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  Working furiously, Ashley quickly unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his muscular chest. She slid her hands over the expanse of it, then up to cup his neck as he kissed his way back to her breasts. When she went up on her knees, he began to unbuckle her jeans. He lowered her zipper, and then his hands slid inside to caress her bottom.

  “Ryder,” she cried, when the need for him became almost unbearable. Her voice seemed to excite him more. His fingers slid beneath her silk panties and touched the soft, innermost part of her. She arched against him, crying out his name again. Ashley felt him move away, but he was gone only long enough to rid himself of his clothes and boots.

  He came back to her and removed her jeans, then slid her panties down her legs. Ready to explode, she caught her breath when he lowered her back to the sofa, then came down on her and slipped inside her with one swift thrust. Her hips arched as she took the length of him, and her breathing became labored and harsh.

  Ryder set a pace that she felt compelled to follow. His mouth closed on hers and swallowed the sounds coming from her throat. His tongue moved in and out of her mouth, mimicking the part of him that filled the very core of her body.

  Every nerve, every pore of her screamed for release. Ashley felt the spiral when it began uncoiling, spinning her out of control. The explosion inside her went on and on until she strained and her entire body tensed. Her hand clenched his shoulders, her fingers tightening as shudders of release ripped through her over and over again. Ryder must have felt her climax, for he plunged into her again and again, then trembled and called out her name.

  Silence filled the room.

  Their breathing ragged, neither said anything right away. The moment, quiet and soothing, wrapped around them. Ashley closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his body on hers, the closeness that she always seemed to crave when she was near this man. He began to move away and she whispered, “No.”

  Ryder slipped away from her, anyway. He drew a ragged breath as he got to his feet. A moment later he lifted her in his arms.

  “Which way is your room?” he asked, securing her in his embrace.

  “What?” she asked languidly, lifting her gaze to his.

  “Which way?” he said again, already moving toward the stairs. He carried her to the top floor and through the door she indicated. He didn’t stop to turn on the lights, but took her straight to the bed. Lowering her gently, he joined her, bringing her into his heat, his hands securing her against him.

  The first thing he did was free her hair. He wanted to run his fingers through the silky strands. Facing her, he stroked her hair from her eyes so that he could watch the play of emotions that crossed her face. She was magnificent, her lips full and inviting, her eyes soft with desire. He slid his hand down her body, gliding it across her ribs, over the soft swell of her stomach, learning her all over again.

  “You’re so beautiful.” He confessed his thoughts to her, amazed he could even speak.

  “You make me feel beautiful,” Ashley whispered. He filled the emptiness deep inside her, if only for a little while. Greedily she stole these moments with him, knowing she’d never see him again.

  Ryder leaned over her and placed soft kisses on her mouth.

  Their passion before had been so swift, so strong, he hadn’t had time to explore her body. Now he wanted to take his time with her. Maybe if he made love to her again and again, his attraction would lessen and he could work her out of his system. Maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to walk away from her for good.

  His hands moved to fondle her full breasts, tugging at her nipples, and she practically melted before his eyes. Her lids closed and she moaned softly, giving in to the delicious sensations he aroused when his palm slid down her body and stopped to stroke her soft triangle of curls. Her hips moved and she pushed upward toward his hand. His fingers slid lower then, slipping between the moist folds between her thighs. Her hips rocked back and forth in an age-old rhythm.

  She whispered his name then, her voice soft, as the spark between them flared once again. Ryder bent his mouth to hers, his own passion out of control as he positioned himself and sank deep into her.

  Seven

  When Ryder woke, he was alone in Ashley’s bed. Sunshine peeked through the lacy beige curtains on the windows. An instant replay of that long-ago morning ran through his mind, and he experienced a momentary sick feeling in his stomach before he heard the sound of running water coming from the nearby bathroom. It was ridiculous to think even for a moment that she’d taken off. Just because she’d done it that one time, didn’t mean that she’d do it again.

