Everything You Are (16 page)

“Oh, yes, I forgot about that.” Ian reclined backwards on the mattress, forcing her to bend her legs to give him space. “It's quite comfortable, the bed.”

“I guess.” The scent of him, fresh and citrusy, drifted to her. Was it the shampoo? Her gaze slid over the damp hair that fell over his forehead, then she followed the line of his nose to his mouth. He had such a nice mouth and so soft, so tender. She licked her lips.

“I might just have a short nap here.”

She cleared her throat and averted her gaze while her eyebrows lowered. “Shouldn't you go to your bedroom for that?”

“But I like it here.” He grinned. “I know, why don't you read me a story?”

“What, are you a child?”

“Regard it as practice for reading a good night story to our little girl,” he said.

“It's going to be a boy.”

“A girl,” Ian said with conviction in his voice. “I know just which story I would like you to read to me; that Jane Austin book that has Jane Bennet in it.”

“I didn't think you knew about that.”

“Chris told me. Is there a story behind your name?”

“No. Well, my mum's favourite
Pride and Prejudice
character is Jane, not Elizabeth, the story's main character, and when she met my father, she decided that if they were going to end up together and have a girl, her name was going to be Jane.”

“I see.” He smiled. “So, the story...”

“I don't have the book here.”

“Then buy it. There's an e-book available, right?”

“Or I could download it. They have a free version on Project Gutenberg,” she said.

“Or that.” With his arms above his head, he stretched before he put his hands under his head.

She looked at the bumps and dips of his body, then her eyes lifted to his strong biceps and his handsome face. The tension that had become a constant companion since she started living with him intensified and tightened in a knot. She took a deep, shaky breath and dragged her focus to the tablet. If he was going to continue to wiggle his body in front of her like that, how was she going to survive living with him without pouncing on him?

Ian's fingers glided over the curve of Jane's cheek, stirring the brown hair that had fallen on her face. She was lying on her side, facing him, her arms wrapped around the tablet, holding it against her chest. Outside twilight had darkened the sky and the dark shadows of the furniture drew twisted shapes on the wood flooring. Somebody had turned on the light in the hallway. Its soft beams fell through the open door into the room and caressed the outline of Jane's body. They had both fallen asleep and missed dinner, something that his sister would no doubt use to tease him.

Jane mumbled something and rolled onto her back. The tablet fell on the mattress beside her.

“Sweet Jane,” he whispered and shifted closer until her arm touched his chest. He cupped her cheek. He leaned over her, his forearm beside her head, his eyes in the semi-darkness staring at her as he tried to memorize her face, every curve, every line. “Lovely, so lovely.” His fingers at the edge of her face, his thumb caressed her cheek.

She pushed her head backward and pouted her lips.

He couldn't resist the temptation; he closed the small distance and pressed his mouth against hers. Just a small peck, that was all he wanted, just a small, short kiss was all he planned to give her, but then her arms wrapped around his shoulders and she pulled him down.

Her lips opened and the tip of her tongue brushed against the seam of his mouth then slipped inside.

Not able to hold himself back, he tilted her head and deepened the kiss. Their tongues glided against each other, parting and meeting as if they danced. The fire heated his insides, and the need to immerse himself in her burned through his body almost painfully. He had to have her. He had to have her now. His body moved over hers, his hips wiggling between her legs while his free hand stroked down the side of her body, first to her hip and then down to her leg, He hooked it around his hip and then with his hand cupping her ass he pressed her against him.

She moaned into his mouth, a lovely sound that fired up his desire.

“Jane, sweet Jane,” he gasped against her mouth while his body moved against her. He couldn't wait to have her under him, naked, skin to skin, and to thrust into the depths of her body. He could hardly wait to feel her clench around him, to hear her moans and to feel her nails scratching his back. He wanted to give her not only his love, but to lay the world before her feet. He wanted to give her all and to take from her everything that she was willing to give. But right now what he needed from her almost desperately was her body.

Her fingers dug into his shoulders and her body arched and rubbed against his, so deliciously sweet.

He kneaded her gorgeous ass, pressing her even tighter against him, while his mouth left a wet trail down her neck. He was going to devour her, he was going to fill her completely until there was nothing in her world but him. She was going to be his. All his. The annoying sound of somebody coughing penetrated the raw hunger that clung to him like a fog. He decided to ignore it, but the sound became louder and more annoying. He ground his teeth together and reined in the lust that like a savage beast demanded gratification. He turned his head toward the door to see his brother Chris standing there, his arms crossed, grinning. “Sod off!”

