“That was amazing,” she groaned beneath him, her chest heaving in unruly gasps.
Oliver braced himself on his elbows and slid the tips of his fingers through the sheen of perspiration dampening her soft cheek. Nothing moved him quite as deeply as witnessing Sammi giving herself over to a powerful orgasm. They might struggle to open up to each other outside the bedroom, but the same couldn’t be said for their level of frankness while wrapped in each other’s arms. He knew exactly what she liked, what drove her wild, and she trusted him to touch her in ways no other man had.
As he rolled onto his side and shifted her so they were both lying face-to-face, he noticed that her gaze eluded his. With passion melting away, their earlier conversation came back to haunt him. That she continued to doubt their relationship made something shift in his chest. He settled his hands beneath his head and stared at her beautiful face. Less than a foot separated them, but she seemed farther away than ever. Since asking her to move in, it was as if she’d been in a full-out retreat.
Couldn’t she see that this was a huge step for him? He never imagined himself living with anyone, much less committing to being a father and immersing himself in the role. What more did she want?
He’d been counting on his offer to live with him being good enough to draw her in. Despite how brief their time together had been thus far, she was already an important fixture in his world. He thought about her all day long, missed her in the quiet moments. Most evenings he wooed her with delicious dinners or fun outings. Most nights they returned to his loft, ravenous for each other, and spent their time together lost in each other’s arms.
She had clothes in his closet and her own space in his bathroom. His refrigerator was stocked with her favorite foods, and she had a key. It was like living together, except she hadn’t changed her address or given up her apartment, even though her mother had moved out a week ago. Why was she resisting taking that next step? She used excuses like it was too fast or she didn’t want to be a bother, but when he read between the lines, she was afraid he would lose interest in her as his lover and relegate her to the role of baby mama.
Well, he’d been giving that a lot of thought and had a way to combine both roles in a way that would give her the stability she craved.
Oliver cupped her cheek in his palm and drew his thumb over her passion-bruised lips. “I think we should get married.”
Sammi’s eyes widened. “What? Why would you suggest something like that?”
Because if she was looking to slap a label on their relationship, husband and wife was the obvious choice. “It makes perfect sense.”
“Sense?” she echoed, frowning. “How so?”
“We both get something that’s important to us.”
“I know what I want from a marriage. What is it you are looking for?”
“I think both of us can agree that we don’t want our child to lack for anything.”
“Of course, but we don’t need to get married for that to happen.”
“But I want us to be a family, and you’re resisting moving in here.” Although he’d never imagined himself tied down with anyone, he could see no better reason to get married than this. “It occurs to me that you need a commitment from me. So let’s get married.”
“Let me get this straight. You’re only marrying me because I’m pregnant.” From her quarrelsome tone, it seemed his justification had annoyed her.
“Is it wrong for me to want our child to have a sense of belonging that I never did?”
An almost imperceptible twitch of her eyebrow was Sammi’s only response. In fact, she was so still that he swore she’d stopped breathing.
“What do you say?” he prompted, his voice tinged with exasperation as he realized she wasn’t going to answer without prompting.
“What do you expect me to say?”
“Yes.” He punctuated the word with an impatient gesture, unable to understand why she wasn’t overjoyed at his proposal. Didn’t she understand what he was offering? He wanted to marry her. Where was the enthusiastic hug and the impassioned kiss? Why wasn’t she delighted?
What he got instead was a subdued tone and polite words. “I’m very happy that you want to be involved in our child’s life.” Her nostrils flared as she sucked in a deep breath. “But I don’t want to marry you.”
“Give me one reason why not.”
“I barely know you.” She pressed her lips together, and he wondered what else was on her mind.
“That’s not true,” he countered, thinking about everything he’d shared with her. “You know more about me than anyone.”
Her lashes flickered as she considered his words. “I’ve been in committed relationships before, but this is the first time I actually want to be in one.” When she spoke next, her voice was so low he could barely hear her. “But I’ve always imagined when I got married that it would be because we were in love.”
She used the term “we” and he knew exactly what that meant.
“Are you asking me if I love you?” Oliver’s annoyance flared as the muscles in his throat constricted. He wanted nothing to do with love. It caused nothing but pain.
“Of course not,” Sammi said, seeming determined to thrust one obstacle after another between them. “How could you? As I said earlier, we barely know each other.”
“But you won’t get married without it.” And Oliver wasn’t a man who made promises he couldn’t
