Exposure - Kelly Moran Page 0,80

most worried, because she wouldn't look him in the eye and she didn't seem to be breathing.

He thought hard over his answer because this wasn't a conversation to have in passing. Aubrey had been his whole world. He loved her as a father might, putting her needs before his own. The situation may have been forced on him, yet he wouldn't take back the decision.

But to have his own children? He'd never entertained the idea. At once, an image of Raven came to mind, belly swollen with his child. Fraternal desire kicked him hard in the ribs as he imagined a little boy or girl, with her dark hair and chocolate eyes.

He swiped a hand down his face. "Yeah," he grated. "I think I do." He met her gaze. "Again, not something we need to decide right now. After the trial, we'll have to get Aubrey settled and we can discuss it more." He couldn't read her reaction, but when she opened her mouth to speak, he instinctively cut her off. "Here's the thing, Raven. All I want, all I really want, is you. Whether that's as my wife, mother of my child, or just a life partner, I don't care."

Her eyes widened a fraction. "Noah, you can't give up on what you want, even if those plans don't include me--"

"I don't make plans that don't include you."

She seemed stressed over his remark as she pulled her hand away, her brows wrinkling and gaze darting away.

"Let me ask you this. Do you want marriage and kids?" Because something made her think about it enough to bring it up.

"I don't know." She pressed her hand to her forehead. "Three months ago, I would've said no. It's just??

"Just what, baby?"

"I guess I?? She slapped a hand down on the table and huffed. "This is going to sound so stupid, but I don't feel like I have anything that's mine." Her gaze met his, shining with unshed tears. "Everything is up in the air. My apartment is gone, and this is your home. There are people who want you dead. Want me dead. I can't go to the gallery."

Hell. This he could handle. Relief had him expelling a breath. Her freak out had nothing to do with them. The circumstances around them weren't giving her any power.

He dipped his head, forcing her to look at him. "Closing arguments in the Rizzoli trial are this week. It's almost over. McCannon will find Soreno and we won't need so many guards. The police should be done with Elements by tomorrow. And?? As he trailed off, he took her hand in his again. "We'll go house hunting this week. Find us something that's ours."

They'd need to anyway after the trial because of Aubrey. They'd still have the castle, but his condo was no place for her. She needed a home. So did Raven. A place to start over.

Raven stared at him so long his heart stopped beating with worry. Her face was an unreadable mask, until eventually something clicked and her eyes rounded. A myriad of flickering emotions hit her expression, there and gone too fast for him to keep up. Pain. Joy. Fear. Nerves. Concern. Happy. Resolution.

He involuntarily squeezed her fingers and forced himself to relax. "What, Raven? Just tell me and we'll deal--"

"I wouldn't say no if you asked." Her tone was confident, if not a little distant, as if she was still trying to wrap her mind around something.

He shook his head, not connecting the dots.

Gaze steady, she swallowed. "In the future, if you asked me to marry you, I wouldn't say no."

He froze. In fact, everything seemed to freeze. Time. His pulse.

Staring into her eyes to search for the loophole, he found none. She was serious. His. Hell, she hadn't even said she loved him yet, but she would. Soon. She was almost there. Finally, after ten years and too many lies, he had her.

"I don't want a McMansion." She tilted her head, studying the table. Clearly avoiding the previous holy shit moment, she babbled about what kind of house they should tell a realtor to search. "No more than three or four bedrooms. There would have to be a room we could convert into an office for you. A yard for Aubrey. Also, a--"

"Raven."

She glanced at him. "What?"

"Shut up." Hauling her out of her chair, he kissed her hard, cutting off any argument. She softened against him, moaning into his mouth.

Then he took her to bed, where they made love with