Page 51 of Sizzling Desire

Kane shifts, lifting himself onto his elbows, his dark eyes searching mine.

And I do what I always do. I push away.

Sliding out from beneath him, I grab the sheet, wrapping it around me as I sit on the edge of the bed. My body is still thrumming from the aftershocks, but my mind? My mind is a fucking disaster.

Kane watches me, his expression unreadable. “Grace?—”

“This was a mistake,” I whisper.

His jaw ticks. “Bullshit.”

I shake my head. “This can’t happen again.”

He pushes up, sitting beside me, his voice quiet but firm. “That’s where you’re wrong.”

I swallow hard, gripping the sheet tighter. I squeeze my eyes shut, forcing myself to remember why this is a mistake. Forcing myself to remember that I’m pregnant.

With his baby.

And he doesn’t know.

I jerk out of his grip, ignoring the flash of confusion in his eyes as I get out of bed.

“Where are you going?” Kane asks, his voice still thick with satisfaction.

I avoid his gaze as I gather my clothes, my hands shaking. “Back to the guest room.”

A muscle jumps in his jaw. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do.” I force myself to look at him, forcing steel into my voice. “This was a mistake.”

Something dark flickers across his face, something that looks a lot like anger. “That’s bullshit and you know it.”

I swallow hard. “This doesn’t change anything.”

His eyes burn into mine, searching for something I refuse to give him.

After a long, excruciating pause, he exhales sharply and stands up, his gaze never leaving mine. “You always do this, don’t you?” His voice is quieter now, almost resigned. “Push people away before they can get too close.”

I clutch the sheet tighter around me, my nails digging into the fabric.

He’s right, but I don’t say that. Instead, I straighten my spine, lift my chin, and lie. “There is no ‘too close,’ Kane,” I say, my voice colder than I feel.

His jaw tightens, his expression going unreadable. “If you say so, Gracie.”

I force myself to turn away before he can see the lie forwhat it is. Before he can see the guilt eating me alive. Before he can see just how badly I wish I could let him in.

I don’t stop moving until I reach the guest room, closing the door behind me with a quiet click.

Then I press my back against it, slide to the floor, and drop my head into my hands. Because the truth is staring me in the face. I want Kane. I want him in a way that terrifies me, and I’m carrying his baby. But the moment I tell him… everything changes.

And I don’t know if I can handle that.

Chapter 15

Kane

Istare at the ceiling, my arm draped over my forehead, the scent of Grace still clinging to my sheets. Sleep hasn’t come, not even close. Not after this morning. Not after the way she stormed out of my room like she could outrun what happened between us. Like she could erase the way she cried out my name, the way she clung to me, how her body arched into mine like she needed me more than her next breath.

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