  Still...somewhere deep inside, he wasn’t sure he really trusted her.

  He raised his arm and rested it over his head and sighed contentedly as his body began to relax. They’d made love several times during the night and each time had been as exciting, as intense and consuming, as the first time he’d touched her. A wry smile curved his lips. No woman had ever moved him, become a part of him, as much as Ashley Bennett.

  It scared him, letting her even that close. Ariel’s betrayal had taught him he wasn’t meant to settle down with a woman. Emotionally, he had nothing to give Ashley Bennett, and he wasn’t going to allow her any power over him. But just thinking about her made him hard, and he realized then that she could be more of a threat to him than Ariel had ever been.

  He heard her moving around in the bathroom and thought she’d called out to him. Throwing the sheet off, he got out of bed and went downstairs in search of his clothes. He spotted his underwear and jeans beside the sofa and pulled them on. He picked up his shirt and went back upstairs, tossing it on a chair as he crossed to the bathroom door and knocked lightly.

  “Ashley?” When she didn’t answer, he frowned and called out, “You all right?”

  “Yes. Leave me alone,” she called from inside the room.

  Ryder turned away, then he heard what sounded like gut-wrenching groans. Concerned, he opened the door and peeked inside the beige-tiled room. He saw Ashley on her knees on the vinyl floor, her head bent over the toilet, her hair covering her face.

  “What the hell!” he exclaimed, then stormed into the bathroom.

  “I said I’m all right. Go away,” she moaned.

  “All right? Darlin’, I’d say you were anything but all right.” He spotted a washcloth on the side of the small basin and wet it with cool water. He pressed it to Ashley’s forehead, then grabbed most of her hair and held it back.

  A small smile curved on his lips and he asked, “Darlin’, does this only happen whenever you’re around me?”

  Ashley didn’t see the humor of his words. Her head was swimming and her stomach felt like it had been ripped out of her and put back in sideways. And having the man you’d just spent the night loving find you with your head in the toilet was definitely the worst embarrassment a woman could suffer.

  “Funny.” She groaned, then started to get up.

  Ryder slipped his arm around her. “Do you think you caught a bug?”

  Knowing full well it was a lie, Ashley answered, “Probably.” She let him help her from the room, then over to the edge of the bed.

  “Thanks.”

  Ryder eyed her speculatively. Her face was without color, her eyes shadowed. She’d slipped on a soft, off-white cotton gown. It covered her from shoulders to toes, but he could easily visualize what was underneath it He knew her body well, had touched every inch of her.

  “You don’t look so good.”

  Ashley lowered her head to her hands and covered her face. “Thanks again.” She drew in a deep breath. When she’d fallen asleep in his arms, she hadn’t given a thought about how she’d feel in the morning. How could she have been so stupid as to let him spend the night?

  Ryder started to speak again when an errant thought jogged his memory. He closed his mouth and frowned. He remembered Miss Tilley mentioning that Ashley hadn’t been feeling well lately. He also recalled that she hadn’t looked so good the morning before when he’d gon
e to the diner to see her. Though, he rationalized, she’d seemed fine to him last night. He remembered stroking her, his hand slipping over her belly...

  She was pregnant.

  The thought hit him like a blow to his gut. No, she couldn’t be. Ryder dismissed that explanation immediately, telling himself he was crazy. Ashley would have told him if that were so, wouldn’t she?

  Maybe not. She hadn’t wanted him to hang around, had she? Was it possible that she’d known all along and deliberately kept it from him? For that matter, if it was true, was he even the father?

  She raised her face, and Ryder immediately knew the truth when he looked into her hooded eyes.

  “How long?” Ryder asked tightly, shards of anger beginning to cut through him.

  Ashley didn’t even try to evade his hot blue gaze. “I’ve known for a while,” she admitted, still sounding weak. Her stomach rolled and she clamped a hand over her mouth, holding her breath until the wave of nausea subsided.

  Ryder’s eyes bore into her. “Is it mine?”

