Daddy's Double Duty by Stella Bagwell Page B

him. “It is?”
    Clearly frustrated, he swiped a hand through his dark brown hair. “I can’t give you a solid reason for my behavior, Vanessa, except that the day you fainted in the office I began to see you as a woman.”
    Grimacing, she peered around him to the opposite side of the room. Thankfully, the twins were still sleeping soundly in their bassinet.
    â€œAnd what was I before?” she asked dryly, “A robot that answered the phone and dealt with your correspondence?”
    He groaned. “I’m trying to explain.”
    â€œYou’re not doing a very good job of it,” she pointed out.
    His hands slipped from her shoulders and slid down her arms until they reached her hands. Then, like a pair of flesh-and-bone handcuffs, his fingers clamped around her wrists.
    â€œYou’re not making the task any easier, either,” he countered.
    Nervously moistening her lips, she focused her gaze to the middle button on his shirt. “I suppose I’m not,” she admitted. “But try to see things from my angle, Conall. Suddenly you’re making the twins a nursery, buying them gifts and—and handling me as though…you want to! What am I suppose to think? Are you playing up to me just so you can be around the twins?”
    â€œThat’s damned stupid!”
    Surprised by sharpness in his voice, her gaze flew up to his face.
    â€œI care about the twins,” he went on. “But I’m pretty sure you’d let me visit them whether I kissed you or not.”
    Desperate for answers, she spluttered at him, “So why are you kissing me? Because your libido has woken up and I’m handy?”
    His nostrils flared as his fingers tightened on her wrists. “Vanessa, none of this is hard to understand. I’m simply being a man. A man that has found himself attracted to a woman. A kiss is…well, I’m trying to tell you that I think we should get to know each other better. On a more personal level.”
    She groaned with disbelief. “That wasn’t a get-to-know-you kiss, Conall. That was more like an I-missed-you-like-hell kiss.”
    To her amazement, a tempting little grin spreadacross his lips. “Finally, you’re getting something right,” he murmured, his eyes settling softly on her face. “I have missed you like hell.”
    His admission sent a foolish thrill rushing through her, spinning her heartbeat to a rapid thud.
    â€œThat’s very hard to believe,” she said, in a breathless whisper.
    â€œThen maybe I’d better give you another demonstration. Just to prove my point.”
    Making his intentions clear, his head bent toward hers and though Vanessa told herself she’d be smart to make a quick escape, she couldn’t make a move. Instead, she stood transfixed and waited for his lips to capture hers.

Chapter Six
    J ust a few more moments, Vanessa promised herself, and then she’d gather the strength to step away from the heated search of Conall’s lips. She’d get her breath back, along with her senses, and then she’d remind herself why being in his arms was as dangerous as sidling up to a sizzling stick of dynamite.
    But so far the minutes continued to tick away and she’d not taken that first move to end their kiss. Instead, she couldn’t stop her lips from parting beneath his, her arms from sliding around his waist.
    She was leaning into him, her whole body buzzing with the anticipation of getting even closer to his hard body, when she caught the sound of Rick’s faint whimpers.
    The pressure of Conall’s lips eased just a fraction, telling her that he must have picked up on the baby’ssubtle call. Even so, he didn’t bother to end the kiss until the tiny boy let loose with an all-out cry.
    Lifting his head, he drew in a ragged breath and glanced over his shoulder toward the bassinet. “That child needs to learn better timing,” he said with