Page 14 of The Billionaire's Baby
"I am not admitting to anything," I mutter.
"You will; it’s only a matter of time." He smirks.
"Keep dreaming," I scoff.
"What makes you think I haven’t been?"
"Huh?" I stare at him. "What do you mean?"
"Unlike you, I don’t fight my instincts. Since the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew this day would arrive, when I’d have you with me, on my boat, in my bedroom…” he leans in close enough for his nose to bump mine, "at my mercy."
"Everything I’m doing is of my mercy." I tip up my chin.
"That’s what I like about you." He chuckles. "That’s what attracted me to you in the first place. The fact that you want to come out the winner in any situation. In that sense, we are very alike."
"I am nothing like you." I swipe my hair over my shoulder. "I am not the one taking unfair advantage of the situation I find myself in."
"Is that right?" He raises his arm and I flinch. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, "Keep telling yourself so and you’ll still not believe it."
He peers into my eyes and I hold his gaze, stare into those deep fathomless eyes of his. "On the other hand, I agree that I need to make the most of this situation I find myself in. I want a child, the timing is right, and I could do worse for a father."
"Are you admitting that your genes and mine together could make for an extraordinary offspring?" He smirks.
"Any child of mine would be incredible," I glance up at the ceiling, "and yeah, you’ll do for a father."
He laughs, then cups my cheek. "And I changed my mind. I want some rights."
"What?" I blink. "What do you mean?"
"Visitation rights, babe."
"I already told you I get sole custody of the child."
"And I am telling you now that I want visitation rights."
My heart begins to thud. This is going completely wrong. This isn’t what I wanted. My child...belongs only to me. I am going to bring him or her up on my own.
"No," I snarl. "No way."
"Think about it." He raises his hand. "Don’t turn it down so quickly."
"I don’t want you in my child’s life." I flatten my lips. "I don’t need to think about it."
"You sure that you want to waste the opportunity you’ve been given of actually becoming pregnant? And all because of your own ego."
"My ego?" I gape. "Look who’s talking. Only the most full-of-himself a-hole that I’ve ever met."
"At your service." He straightens. "I don’t make any pretenses about who I am. I like control, I like challenges, and I never turn down a dare."
"Is that why you like to chase storms?"
He straightens and I have to tilt my head further back to meet his gaze.
"Clearly, you have a death wish," I allow my lips to twist. "or maybe you like to challenge the elements?"
His gaze intensifies, his nostrils flare, and he clenches his fists at his sides. "What’s it to you?" he finally growls. "You’re still here, and so is this boat."
"Is that what you do when you disappear on one of your sailing trips?"Shut up, already. What are you trying to do, push him? Goad him into losing his temper? Why can’t you simply walk away from this entire deal anyway, huh?
