She looked down with awe as the infant cooed at her, and he melted from the inside, turning into a puddle. He couldn’t look away from her―couldn’t even begin to imagine what he was feeling.
“She’s so small, I’m worried I’ll hurt her,” Chloe said. Stormy laughed as she patted Chloe’s arm.
“Trust me, she might be small, but she’s a warrior, and she has the lungs to prove it,” Stormy assured her. Chloe giggled as she lifted a hand and ran her finger delicately across the top of the bald head.
She was still smiling when she looked up and their eyes met. Her features froze for a moment before she tried to shutter her expression. He still saw the worry residing deep in her telling eyes. It nearly broke him to know he was the cause of her losing that glow she’d been wearing only seconds before.
Moving quickly, he slid up to her, his eyes never leaving her face. His heart was thundering as he reached out and touched her arm. “You look beautiful,” he said, his voice filled with awe.
Just being near her, having her within touching distance, soothed his frazzled nerves. He drank her in, pride filling him as she gazed upon him with equal intensity. The rest of the world faded away. It was just the two of them and the tiny baby. He wouldn’t mind all of his days being this focused on family.
Nick had no clue that their small circle had drawn the attention of their guests. Their reactions were the furthest thing from his mind.
Chloe might have told him they were moving too quickly. She might have insisted on pulling away from him, but that wasn’t what her eyes were saying. She desired him. What Nick didn’t fully comprehend was that it was so much more than desire―it was a melding of souls.
Her holding the newborn was sending emotions through him he didn’t know how to evaluate, but in his heart he could imagine it was their baby she cuddled close. Having a child with a woman had always been a fear he considered when having sex. He never trusted the woman to be on birth control, never had sex without protection.
But with Chloe, that’s exactly what he’d done. He’d trusted her when she’d told him she was protected―he hadn’t even hesitated at her words―he’d thrust forward and sealed them together as one.
Was it because he wouldn’t be devastated if she were to become pregnant? Nick couldn’t imagine he’d be okay with that. He didn’t understand this voice in his head telling him she could be the one he never wanted to leave.
She looked like she should have a baby in her arms. She looked like she would be a beautiful mother and wife. Nevertheless, Nick had decided long ago he wouldn’t marry. However, seeing his brothers so happy was making him realize it might not be the end of the world.
His thoughts were scaring the crap out him. But even so, he couldn’t seem to pull away from Chloe. He tried to assure himself it was only the sex messing with his brain. He tried to think that if they were in a relationship for any length of time, his hormone levels would go back to normal and all the odd thoughts would disperse. But he’d lusted after women before, and never once had he imagined a baby in their arms, let alone imagined the infant to be his.
She’d pulled away from him that morning, and he’d given her space for the entire afternoon―well, the early part of the afternoon. Nick wasn’t too good at letting people have their distance if he didn’t want to be away from them. Personal boundaries had never been an issue for him.
Without saying another word to the woman who was looking at him with startled eyes, he pulled her close to him. Careful not to jar the baby, and without a thought as to who was watching, he pressed his lips to hers, taking them gently as he became even more mesmerized by her.
She sighed against his mouth, and for that moment it was just the two of them. His brothers and their wives disappeared. He deepened the kiss, and the baby squirmed between them, reminding him they weren’t alone. He pulled back instantly, afraid he’d hurt his niece.
His hand came up and caressed her soft head, and he looked into Chloe’s eyes. They were slightly glazed as she licked her lips and watched him with confusion and a bit of wonder.
“I’m not good at taking things slowly,” he told her.
As he said the words, he felt a spark of anger ignite inside him. She wanted him―liked him―needed him―so why in the hell was she acting like she didn’t. His emotions were weighing him down, and he needed to talk to her, needed to understand what it was she was thinking.
Chloe’s expression became shuttered as she read the tempestuous emotions flickering across his face. He was turned on, angry, and half out of his mind. She should be slightly worried. The only thing saving her from him dragging her off to be alone was the fact that she was holding his niece.
“You don’t get to choose how I want to take things,” she told him, firming her shoulders as she looked him in the eyes.
He smiled at her. “I’ve always loved a challenge, doc. You’re making this adventure a lot of fun for me,” he told her.
He ran his hand down her arm and his anger disappeared. He couldn’t stay upset, not when she was gazing at him in that confused way. He just needed her to admit there was something special between them. He was determined to hear her say those words.
“But I can certainly call you out when you are lying, even if it’s to yourself,” he told her.
She took in a sharp breath as her eyes narrowed on him. She didn’t like him calling her out. Good. If he got her riled up, she wouldn’t be so composed, she wouldn’t be able to give him standard answers. She’d be a heck of a lot more truthful with him.