”
Chapter Three
Zach watched Arielle open and close her mouth several times before she finally said, “You can’t possibly be serious.”
If ever a woman had the deer-in-the-headlights look about her, it was Arielle. Good. Now that he had her attention, maybe she’d start listening to him.
“Rest assured, I’m very serious.” He folded his arms across his chest as he gazed down at the woman he had every intention of making his wife. “I don’t joke about something as important as taking a trip down the aisle, darlin’. If you’ll remember, I told you this morning that I wouldn’t have a child out of wedlock. And I meant every word of it.”
Anger sparkled in the depths of her hazel eyes. “And as I told you this morning, you don’t have to be married to have a baby.”
“That might work for some people, but not for me. I’m of the opinion that when a man makes a woman pregnant, he stands by her and does the right thing. We will be married as soon as possible.”
“Oh, no, we won’t.” She rose to her feet, then poked the middle of his chest with her index finger. “Let me tell you something, Mr. High-and-Mighty. You’re going to have to get used to the idea of being a single father because I would never marry you even if you got down on your knees and begged me.”
Zach wasn’t used to having anyone openly defy him—not in the business world, not in his personal life. And if anyone did have the courage to cross him, they found themselves embroiled in a battle of wits they were most assuredly going to lose. But for reasons he couldn’t quite put his finger on, he found Arielle’s defiance mildly amusing, if not downright cute.
Maybe it was because of their considerable height difference. At six feet four inches, he towered over her. But that didn’t seem to intimidate her one damned bit. Or it could have been the fact that he’d never had a pregnant woman get in his face and poke him in the chest to make her point the way Arielle had just done. Either way, he barely resisted the urge to smile. Their marriage was going to be anything but dull.
“Never say ‘never,’ darlin’.”
“I’m telling you right now, it’s not going to happen,” she declared, shaking her head. “Being married isn’t a requirement to have a baby. Other arrangements can be made for you to play an equal role in the baby’s life, so you might as well start thinking along those lines and stop insisting on a marriage that is never going to happen.”
Without giving it a second thought, he reached out and took her into his arms. “First and foremost, calm down. Getting upset is not good for you or the baby.” Pulling her against him, he finally smiled. “And second, it is going to happen. So I would suggest that you get used to the idea pretty quick and start thinking about what you’re going to wear and whether or not you want your brothers to give you away during the ceremony. I’m willing to wait until next weekend if you want them in attendance, but no longer than that.”
Before she could protest further, Zach lowered his head to silence her with a kiss. As he covered her mouth with his, the memories of what they’d shared in Aspen came rushing back full force. From the moment he’d seen her that morning, he’d wondered if her perfect lips were still as soft and if her response to him would be as passionate and unbridled as his memories.
At first she remained motionless in his arms. But as he reacquainted himself with her sweetness, Zach felt some of her tension drain away and he seized the opportunity to deepen the kiss. To his immense satisfaction she finally parted her lips on a soft sigh and allowed him entry to her tender inner recesses. At the same time she wrapped her arms around his waist.
The signs of her acceptance encouraged him to explore her with a thoroughness that immediately had his body reminding him that several long months had passed since he’d held her, kissed her, made love to her. Stroking her tongue with his, his lower body tightened and his heart took off at a gallop. His faulty memory forgot how intoxicating her kisses were and how perfect she felt in his arms.
Unable to resist, he moved his hands to her sides and slowly slid them beneath the bottom of her sweatshirt, up along her ribs to the swell of her breasts. He realized she wasn’t wearing a bra and without a moment’s hesitation, he cupped the weight of her with his palms. The soft mounds were larger, most likely due to her pregnancy, and when he lightly brushed the pebbled tips with his thumbs, her tiny moan of pleasure indicated they were highly sensitive, as well.
But as he continued to reacquaint himself with her body, Zach pressed himself closer and the slight bulge of her stomach reminded him of their current situation and the raw feelings still churning inside him. Arielle said she loved and wanted his baby, but he’d heard that from another woman just before she deliberately caused herself to miscarry.
Suddenly needing to put distance between them, he broke the kiss and, removing his hands from her breasts, pulled the sweatshirt down and took a step back. Gratified by the dazed expression on her face, he could tell that Arielle had been as shaken by the kiss as he had. But if past experience had taught him anything, he would not allow his judgment to be clouded by the haze of desire. Besides, they had more than enough to deal with at the moment without adding another complication to the mix.
“Why did you do that?” she asked, sounding delightfully breathless.
Her cheeks had turned a rosy pink and he wasn’t certain whether the heightened color was due to rising passion or embarrassment at her eager response. It was probably a combination of both, he decided as they stood staring at each other.