looked at him uncertainly, her heart thumping so hard she was sure he would feel the blood pounding in her fingertips where they were pressed against him. 'Y-yes?' she said in a scratchy whisper.
His dark, inscrutable eyes were steady on hers. 'Why didn't you tell me you are not on the pill?' he asked.
Emma stared at him in silence for several heart-chugging seconds, her mouth growing dry.
'Why, Emma?' he asked, his expression darkening with what looked suspiciously like anger. 'You have had numerous opportunities to tell me, but you have not done so.'
Emma swallowed unevenly. 'I...how do you know I'm not on it?'
This time the anger was unmistakable. She could see a jackhammer-like pulse beating at the corner of his white-tipped mouth. 'Because I looked, that is why,' he said.
She rolled her lips together for a moment. 'Looked where?' she asked.
'In your toiletries bag in the bathroom,' he answered. 'There was no sign of any contraceptives in that or your handbag and I would like to know why.'
Emma pulled out of his hold and got off the bed to glare down at him. 'I would like to know why you think you have the right to search through my belongings without my permission.'
His mouth tightened even further as he stood up and faced her squarely. 'You gave me the right when you agreed to be my lover,' he said. 'Now answer me, damn you. Why didn't you tell me?'
'It's none of your business, that's why,' Emma said, stung at the brutish manner of his inquisition. This wasn't going anything like she had planned, she thought in despair. She had wanted to prepare him, to wait until she felt secure enough to deliver her bombshell, but somehow he had pre-empted her.
His eyes narrowed into dark slits. 'You are trying to trap me, aren't you, Emma?'
Emma felt frighteningly close to tears. 'No, that's not true. We've always used condoms and I know this isn't for ever so I just thought - '
'You just thought what?' he barked at her savagely.
She flinched and shrank back against the wall. 'I-I thought it would be all right...'
'When was your last period?'
She turned away, nausea rising like a tide inside her.
He let out a vicious expletive and strode around the bed to grasp her by the upper arms, his fingers biting into her flesh almost cruelly. 'Think, damn it! When was it?'
Tears stung at the backs of her eyes. 'Stop,' she choked. 'You're hurting me.'
His grip loosened a fraction, but his expression was still livid. 'You have done this deliberately, haven't you? For all I know you could already be pregnant.'
Emma swallowed convulsively and averted her gaze from the searing blaze of his, her heart hammering, her skin beading with nervous perspiration.
The silence was suddenly so intense it rang like clanging bells inside her head.
Rafaele bit out a rough expletive and brought her face back in line with his gaze. 'You are, aren't you?' he said, and after a tight pause added hoarsely, 'Mio Dio...you already are.'
She ran her tongue over her lips. 'I don't know how it happened,' she said. 'We used a condom every single time...you know we did, apart from yesterday by the pool.'
'And apart from the first time,' he reminded her coolly.
She looked at him in confusion. 'But you didn't...you know...come inside me that time.'
'There are literally thousands of sperm in pre-ejaculatory fluid,' he said. 'It only takes one to do the job.'
Emma bit her lip until she tasted blood. 'I'm sorry...'
He stepped away from her. 'I should have known you would try something like this,' he ground out. 'How long have you known?'
She swallowed again. 'I did a test a couple of days ago...'
His eyes glittered with fury. 'And you didn't think to tell me?'
'I-I was going to but...but I was frightened you would be angry.'
'Have I not the right to be angry?' he asked as he reached for his clothes.
Emma watched as he dressed, her heart feeling like a cold, hard stone in her chest. 'I'm not getting rid of it,' she suddenly blurted into the stiff silence. 'You can't make me.'
He left his shirt hanging undone as he came over to where she was still standing. 'Do you really think I would demand that of you?' he asked, frowning heavily.
She gave him a pointed look. 'Wouldn't you?'
He blew out a breath and sent his hand through his hair once more. 'I might be a bit of a bastard at times, but surely you don't think I am that big