To Have and to Hold by Nalini Singh

bringing a child into the world with a man who might never love that child. How could he? Her husband seemed incapable of any tenderness.
    The timer on her watch went off.
    Looking down at the indicator, she steeled herself for either result. “Oh.”
    Somehow, she was on the bathroom floor, her entire body a mass of tremors. Her first instinct was to tell Gabriel but something stopped her. She needed time to get used to the idea herself, time to build shields around the huge vulnerability that had just opened up in her heart and soul.
    She was going to have a baby.
    Gabriel’s baby.
    And the second he found out, she’d lose any hope she had of making him see her as something other than a vehicle to give him his heir. Jess couldn’t let that happen, though she also couldn’t articulate why. It simply seemed integral that there be an indefinable more between them. But if Gabe learned about the baby, he’d see no reason to change—not when he could have everything he wanted on his terms.
    No, she couldn’t tell him. Not yet.
    * * *
    Despite her utter certainty that she’d made the right decision, she barely slept that night and spent most of the next day trying to come to terms with her pregnancy. Her nerves were frayed to a breaking point by the time she slipped into a simple black dress that evening. Sleeveless and with a scooped neckline that barely skimmed her cleavage, it kissed the top edge of her knees and followed the lines of her body.
    It was the sexiest dress she owned. Which wasn’t saying much—Sylvie was certain to be draped in something stunning.
    Jess’s gaze drifted to the closet…to the wine-red sheath she’d bought in a mad moment and never worn. And if she didn’t get around to wearing it soon, it wasn’t going to fit.
    â€œStop thinking about it. You’ll need all your wits tonight.” Giving a decisive nod, she put her foot on the bed and picked up a fine black stocking topped with lace.
    She had the second one halfway up her leg when Gabriel pushed through the door. She went motionless as his eyes trailed up her leg and over the bare skin of her thigh. And then he began to walk toward her. Dressed in a pair of black pants and a deep green shirt that seemed oddly familiar, he was enough to stop any woman in her tracks…even one as conflicted as Jess.
    Coming to a standstill beside her, he put a hand on her raised knee. A prisoner to her own inexplicable need, she watched as he bent to place a single kiss on her upper thigh. Shockwaves of sensation rocked through her. And she knew that for all its gentleness, it was a brand, a silent statement that she belonged to him.
    When he straightened to his full height, the raw desire in his eyes threatened to burn. “Finish it.”
    She should have protested his order but her mind was out of her control, hijacked by the potent masculinity of this man she lacked the power to resist. His finger traced the lace edge as she completed the task, but he made no effort to stop her from putting her foot on the floor. Yet even with both feet on the ground, she couldn’t quite find her sense of balance.
    â€œI need to put on my shoes.” The words came out on a breathy whisper that sounded like an invitation.
    Placing his hands on her shoulders, Gabe turned her so she faced away from him. She was about to ask him what he wanted when he stroked his hands down her side, fingers tracing over the curves of her breasts.
    She screamed at herself to resist but her body was already caught in the web Gabe alone could weave. Reaching her hips, he tugged up her dress, bunching it in his hands until the hemline hovered at the top edge of her stockings. Shocked at the clawing power of the need inside of her, she tried to back away from herself but ended up with her body flush against his.
    His lips met the curve of her neck even as the hardness of his arousal thrust against her, further