Her Twin Surprise (Forsaken Sons #2) - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,33

up the photographs on the desk, staring at the images of the smiling faces. His kids? Could it be true? And what had Tom said about that visit? Stevie had visited him in…January. Yeah, he remembered that now. Had she been trying to tell him that she was pregnant? But why wait so long? Probably so that he couldn’t demand she get an abortion.

Janus snarled with disgust. He would never do that.

His thumb moved over the image, but it wasn’t his child. It was just a photo.

Making a quick decision, he grabbed his jacket and hurried out of his office, stuffing the pictures into his pocket. “Cancel my afternoon meetings. Something’s come up.”

He didn’t see Mary’s bemused expression as he stormed out of the office. He didn’t see anything except a red haze as he drove out of Seattle towards the address on the envelope. He was going to see his children!

Chapter 14

The sleek, black vehicle parked in front of her house was odd, but Stevie had too much on her mind to figure out who might be visiting one of her neighbors. “Halley, quit hitting your brother!”

Halley stopped, but that only gave Harrison the opportunity to return fire. “Harrison! That didn’t mean you can hit your sister!”

The pair burst into giggles.

“No hitting!” she repeated firmly as she pulled into the driveway.

Glancing in her rearview mirror, she saw the mischievous looks and knew she was in for a long evening. “Okay, we’re home. I want you both to…” Stevie didn’t get a chance to finish. They were already out of the car and halfway up the driveway. Herbie was barking at the window, eager to be let out so that he celebrate their return. Stevie sighed as she grabbed her purse and her tote filled with papers that needed grading, then moved to the back of the car to pick up the first load of groceries. “Hey! Don’t step in that puddle, Harrison!” she called out. “And Halley, your teacher told me that you didn’t finish your classwork today. So no reading until you’ve finished your class work and homework.”

Stevie knew that her daughter heard her, although Halley was already racing off to the backyard towards their swing set-fort area. She dove head first onto the swing, landing on her belly and started pushing off.

“Right,” she grumbled. Pulling two of the fabric bags loaded with groceries out of her trunk, she balanced the bags, her purse, her tote and the keys as she walked the four steps up to the back door.

“Need some help?” a deep voice asked.

And with those words, spoken in that deep, sexy, familiar voice, everything in her arms hit the porch. Clutching her throat, she turned slowly, knowing who she’d find.

For a long moment, she couldn’t move. Stevie stared at him and he stared back. And for a brief moment, her heart soared. He’d come back! He’d finally come back to her!

“Momma!” Halley called out. “Can we…who’s this?”

That’s when Stevie remembered. Everything! The past five years, her mother’s passing, the funeral, trying to call Janus with no answer, wanting…needing a shoulder to cry on during those first, horrific months. Cleaning out her mother’s clothes, then discovering that she was pregnant. The humiliation of being told that Janus would press charges against her for harassment if she didn’t stop trying to contact him and…well, it was all too much.

Her anger and fury boiled over, smothering the happy memories. “Get the hell away from me!” she snapped, then turned to unlock the door.

Unfortunately, she’d stood at the door too long. As soon as the door opened, Herbie bounded out, knocking her down. Stevie felt herself falling backwards and tried to grab the stair railing. But she missed and fell...right into strong arms that cradled her close.

Stevie opened her eyes, shocked to find Janus holding her. She stared up at him, lost in those mesmerizing silver eyes. Memories flooded her. Memories of Janus holding her after making love, laughing with him, pressing herself against his naked body while she slept, completely sated and madly in love.

Janus stared back, his arms tightening, almost as if he might be remembering those moments as well.

Herbie’s huge, pink tongue darted out, leaving a smear of slimy, doggie saliva on Stevie’s cheek.

Trust Herbie to ruin the moment.

“Ugh!” Stevie groaned. She pushed away from Janus’ arms and stepped back. Herbie barked, then nudged her hand with his nose. Automatically, Stevie scratched his ears while glaring up at Janus. “Thank you for…catching me. Now, go away.”

With