at his shoulders, fearful her knees would buckle at any moment. Then his clever, oh-so-clever mouth began to kiss the shell of her ear. Tiny, nibbling kisses that made her heart race and her blood heat. When he nipped the lobe of her ear, Maria sucked in a breath.
It was a mistake, she realized as she breathed in his familiar scent. Suddenly her senses were flooded with the smell of him. He smelled of soap and fresh snow and the forest. And Maria couldn’t help but think of how many times during the past few months those scents had triggered memories of him, had made her ache to be in his arms again like this.
When Steven began planting a string of kisses along her jawline, Maria knew she was playing a dangerous game. She wanted Steven desperately, loved him just as fiercely. Yet there could be no future for them. She knew it, had known it almost from the start. Not even the baby growing inside her could change the impossibility of them sharing a life together. To allow Steven to continue would only make him believe otherwise. And to do so would be wrong, she reasoned. “Steven,” she began, knowing she had to tell him to stop.
But then he kissed her neck and the protest died on her lips. Tipping her head back, she gave him the access he sought. As he kissed her throat, the hint of whiskers along his jaw felt like fine sandpaper brushing against her softer skin. The sensation was erotic, seductive. When Steven flicked his tongue across her sensitized flesh, Maria nearly whimpered. She curled her fingers into his sweater, marveled at the feel of hard muscle and sinew beneath the soft cashmere.
“So sweet, so incredibly sweet,” he murmured, his breath a warm rush against her fevered skin. Her heart pounded so wildly in her chest, Maria feared it would burst at any second.
When Steven nudged aside the V-neckline of her sweater and shirt to kiss her collarbone, her breath hitched. Sliding her fingers through his hair, she pulled his head up and brought his mouth back to her own.
This time when their lips met, it was Maria who groaned as he nipped at her lower lip and took control of the kiss. Maria’s head swam beneath the onslaught of his mouth and tongue, the feel of his hands sliding down her back, over her hips. When he cupped her bottom and lifted her, pressed her against his arousal, Maria trembled.
“God, Maria, I’ve missed you so much,” he said as he continued to pepper her face with kisses.
“And I’ve missed you,” she admitted, lost in the feel of his mouth and hands on her after so long without him. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the baby…that I ran away like I did….”
“I told you, it doesn’t matter,” he said, cutting off her apology with another earth-shattering kiss.
When he lifted his head, Maria could have sworn the world had tilted beneath her feet. In an effort to steady herself, she looped her arms around his neck and only then did she realize that Steven was carrying her toward the couch.
Gently he placed her atop the cushions and sat beside her. She’d barely had time to register what had happened when he cupped her face in his hands. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and said, “The only thing that matters is that we’re together now. I swear, I won’t let anything ever keep us apart again.”
His words were like a dash of cold water, instantly sobering Maria. “Steven,” she began.
“I swear to you, Maria, I’m going to be the very best husband and father,” he continued.
“Steven, don’t,” she said and struggled to sit up.
“What is it? Is it the baby? Did I hurt you or the baby?”
“No. No, the baby’s fine. I’m fine,” she assured him.
“Then what is it? What’s wrong?”
“We need to slow down. Everything is happening too fast,” Maria told him.
Steven’s gaze slid from her face to her belly. “Sweetheart, from where I’m sitting, I think we need to move fast,” he said, a note of humor in his voice. “When’s the baby due?”
“In February,” Maria said. “On Valentine’s Day, February fourteenth.” She waited several heartbeats for him to acknowledge the ominous date.
He didn’t. Instead, he said, “Then we don’t have much time to plan the wedding. I’ll be honest, I’d just as soon we elope right now with just Magdalene and Louis as our witnesses.”
“Steven, please.”
“But if you’ve got your heart set on a big wedding, I understand,” he said, ignoring her protest. “I have only one condition, that we get married before Christmas. I want us to start the New Year as husband and wife.”
“Stop it!”
He jerked back as though she’d slapped him, and narrowed his eyes. “Stop what, Maria?”
“Stop trying to railroad me into marrying you.”
Steven stood, but continued to stare down at her with accusing eyes. “Is that what I’m doing? Railroading you into a marriage you don’t want?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer. Instead, he continued, “I love you, and I thought you loved me.”
“I do love you,” she told him, feeling frustrated and confused. It was the truth. She did love Steven with all of her heart.
He knelt down beside her and captured her hands in his. “Then marry me, make a life with me and our baby.”
She tugged her hands free and looked away. “You know it’s not that simple.”
“I know it’s not that difficult either. Most people who love each other and are expecting a baby get married.”
“We’re not most people,” she reminded him. “I’m a Barone and you’re a Conti.”
“And our baby will be both,” Steven pointed out as he stood once more.
“I know that. It’s just—”
“We can make this work, Maria,” he insisted. “I know we can. We’ll get married and you can move into my apartment. Or we can buy a house and—”
“Don’t,” Maria cried out, unable to bear having Steven describe a life for the two of them that she knew in her heart wasn’t possible. Tears stung her eyes. And she immediately blamed those threatening tears on her body’s hormones—hormones that had been out of whack since she’d become pregnant. Because she was afraid if she admitted the truth—that she wanted the life with him that Steven had described—she would weaken. And she couldn’t afford to weaken now. Not when there was so much at stake. Deciding she needed distance in order to clear her senses and think rationally, Maria said, “I think it would be best if you were to leave now.”
“Forget it. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Then you’ll have to excuse me,” she said primly.
But Steven didn’t move a muscle. He simply stood there, looking tall and daunting as he stared down at her.
“Please get out of my way,” she said firmly, coolly.
His expression hardened and for a moment she thought he would refuse. Then he
