“And that will be up to Selene.” Aris turned his eyes to her. “Can I go fetch Alex now?”
Selene’s first instinct was to cry out that she would. But she held back. He was Alex’s father. And even if she wasn’t ready, not by a long shot, to declare that to the world and didn’t think one day in Alex’s company qualified Aris to be his father for the rest of his life, he’d proved that he could be trusted with Alex. In the short term. In the long run… that remained to be seen.
She nodded her consent. And her heart turned over in her chest—at the unadulterated eagerness and elation that blazed on his face as he zoomed away, homing in on Alex’s nursery as if she’d had him on a leash and had just released him.
Caliope giggled. “Whoa! Is that my oldest brother?” Selene didn’t know she was smiling until Caliope’s next words wiped the satisfied expression off her face. “And if it is, for how long?”
Caliope was still kicking herself by the time Aris walked back. It was only the sight of an adorably sleep-rumpled if gleeful Alex in his arms that brought her apologies to an abrupt halt.
She rose, an expression of open wonder seizing her stunning face. “Oh. My. God! So human cloning has been achieved!”
“Alex, this pretty lady with the big mouth is your aunt Caliope.” Aris chuckled as Caliope bounced toward them, all uncontainable delight. Alex inspected her with interest as his father went on explaining. “This means she’s my kid sister, even though it seems that’s not one of her favorite facts.”
Caliope gasped, her tan darkening with mortification. Aris gave her a quick wink, as if to tell her he was okay with it, had never expected anything else.
Again, to Selene’s total amazement, it seemed as if Alex understood his father’s every word. She could swear he would have nodded if he knew how. In lieu of a nod, he gave a loud squeal and giggled, burying his face shyly in his father’s endless chest.
“Can I hold you now, Alex?” Caliope extended her arms to him. “I’ll drop dead of cuteness deprivation if I don’t!”
And again, Alex stunned Selene. He gave a suspicious whimper as that beautiful angel reached for him, buried deeper into his father’s hold. This after he’d thrown himself at the intimidating juggernaut he had for a father at first sight.
Aris kissed the top of Alex’s head, put his finger below his chin, bringing his gaze up to his. “Now, now, Alex. She’s not the monster she looks.” He gave Caliope a bedeviling glance. “She’s nice—” his goading rose a notch higher as he crossed his fingers “—and loves kids. But a word of warning, she doesn’t let adorable tykes like you get away with much. I’m taking your mama out, and I don’t want her worrying about you the entire time. So be a good boy, don’t give your auntie Caliope any hassles and let her entertain you. But I promise we’ll be back before your bedtime. Deal?”
Alex, who seemed totally taken with his father’s voice and words, squeaked a merry acknowledgment.
Aris kissed his forehead, leaned him closer to Caliope. “Now let’s be nice to your auntie and let her hold you before she hyperventilates.”
This time, Alex pitched into Caliope’s waiting arms.
Caliope began chattering to him, taking him away as if escaping with a gift before its giver changed his mind. Alex seemed fine with it, evidently taking his father’s vouching for her to heart and promptly began examining her face and hair and accessories.
Aris turned to Selene. “Why don’t you get dressed while Alex and Caliope get acquainted?”
“Why do you want to go out?” She shook her spinning head. “You’re both welcome to stay with us today.”
“No. We need to have some time alone.”
“Okay, then,” she countered, floundering. “How about after Alex goes to bed? Caliope can babysit him without incident while he sleeps. I have a ton of series DVDs for her to watch while we’re out catching a late dinner or movie or something.”
“Do you have Lost?” Caliope perked up from across the room. “And House? And Star Trek?”
“I have the complete seasons of House,” Selene said, hoping this would be the alternative to this “outing” right now, and she’d find a way to tell him of her resolution before it came to pass. “And Star Trek: The Original Series and The Next Generation.”
Caliope whooped in excitement. “I’ll sleep over if you like!”
“No, she wouldn’t like,” Aris said emphatically.
Caliope grunted in protest, and Selene glared at him. “I’ll make the decisions for myself, thank you. And I don’t want to go out with you.”
There, she’d said it.
Maddeningly, he gave her one of those part indulgent, part devouring smiles that rocked her to her foundations. “You do. But you seem to have decided it’s better not to give me a full test run after all.” He’d read her mind! “But I’ll hold you to your word to give it to me, demand the extra day I earned.”
She swallowed. “I never gave you my word, and you declared you earned an extra day, not I.”
“Your word was implicit when you let me have yesterday, so was your agreement to my declaration when you didn’t contest it.”
“I wasn’t in much of a condition to contest anything in both situations.”
His gaze stilled on her, all traces of humor disappearing. “Don’t fight me, Selene. There’s no need for you to.”
“There’s plenty of need. It’s what people do when they find themselves being taken over. And you’re the master of takeovers.”
Her accusation slid right off him. He shrugged. “I’m only making sure I’m given a full and fair test. You know a couple sides to me, the businessman and the lover. This is the best way we can discover if there’s more to me than that. And whether we have more than unquenchable lust and an incredible baby in common.”
“Listen…about this first commonality…” she started, and he pulled her into his arms.
His lips captured her still-open ones, seared her with his hunger, evaporating every intention of telling him to leave her out of the equation along with every objection and trepidation.
Time expanded, her senses warped. She thought she heard a feminine voice exclaim “Woohoo” and a baby shrieking in delight. She knew she should be mortified, fuzzily thought she’d have to be so after he ended this mind-blanking pleasure.