  Ashley threw her head back and straightened. Oh, God, she thought, did he have to ask? Did he think so little of her, believe that it was possible that she’d slept with another man so soon after being with him? “What do you think?” she answered, her voice stiff, the sarcasm in it unmistakable.

  Ryder’s lips twisted, anger pulsating through him like the vibrations of an earthquake, slowly building force until he thought he’d explode. He stalked away from her to the window and stared out at nothing. Turning to face her again, he said in a barely controlled tone, “I want to hear you say it. I want to hear you say that the baby’s mine, that you’ve been hiding that fact from me since I came here, that you never intended to tell me.”

  He jammed his fingers into the back pockets of his jeans to keep from balling his fists and showing her just how near out of control he was. Her continued silence fueled his anger.

  “Tell me the truth, dammit!” There was no gentleness in his voice, no endearing quality in his features. He was as angry with himself as he was with Ashley. He should have been more careful, should have used protection. For some reason, he didn’t always think straight when he was around her.

  Ashley flushed, turning red from the roots of her hair down to her throat and chest. “It’s yours. I’ve never been with anyone else.” The admission came grudgingly.

  Ryder swore, and the words he used were not meant for virgin ears. In all his life, he’d never expected to be brought up short by something like this. He’d been responsible with women, hadn’t been foolish enough to be with one without the benefit of protection since he was a teenager.

  Until Ashley.

  Hell.

  He didn’t even know how to react. A baby. What in the world did he know about babies, except that they were a hell of a lot of trouble.

  “Were you even going to tell me?” he demanded, when he’d gained some sort of control over his temper.

  Ashley stared at him in silence, then finally shook her head. “No,” she answered honestly. What else could she say?

  “That’s a hell of an admission,” he bit out, glaring at her.

  She crossed her arms protectively over her stomach as she licked her lips, feeling nervous and jittery. “I’m sorry if it’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth. I know you’re angry. But you weren’t here. I didn’t know where to find you. It didn’t really matter to me, anyway. I’d already decided to raise the baby alone.”

  “What about what I might have wanted?” he grated. “Had you even given a thought about whether the baby would ever know me?”

  “I assumed you weren’t the type to settle down, and you even admitted as much to me last night. Since you don’t want any ties, I thought it best not to involve you.” She stood and reached for her robe, which was hanging in the closet beside the bed. She turned away to put it on, and her hands shook as she tied the sash.

  “Well, I am involved. Hell, we’re involved. Whenever I’m around you, we end up in bed.”

  Feeling flustered, Ashley ran her hand through her disheveled hair, brushing it from her face. He was right. She was physically attracted to him. Any chance of denying that ended when she’d made love with him again. Somehow, Ryder McCall had a way of getting past her barriers. But she couldn’t let him jeopardize what she’d worked so hard for. “Well, I think it’s best if we don’t see each other again.”

  Ryder had a problem with that, but he let it go for the time being. “That’s my baby, too,” he declared. He wasn’t thrilled about finding out he was going to be a father, but he damned well didn’t like Ashley making all the decisions, as if he had no say in the matter.

  Ashley swung around and faced him. “It’s my body. Not yours. You don’t have any rights when it comes to this baby.”

  Ashley saw his eyes harden to stone, their blue color turning nearly white with hot anger. She immediately wished she could call back her words.

  Ryder bit back an oath and snarled, “Whether I like it or not, that baby in your body is a part of me, a part of my family. Don’t you ever say that to me again, or I’ll show you just how much influence I can have over you and that child.”

  His words went right to Ashley’s heart and twisted it. She faced him squarely, though inside she was shaking like the aftershocks of an earthquake. “Don’t you dare threaten me, Ryder McCall,” she fumed, storming at him and stopping only about a foot away.

  “Don’t take it as a threat, darlin’.” His tone harsh, his eyes blistering, Ryder looked right back at her without batting so much as an eyelash. “Take it as a fact. You don’t want to tangle with me, sweetheart. You’d lose, I can promise you.”

