Read Online Claimed: The Pregnant Heiress by Day Leclaire - Free Book Online Page A

laugh. “Because we’re sneaking around?”
    â€œYeah, that must be it.”
    Her expression sobered. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”
    Chase bit back a sharp retort. The ramifications of her pregnancy weren’t something to get over, any more than their child was. He forced himself to remain patient and hold fire while they crossed the street to her BMW, a pretty white Cabriolet convertible with tinted windows and a hard-shell top that was currently up instead of retracted behind the backseat.
    Emma drove through the downtown area toward the ocean and took the winding coast road that climbed above the city. Redbud, acacia and palm trees, as well as the occasional creosote bush, filled in the dots between gorgeous ocean-view homes. It didn’t take long to reach her destination, a secluded bluff high above Vista del Mar with a view of both the town and the ocean.
    â€œLet me guess,” Chase said. “The local Lover’s Lane?”
    â€œSomething like that, though not at this hour,” Emma replied. She set the parking brake and swiveled in her seat to face him. “Actually, it’s called Busted Bluff.”
    He choked on a laugh. “Busted Bluff? I’d forgotten that. That’s what the locals called this place, isn’t it?”
    She shared in his amusement. “That’s right. When the cops started cracking down on all the kids who’d come up here to drink and party.”
    â€œAnd make out?”
    â€œAnd make out,” she confirmed with a tiny smile.
    â€œHow many times did you get busted?”
    â€œNever.” She sounded scandalized at the mere idea. “My father would have had my head, the keys to my car and various body parts of any boy reckless enough to be caught messing with me.”
    â€œSo you never came up here and fooled around?”
    She grinned. “I didn’t say that, now did I?” Her smile faded, perhaps because she’d “fooled around” last November and nowfaced the unexpected consequences. “What do you say we skip the idle chitchat and get serious?”
    â€œEspecially since our situation is serious?”
    â€œVery.” She released a sigh rife with frustration. “You just proposed marriage in order to prevent our child from being labeled a bastard.” She made a sweeping gesture with her hand. “Why don’t you pick it up from there, since I wouldn’t begin to know where to go with it.”
    â€œWhen you put it like that—”
    â€œWhat other way is there to put it?” Her pansy-blue eyes filled with a sharp intensity. “I get that you don’t want history repeating itself. But I need more information. Why don’t you start with your parents. Explain to me what happened with them. You said they weren’t married, right?”
    â€œMy family dynamics are complicated,” he warned. “Here, let me show you.”
    He searched through his pockets and pulled out a pen and notepad. It only took a moment to create a quick chart listing the key players. He leaned in toward Emma to show her what he’d written.
    A soft, potent fragrance drifted off her. He couldn’t tell whether it was a combination of perfume, soap and shampoo, or just her natural scent. Whichever, he found it swamped his senses and kicked in the irrepressible urge to do far more with her than sit in a car and explain his various family connections. Other than the light January breeze buffeting the car, the only sound was the quiet give-and-take of her breath. The knowledge that he could change it to something faster and more urgent threatened to overwhelm him.
    One kiss and he could alter the entire tenor of the moment.
    She must have picked up on his thoughts because she drew back. “Not now, Chase.”
    He shot her a hot, ravenous look. “You sure?”
    â€œPositive.” But she didn’t look positive. In fact, she looked just as