An Act of Persuasion - By Stephanie Doyle Page 0,82
about her all day long. The way she reached out to touch him first. The way she turned to him, time and again, seeking him.
Yet while they were naked and giving each other pleasure, it was as though her brain took over for her body and, while she didn’t tell him to stop, he sensed she had mentally separated herself from the act. She didn’t look at him and, for a moment, he could actually see her faking her responses.
Ben couldn’t have that. If he was honest with himself, he wasn’t completely sure why that was. It wasn’t only a masculine pride thing, it went way beyond that. He needed her to belong to him. Even in his own heart that sounded somewhat barbaric, but it was the truth.
When he’d started this process to woo her and convince her to marry him, his goals had been simple. He wanted Anna and the child in his life. It was a logical thing to want. She was carrying his only child. She and he were obviously compatible. A marriage with a child between them would only make them more so. Emotions hadn’t come into play.
Now, however, the more he tried to tug her close, the more he could feel her trying to pull away. Not because she didn’t want him—what they did together in bed showed him the level of her desire for him. Even if she’d wanted to fake an orgasm, she couldn’t because he set off all her sexual triggers.
But she was obviously afraid of something, or fighting something and withholding because of that. He needed to overcome that. He needed to show her what their life could be like and that there was nothing to fear from him.
It wasn’t only about what he saw as their future together. It was about her and wanting all of her.
He was sure the something holding her back was her past. That experience of being abandoned probably drove her fear. It made her cagey and elusive even when she craved having someone close.
Ben considered what he’d learned about her parents and wondered if he shouldn’t tell her the truth now. Although he thought about why he’d held on to the information this long and decided now was absolutely the wrong time. He needed more time with her like this, more time to overcome her fears without adding to them. With every weapon at his disposal he needed to bond her to him completely. So the idea of her life without him in it wouldn’t make sense.
Once she was truly his, then he would tell her everything.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
AS THEY WAITED for the lab technician to show up Ben grew increasingly frustrated. It had been a few weeks since they had begun what he liked to refer to as the sexual part of their relationship—a fact that made him gleefully happy. But that development certainly hadn’t made Anna any more malleable in her opinions.
Clearly, she was not a woman to be controlled by intense sexual gratification. Damn it.
She squirmed on the examining table, clearly trying to find some relief for the pressure on her bladder while he attempted to overcome her stubbornness about a topic they’d surprisingly butted heads on.
“We’re two intelligent people,” he began, attempting another logical approach to persuade her to his way of thinking.
“We are.”
“Then let me please present you my rational and sound argument one more time.”
“Go for it.”
“If we find out the gender now, we will be more prepared as parents. First, we can eliminate an entire spectrum of names to consider, which should reduce the chance of a conflict between us as your pregnancy advances. Also, we can buy the appropriate type and style of baby clothes we should have in preparation for this blessed event. Finally, while I believe we shouldn’t necessarily conform to any gender stereotypes, we can begin to cater the child’s toys.”
“Those are all really good reasons.”
“So when the technician comes in can we tell her we want to know the sex?”
“Nope.”
Ben imagined if the sonogram technician found him with his hands around the pregnant woman’s neck, it might not look good for him. No matter how justified he might be in his actions.
He gritted his teeth together. “I don’t suppose you can provide me with a logical reason for your decision.”
“Nope.”
“You see how unfair this is?”
“Uh, buddy, take a look.” Anna pointed to her exposed and quite round belly. “I’m sitting here about to burst with pee while I continue to get bigger by