Page 22 of Dante (Members From Money Season 2. #153)

Her euphoria carried her into the next morning.

Even when she let herself through the front door and picked out her clothes to wear to work, she was still floating on the high of the night and this morning.

He had been insatiable, they both had been, she corrected herself as she slipped into the emerald green sweater over tailored black pants.

Her hair was a tangled mess and still slightly damp from their time in the shower.

The lipstick she was applying wobbled when her fingers shook. Closing her eyes, she brought back the image of what he had done to her in the shower enclosure.

The man not only had a clever mouth, but even nimbler fingers that had managed to touch her everywhere. And he had called her as soon as she stepped inside.

"I have a meeting, but you can come in late."

"I will not."

"Don't be stubborn." He had lowered his voice. "I wore you out."

"I could say the same about you."

His chuckle had warmed her heart. She had no idea where this was going but knew deep down she could not stop it.

Despite his orders, she was going in now. A glance at her watch showed that it was almost a quarter of nine. Grabbing her jacket and tote, she headed downstairs and had just pushed the door open when she saw the car first and then her brother lounging on the porch.

"Caleb." Guilt stabbed at her and had her rushing over to kiss his cheek. "What are you doing here?"

He rose and studied her closely. "I could say the same about you," he drawled.

"I live here."

"Do you?"

Shrugging on the jacket she had forgotten to put on, she slung the tote over her shoulder. "I don't have time for your cryptic comments right now. I'm running late."

"That's the thing," he snagged her arm as she turned to leave.

"I swung by last night to see if you were okay.

It was about, oh, half past eleven and your car wasn't here.

Which I found to be very strange. So, I thought it had broken down and you had to Uber home.

I tried calling and your phone went straight to voicemail. "

"Now, being the concerned brother, I let myself inside and went upstairs. You were nowhere to be found, and the bed was still tidily spread. Which leaves me to draw the conclusion, good detective that I am, that you spent the night somewhere else."

"Since that bastard who knocked you up is no longer in the picture and I know you would never stoop so low as to take him back, I figured there's someone else.

Which begs the question of who he is." His hand tightened on her arm when she shifted.

"I'm not letting go until you spill, honey.

And we both know how stubborn I can be."

In all her life she had never been dishonest with him. Growing up, they were very close and never had a problem telling each other anything. But this was different. She did not understand it herself and had no idea what to say.

"I... it's nothing."

"Nothing?"

She avoided his eyes and stared over his left shoulder. The leaves were spinning in the slight wind and the scent of rain on the grass was pleasant to the nostrils.

"I am late."

"You're going to be even later. What the hell is going on?" he demanded.

Wrenching away, she went to sit on the worn chair.

Concern touched his face as he stared at hers. He knew her more than he knew anyone else and loved her enough to realize she was struggling with something.

"What is it, honey?"

"Oh Caleb." She blew out a breath and gripped his hand as he sat next to her.

"You can tell me anything, you know that."

"Not this."

"Court..."

"I have done something stupid."

His frown deepened. "Like what?"

Taking a deep breath, she stared at their joined hands. "I'm involved with my boss."

Shock had him jerking their hands. "I'm sorry, for a minute there I thought you said you're involved with your boss."

When she lifted her head, he saw the plain unvarnished truth in her eyes.

"How involved?" he asked calmly, striving for control.

"I... We spent the night at his place."

"How long has this been going on?"

"A few days ago." She tried to tug her hand away, but he held on.

"So, let me get this straight. You were pregnant by that bastard and have now compounded the problem by sleeping with one of the most powerful men in the country. A man who signs your paycheck. A man who's slept with and discarded several high-profile women. Is that it?"

Despair flooded her heart and left her weak. "In a nutshell, yes."

"Oh well, then we have nothing to worry about. What the hell were you thinking?"

"Please don't shout at me."

"I will damn well shout all I want." His eyes flashed. "What happened to my smart and sensible sister? What do you think is going to happen? Is he prepared to marry you, raise another man's child?"

