Her heart stalled and she swallowed hard as the sight of all that delicious masculine skin reminded her of earlier in the kitchen when she’d first seen his bare chest. The play of his perfectly defined chest muscles beneath a light sprinkling of dark hair had fascinated her beyond words and distracted her to the point she’d been about as coordinated as a bull in a china shop.
How on earth was she going to be able to sleep with all that raw masculinity mere inches away? And why did her double bed suddenly seem as though it had shrunk to the size of a cot?
Wishing she had bought a two-bedroom house instead of a charming one-bedroom cottage, she shook her head as she jammed her feet back in her slippers. She’d go into the kitchen, grab a handful of chocolate chips and lie down on the love seat.
“Are you going to stand there the rest of the night or are you going to get into bed?”
She jumped at the sound of Hunter’s voice and her cheeks heated with embarrassment at being caught staring at him. Thank heavens there wasn’t enough light in the room for him to see her guilty expression. “I…didn’t want to…disturb you.”
He rolled to his back and gazed up at her. “I wasn’t asleep.”
“What’s wrong?” The way he’d been yawning before he’d gone to bed, she’d have thought he’d be asleep before he had a chance to close his eyes. “Is the mattress too soft for you?”
“No, it’s quite comfortable.”
She frowned as she gingerly sat down on the side of the bed. “Then what’s the problem?”
“I’ve been thinking—”
“I’m not altogether sure I want to hear this,” she interrupted warily. “The last time you shared your thoughts is what got us into this mess.”
“Are you going to take off your robe and lie down?”
She swallowed hard. It would have been hard enough to stretch out beside him if he’d been asleep. But awake? Just the thought caused a tingling sensation to skip over every cell in her body.
“That’s what you’ve been thinking about?”
“No.” His deep chuckle sent a shiver straight up her spine. “But you’ve been going on adrenaline all evening, and I think it would probably be a good idea for the baby’s sake if you tried to relax.”
Callie knew he was right. But she wasn’t sure that was going to be an option, especially with him so close.
“Are you going to keep me guessing or are you going to tell me what you’ve come up with this time?” she hedged.
He shook his head. “Not until you lie down.”
Exasperated beyond words, she shook her head. “I think it would be best if I slept on the love seat.”
“Why? You aren’t afraid of sleeping in the same bed with me, are you?” She couldn’t see much of his expression in the darkened room, but she’d heard the laughter and good-natured challenge in his voice.
“Don’t be silly,” she lied. “I just think since we’re clearly attracted to each other, it might not be a good idea.”
“Remember, we’re both adults,” he said softly. “I give you my word that nothing is going to happen that you don’t want to happen.”
It shouldn’t be a problem, she told herself as she stood up to remove her robe. She wasn’t sure why, but she trusted him. And she knew for certain she didn’t have to worry about herself. The last thing she wanted or needed was to become involved with another man.
When she slipped into bed, he turned to his side, propped his elbow on the pillow and rested his head against his palm. His proximity sent a delicious little thrill from the top of her head all the way to the tips of her toes. She did her best to ignore it.
“I think we should get married.”
His voice was low and intimate, and it took a moment for her to realize what he’d said. When she did, her heart slammed against her ribs.
“You can’t be serious.”
When she started to get out of bed, his hand on her arm stopped her. “Think about it, darlin’. It won’t take much effort on Culbertson’s part to discover that we aren’t married or that I’ve never been to Houston.”
“And this just occurred to you?” She rubbed at her suddenly throbbing temples. “Why did I let you talk me into this? I told you it wouldn’t work.”
“That’s why I’m suggesting we get married,” he said patiently. “It doesn’t matter when we got married, we’ll still be husband and wife.”
“I can’t see where that would do anything but add one more complication to an already impossible situation.” A sudden thought caused a chill to race through her, and she had to take a deep breath in order to get words passed the tightness in her throat. “He could ask for a DNA test to prove paternity.”
“He might, but something tells me he won’t.”
Her breath caught on a soft sob. If he and his parents learned that her son had been fathered by Craig, the Culbertsons were the kind of people who would intervene and take her baby away from her—not because they loved the child, but because they viewed him as one of their possessions. They’d find an excuse to find her unworthy or unfit to raise their heir, the same as they’d done that poor girl twelve years ago.
“There’s no way out of…this.” A chill ran the length of her spine. “They’re going to take my child away from me and there’s nothing I can do to stop them.”
Hunter reached out to wrap his strong arms around her and cradle her to him. “Not as long as I’m around to stop them, they won’t.”
“I can’t see how—”
“Taking a child away from a single parent isn’t as difficult as it is from a married couple.”
“Yes, but the Culbertsons are quite wealthy and can hire the best lawyers. And I’m sure they’ll see that the case is heard by a judge who travels in the same social circle they do.” She placed her hand over her stomach. “We’d be fighting a losing battle.”
“Let them hire whoever they want or get whatever judge they think will go along with their request.” He kissed her forehead. “It’s not like I don’t have a few connections of my own.”
Pulling back to look at him, she shook her head. “I’m not sure who you think you know, but it’s going to take more than a connection or two to keep them from taking my son.”