The Durango Affair. Brenda Jackson

as her grip on sanity weakened. The way he was looking at her wasn’t helping matters. She sensed his intense reaction to her was just as potent as hers to him. It was just as strong as it had been that night, and at that moment the desire to have his hands on her again, touching her breasts, her thighs, the area between her legs, was strong and unexpected. If he were to try anything right now, anything at all, it would take all her willpower to resist him.

      “I want to be around and see how your body changes with my baby growing inside you, Savannah,” he whispered huskily.

      His words flowed over Savannah, caressing her in places she didn’t want to be touched, and making a slow ache seep through her bones. “I don’t know how that will be possible, Durango,” she whispered softly.

      “It would be possible if we got married.”

      She frowned and pulled back from him, breaking their contact. “You agreed not to bring that up again.”

      A smile touched the corners of his lips. “I know, but I want to make you an offer that I hope you can’t refuse.”

      She lifted her eyebrows. “What kind of offer?”

      “That we marry and set a limit on the amount of time we’ll stay together. We could remain married during the entire length of your pregnancy and for a short while afterward—say six to nine months. After that, we could file for a divorce.”

      She was stunned by his proposal. “What would doing something like that accomplish?” she asked, feeling the weight of his gaze on her and wishing she could ignore it.

      “First, it would satisfy my need and desire to be with you during your pregnancy. Second, it would eliminate the stigma of my child being born illegitimate, which is something that is unacceptable to me. And third, because you believe I’ll end up doing to you what your father did to your mother, at least this way you’ll know up front that the marriage will be short-term and you won’t lose any sleepless nights.”

      Savannah’s frown deepened. “I never said I thought you would do me the way my father did my mother.”

      “Not in so many words, but it’s clear you believe if I married you just for the baby that things wouldn’t work out between us. And in a way I have to agree. You’re probably right. Our marriage would be based on a sense of obligation on my part. There has to be more to hold a marriage together than just a baby. And to be quite honest with you, I’m not looking for a long-term marriage. But a short-term union, for our baby’s sake, would be acceptable to me. I believe it would be acceptable to you, as well, because we’d know what to expect and not to expect from the relationship.”

      It seemed like a million questions were flashing in Savannah’s mind, but she knew the main one that she needed to ask. “Are you saying you’d want a marriage in name only? A marriage of convenience?”

      “Yes.”

      She swallowed and continued to meet his gaze. “And that means we won’t be sharing a bed?”

      He studied her for a moment and knew what she was getting at. His desire for her was as natural as it could get, and he didn’t see it lessening any. If he wanted her at such a high degree now, he could just imagine how things would be once they were living together as man and wife under the same roof. Yes, he would definitely want to sleep with her.

      Leaning back in his chair, he said, “No, not exactly. I have other ideas on the matter.”

      She could just imagine those ideas. “Then keep whatever ideas you have to yourself. If, and I said if, I go along with what you’re proposing, we will not share a bed.”

      “Are you saying that you didn’t enjoy sleeping with me?”

      Savannah huffed an agitated sigh. Who had slept that night? Neither of them had until the wee hours of the morning. From what she remembered—and she was remembering it quite well—it was round-the-clock sex. And she had to admit, it was the best she’d ever had. The year she’d spent with Thomas couldn’t even compare. “That’s not the point.”

      “Then what is the point?” Durango countered.

      “The point is,” Savannah said, narrowing her eyes at him, “regardless of the fact that I did sleep with you that night, I usually don’t jump into any man’s bed unless I’m serious about him.” She decided not to tell him that she’d only been serious with two other guys in her entire love-life history.

      He leaned forward. “Trust me, Savannah, once we’re married, we’ll be as serious as any couple can get, even if we plan for our marriage to last a short while. Frankly I see no reason why we shouldn’t sleep together. We’re adults with basic needs who know what we want, and I think we need to start being honest with ourselves. We’re attracted to each other, and have been from the first, which is why we’re in this predicament. Things got as hot as it gets.

      “And,” he continued with an impatient wave of his hand to stop her from saying whatever it was that she was about to say, “we might not have been in our right minds that night, since we might have overindulged in the champagne, but we did enjoy making love. So why pretend otherwise?”

      Savannah scowled. She wasn’t pretending; she just didn’t want a repeat performance, regardless of how enjoyable it had been. “You’re missing the point.”

      “No, I think that you are. You’re pregnant and I want to be a part of this pregnancy. It’s important that I be there with you during the time you’re carrying our baby, to bond with him or her while he or she’s still in your womb and for some months following that.”

      “And just how long are you talking about?”

      “Whatever period of time we agree on, but I prefer nothing less than six months. I’d even go into another year if I had to.”

      She frowned. “I wouldn’t want you to do me any favors.”

      “It’s not about doing you any favors, Savannah. I intend to always be a part of my child’s life regardless of whether you and I are together. But I think six months afterward should be sufficient, unless you want longer.”

      When hell freezes over. For a few moments Savannah didn’t say anything. What could she say when he was right? They had been attracted to each other from the first.

      But what happened that night was in the past and she refused to willingly tumble back into bed with him again, and he had another thought coming if he assumed that she would. Evidently he was used to getting what he wanted, but in this case he wouldn’t be so lucky.