"We're talking about Dante Livingston here, a man of the world. A frigging multi-billionaire. He could have his pick of women, and he chose you. To do what exactly? Let off steam?"

Each word was like a hammer to her very soul, and she felt herself dying slowly. "It's not like that," she said slowly.

"It's not just sex. Has he asked you to marry him?"

She shook her head. "He asked me to move in with him. Said he never asked that of another woman before."

That surprised him. He did not know the man personally but had read about his affairs and that he had never lived with anyone.

"What did you say to that?"

"I told him no."

"Why?"

"It's too complicated." She shrugged restlessly. "It was not supposed to happen. We were alone in his office after working hours and I was ill. He tended to me and we just..." She gave him a helpless look. "He said he had feelings for me and was tired of hiding them."

His gaze sharpened. "He said that?"

"Yes."

"How do you feel about him?"

She closed her eyes briefly. "I have never felt this way about a man before." Her fingers tightened on his. "I think I am falling in love with him."

"What about the baby you're carrying?"

"I don't know. He wants me to spend the weekend with him at some cabin."

"He wants to hide you away."

She flinched at that.

"No. He wants to be alone with me."

He turned her to face him. "This is the big leagues, honey.

You work with the guy, have access to his businesses and they are multiple.

We're talking private jet, shares in oil companies, real estates, malls and God knows what else.

This man has lawyers on retainer." He shrugged as she stared at him.

"I looked him up when you got the job. And did some research as well. "

"He was abused by a drunken mother, and I think his daddy has now surfaced out of the woodwork to put the moves on him."

"You did your homework."

"I was curious." He eyed her for a minute. "You said he has feelings for you."

"Yes." She shook her head. "He makes me happy. At first when I started, I thought he was hard, cold, and unfeeling. But then I got to know him." She shrugged. "He was not turned off when I was ill. He made me tea." She smiled slightly.

"I don't know what I'm doing, and I cannot go public because the media will be all over it and everything will come to the surface.

We grew up in a group home and I'm pregnant for a man who does not want the baby.

" She drew in a careful breath. "The media and oh God!

The people at work would..." She shook her head and leaned back, feeling staggered by it all. "I have to think this through."

"Isn't it too late for that?"

She looked at him then. "I've made a mess of things again. What's wrong with me?"

"As far as I know, you did not pursue the guy, he pursued you."

"He did."

"And you were honest with him about the pregnancy."

"Eventually."

"Then you have nothing to regret. He must know what he's doing. Will you go with him this weekend?"

She nodded. "I want to and please don't tell me I'm setting myself up for heartbreak. I'm past the point where I can just simply walk away."

He lifted their joined hands and kissed hers.

"You're my sister and the only thing I want in this world is for you to be happy.

If he has feelings for you and is willing to do the right thing.

.." And he privately determined that he was going to find a way to find that out.

"Then I'm going to celebrate it. You deserve to be happy, honey, and this guy, if he makes you happy, I'll try to look past the fact that he's well and truly loaded. "

"I don't care about that."

"I know you don't," he acknowledged soberly. And wondered how she was going to deal with the media hanging around and trying to find out every blasted thing about her. When this gets out, her life and his would never be the same again.

His private life would no longer be private, because he would be drawn into the mix by association. The thought of it scared the crap out of him. He was a detective and sometimes did undercover work. That will all be blown to hell when the press discovers the relationship.

He hoped to God that the guy was serious and not messing around with her. Or rich as Croesus as he was, if he hurts her, Caleb has every intention of making him pay, somehow.

"I'll talk to you later," he added.

No one was looking at her funny. All the way to the corporate office, she had worried about seeing him and wondering if somehow someone had noticed that she had spent the night with him.

His place was in the middle of nowhere, but her car was parked there all night.

What if someone by chance had passed by and seen it there?

The questions burned her and had her looking around as soon as she stepped into the reception area. And she was later than she normally was.