  Ashley took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “This is getting us nowhere.”

  “You’re right about that.” Ryder stalked over and grabbed his shirt from the chair. He jerked it on, but left it unbuttoned. Turning to face her again, he raked her from head to toe with a harsh look. “Get dressed!” he commanded.

  His demand startled her and her eyes widened. “What? Why?”

  “Because I’m going to do the right thing and marry you.”

  Ashley’s mouth dropped open, and a tremor of shock raced through her. That was the last thing she’d expected him to say. She didn’t have to ask if he was serious—determination was written all over his face and in every movement of his body. The look she gave him was incredulous. “I’m not going to marry you!”

  “The hell you’re not,” Ryder barked back at her.

  “I’m not going to marry you,” she repeated firmly, raising her voice a notch. “I don’t want to marry you. I don’t want to marry anybody.” Heavens, how had she ever gotten into this mess?

  “I’m not going to argue with you over this,” Ryder told her, his tone furious and unbending.

  “Well, that’s good, because I don’t want to argue with you over it.” Ashley’s hands went to her hips. She wasn’t going to let him intimidate her.

  “Dammit, Ashley—”

  “Would you listen to yourself?” she interrupted, staring at him as if he were a madman. “This is the nineties. A woman doesn’t have to get married to have a baby.”

  Ryder snorted. “Maybe not, but we’re talking about my kid, and it’s not going to be born illegitimate.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Babies are born that way all the time,” she argued.

  “Not my baby and not a McCall,” he snapped. “Now, whether you like it or not, we’re going to get married and bring that baby into the world the right way.”

  “I don’t want to get married,” she said again.

  Ryder growled, “That’s beside the point.”

  “That’s exactly the point. Neither of us wants to be married, to each other or anyone else. We don’t even have anything in common.”

  Ryder looked pointedly at the bed, then back at her. “We’ve got the hots for each other. That’s a start.”

  Exasperated, Ashley rolled her eyes. “That’s
ridiculous. You can’t base a marriage on sex.” He was being totally irrational

  “Well, at least if we’re married, I’ll know where in the hell you are and where my child is,” Ryder stated hotly.

  For a moment Ashley was too paralyzed to speak. Finally she asked in a very controlled voice, “What?”

  “You heard me,” Ryder told her, his tone sharp and biting.

  Ashley sucked in a breath. “You think I’m going to leave and not tell you where I am?” She could barely get the words out. She swallowed hard and forced the knot in her throat back down.

  “You don’t have such a great track record, sweetheart. Why in hell should I trust you?” Ryder glared at her, his jaw muscle tight. He felt as if she’d ripped his heart open wide and left it bleeding. She’d known all along that she was pregnant, and she’d never intended to tell him.

  “I wouldn’t do that.”

  “You did it before,” he reminded her, thinking about how easily the lies had rolled off her seductive lips.

  Ashley made herself remain calm. “That was different. You know it was. I’m not going anywhere now. I promise you’ll always know where to find me and the baby.”

  Ryder’s hands went to his hips. “Well, darlin’, pardon me if I don’t quite believe you.”

  Her breathing hard, Ashley placed a hand on her chest. “I’ve given you my word,” she said, sounding wounded by his distrust. Ryder said nothing. He just stared at her as if her feelings meant absolutely nothing to him.

  “All right. I don’t care what you think. You’ll find out you’re wrong. Now, I’m going to raise this child. I planned all along to do it on my own. Just because you know about it doesn’t change a thing.”

  “And how do you plan to do that?” Ryder snapped back, challenging her. “Have you got a big bank account somewhere? Is there a trust fund for you to draw from? Or is your daddy going to help you?”

  The dig at her family hit home and her face turned white. “You know I haven’t spoken to my father. I don’t intend to.” Calling upon Jacob Bennett wasn’t even a thought. Being on her own meant handling her responsibilities, taking care of herself. The very last person she’d go to for help was her father.