A Daddy For Christmas: Yuletide Baby Surprise / Maybe This Christmas...? / The Sheriff's Doorstep Baby

Mari eased from the bed, careful not to wake the baby. She pulled her robe from over a cane rocking chair and slipped her arms into the cool satin. Her one decadent pleasure—sexy peignoir sets. They made her feel like a silver-screen star from the forties, complete with furry kitten-heel slippers, not so high as to trip her up, but still ultrafeminine.

Would Rowan think them sexy or silly if he noticed them? God, he was filling up her mind and making her care about things—superficial things—that shouldn’t matter. Even more distressing, he made her want to climb back into that dream world and forget about everything else.

Her entire focus should be on securing Issa’s future. Mari leaned over the lace bassinet to check the infant’s breathing. She pressed a kiss to two fingers and skimmed them over Issa’s brow, affection clutching her heart. How could one little scrap of humanity become so precious so fast?

Rowan’s voice filtered through the door again and piqued her curiosity. Who could he be talking with so late at night? Common sense said it had to be important, maybe even about the baby.

Her throat tightened at the thought of news about Issa’s family, and she wasn’t sure if the prospect made her happy or sad. She grasped the baby monitor receiver in her hand.

Quietly, she opened the door, careful not to disturb his phone conversation. And yes, she welcomed the opportunity to look at Rowan for a moment, a double-edged pleasure with the heat of her dream still so fresh in her mind. He stood with his back to her, phone pressed to his ear as he faced the picture window, shutters open to reveal the moonlit shoreline.

She couldn’t have stopped herself if she tried. And she didn’t try. Her gaze skated straight down to his butt. A fine butt, the kind that filled out jeans just right and begged a woman to tuck her hand into his back pocket. Why hadn’t she noticed that about him before? Perhaps because he usually wore his doctor’s coat or a suit.

The rest of him, though, was wonderfully familiar. What a time to realize she’d stored so much more about him in her memory than just the sexy glide of his blond hair swept back from his face, his piercing blue eyes, his strong body.

Her fingers itched to scale the expanse of his chest, hard muscled in a way that spoke of real work more than gym time with a personal trainer. Her body responded with a will of its own, her breasts beading in response to just the sight of him, the promise of pleasure in that strong, big body of his.

Were the calluses on his hand imagined in her dream or real? Right now it seemed the most important thing in the world to know, to find out from the ultimate test—his hands on her bare flesh.

His back still to her, he nodded and hmmed at something in the conversation, the broad column of his neck exposed, then he disconnected his call.

Anticipation coursed through her, but she schooled her face to show nothing as he turned.

He showed no surprise at seeing her, his moves smooth and confident. He placed his phone on the wet bar, his eyes sweeping over all of her. His gaze lingered on her shoes and he smiled, then his gaze stroked back up to her face again. “Mari, how long have you been awake?”

“Only a few minutes. Just long enough to hear you ‘hmm’ and ‘uh-huh’ a couple of times.” She wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging the robe closed and making sure her tingling breasts didn’t advertise her arousal. “If I may ask, who were you talking to so late?”

“Checking on our security and following up a lead on the baby.”

She stood up straighter and joined him by the window, her heart hammering in her ears. “Did you find her family?”

“Sorry.” He cupped her shoulder in a warm grasp, squeezing comfortingly. “Not yet. But we’re working on it.”

She forced herself to swallow and moisten her suddenly dry mouth. “Who is this ‘we’ you keep mentioning?”

“I’m a wealthy man now. Wealthy people have connections. I’m using them.” His hand slid away, calluses snagging on her satin robe.

Calluses.

The thought of those fingers rasping along her skin made her shiver with want. God, she wasn’t used to being this controlled by her body. She was a cerebral person, a thinker, a scientist. She needed to find level ground again, although it was a struggle.

Reining herself in, she eyed Rowan, assessing him. Her instincts told her he was holding something back about his conversation, but she couldn’t decipher what that might be. She searched his face, really searched, and what a time to realize she’d never looked deeper than the surface of Rowan before. She’d known his history—a reformed bad boy, the saintly doctor saving the world and soaking up glory like a halo, while she was a person who preferred the shadows.

She’d only stepped into the spotlight now for the baby. And that made her wonder if his halo time had another purpose for him—using that notoriety for his causes. The possibility that she could have been mistaken about his ego, his swagger, gave her pause.

Of course she could just be seeking justification for how his kisses turned her inside out.

Then his hand slid down her arm until he linked fingers with her and tugged her toward the sofa. Her stomach leaped into her throat, but she didn’t stop him, curious to see where this would lead. And reluctant to let go of his hand.

He sat, drawing her to sit beside him. Silently. Just staring back at her, his thumb stroking across the inside of her wrist.

Did he expect her to jump him? She’d already told him she wouldn’t make the leap into bed with him. Had a part of her secretly hoped he would argue?

Still, he didn’t speak or move.

She searched for something to say, anything to fill the empty space between them—and take her mind off the tantalizing feel of his callused thumb rubbing along her speeding pulse. “Do you really think Issa’s family will be found?”

“I believe that every possible resource is being devoted to finding out who she is and where she came from.”

The clean fresh scent of his aftershave rode every breath she took. She needed to focus on Issa first and foremost.

“Tomorrow—or rather, later this morning—we need to get serious about going public with the press. No more playing at dinner, pretend photos and controlled press releases. I need to use my notoriety to help her.”

He squeezed her wrist lightly. “You don’t have to put yourself in the line of fire so aggressively.”

“Isn’t that why you asked me to help you? To add oomph to the search?” His answer became too important to her.

“I could have handled the baby alone.” He held her gaze, with undeniable truthfulness in his eyes. “If we’re honest here, I wanted to spend more time with you.”

Her tummy flipped and another of those tempting Rowan-scented breaths filled her. “You used the baby for selfish reasons? To get closer to me?”

“When you put it like that, it sounds so harsh.”

“What did you mean then?”

He linked their fingers again, lifting their twined grasp and resting it against his chest. “Having you here does help with the baby’s care and with finding the baby’s family. But it also helps me get to know you better.”

“Do you want to know me better or kiss me?”

His heart thudded against her hand as he leaned even closer, just shy of their lips touching. “Is there a problem with my wanting both?”

“You do understand that nothing is simple with me.” Her breath mingled with his.

“Because of who you are? Yes, I realize exactly who you are.”

And just that fast, reality iced over her. She could never forget who she was...her father’s daughter. A princess. The next in the royal line since she had no siblings, no aunts or uncles. As much as she wanted to believe Rowan’s interest in her was genuine, she’d been used and misunderstood too many times in the past.

She angled away from him. “I know you think I’m a spoiled princess.”

“Sometimes we say things in anger that we don’t mean. I apologize for that.” He stretched his arm along the back of the sofa without touching her this time.

“What do you think of me?” The opinion of others hadn’t mattered to her before.... Okay, that was a lie. Her parents’ opinion mattered. She’d cared what her first lover thought of her only to find he’d used her to get into her father’s inner circle.

“Mari, I think you’re smart and beautiful.”

She grinned. “Organized and uptight.”

He smiled back. “Productive, with restrained passions.”