Free Intimate Strangers by Danielle Taylor

him.
    “Shall I just…” He fumbled with the envelope again and she nodded, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. The action created the most gloriously sensual picture, which only served to remind him of what she had been capable of doing with those lips, that tongue, and her teeth.
    “Right.” Clearing his throat and his mind from the erotic thoughts rushing through it, Tiaan ripped the paper open and pulled out the thick stack of pages. His eyes scanned the documents, landing on the words that, deep down in the depths of his heart, he already knew were true.
    He opened his mouth to tell her, but no sound came from his parted lips, save for a stuttered breath.
    The one thing he needed to do in that moment was hold his son in his arms. Tiaan rose slowly, ignoring the sharp pains in his knees, and edged closer to the two people he would be forever tied to on this earth.
    He dropped down next to Chelsea, wondering exactly how he was supposed to hold a baby. Erik wasn’t this small, didn’t look this delicate. What if he hurt Ruan? He’d never forgive himself, and she wouldn’t either.
    Tiaan gazed at Chelsea expectantly. She offered the slightest hint of a smile and, not bothering to check the paternity test results herself (she had known all along and he felt like an even bigger piece of shit for it), used one hand to show him how to hold his arms, then placed the sleeping bundle against his chest.
    It was like magic, the veil of fog lifted from his head, filled his heart with purpose. Tiaan touched his nose to the soft, silken hair and inhaled deeply. Rumbling laughter shook his chest as he recognized the scent. “He smells just like you,” he whispered, catching her gaze before it dropped nervously.
    Pale seconds ago, her cheeks were now a lovely hue of pink. “It’s the milk, I read up about it. Newborns smells like breast milk–” She stopped herself, growing even redder. More deliciously beautiful.
    Gently so, he tightened his grip on his son – his son! – and closed his eyes, enjoying this moment more than any in his lifetime. He had heard people discussing immediate and unconditional love, but always assumed they were making that shit up to fill some void. Now he knew it did exist. The cracks in his heart healed instantly and he knew he couldn’t go a day without holding Ruan, ever again.
    Chelsea on the other hand, he didn’t know what she wanted from him, if anything. Tiaan risked a glance at her.
    Silence.
    He didn’t do very well with it nowadays. Without thinking, Tiaan blurted out the first thing that popped into his head, simply to fill the noiseless void. “Come back with me, Chels.”
    Unbeknownst to him before he spoke the words, they only made it worse.
    Her jaw hung slack, mouth wide, chin touching her chest as she stared at him.

    ~~~

    Chelsea brought her lips together quickly, still surprised by his comment. Her eyes wandered to Ruan who snuggled deeper into his father’s neck. A more beautiful picture she couldn’t imagine and deep down, she knew this was a good thing. Her son should know both of his parents, should receive equal amounts of love from each of them. In the face of her deepest reservations, she didn’t have the right to refuse Tiaan’s request no matter that her heart couldn’t take this game of tug-of-war he initiated.
    “H-how long um, are you planning on staying with the Dunlops?”
    “Six months.”
    Her heart dropped. He would be leaving again.
    “At least,” Tiaan added with a sigh that raised her hopes ever so slightly. “I don’t think I can go back to what I used to do, but at the same time, I don’t know what else I can do. Getting a job here is out of the question because I’m American. I’d need a visa and all of that first. And they don’t exactly hand those things out to people like me.”
    That’s right , she sighed. Chelsea kept forgetting Tiaan wasn’t Canadian. He would have to go back home eventually. The thought crossed her mind