Twin Ties, Twin Joys: The Boss's Double Trouble Twins / Twins for a Christmas Bride / Baby Twins: Parents Needed. Raye Morgan

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СКАЧАТЬ was not going to make a comment. And this had all the signs of a conversation going nowhere. Maybe they needed to take a break from it.

      “We ought to get going,” she said, staring hard into his blue eyes.

      “Sure,” he responded, holding her gaze with his own.

      Something sizzled in the air between them. The air was suddenly thick and hot and she felt as though she couldn’t breathe.

      “Why don’t you grab those binoculars and let’s go take a look at the landscape,” she said, reaching for the door handle and making her escape.

      He stayed where he was for a moment, watching her get out of the car and walk over to the railing. This was just plain nuts. He’d never felt so out of control.

      He’d always prided himself on being able to stay detached from the women he had relationships with. He was up-front about what could be expected. No one he’d ever dated had cause to complain—and he’d never stayed in one place or with one woman long enough to build up any sort of commitment expectations.

      But everything had gone out of whack with Darcy. From the moment their gazes had met in the rainy doorway, it had been as though something were drawing them together. He’d never felt this way before. And now, when she started talking about marrying Bert Lenson … The first thing he’d felt was an ugly urge to go beat the poor guy to a pulp. The thought of another man touching her was like a knife in his gut. He couldn’t stand it. But as of this moment, he had no real claim to her.

      Nothing was making any sense.

      Swearing softly to himself, he took the binoculars from the glove compartment and left the car to join her at the railing.

      CHAPTER SIX

      “LOOK,” Darcy said, making a wide sweep with her arm. “Texas in the noonday sun. Isn’t she beautiful?”

      Mitch heard the emotion in her voice and started to smile, but then he looked at what she was presenting to him and he frowned instead. He gazed at the rolling hills, the scattered stands of pecan and live oak, the rocky creek bottoms. A red-tailed hawk was circling a water hole and he thought he caught sight of a white-tailed deer flashing into a thicket.

      It suddenly occurred to him that she was right. Why was it he had never noticed before? Texas was beautiful.

      He’d spent most of the last few years in countries where deep green jungles and jagged mountains and turquoise water defined beautiful landscape. This was a different type of beauty and it resonated deeply with something in his inner core—his heart and soul. Texas was home. It had been a long time since he’d thought of it that way.

      He turned and looked at Darcy. She was trying to figure out just where the borders of the Heartland Project stood and she took the binoculars from him to check. He watched the breeze ruffle her hair, exposing her tiny ear. It curled like a pink shell against her head. He wanted to touch it, run a finger around its curve. He moved closer and she looked up from the binoculars, startled to find him so near.

      “Uh … I think we can see the border better from that ledge just through those bushes,” she said, gesturing toward another vantage point. “I’ll go take a look.”

      She turned and went quickly, as much to flee from the look she’d seen in his eyes as anything else. Her heart was thumping in her chest. She pushed her way through the brush, looking back to see that he was following. And then a branch tangled with her hair.

      “Ouch!” She stopped, caught by the bramble, yanking at it and only making matters worse.

      “I’ll get it,” he said, reaching into her hair and prying the tangle loose.

      She closed her eyes. He was much too close. She couldn’t breathe. He was going to touch her. She knew it without being told.

      And there it was. His fingers were still wrapped in her hair, but his lips were on her neck.

      “Oh!” she cried, trying without a lot of success to pull away. She swung around to look at him. “Don’t.”

      He held her face in his hands. “Darcy, I can’t …”

      Can’t what? she wondered a bit hysterically, but she knew. He couldn’t stop this. Well, neither could she. So who was going to do it?

      When his mouth covered hers, she whimpered, as though he were fulfilling a need she’d held back too long, and she opened to him greedily. His hand on her face, his body so close, his mouth on hers. All felt so good, she was afraid she would sink into this ecstasy and never come up for air.

      She had to pull away. She had to break this off. She couldn’t let this go on for another minute.

      Well, maybe just a minute. Or two. For just a little while, could she let herself touch heaven again?

      No! She had to be strong. She had to think of her twins.

      That did it. She finally pulled away from him, breathless and angry with herself.

      “Oh, Mitch!” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand while staring into his clouded eyes. “Promise me you won’t ever do that again.”

      “I can’t,” he said very softly, his gaze never leaving hers.

      Shaking her head, she tore away from him and hurried back to the car. He caught up with her before she reached it, grabbing her elbow and pulling her around to face him. The moment she looked into his eyes, she was relieved. He looked like a different person.

      “You’re right, Darcy,” he said calmly, dropping her arm when he could see she wasn’t going to run. “Of course you’re right. And I’m sorry.”

      She nodded. “Me, too,” she said.

      He took a deep breath. “We’ve got too much emotional baggage between us. We’ve got to deal with it. We didn’t settle things about the twins.”

      She nodded again. “No, we didn’t, did we?”

      He grimaced. “We got sidetracked with you talking about marrying Bert Lenson.”

      She rolled her eyes. “I’m not marrying Bert Lenson.”

      “Then why did you throw his bald-headed hat into the ring?”

      I was only trying to scare you. She couldn’t say that out loud, but it was the truth—though she didn’t even want to admit it to herself.

      “I was just using him as an example of the kind of man my boys need in their lives. I just wanted you to understand the reality of the situation. You should know what’s going on.”

      He shrugged. “You know, I’m a little surprised you even think I should have any say in the matter.”

      She hesitated. “Look, Mitch. I know you can’t be the sort of father I would want for them. But you are their biological father. We have to go from there.”

      He nodded, searching her eyes. “Just by saying that, you give up a certain amount of control. You understand that, don’t you?”

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