Awaken to Pleasure by Nalini Singh Page B

problem was, in his imagination, all his children had Taylor’s blue eyes. How could he possibly walk away from her if she didn’t allow him to touch her? And yet, how could he not?
    Taylor’s next question was subdued, as if she hadn’t expected the time limit. “And Nick?”
    “I think we can fix things so that Lance has no chance, even if we’re not together.” He looked at her and said bluntly, “Tell me the reason behind your fear of sex.”
    Taylor put her hands on his hard chest, dismayed at her disappointment. She should’ve been celebrating a husband who only wanted a child from her, not love. Or had she cherished some hidden dream of a far more romantic proposal? If she had, it had been a girlish fancy. A bargain like this was far safer. Romance and love died but Jackson Santorini would never renege on an agreement.
    “It’s not you. Please know that,” she said, at last.
    His scowl made him look more like a mobster than ever. “Was it someone your mother brought home?” His voice had dropped an octave into the deep and menacing range. He put his hands around her waist again, and this time the warmth and weight of them calmed her.
    She swallowed. “It was a maintenance man.” Her voice shook as she revealed something she’d never told anyone. There was more, much more, but she didn’t have the courage to tell him the whole truth at once.
    “What did he do?” Jackson’s voice rasped and the handson her hips pulled her closer, as if he couldn’t stop the protective movement. She went, glad to be near his warmth.
    “I…developed around fourteen. That was when he started staring at me. I didn’t know what that look meant then, hadn’t learned.” It mattered that Jackson understand, that he didn’t look at her with those icy eyes when she couldn’t respond beyond the most innocent caresses, because she cared what he thought of her. “He followed me to the laundry room. I thought he was going to fix a broken machine.” Even now, she could feel her fear when she’d finally realized that he was just standing there in the corner, watching her, eyes slimy.
    “When I tried to go up the stairs after I loaded the machine…he stalked me until I starting backing up. I dropped the basket and tried to get away but he—he grabbed me and pushed me hard against a linen closet down there.” Tears streaked down her face and she was that terrified young girl again. “I was so scared. He said he could understand my fear. He’d teach me not to be afraid. He’d make me like it. And you know what made it worse?”
    “Tell me, piccola.” One big hand was stroking her hair, while the other was pressed flat on her lower back.
    “I kind of had a crush on him before that. He was a university student working part-time. Good-looking. Smart.” She pressed her cheek against Jackson’s chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I didn’t think he’d be vicious like Lance was to my mother. God, I was a fool.” She took a gasping breath and admitted the most horrible part of it. “It was my first kiss. He split the inside of my lip. The bruises on my arms and back didn’t fade for weeks.”
    “Taylor.” Jackson’s voice was gruff, giving her permission to end this if it hurt too much.
    She couldn’t stop now. “He was pressed up against me and I could feel him…being aroused. I fought but he was toostrong. I thought he’d keep hurting me but then someone came down the stairs. He’d forgotten to lock the door.”
    “You had a chance to escape?”
    “Yes.” She’d thanked God over and over while she’d thrown up in the bathroom.
    “Did he touch you again?” The quiet rage in Jackson’s voice somehow soothed her.
    She shook her head against him, unwilling to lose the steady sound of his heartbeat. “He watched me but I stopped going anywhere in the building by myself. I encouraged the children in the other apartments to tag along everywhere. Gra—the maintenance guy couldn’t risk