The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress
[Book 2] Chapter 37

Knox POV

The afternoon passes quickly with Lorelai helping me and by the time she's putting him down in the porta cot, which we've set up in a guest room, due to the dangerous nature of my own room, I'm looking at her in awe as she rocks Hunter to and fro in her arms while holding a bottle to his lips and swaying back and forth on her feet. She looks beautiful. Like what a real mother should look like, I think to myself, taking in the slightly exhausted expression on her face, the small smile curved on her lips, the twinkle in her eye, and the mussiness of her hair. She looked so feminine and maternal with Hunter in her arms and she had looked after my nephew so easily that I was envious. She made it look so easy and I had been nothing but awkward with him. So much for being ready to look after Hunter on my lonesome. Thank goodness Flair hadn't been here to see how awkward I had been with her son. She would never have let me live it down.

As I gazed at Lorelai, I could almost picture her stomach swollen, heavily pregnant with a child. It made me inhale sharply at how vivid the picture became in my mind. How clearly I could see it. She would make a wonderful mother if her behavior towards Hunter was anything to go by. I could see Hunter relaxing in her arms and his eyes beginning to flutter open and closed as he tried to stave off sleep while Lorelai softly sang to him. She was a natural. I felt a wave of protectiveness wash over me along with a wave of jealousy. I wanted her to be a mother but I wanted her to be a mother to my children. I wanted her to be pregnant with our child. I wanted her, I thought dismally as I stared at her, and I didn't know how to tell her, or how I would speak the words without sounding like a creep. I was not good at relationships, I thought with a sigh.

Lorelai gently placed Hunter down and patted him on the stomach a few times as his eyes remained closed, gently dislodging the bottle from his mouth, He remained sleeping. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Jo bn ib.com. Visit J obn I b.com to read the complete chapters for free. I quietly turned the baby monitor on and motioned for her to follow me, Lorelai tiptoeing out, a brilliant grin on her face, before she headed to the kitchen to wash the bottles while I stood and waited. She even refilled them with fresh boiled water so that if he needed one during the night, she had them prepared. I admired her organization skills.

"What should we do now?" she asks, turning to me. "Should I go sleep in Hunter's room tonight?" she asked quietly.

I hesitated. Somebody was going to have to but that could wait. Right now, I could not stop looking at her. "Let's go to my room," I say finally as she looks at me confused "I have the other baby monitor in there. We'll hear Hunter if he wakes up. We could always put a movie on?" I suggest smoothly.

Anything to spend just a little longer with her. I don't even feel the desire to get on the computer at the moment. Another first for me. Lorelai hesitates and then nods. "Sure a movie sounds good" she agrees casually.

I try not to grin as I grab two sodas from the fridge. She walks with me to the room and I nod at her to sit on the bed. "Are you sure?" she begins.

I roll my eyes "Lorelai it's the best way to see the television screen" I point out as she looks and relaxes "Stop stressing. I eat in the bed" I reminded her as she laughed "and you changed the sheets just this morning" She kicks off her shoes and leaves just her stockings on, crossing her ankles and relaxing against the pillows. "What do you want to watch?" I ask.

She mulls it over. "Do you just have streaming services?"

"Yep, but name the movie and I'll happily pay for it" I said shrugging "I'm not real fussy when it comes to movies. As long as it's not a full on blood and gore one"

"Ah but what if I want to watch a chick flick?" she teases while I grin at her "then what?"

"Honestly, still don't mind" I chuckle, swigging down some of my soda and waiting. "Seriously what's your favourite movie?" I asked intrigued.

She hesitates. I grin some more. It must be embarrassing if she doesn't want to divulge it. She licks her lips. "Come on Lorelai" I urge as she blushes "What movie is it? Don't make me guess" I joke.

She bites her lip "Okay, my favorite movie is the real-life adaption of Cinderella" she admits lowly, bowing her head.

I snort, unable to help myself. It was such a cliche. She looked at me indignantly "Hey you said anything I wanted" she said laughingly.

"I know it's just that Cinderella seems such an obvious choice," I say shrugging and organizing the movie quickly while she gapes at me "What makes that movie so mesmerizing to you women anyway?"

