His Christmas Present by Serenity Woods

girlfriend by now, fallen in love. Maybe
even talked about settling down. I didn’t want to march in with a baby and ruin
that for you. The right girl will capture your heart one day, Dion, and you’ll
realise that you want a family with her. Everyone settles down
eventually. And I don’t want to stand in your way—you deserve happiness, same
as everyone else.”
    It was a long
speech, and he didn’t know what to say when she’d finished. Could she really be
so noble? It was difficult to believe she didn’t have a personal motive behind
not telling him—that she’d done it out of her best interest for him. And
yet her eyes were clear, her face open and honest.
    “There isn’t
anyone else,” he said, wondering why he wanted to tell her.
    “Okay.” Her face
remained impassive, and he couldn’t tell whether the words had pleased her.
    “Actually…” He
looked out of the window. “I haven’t been with anyone since Prague.” He waited
a moment before looking back at her.
    A frown flitted
across her brow. “Really?”
    “No.” It was
almost the truth. He’d gone out on a date with a girl one night to the cinema,
but he’d spent the entire evening thinking about Megan, and ultimately he
hadn’t asked to see the girl again. He’d stayed celibate, much to the amusement
of his friends. His life had been filled with work. For what good it had done
him.
    The frown
disappeared and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Neither have I.”
    Relief washed over
him. She hadn’t met somebody else. Why did that matter to him so much? “I still
wish you’d told me,” he said, surprised to hear his voice hoarse. “I could have
done something…”
    “Been there at the
birth?” She giggled. “I think the midwives had enough to deal with without
having to worry about the father passing out.”
    He smiled at
that—he wasrather squeamish. Still, he should have been there. He
should have supported her through it, even if they weren’t together.
    “How was the
birth?” He asked it awkwardly, knowing very little about the process other than
what he’d seen in the movies—blood everywhere, women screaming, calling their
partners every name under the sun.Maybe it was better he hadn’t been
there.
    “Painful.” She
pulled a face. “But quick, for a first child. No complications. Mum stayed with
me. Dad waited outside.”
    He played with his
coffee cup. “Sean said you’ve told them I’m the father.”
    “Yes.”
    “What did they
say?”
    “Surprisingly
unsurprised.” She grinned. “Mum laughed. Dad didn’t say much. He’s mellowed
over the years. After you left, I…” She cleared her throat. “I missed you a
lot. It took me a long time to get over you. I don’t think he realised how much
I liked you, you know? He thought you’d made a move on me and I was just a kid
making doe eyes at the hot teenager. He didn’t realise I…” Her voice trailed
off.
    She lowered her
eyes and concentrated on detaching Harry from the breast and turning him around
to the other one. Dion watched as she hooked up one cup of her bra and lowered
the other. The baby latched on easily, and she settled back before finally
raising her eyes to Dion’s again. Her cheeks had reddened slightly.
    What had she been
about to say?
    I loved you?

Chapter Fifteen
    Christmas Past
     
    The room had
cooled in the night, but the thick duvet was heavy and warm, and Megan felt
toasty and content with Dion curled around her, his chest to her back, his arm
tight around her waist.
    It had been an
amazing night. True to his word, he hadn’t let her sleep longer than an hour at
a stretch before waking her with kisses and proceeding to show her the delights
of yet another lovemaking session. They’d had sex every way she could think of
and a few ways more, on the carpet, her sitting on the chest of drawers, even
in the bath halfway through the night, the water slopping over the sides.
    Sometimes he took
her hard and fast, sometimes