Awaken to Pleasure - By Nalini Singh Page 0,52

from Lance?"

"Nothing definite but it looks like he's withdrawing his pleadings. If anything happens, I'll let you know."

After they hung up, she spent a long time wondering at the indefinable vulnerability she'd heard in his tone.

Jacksonsat at his desk wrestling with a strange mix of emotions. Part of it was an irrational jealousy that these people hadTaylor's affection and friendship, without paying for it. He'd made the decision to bargain for her and he'd made a very good bargain. She was a protective, affectionate and sexy wife. It was his problem that he'd been hoping for something more, something that had eluded his family forever, something he'd never touched.

What would his wife say if she realized that big, tough JacksonSantorini would lay his heart at her feet, if she would only give her trust and love into his keeping? If she would only let him banish the shadows in her eyes that told him she still expected him to walk away from her.

He snorted, crushing the starving creature inside him. His wife was far too practical to think about love in relation to their marriage. All her love was bound up with her brother, and she'd told him point-blank that she didn't trust anyone else enough to love them. Other men might have begrudged Nick her affection, butJacksoncouldn't, not when he'd been a child whom no one had loved. He wouldn't wish that utter loneliness on anyone.

Until he'd metTaylor, he'd thought that love between a man and a woman was a fool's dream. Maybe, despite his recent resolution to make her feel the passion he did, he'd been right all along. Look at his parents and siblings. They fell in love every other month and all they got for their trouble were divorces littering the world.

Hehad a family filled with joy, and he had to concentrate on nurturing it rather than trying to get his wife to give him something she wasn't capable of. Nick's loyalty was his without question, but he needed to fully bindTaylorto him. She'd never divorce him if a child was involved, so he had to make her pregnant as soon as possible. His desire for a baby now came second to his desire to keepTaylor. There was no way in hell he could lose her. He would never survive the loss.

Late that night,Taylorsat at her vanity, her back toJackson. He was stretched out on the bed, dressed only in his boxers, watching her prepare for bed. Arms folded behind his head, he looked every inch the proprietary male. Though she was wearing an ankle-length silk nightgown, his hot gaze made her feel as if she were in the sheerest slip.

"What are you thinking so hard?" she asked, meeting his intense gaze in the mirror.

"Lance has completely withdrawn his proceedings. It was confirmed at5:00 p.m.I've also managed to convince him of the wisdom of consenting to Nick's adoption." He lifted a cynical brow. "Money talks very loudly to LanceHegerty ."

Joy made her giddy. "Oh,Jackson! Thank you!"

She put her brush down and turned to face him, intending to run into his arms. But, when she looked at him, she was startled to see that his expression had become even more intense. "What is it?" For something to do, she started plaiting her hair, uncertain how to handle her husband when he looked so unapproachable.

"There aren't any more worries." His eyes went darker than she would've believed possible. "I don't want you going on birth control."

She froze. "I ... why can't we wait?" Just today, she'd put a note in her diary to contact the doctor.

"I'm not going to force you into it. What would be the point?" He sounded calm but she could almost see his tension in the taut muscles of his upper arms. "But, tell me one thing - do you ever want to have my child?"

"I ... I haven't really had a chance to think about it," she lied, panicked.

If she hadJackson's baby, she would become ultimately vulnerable to him, connected in a way that would make escape impossible. Her powerful, possessive husband would never give up the right to watch his child grow day by day, and neither would she. Even worse, the experience of creating a life would bind their emotions together with such strength that she wouldn't be able to fight falling in love with him. And loving a man terrified her.

"When do you want to have a child?"

"Soon."Jackson's Italian-dark eyes met hers. "The child will have a trust