I genuinely didn't understand it. Her mouth drops open "You don't" she splutters as the movie starts "It's well it's..." she trails off, her cheeks burning bright red.

I raise a brow and wait.

"It's the whole prince charming thing alright" she mumbles sheepishly "There's something about the prince and the girl getting her happily ever after, after everything she's been forced to go through, that makes the story and the movie so enticing." "Is that what women want?" I ask curiously as she settles back against the pillows "Prince charming?" I don't understand it myself.

"Doesn't everybody want to believe in true love?" she counters back, while we watch the screen together "It's what anybody wants. Somebody, another half of their soul, to love them and spend the rest of their days together. It's what every woman wants, men too" she muttered.

I sipped my soda, mulling it over. Her theory was interesting and highly accurate. Men tended to think the same thing but not in such poetic terms. They wanted to find a highly desirable partner to have children with and build a life. Women tended to put a more romantic spin on it, I concluded, but that didn't mean that was wrong or that it shouldn't be taken seriously.

"But I mean, this girl," I say gesturing towards the screen "she takes their abuse, over and over again and still remains there instead of running away like anybody else would. Does that make sense to you?"

She turns her head, an indecipherable expression on her face "Maybe she's too afraid to leave or maybe she's so used to the abuse that it no longer registers with her. Maybe she has nowhere to go" She shrugs, glancing away "or maybe they've made it impossible for her to make it very far."

I dip my head "Then why not just inform someone?" I ask lightly.

Silence. Lorelai's body has stiffened. Why has that question caused such tension on her face? We are merely making conversation, aren't we? Commenting on a fictional story? She swallows hard "Sometimes it's better to keep things to yourself. She probably thought that nobody would believe her."

"Maybe" I mutter "but even you have to admit that the heroine, the girl, has a victim mentality."

She inhales sharply "Cinderella is only young in the video who has lost her father and has nobody else to turn to. The only family she has left is abusing her. Try to put yourself in her shoes" she practically growls at me, causing me to raise a brow in surprise. She was really defending the woman, but knowing Lorelai it didn't surprise me.

"You're right" I murmur as her body relaxes again "You make some interesting points" I admit "I don't tend to look past the surface but you have a way of making me think beyond what is already there."

"Good because not everything is so obvious or out in the open," she says sharply, "Sometimes people keep things to themselves out of fear or a way of protecting themselves."

Her voice is almost bleak. I frown. I want to say something more, but she grabs her soda and swigs some of it down. Her hand is shaking slightly. I lie down, my eyes on her. She moves further down the bed as well. Her dress hikes up slightly to her thighs and I can't help but eye her creamy skin, even as I try to force my eyes back up to the screen. I'm aware of how close her body is next to mine and I can smell her subtle perfume. It's a floral scent that never fails to remind me of roses. It suits her. My leg is inches from hers and my hand clenches as I fight the urge to do something that even I know is unbelievably stupid. But since when did I ever listen to logic and reason? That was more lan's style, not mine. Don't do it Knox. She trusts you right now. She's an employee, she's... I groan, cutting the voice off. I didn't care about being considerate or what my responsibilities were as an employer. I didn't care that this would not be looked upon favorably by the other wealthy families or that Lorelai wasn't a heiress or socialite. I didn't even care that I hadn't looked into her background. There was a story there, I felt, one that she would tell me in her own time when she grew to trust me more. Right now, I was aching to touch her, to feel the softness of her lips, and to inhale that intoxicating perfume of hers. I couldn't hold back anymore. She was looking at the screen with those big eyes of hers when my hand gently reached out and cupped her chin. She blinked and then turned her head towards me, her eyes questioning.

"Knox?" she whispers in surprise.

God, just my name coming from her lips is almost enough to undo me. I let out a long groan and then before I can stop myself and before I can rationalize that this is wrong, my body takes over and I grip the back of her neck, pulling her to me as I kiss her on the lips, finally tasting the sweet nectar of the inside of her mouth as she gasps and then submits to me, her own arm coming around my neck and holding tightly to me as I deepen the kiss, my heart beginning to race while adrenaline shoots through me.