Awaken to Pleasure - By Nalini Singh Page 0,60

was determined to teach her to trust him enough to gift him with her love, but sometimes, patience was difficult. His proprietary instincts demanded her devotion. But, JacksonSantorini was a man of honor and he would never go back on his word, in an attempt to forceunnegotiated concessions.

Love had not been part of their agreement.

He would persuade but not demand; fight his instincts to give her the emotional freedom she needed.

There was only one catch - he would never let her go. The minute she'd accepted his proposal, she'd become his. Forever.

Almost two weeks after she'd confirmed her pregnancy,Taylorfixed Nick's collar one Friday morning and kissed him on the cheek. "Have fun at soccer boot camp."

He grinned. "I will. Bye." With an excited wave, he jumped in the team minivan and they drove out, followed unobtrusively by a bodyguard posing as a coach. It was a necessity that they were trying to downplay.

"He'll be okay. He's got the cell phone if he needs us."Jacksonglanced at his watch. "I'm due at a meeting in forty minutes." He kissed her a soft goodbye. "Think of me, piccola ." He turned to walk over to his car.

"I'm not going to be so little in a while." She tried to make her words light, but disquiet whispered through her veins. Not for her body, but for her soul. A tiny piece ofJacksonwas growing inside of her, but an even more dangerous and amorphous thing was taking root in her heart.

Returning, he touched her cheek in a fleeting caress. "You'll always be little to me, mia moglie ."

For some reason, she wanted to stop him from going to work and ask him to hold her tight. But, putting on a bright smile, she waved him off. Only when he was gone did she drop the mask. What was the matter with her?

Something twisted in her stomach. She made a face. Morning sickness hadn't been a problem yet but maybe that was it; the yucky part of her six-week-old pregnancy was about to start. However, though she stood in the bathroom for a while, feeling nauseous, she didn't throw up.

Instead, tiredness seeped into her bones and barely two hours after she'd woken,she crawled back between the sheets, clad in nothing butJackson's discarded shirt. The masculine scent of his body lingered in the fibers, tangible and comforting, but it wasn't enough. The nausea had become something worse.

She hurt deep inside. Giving up trying to fight the urge, she rang his office.

"He's on a video conference toNew York," Naomi, his new secretary, told her. "I can get him..."

A painful cramp brutalized her stomach. "No," she whispered, almost unable to speak. "Just ... just ask him to come home after his meeting. Okay?"

"It'll be a couple of hours."

"That's fine." He probably wouldn't appreciate being called home to hold his weepy wife. Hanging up, she tried to slip into sleep.

But, a few minutes later, when she felt a warm wetness creeping between her thighs, she was wide awake. There was no pain, only a shocking emptiness where new life should've existed in nurturing warmth. Instead of confusion, sudden clarity wouldn't allow her to ignore the fatal truth.

"No, no, no."Her voice was a hoarse whisper. "Please, no!" She fought the urge to look down. If she didn't see, it couldn't be true. But it was a futile effort - her gaze was pulled toward the horror.

On the blue sheets, the quickly spreading stain didn't look like blood did in the movies, bright and tomato-red. This was dark, almost black. And she knew her baby was gone. So quickly, so suddenly, so completely. Until that moment, she hadn't realized just how much she'd already come to love their baby, their precious bambina .

Clutching her stomach, she keened in grief, unable to stop that sound of utter anguish. How could she do this toJackson? How could her body betray her this way? Fueled by hormones in disarray, fear and suffering raked her with razor-sharp claws. The baby was gone. She'd lost their baby and failed to keep the only part of their bargain that mattered to her husband.Jacksonhad wanted to create life but she would only give him death ... he would hate her like he hated Bonnie. Her heart broke at the realization and her tears became heartrendingly silent.

Jacksonhad been irritated when Naomi interrupted the video conference barely after it had begun, but upon hearing her message, he decided she deserved a raise. Despite his reputation, she hadn't