Reunited...with Child / One Month with the Magnate: Reunited...with Child. Michelle Celmer

put her hands on his shoulders and slid them down his arms. He was strong and muscled, and she liked the way he felt under her touch. She continued touching him, finding his belt with her fingers and caressing her way along the edge of his waist to the center of his pants and the belt buckle. She tiptoed her fingers lower until she felt the hard ridge of his erection. She rubbed him through his pants, up and down until his hips canted toward hers.

      He lifted his head and stared down at her. His eyes narrowed, and the flush of desire burnished his cheeks.

      “Let me know what you decide,” he said and walked back to his seat.

      Becca stood there aching, wanting, and realized that Cam was still angry at her. She slowly walked to her seat and sat down, taking a magazine out of her bag. She flipped through it but didn’t see the pictures or articles on the pages. She only saw herself and Cam, and she knew that if they were going to have a chance at a future together, one of them was going to have to bend. Was it going to be her? She wanted so badly for Ty to have everything she never had, and that included the family of her dreams. One with Cam.

      Five

      They arrived at Cam’s house safely in the early evening. The drive was quick. The estate sat back from the road at the end of the palm-tree-lined drive. The yard was lusciously landscaped with blooming trees and perfectly mowed emerald-green lawns. The building itself was something out of a design magazine, and made Becca feel a bit like she had when she’d met Amelia. Out of place. She liked it, but it didn’t look like somewhere she would live.

      As she went in, she glanced around the high-ceilinged arched entryway and let out a low whistle between her teeth.

      “Nice digs.”

      “Thanks,” he said. She’d put Ty down, and he was crawling toward the living-room area. “I will show you both to your rooms.”

      The little boy toddled over and tugged on his pant leg as he had earlier, and this time, Cam bent down and picked him up.

      “Hello, there,” he said to Ty.

      “Hi,” Ty said before putting his thumb in this mouth. He shook his head; Nate used to do the same thing when he was little. Cam’s memory of that time was a little fuzzy, but this boy reminded him very strongly of his brother.

      “How am I going to convince your mommy to just do what I want her to?” he asked Ty.

      “Coffee,” Ty said.

      Cam lifted one eyebrow at the boy. Did he even understand what was being said? Cam suspected he did to a certain extent, but having a conversation with an eighteen-month-old wasn’t going to give him any answers to Becca.

      The boy held on to his shoulders as Cam turned to face Becca. There was something sweet about holding a baby—his son.

      “I’ll take him.”

      She held her arms out, but Ty didn’t make any move to go to her. “Ty.”

      The boy took his thumb out of his mouth. “I like the man.”

      “I’m glad,” she said, taking him from Cam and putting her son on a blanket where she’d laid out a couple of toys. She took Cam’s hand and led the way to the hallway where they could still see Ty but he couldn’t see them. “I … I wanted to talk to you.”

      “What about?”

      “I …”

      “Stop hesitating. You are a woman who knows her mind,” he said.

      “You have shaken me. I didn’t expect to see you or tell you about Ty. Not like that. And then you kissed me and got me all hot and bothered but you want to make it about revenge and I’m not sure that’s healthy for me.”

      “I think it would be excellent for me,” he said. “But I am willing to talk to you about this. I’m still so angry, Becca.”

      “I get that. But we need—”

      She glanced over at her son. And he saw the biggest change in Becca compared to the woman she was over two years ago. She had someone else to worry about when she made decisions.

      “Is it because of the paternity suit that you’re so bitter?” she asked.

      “Not at all. I’m mad at you and you alone, Becca,” he said. “You owe me an apology after the secret you kept from me. But if you choose to beg forgiveness in my bed, I won’t complain.”

      She nodded. It was a moment of truth for them both. The chances of them changing each other’s minds and actually getting to the point where they could trust each other were slim. He wasn’t going to deny it.

      “Don’t judge me too harshly. I never knew my father. He left before I was born,” she said.

      “I’m sorry. My dad was the greatest influence on my life. My mother wasn’t very maternal, but my dad … I think you missed something really important there, Becca.”

      “I know I did. And I don’t want Ty to grow up the same way,” she admitted.

      “I’m not making any promises,” Cam said. “But you and I had something electric and I think it’s time we explored it more fully.”

      His phone rang.

      “Stern.”

      “Cam, it’s Nate. I’m glad you are back because we have an emergency at the club. Some of the local leaders are raising a stink about the Mercado again. Can you get down here and handle it? I’m supposed to be upstairs with Jen practicing a waltz for our first dance for the wedding.”

      Jen was Nate’s fiancée. Cam’s little brother had fallen in love with the dance instructor at Luna Azul, and they were planning a wedding in less than a week’s time. Love had hit Nate hard and Cam had a little bit of trouble believing it. But his brother had never been happier and Cam wished him the best.

      “I’m on it. You go do your dancing thing. I’ll be there in less than thirty minutes.”

      “Thanks, bro, you’re the best. I want to hear all about the trip.”

      “I’ll be happy to tell you about it later. Bye, Nate.”

      He turned to Becca. “I’m needed at the club. We can continue this discussion later.”

      “It’s fine.”

      “Good,” he said. “Becca, I know I said I’d put Ty first … not be a workaholic, but this is an emergency.”

      “I get that, Cam, but you said that family was important and we’ve just gotten to your house.”

      “In the future, I will be here more often. This is an emergency.”

      “Okay, but I’m not going to let you do it too often,” she said, relenting.

      He tipped his head to the side. He was still angry she hadn’t told him about Ty, but he could see that she wasn’t going to be resentful toward him about his work. “Thank you.”

      She just nodded. He pulled her into his arms.

      She flushed and felt the stirring of desire deep inside her. She put her hands on his shoulders, then wrapped her arms around his neck. She lifted herself toward him. He rubbed his hands down her back, cupping her butt and bringing her closer to him.

      She felt his erection nudging at the bottom of her stomach and looked up at him. It was a powerful feeling to know that she could make Cam react.

      She leaned up to kiss him, but he controlled the embrace. His mouth moved over hers, and no matter how hard she tried to deepen the connection he wouldn’t let her.

      “Kiss me,” Cam said.

      She shook her head. “I want you to kiss me. I want to know that there is still a spark of something that’s not motivated by your need for vengeance.”

      “Not