“Language, dear, language.”

“What do you want?” Ian rolled himself away from Jane and onto his back so that he lay on the edge of the bed close to the door.

“They are missing you two downstairs.”

“So?” Ian covered his face with his arm, the dip of his elbow over his nose, and took a few deep breaths. He could feel Jane's hand against his shoulder and her legs against his hip. He glanced at her, his eyes narrowing at the redness that was evident on her cheeks despite the darkness of the room. His eyebrows descended even lower when he turned the other way to face Chris again. “Why are you still here?”

“Waiting for you two.”

Ian's focus returned back to Jane, who sat up. “Stop blushing.”

Jane covered her cheeks, scowling down at Ian. “It’s not like I can help it,” she said softly.

“And you, get out already,” Ian ordered his brother. He pulled himself into a seated position and threw his legs over the edge of the bed.

“I'm going, I'm going.” Chris, smiling, lifted his hands in surrender. “See you later, Jane,” he said, winking, before he turned and strode down the hallway. From the corner of his eye Ian noticed that the red of Jane's cheeks had intensified. His jaw locked and he glared at her.

“Don't scowl at me like that. I wasn't the one who started it.” Her voice sounded slightly breathless and strained.

“It's not about the kiss.” How could she even think that he would be upset because of the kiss? “Stop blushing because of him.”

“Because of who?” Jane took her glasses from the nightstand and put them on.

“Because of Chris!”

She studied his face.

“Why don't you ever blush because of me?”

“You're joking, right?”

“Do I look like I'm joking?”

“Yes.” Jane climbed off the mattress on the side that faced the window and went around the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“To the dining room.” Jane took the sweater that hung over the back of the armchair by the window. “You're behaving like a spoiled child,” she said over her shoulder before she walked out.

Ian swore and lowered himself onto the bed. She was right; what was wrong with him? She and the love he felt for her were what was wrong with him. He was just not used to these feelings and this need to possess her and have her for himself. So what if she blushed because of his brother! He grimaced. He cared, he couldn't help himself. “Oh, Jane.”

He didn't know how long he lay on Jane's bed, but it couldn't have been more than a minute, when the faint sound of a crash and the noise of voices came from the direction of the staircase. Had Jane forgotten to close the double doors that led to his quarters? He straightened and listened. Was that his name somebody called?

“Ian, Ian!” Izzy's voice echoed through the hallway. “Come quick!”

“What is it?” Ian lifted himself off the bed and strode to the hallway.

“It's Jane,” Izzy yelled from the door, waving for him to join her, while she turned her focus toward the staircase. “She fell down the stairs.”

Ian's heart stopped and then started to hammer in his chest while a cold dread wetted his hairline. He ran across the hallway and then down the well lit stairs, jumping two at a time.
Please, let her be okay. Please, let them both be okay
.

Chris was kneeling at the foot of the stairs, Jane sitting on the floor beside him, while two girls, maids, whose names Ian couldn't remember, stood over them, wringing their hands.

“Jane!” Ian reached them and squatted down beside her; his fingers gently touched her.

She flinched.

“Does it hurt?” He continued to softly brush his fingers against her limbs, searching for injuries, frowning at the redness on her forehead and temple

“I think I'm fine, nothing is broken,” she told him in a thin voice, her arms hugging her middle. “It's just...” Her eyes, so intense on her pale face, lifted to his and in them he saw the same fear that had washed over him when he heard about her fall. “What if the baby...” She pinched her lips tightly together.

“I called the doctor,” said Izzy, who stood three stairs above them. “He's going to be here in fifteen minutes.”

“Send him to my bedroom.” Ian wedged one arm under Jane's shoulders, the other under her knees, and gently lifted her up.

Her body trembling like a leaf in a breeze, she snuggled against him. “What if...”

“No what ifs.” He pressed his lips against her temple, avoiding the forming bruise. “It's okay, everything is going to be okay, I promise.”

