Free Stepbrother's Gift by Krista Lakes Page B

However, once she had become pregnant, I couldn't help but notice how happy she looked, how full of life she seemed. And that big pregnant belly really suited her. I wanted one, and not just any pregnant belly. One with James.
    I put my own hands on my stomach, looking down at the flat surface. In just a few months, I knew that my belly would be full of James' baby. I shook my head, trying to ignore the small voice of reason telling me that this was a bad idea. That I really should have thought this through better. But I wanted it. I wanted it more than I had ever wanted anything else my whole life. I wanted my belly to grow with James' and my child. I wondered how long I'd be able to conceal it from him. I wondered if I should.
    I tried to replay the events that just happened in my head, to try and gauge whether or not he really wanted me as badly as I had wanted him. The sex had been so violent, so passionate, that my brain was fuzzy about the whole experience. One thing he said stood out to me, though:
    “I've been waiting to claim you for a long time.”
    Even thinking about his deep voice saying those words sent another shiver through my body. He had wanted me for as long as I wanted him, I knew it. He just couldn't get away with it while we lived under the same roof, and had never had a chance since then. Society would frown on our relationship, but he didn't care. He wanted me.
    Or did he? As a billionaire, his life was under a lot of journalistic scrutiny. He could decide that he couldn't handle being with me, no matter how badly he wanted it. I had always just been the unwanted, younger sister. I wasn't anything special. It wouldn't be that hard for him to turn his back on me yet again.
    Stop it , I told myself. I knew I was just going to worry myself sick if I kept thinking like that. The fact that he had revealed how much he wanted me, and the fact that he had fucked me on his work desk, was supposed to make things simpler. I had hoped that it would quench the need I had for him, that it would satisfy the craving deep inside of me. Except, it hadn't. If anything, it seemed to make things more complicated.
    I had no idea how long the trip to his apartment was, so I decided to look at the email he sent me to see if I could figure out what he was thinking from that. I pulled out my phone and looked at the screen, squinting at the letters to try and discern something new.
    ––––––––
    H ead downstairs to the parking lot. My driver will be waiting in a limo for you and will drive you to my apartment now. Just hang out there. I’ll try to get out of here as early as I can. We can talk about this then.
    ––––––––
    D emanding. Assertive. Discrete. I imagined his voice reading this email to me, and again it just made me want him even more. Still, there didn't seem to be anything there about how he felt, just that he wanted to talk about what happened and soon. That could be good or it could be bad. He hadn't outright said it was a mistake, but he also didn't say that it wasn't.
    I sighed. I guess I'd have no choice but to entertain myself at a billionaire's apartment. As I looked around at his limo again, I knew that things could be much worse.

Chapter Eleven
    T he limo drove me through the darkening streets of the city, finally stopping at a brick building with a green awning and a doorman. It didn't scream wealth, yet I knew that he probably paid a fortune for his apartment. There was a simple beauty to it that I appreciated.
    The doorman helped me out of the limo, took my bag, and escorted me up to James' penthouse without a word of explanation on my part. Once there, he showed me how to call him downstairs if I needed anything before disappearing as only I imagined servants could do.
    When he left, I pulled off my boots and set my coat, hat and scarf on the back of the couch and  walked through the apartment. It was basically exactly how I imagined a billionaire's apartment to be. It was