Free Carrying the Lost Heir's Child by Jules Bennett Page A

didn’t, but he better have a damn good reason for lying to her face.
    “I honestly didn’t want to lie to you,” he defended, as if her silence had triggered him to speak up for himself.
    A laugh escaped her. “And yet you did it anyway.”
    “Damon doesn’t know who I am.” In two long strides, Nash closed the gap to stand directly in front of her. Those bright blue eyes held hers as if pleading for her to hear him out. “To my knowledge he never even knew my mother was pregnant. I only found out he was my birth father several months ago and that’s when I came to work for him. I needed to see what kind of man he was, needed to know if I even wanted to pursue a relationship with him.”
    A bit of her heart melted, but he’d still withheld information from her, pretending to be someone he wasn’t.
    “You’re the son of the most prominent man in this industry and you didn’t even think to tell me?”
    Nash reached for her hands, held them tight against his chest as he took another step toward her. “When we first started our connection was just physical. You know that. But then I started getting more involved with you and I worried about disclosing the truth, but I also knew you’d be leaving at the end of the shoot. I wasn’t going to say anything to Damon until you were gone and it never would’ve affected you. But now...”
    Realization dawned on her. He’d had to tell her. But the fact of the matter was he only did so when forced to, and that hurt her more than she cared to admit.
    “The baby.”
    Nash nodded, squeezing her hands as if he was afraid she would turn and run. “I truly never wanted you involved in my mess, in this lie, but things were out of my control.”
    Lily raised her brows. “Out of your control?”
    “Fine.” The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, showcasing that devastating smile. “I couldn’t control myself around you, but I could control how much of my life I let you in on. I wasn’t able to tell you before.”
    “Why now?” she asked, searching his face, finding only vulnerability masked by a handsome, rugged exterior. “You could’ve kept this to yourself until you talked to Damon.”
    He held her hands against his heart with one palm and slid his other hand up along her cheek, his fingers threading through her hair.
    “No, I couldn’t. You’ve come to mean more, we mean more, than I thought possible. I wasn’t ready for you, Lily. I’ve had this secret living in me, I couldn’t just let anyone in.”
    His heart beat heavily against her hand and Lily knew that him baring his soul was courageous and brave. He could’ve kept lying to her, he could’ve gone to Damon first with this bombshell, but he’d opened himself up.
    “Besides,” he went on, drawing her closer. “I need you. More than I want to admit, and on a level that terrifies me. No matter what’s going on around me, in spite of all my issues, I need the passion we possess. I need you, Lily.”
    Mercy, when he said things like that her entire body shivered, her stomach flopped as nerves settled deep inside her. He wasn’t lying now. No man had ever looked at her the way he did. She saw the raw truth in his eyes. Saw how hard it was to expose himself.
    “I need you with me right now,” he told her, nipping at her lips. “I need to draw from your strength.”
    The man was twice her size, with his broad, muscular shoulders, his towering height, yet he wanted her strength? He humbled her with his direct, bold declaration.
    “Are you going to tell him soon?” she asked, gripping his shirt.
    “I really don’t know. Part of me wants to, especially now that the film is done, the racing season is over and the girls aren’t under as much pressure.”
    Lily smiled, warming to the idea of Nash being part of such an amazing family. “You have sisters. Nash, this is such a big deal. You have to go to them. They deserve to know. If you want me to go with you, I will. I’ll stay back, too.