Free Shayla Black by Strictly Seduction

head?
    Shifting uncomfortably to accommodate the front of his expanding breeches, Brock heard a hushed whisper at the parlor’s portal. He stood, hoping his coat hid anything too telling, and faced the door as it inched open.
    Instead of Maddie, little Aimee stood there, arm stretched out before her, ending in a fist. The late-day sun’s brilliant rays streamed through the window, brightening the little girl’s golden hair until it looked like a halo.
    “ Hello,” she greeted with a smile, dimples showing.
    She walked further into the room, arm still outstretched but touching nothing. She smelled faintly of cherries.
    “ Hello, Aimee.” He frowned as he watched her walk a circle around the couch. “What are you doing?”
    “ Walking my dog. See? I’m holding his leash.”
    Brock saw nothing. “What dog?”
    “ You can’t see him,” she whispered, as if letting him in on a secret. “He’s invisible except to me.”
    A pretend dog? Straining to find the logic in such a game, Brock sat again. “And this dog is your pet?”
    “ Frog.” She nodded.
    He was really confused now. “Your dog is a frog?”
    Aimee rolled her eyes and heaved a dramatic sigh. “No, you ninny. My dog is named Frog.”
    The girl’s tone indicated she thought the dog’s name was perfectly obvious and logical. It was neither to him. “Why did you name your dog Frog?”
    She shrugged her little shoulders. “He likes to hop.”
    Brock frowned, trying to follow. “I’ve never seen a dog hop.”
    Aimee cast him a very disparaging glance for a four-year-old. “You’ve never seen Frog.”
    She had a point, though a very odd one. Resolved that he may never fully understand the rationale of her young mind, he simply nodded.
    “ I’m going to have a baby brother,” she announced.
    Shock bounced through Brock faster than he could make money multiply. Maddie was pregnant? By whom?
    Staggered, he stared at Aimee. Was that why Maddie wanted to become his mistress, to pin her pregnancy on him and make him...what? Marry her? He had already offered—insisted actually—and she had refused.
    Or was this perhaps another of the little girl’s games? He sent Aimee a jaundiced gaze.
    “ A baby brother? You must be excited,” he said carefully. “When?”
    She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
    “ What did your mother say?”
    After a little shake of her blond head, Aimee whispered, “She doesn’t know yet.”
    Relief undulated through him in slow waves, until the illogical nature of Aimee’s words hit him again. “Then how do you know you will have a baby brother?”
    “ God told me.”
    Brock wanted to ask her how she thought that was possible when her father was dead, but realized that question would be lost on her innocent mind. Clearly, the girl wanted a sibling and was willing to invent a conversation with God to get one.
    “ God told you what?” Maddie asked suddenly.
    With a glance to the portal, Brock saw her there. The doorway framed her, and he let his eyes feast on her like a man starved. She looked perfect, all creamy and regal, despite her drab work dress. The auburn luxury of her hair was once again bound in a tight chignon he vowed to unwind the minute their vows were spoken. The cut of her coarse brown dress accentuated the juicy curve of her breast. He’d bet she wore just one petticoat. Lust started a slow burn in his belly and ripped through him without mercy.
    “ About my baby brother.” Aimee’s soft tone was accompanied by a guilty grimace.
    Apparently, Maddie had heard this assertion before and disliked it.
    “ I’m sorry, sweeting, but there will be no brothers,” Maddie said gently as she approached her daughter. She knelt to the girl and smoothed blond wisps from her little face. “We’ve talked about this. Remember?”
    Glumly, Aimee nodded. “Yes, Mama.”
    “ Good girl. Now go play upstairs. Auntie Vema wants to see your drawings.”
    “ But Mr. Taylor—”
    “ Go on,” Maddie ordered, her face