The Naughty List Bundle - Kylie Adams [158]
He held her head to his shoulder and smiled. “That’s one problem taken care of.”
She squeezed him tight. “You are the most amazing man.”
Laughing, Morgan growled, “So you keep telling me. Now answer my other question. Will you marry me?”
She went still. Very slowly she raised her face. “You still haven’t told me why you want to marry me.”
Because he’d had a few minutes to come up with a reply, he said easily, “You’re sexy and beautiful.”
Her smile was radiant. “You’re sexy and beautiful, too, but that’s not a good reason to tie yourself to someone for life.”
He snorted at her compliment. “We have great sex together. Hell, I still feel singed.”
Her smile melted away and her eyes darkened. “Me, too. It was the most incredible thing. I’d never imagined sex could be like that.” She brushed a kiss over his jaw, then added, “But we don’t have to get married to have great sex. For as long as I’m here, I’m willing, Morgan.”
His stomach started to cramp. She wasn’t saying yes, and in fact, she was making a lot of excuses to cancel out every reason he gave her. But there was one reason she couldn’t refute. “You’re pregnant.”
“The baby isn’t your responsibility.”
“It is if I want to make it my responsibility.”
“Oh, Morgan. You’re not thinking straight. You can’t really want to be a fill-in for another man’s child.”
“The baby will be mine if you marry me.”
She touched gentle fingers to his mouth and her expression was one of wonderment. “You say that now because you’re feeling protective of me, just like you feel about everyone. But I don’t need you to take care of me, Morgan. I can take care of myself, and the baby.”
Morgan moved swiftly, rolling her beneath him before she could draw a deep breath. “Let me tell you something, Misty Malone. What you know about men doesn’t add up to jack. And for your information, I don’t care that the baby isn’t mine. It’s yours, and that’s all that matters to me.”
She shook her head, making him curse. He caught her hands and raised them over her head. “I’m going to tell you a little story.”
“I have to be at work soon.”
“Tough. Don’t rush me.” She wisely didn’t push him on that score. Morgan drew a deep breath, then admitted, “Sawyer isn’t Casey’s natural father.”
Misty’s eyes widened and her mouth opened twice before she sputtered, “That’s ridiculous!”
“No, it’s true. If you want all the details, you can ask Honey. I’m sure Sawyer told her the whole story.”
“But…” She searched his face, then looked away. “She’s never said a word.”
“Likely because it doesn’t matter. Not to Sawyer, and sure as hell not to the rest of us. No one could love that boy more than we do. Sawyer knew all along that Casey wasn’t his. But he’d been married to Casey’s mother, and she didn’t want him. So he brought Case home, a squalling little red-faced rodent, and we all went head over heels. Hell, a baby is a baby. It doesn’t matter who planted the seed. All that matters is who loves him and cares for him and shelters him. I want to do that with you, Misty.” He swallowed hard, his hands gripping her shoulders. “Marry me.”
He could feel her shaking beneath him, saw the tears gathering in her eyes. She bit her lip and sniffed.
“Malone?”
“I…I can’t.”
Never in his life, Morgan thought, had anything hurt so much. He’d been in brawls, he’d been injured by cars and animals. He’d had broken limbs and a broken nose and more bruises than he could count. But nothing had ever hurt like this.
He stared at Misty, not wanting to believe that she’d refused him. She’d told him all along that she didn’t want commitment, that she was through with involvement. But he hadn’t believed her, not really. He hadn’t wanted to believe her.
His head throbbed and his blood boiled. He wanted to rage, he wanted to shout. But he’d made a big enough fool of himself already.
He rolled to the side of the bed and stared at the ceiling. He started to ask her why, but wasn’t at all sure he wanted to know the answer. Misty scampered off the bed, and her bare feet made no sound on the carpet. His door closed very