Six Of The Best Of Desire 2016. Maisey Yates

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       Six

      Exhausted, Erika relaxed back into the passenger seat of Gervais’s luxury SUV. The leather seat had the smell of a woodsy cologne, a smell she distinctively recognized as Gervais. It was oddly comforting, a steadying moment in a day that had been anything but stable.

      As the car pulled away from the hospital, she glanced out the window, craning to see the collection of Reynaud brothers who stood at the entrance. Her sisters would swoon over the attractive picture they presented, those powerful, broad-shouldered men. They had all come rushing to the hospital, filled with concerns. And likely, with questions.

      But they had been polite in the lobby after her release. They didn’t press for information—the conversation had been brief. They’d wanted to know if she was okay. And neither Gervais nor Erika had offered any information about twins. That was something that they still had to discuss together. Something she still hadn’t processed.

      But how should she broach this new development in an already emotionally charged day? How in the world could she bring up everything in her whirring mind? Her eyes remained fixed out of the car, even though the scene of the hospital had faded from vision, framed by wrought-iron fences and thick greenery. Now the vibrant pinks and yellows of the old French houses populated her view.

      Glancing at an elaborate wood-carved balcony, she let out an emotional sigh. What had happened today had left her shaken. She’d never passed out like that before, never felt so disoriented in her life. She’d been blessed with good health, and she had pushed her physical endurance to the limit during her military training. Yet this pregnancy was only just beginning and it had already landed her flat on her back. But, thanks to Gervais’s quick action, she and her children—children, plural, oh, God—were safe.

      It was all that mattered. That her children were okay. The twins were fine. Twins. She turned the word over. Was it possible to love them both so much already, even though she’d just learned about them? And yet, she did. In spite of her nerves, in spite of not having a plan figured out. Sure, she was scared about the future, about having to deal with her family...but she was overwhelmed with a deep love for her children already.

      She peered over at the man in the driver’s seat beside her. Perhaps he felt her eyes on him, because soon Gervais’s throat moved in a long swallow. “Twins?” he mused aloud. “Twins.”

      The simple utterance seemed to linger on his tongue and echo through the quiet interior of the luxury vehicle. Not that she could blame him for being overwhelmed by the news. There was a lot to take in. Still, even under Gervais’s audible processing of the fact that he was about to be a father not to one but two children, she could hear a glow of pride in his tone. A protectiveness that caught her attention.

      Of course, the raw, masculine appeal of his muscular body taking up too much space beside her might have something to do with how thoroughly he held her notice. How easy it would be to simply lean closer. Lean on him. She could almost imagine the feel of his suit jacket beneath her cheek if she laid her head on his shoulder and curled up against his chest.

      She forced herself to focus on the conversation they needed to have instead. On their children.

      “Yes, there are two in there. I even heard the heartbeats.” Her heart fluttered with joy as she remembered the delicate beating of her—their—children. The sound had made her spring to life in a way she didn’t know was possible. She felt bad he’d missed that. They were his children, too, and he’d deserved to have that same feeling of awe. Looking at him sidelong, she said cautiously, “Next time you can come with me if you wish.”

      “I wish.” There was no mistaking the sound of his commitment.

      “Then you should be there.” She couldn’t hold back the smile swelling inside her as she drank in his eyes alight with honest excitement. СКАЧАТЬ