Free A Baby for My Military Stepbrother 3 by Cassandra Zara Page B

the sake of our country. There was a very real chance that I would never see him again when he left. Military deployments were always dangerous.
    He wouldn't be leaving if he had a family. He had volunteered for this deployment because of his ex-girlfriend, Rachel. Without her, he didn't have a reason to stay. At least, not until he had me. Except now, he didn't want me.
    I wished I could give him that family. That reason to stay. A pregnancy with Ian, other than the scandal and shock to the town, wouldn't be a bad thing at all. Ian would make the most amazing father. He was basically the man of my dreams. He was so good with children and loved them so much, he deserved to have some of his own.
    The thought of Ian holding a tiny baby, his big hands cradling something so small and precious, made me smile. A boy with his blue eyes and my dark hair. A girl with his smile.
    I shook my head, trying to clear the beautiful thoughts that would never come to pass. Even though we hadn't used protection, there was no way I was pregnant. No one get's pregnant their first time and I wasn't that lucky.
    Besides, he hadn't come for me. He had left me to the storm. He didn't want me anymore.
    Headlights in the rain caught my attention. Probably just the sheriff , I thought. It couldn't be Ian. I had given up hope.
    Except, I knew that raincoat. I knew those broad shoulders and lean waist. I knew the way that man moved, like a hunting cat, cool and confident even in the pouring rain. He jumped over the fallen tree like it was nothing, moving quickly to my car.
    My heart swelled with joy. He came for me. He was here to rescue me, just like I knew he would.
    I opened the car door and ran out to greet him, ignoring the cold water falling and instantly drenching me. Thunder rumbled, but I was more concerned with getting to Ian than my own safety. He, on the other hand, at least had his wits still about him.
    He grabbed my arm and pulled me into the backseat of my car. It was raining so hard, I couldn't have heard him anyway over the roar of the storm, but the backseat of my car was quiet. He was breathing hard, rain dripping off his hair. I didn't know when his hood had fallen back, but his dirty blonde hair was sopping wet.
    The rain made metallic music on the roof of the car, accenting just how quiet we both were. It sounded like the storm was dying down. I didn't know what to say. My heart was searching for the words, words to explain to him just how I felt and why I needed him. I needed him to understand that I loved him, that I couldn't be without him, but my brain struggled with how to put it into words.
    “What are you doing out here?” Ian finally growled. His blue eyes flashed as he ran his hand through his hair, spraying tiny water droplets throughout the cabin. “It's dangerous.”
    “You came for me,” I whispered, my eyes never leaving his handsome, chiseled face.
    “Of course I came for you, Princess,” he replied. Usually, I hated that nickname, but today, I didn't. His eyes were dark and his voice was rough with unspoken emotion. I knew what he was feeling because it was all bottled up in my chest as well. Desire, worry, love, and a million other things that we shouldn't be feeling toward one another. “What are you doing out here?” he repeated.
    It was time to put my heart on the line. He had come for me in the middle of a storm. I had to tell him. “I can't be without you, Ian. I love you.”
    He didn't show any sign of having heard me, instead just turning his head to look out the window at the falling rain. Every muscle of his body was hard and rigid, and what I could see of his face, stone tight.
    “I came out here so you would have to come save me,” I said quietly. “You are my hero.” My heart was beating so hard I was sure he could hear it even over the rain. If he rejected me now, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I wasn't sure I could survive it if he did.
    “You realize that it helps if you tell