“And stop goading me,” he told her softly, giving her a little shake when she opened her mouth to deny his accusations, his fierce, “Oh yes, you are, and you know you are, damn you,” suspending the words before they were uttered. His whole face changed, the rage she could see clearly delineated in the look he gave her frightening her into silence.
“What is it that makes you resent me so much?” he asked. “Haven’t I done enough to make it up to you?”
She lowered her lashes instinctively, but his fingers caught her chin, their pressure hard and determined as he forced it upwards until he could look into her eyes. It was impossible to breathe, her whole body was caught in the grip of a tension so encompassing that she couldn’t move.
He was watching her, waiting for her to make a slip. Forcing herself to relax, she searched feverishly for the right flippant response, but she could think of none at the moment.
“I don’t resent you, Cedric,” she said instead, and it was the truth.
“Maybe you don’t, but If there’s one thing I know, it’s that you want me. Maybe that’s the only reason why you’re still here. The only reason you let me touch you. Damn it… One of these days you’re going to push me further than you expect. And then what will you do?” he asked her brutally, watching the color come and go in her face.
“Get out!” Anna said, finally finding her voice. It sounded unnaturally sharp and high, her face burned, shock fuelling her anger. His eyes were on her body and to her chagrin Anna felt her nipples peak and harden beneath his glance. His other hand moved and a wave of terror engulfed her. Frantically she pulled away.
“I want you to leave, Cedric.”
“I’m sure you do.” His smile was unkind but he did release her, and she rubbed her aching arms as he did.
“I’ll see you to the door,” she gritted in response, intending to lock it after him so she could have some damn privacy to get herself under control. Thankfully, he didn’t argue. He followed her without demur, halting only as she made to open the door.
“Just one more thing, Anna,” he drawled lightly.
“What?”
“This.” His arms came round her before she could move, imprisoning her against the heat of his body, so that any movement would only serve to bring her into even more intimate contact with him, his mouth finding hers with unerring accuracy. Skilfully, determinedly, he drew from her the response she fought against giving, and then just at the moment when her body started to relax against him, he released her, pushing her away gently.
Her first agonized feeling of loss was swiftly replaced by shock and more rage as he smiled down at her, the expression in his eyes letting her know he was well aware of her arousal.
“It must be frustrating how your body responds to me even when you hate me, isn’t it?” he taunted.
She wanted to hit him, but his fingers seized her arm as she raised it, his voice cold as he warned, “Don’t do it. You won’t like the way I retaliate. Hate me as much as you like, Anna,” he told her as he left, “But you can’t deny that sexually I do and will always excite you.”
Anna closed the door behind him and then leaned against it, willing her shaking body to relax.
——————–
Things got very weird after his Aunt arrived. Or maybe things were normal.
They coexisted together like a happy family, which, ironically, didn’t include him, at least where Anna was concerned.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t the one calling the shots anymore. His Aunt had come in and completely taken over, and Anna just avoided him like a plague. His Aunt and Anna on the other hand, were practically attached at the hip. They took long walks and went shopping together, and she even stayed with Anna for her next checkup. She planned to be there for the birth, so they began taking her Lamaze classes together too. Sometimes the two of them would sit for hours and just talk.
Not only could he not imagine what they could possibly have in common, but he was also sure they would have eventually run out of things to talk about, but boy, was he wrong.
Cedric gave up trying to stop it. In part because he could see that it was useless, and the truth was he was actually enjoying having his Aunt around. After the baby was born, which was a mere three weeks away now, he hoped things would get better.
Anna looked so happy lately, he observed from afar. She seemed to be smiling all the time, but immediately her gaze fell on him, the smile would disappear and she’d look away. He understood that she was still upset, so tried to stay out of her way as well. He missed her and their love making, but he didn’t need anyone to tell him that he wasn’t welcome in her bed anymore, so he kept to himself.
Then one day he was in his office working when his Aunt burst through the door, her face white as death.
“Anna fell!”
He died a thousand deaths in the three seconds it took him to jump from his chair and follow her to the base of the stairs where Anna was sitting on the marble floor clutching her left ankle. Juliet crouched beside her. There was no blood, she wasn’t unconscious. Nothing looked broken. She was okay.
His heart was hammering so hard and he felt so light-headed with relief he nearly joined her on the floor. “What happened?”
“My ankle,” Anna said. “It gave out on me when I was walking down the stairs.”
“You should be more careful,” he snapped.
He didn’t mean to. He never meant to get mad at her when what she really needed was comfort. He just did. Suddenly everyone was looking at him like he was an ogre, and It wasn’t an unfair assessment.
“Gee, Cedric, you think?” Anna snapped back. But she looked more hurt than angry. “It’s probably the extra weight and water retention irritating it. There’s not much I can do about that.”
“Do you think you can walk?” Juliet asked.
“I think s-” She gasped and folded in half. “Oh!”
Cedric went from relieved to petrified in an instant. “What’s wrong?”
“Pain in my stomach,” she gasped. “You want to blame that on me too?”