Free The Playboy's Baby by JM Stewart

herself step away from him.
    A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. Dillon released her hand and took a step back. “I’ll get dressed. Then you can tell me what else I’m going to need.”
    He grabbed his coffee cup and left the room. When he disappeared down the hallway, Emma’s body mourned the loss of his warmth in the form of a shiver that raked through her. Breathless and half giddy, she sagged back against the counter. Now she knew why he had the reputation he did. The man was hard to resist. Like smooth, rich dark chocolate. She wanted to gobble him up.
    Reality hit her, and her eyes slid shut. This was never going to work. She’d never survive another twenty-four hours with him.
     

Chapter Five
     
     
    Emma was only mildly disappointed when Dillon emerged from the hallway half an hour later wearing jeans and a T-shirt. She liked him better in the faded denim than in the towel. Hard to believe it was possible, but his jeans hugged the contours of his body, emphasizing lean hips and long, powerful thighs.
    Seated at the kitchen table, she tried not to watch Dillon cross the room. When he reached her, he sank into a chair beside her. She tried to contain the erratic beat of her heart when he turned those sexy dark eyes on her.
    He folded his hands on the table in front of him. “So. I have no experience whatsoever in the baby department. What do you suggest I get?”
    She swallowed past the nervous lump in her throat, her stomach doing an annoying little flip. “Everything.”
    “That doesn’t help.” His voice shook with amusement and the quiet sound washed over her like a heated caress. Her mouth curled into a smile of its own accord.
    She swallowed a miserable groan. How come she’d never noticed how sexy his laugh was? Or the way it lit up his eyes? More to the point, how could such a simple sound make her feel like a teenager with a crush?
    She sat up straighter in the chair and forced her mind to focus on his words and not the way his mouth moved when he spoke. “Well, you’re going to need a high chair for one. Plus small things like diapers and bottles.”
    “What exactly does she eat?” His brows came together, his face twisted in a look of perplexity. The same look he had on his face last night while holding Annie. He was clearly out of his element.
    “Formula mostly. I started her on solids about a month ago, so I give her cereal in the mornings, a jar of fruit for lunch, and a vegetable for dinner. She has a bottle before bedtime, like last night.”
    He nodded. “Anything else?”
    “Mostly, you’re going to have to baby proof the house. It isn’t going to be long before she’s mobile. You’ll need to put stuff up high, where she can’t reach it. Like that vase over in the corner and the pokers by the fireplace. Anything smaller than a tennis ball too. Everything she gets her hands on goes right into her mouth and she could choke on the small stuff.”
    He braced his elbows on the table, raked his hands through his hair, and let out a quiet laugh. “Why do I suddenly feel I’m in way over my head?”
    Against her better judgment, she settled a hand over his. “It gets easier with time. Most people have nine months to prepare. You’ve just been dumped into the middle of it.”
    He gave a miserable shake of his head, his fingers curling around hers. “You have to be back to work when?”
    She gave him a sympathetic smile. “Wednesday.”
    He grinned and waggled his brows at her. “Sure you don’t want to just move in permanently?”
    She laughed. “You’ll do fine.”
    His smile fell and he dropped his gaze to their clasped hands, his thumb sweeping her knuckles. The worry etched in the lines of his face grabbed her attention. “I hope you’re right. That little girl deserves the best I’ve got.”
     
     
    Standing in the center of a small room at the doctor’s office, Doctor Marley took what looked like a giant one-sided cotton swab and rubbed it on the inside of