or girl?”
“How would I know?”
“You’re useless.” She pulled out a frilly dress. “There’s tons of baby clothes in here. Boy and girl.”
“Oh, I will have to ask her if she wants that.”
“And some toys.” She held up a rattle.
“I will fix the cradle while you are at work tomorrow.”
“You mean I’m not getting a ride?”
“I don’t mind dropping you off.”
“As much as I love your car, I’ll drive myself.”
“Or you could borrow my car.”
“No way.”
“What?”
“You’d lend me, a girl you barely know, your priceless car?”
“If I cannot trust you with my car, then I certainly cannot trust you enough to take you to Bellgard.”
“It’s that secretive of a place?” She carefully closed up the box.
“It is a fortressed city.”
“Fortressed? Come on.”
“You will see for yourself.”
“If I decide to come. Remember, I was leaning toward saying no.”
“You want to come.”
“You can’t possibly know that.”
“You came up here. You searched through baby clothes. You told me about your past. You want to come.”
“I still don’t know enough about you.”
“You know I am the son of evil. I live in a fortressed city far from here, and I enjoy a good Pinot and fast cars as much as you do. Is there anything else you need to know?”
She seemed pensive for a moment. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
“A girlfriend? No.”
“Then a wife, or anything else?”
“None of the above. And if it puts you at ease, it has been longer than I care to admit since I have been with a woman.”
“It doesn’t put me at ease. It means you’re desperate.”
“Desperate? If I were desperate I would have slept with the girl hanging all over me at that dive bar the other night.”
“You hang out at dive bars?”
“It is the atmosphere that attracts me. I like to blend in. I go there because no one knows me, and no one cares.”
“Sounds kind of sad.” She played with the hem of her pajama shirt.
“It is no sadder than you turning into a recluse because of what happened to you. They are the ones that should hide. Not you.” I took her chin in my hand. “You should never hide.”
Our eyes locked, and I didn’t think. I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers. She didn’t respond at first, but then she started to move her lips against mine. I sped up the kiss, and she put a hand on my shoulder, pulling me in. I pushed my way into her mouth, wrapping my arms around her waist as I eagerly explored her mouth. I was out of control, I could not think straight. All I was aware of was her sweet taste, and the way her fingers were tangled in my hair. I wanted to devour her, experience everything she had to offer, explore the places that no one had explored before. But I couldn’t. Not yet. I forced myself to break the kiss. I stepped back.
She watched me, breathless, and with wide eyes. “You kissed me.”
“You kissed me back.” I smiled. I was as affected as her, but she was not doing a very good job at hiding her reaction.
“I did. I kissed you back, and since we are all about being honest, I want to kiss you again.”
“You can.”
“Now?”
I laughed. “That eager?”
“You ended it too soon.”
“I ended it before I moved things too fast.”
“I thought you liked things fast.”
“Not this. Not with you.” I had to be careful with her.
“Not with me?”
“I need to show you Bellgard first… before I take things further.”
“Why?”
“Because I am trying to be a good man. I am trying to fight against the nature I was born with. I know that I am not going to be able to let you go once I have you, and you need to know who I really am, where I really come from before that happens.”
“I asked for another kiss, not a lifetime of commitment.” She grinned.
“But I want more than another kiss. I want to take you downstairs into bed and show you exactly what intimacy means to me, but as I said I will not be able to let you go after that. I know it. I finally understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Get some sleep. Go to work. We can talk about everything after that.” I could not share everything with her yet. I refused to scare her away, and I needed to figure things out myself first.
“But I don’t want to wait.”
“Trust me, neither do I, but we have to think things through. I cannot be reckless.”
“I want to be