His Very Own Baby. Rebecca Winters

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СКАЧАТЬ style="font-size:15px;">      “I’ve been trying to reach you on the phone. It’s Friday night. A whole bunch of us are getting together in Peter’s trailer for a party. They elected me to invite you.”

      “That’s very nice of everyone but I’m afraid I have other plans.”

      Not to be daunted she said, “The party will probably go all night. You’ll be welcome whenever you get back.”

      “Don’t think I’m not appreciative of the invitation, but I haven’t partied in years and have no intention of starting now. Good night, Ms. Call.”

      She followed him to his truck. “Why won’t you call me Sandy?”

      “I never address female students by their first names on the job.” He got inside and shut the door.

      “What about off the job?” she asked in a surprisingly brazen manner through the open window.

      “There is no ‘off the job’ when it comes to students.”

      The only time he’d broken that rule had been with Blaire. It had turned out to be the greatest mistake of his life. He had an idea he would spend the rest of eternity paying for it. Tonight was a case in point.

      He backed away, then floored the accelerator, almost hoping the dust flew in the aggressive Ms. Call’s face so she would get the point. With Blaire it had been the other way around. He’d done all the running. Until she’d let him catch her…

      She’d missed his first test and had called his office with an excuse that she’d gotten the flu and didn’t feel well enough to take the exam. Used to the wiles of some of the female students who traded on their good looks for favors, he didn’t believe her and told her to come into his office. He’d give her the exam orally if she couldn’t write.

      The breathtaking, auburn-haired student ten to twelve years his junior who’d shown up for the appointment did indeed have the flu. She appeared unsteady on her feet and the red stains on her cheeks were due to a fever.

      Without conscious thought he put the back of his hand to the skin of her cheek where her shoulder-length hair had been swept aside. It was hot to the touch. At the slight contact, surprised dove-gray eyes fringed by black lashes fused with his. In that moment he felt a quickening pass through both their bodies.

      “Forgive me for not believing you,” he whispered, lowering his hand. “When did you notice the flu coming on?”

      “This morning.”

      He sucked in his breath. “You must feel wretched and should be home in bed. How did you drive here in this condition?”

      “I took the bus.”

      Scandalized by his insensitive treatment of her over the phone earlier, he said, “This is my fault. I’m through lecturing for today and will drive you home.”

      “Oh, no.” She shook her head. “That’s very kind of you, but it won’t be necessary. As long as I’m here, please let me take the test, then I’ll go.”

      Though he could sense her reservations about being alone with him, he knew a fire had been lit inside her. The same fire had been ignited inside him when he’d touched her skin. An invisible energy crackled between them.

      Her breathing had grown shallow. A tiny pulse in the scented hollow of her throat throbbed out of control. He had an irresistible urge to press his mouth to it.

      “Forget the test. I’ll drive you home.”

      “My parents’ house is twelve miles away from campus. That’s too far. I couldn’t let you do it.”

      The more she retreated, the more determined he was to have his way.

      “If you won’t allow me to make amends, then I’ll call for a taxi.”

      “Please no. I don’t have the cash on me.”

      “Naturally I would pay.”

      Her small gasp of frustration pleased him. “Dr. Jarman—”

      “The name is Alik. If you’re going to refuse all help, then let me call one of your parents to come and get you.”

      “My dad’s the only one with a car and he teaches at a junior high. I wouldn’t dream of getting him out of class.”

      He put his hands on his hips. “Then the only thing to do is accompany you home on the bus.”

      He watched her swallow nervously. “Why would you do that?”

      “Because flu can cause a person to pass out. If you start to feel lightheaded, I want to be there with my cell phone to call 911. Admit you’re about ready to collapse.”

      Tears moistened her eyes. “I—I admit it,” she stammered.

      Through with this nonsense, he walked over to the door and turned out the light. “Come on. My car’s right outside the back steps of the building. I’m taking you home. Now.”

      In those last seconds of hesitation, he knew she was fighting more than her desire not to be a burden.

      His world changed the moment she moved past him in acquiescence. Like a lick of flame, the accidental brush of her hip against his sealed his fate.

      As the sign for Warwick came into view, Alik’s torturous thoughts returned to the present with a jerk.

      A long time ago he’d consigned Blaire Regan to the devil. Such a beautiful, treacherous coward, she’d ended their love affair long distance proffering no explanation he could live with. To compound the pain, she’d run away where he couldn’t find her. By refusing to face him, her cruel actions had denied him any possibility of permanent closure.

      His jaw hardened.

      She’d made a fatal mistake by daring to show up at his trailer this morning. Before the night was out she would learn the definition of cruelty. Then it would be she who rued the day their paths had ever crossed.

      The knuckles of his hand gleamed white as he turned the steering wheel to enter the parking area in front of the Bluebird Inn.

      CHAPTER TWO

      WITH the bulk of the ten o’clock television news coverage over, Blaire realized she’d been waiting for something that was never going to happen.

      She looked down at her adorable baby who was still wide-awake on one of the double beds, almost as if he knew this day and night had been different from all the others. His fingers clung to her pinky.

      “How sad Alik’s never going to know you, my little love.” One salty tear dropped, then another. “You have no idea what a wonderful man he is, Nicky. There’s no one his equal, except for you. I pray you’ll grow up to be exactly like him.”

      She used the edge of the baby quilt she’d made for him to wipe her eyes. “I’m not talking about the angry man I confronted this morning. I’m afraid that man is the result of what I did to him. He’ll never forgive me, I can see that СКАЧАТЬ