#

A white door made out of chipboard glared at Ian, mocking him while he paced before it in the light-green waiting room. All he wanted to do was to burst through it and demand that the doctor inside tell him if his and Jane's baby was all right or not. He had promised her that everything was going to be okay, and he desperately needed for that to be true, because... He loved that baby, even though Jane Junior was only a tiny dot in her mama's belly, he adored her and couldn't wait for her to be born. And there was Jane, his sweet little mouse. Losing a baby would hurt her even more than him, and without the baby, there would be no connection that would tie her to him.

“Everything is going to be fine.” A hand soothingly patted his back.

Over his shoulder he flashed a small smile at his grandmother, Ann, before his attention was back on the door. Their family doctor had examined Jane and told them that the baby and Jane were well, but to be certain, Ian had driven Jane to the hospital, to the one where, because Ann was its main shareholder, the hospital staff treated them like royalty. His mother and father came with them, and so did his siblings. He had tried to persuade them to stay home, but they had insisted and they waited with him, occupying the chairs in the small waiting room.

Footsteps and the door opened.

Finally
. In a second Ian was beside the doctor. “Yes?”

“They are both well, safe and sound,” said a brunette in a white coat, the woman the head of the hospital had introduced as a well-known expert in obstetrics.

Ian released a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. “That's good.”

“She's only shaken, a natural reaction under the circumstances.”

“Yes.” Ian looked over the doctor's shoulder into the room to see Jane, but all he could see was office furniture and filing cabinets.

“Miss Bennet told me that she hasn’t had an ultrasound yet. Would you like to participate?”

“An ultrasound?” What was that?

“Yes, he does.” His mother appeared beside him. “It shows you the baby,” she explained to Ian. “By scanning the belly.”

“Right now?” Ian asked the doctor.

“Yes.” The doctor nodded and opened the door wider before she turned and walked inside, gesturing for him to follow her.

He fell into the step behind her, then frowned at his family following him. “Where do you think you’re going?” he hissed.

“With you, to see the child, where else?” Ann said.

Ian came to the second door and stopped, blocking the entrance. “Jane,” he yelled. “My family wants to see the baby too, can they join me?”

“Umm, okay,” Jane said.

He stepped into the room and walked past the desk to the small niche where Jane lay on a narrow metal bed, a monitor and a chair set beside her.

His family was right behind him.

Jane smiled at him.

Ian couldn't take his eyes off her. She was gorgeous. She was still slightly pale and the bruise covering her forehead had darkened, but she looked so gorgeous, so radiant. “Hey.” He strolled to her, feeling as if they were the only people in the room. His hand found hers and his fingers slipped between hers, he squeezed them while he leaned over her and pressed a kiss on top of her head.

“We can already see the baby.”

“Yes, I heard.” He smiled down on her.

His family crowded around him and Jane.

After Jane lifted her shirt, exposing her belly and a long bruise running along her side, and the doctor slicked her belly with gel, Ian could see a black and white picture on the monitor. It was the shape of an upturned fan, with a black hole on the grainy background, with a bean-shaped spot in the hole.

The doctor was pointing at the image, talking, but Ian couldn't hear a word of it. This was his baby girl? She looked smaller than a fist and he could only distinguish where her head was and hear her heartbeat, yet the sight and sound of her filled his chest with awe. He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

The experience left him humbled and slightly in a daze, which he couldn't shake off completely until they left the hospital. Since Jane asked to go home, he excused them from his family and drove Jane to his apartment, delighted that Jane called it ‘home.’ But because of her desire to return home, he asked his father to relocate the meeting that had been scheduled with Southern on Sunday at the Thornton estate, proposing that they have it Ian's apartment, since he had no intention of leaving Jane's side for more than a few minutes for the rest of the weekend.

His father agreed to change the location and on Sunday morning, he and Southern appeared at Ian's door at ten o'clock, when he was sitting with Jane on the couch, watching
Pride and Prejudice
episodes; they were just at the part where Jane Bennet got sick.

Ian led the visitors into his office, wishing he had cancelled the meeting, so that he could have continued to enjoy Jane's lovely presence. Even though Thornton Enterprises was not only a big part of his life, but his father’s legacy that he would someday inherit, in this moment, the brunette sitting on his couch was more important to him.

“Make yourself comfortable.” Ian waved at the black leather sofa. “I'll bring you something to drink. What would you prefer, tea or coffee?”

“Coffee,” Mr. Southern said, while his father opted for tea.