Chapter 1043
[ 592 words ]
Ronald finally realized what had happened—while he and Finley Yoder were
upstairs, Stella and Yvonne had been busy whispering conspiratorially downstairs. Those two were clearly no fools; they were plotting exactly how to handle Mona and Yale. And they were aiming straight for the jugular: the purse strings.
He glanced down at Stella, curled up in his arms, and for a moment his expression softened. Even his voice grew gentle as he spoke to Yvonne on the phone. “Just take care of yourself. Learn from Star-if you don’t want to play their games, just don’t play along.”
“Yeah, I know. Star already filled me in,” Yvonne replied, her exhaustion obvious. She was at the end of her rope. Still, she couldn’t help but marvel-after everything Star had stirred up with the Larkin family in Portis City, that girl’s got a mind sharper than a razor. No blood shed, but she sure knew how to make her enemies bleed on the inside.
Yvonne hung up without another word. Ronald heard the abrupt click, smiled helplessly, and switched off Stella’s phone before setting it on the nightstand.
As he lay back, Stella turned in his arms, snuggling closer to his chest.
“Ronald…” she mumbled in her sleep.
Looking down, he saw her face pressed against his chest and felt his heart melt. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and ran his fingers gently through her soft hair.
“Honey, I want a cuddle,” she murmured.
“Alright, come here,” Ronald whispered, wrapping her even tighter. He’d barely had any time for her lately-no wonder she was a little upset.
Elsewhere, Yvonne had fallen asleep by the time Xander emerged from the bathroom. Seeing her so worn out, he could only sigh-tonight had taken a lot out of her.
He moved carefully, sliding into bed, determined not to wake her. He’d barely settled in when Yvonne rolled over and wrapped herself around him, trapping him with an arm and a leg.
Xander froze. His mind went blank as the last thread of his restraint snapped.
He pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation. Of all things, he’d fallen for a wildcat like Yvonne-and God help him, but right then, he really wanted to kiss her. Without hesitation, he turned, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her deeply.
Half-asleep, Yvonne felt the pressure of lips and blearily opened her eyes. When she saw it was Xander, her notorious temper-already frayed from exhaustion-sparked to life Are you out of your mind
That only spurred him on. Now that the truth was out in the open, why bother holding back? He pinned her beneath him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she snapped, the shock jolting her wide awake.
“I can’t hold back anymore,” Xander said, his voice low and rough.
Yvonne blinked, trying to process. Wait. Was he really trying to—
“Hold on, we can’t!” she protested.
“Why not?” Xander demanded. “We’re married, I was the one who spent the night with you, and this baby is ours. What’s stopping us?” He dismissed the thought of Dan shed almost killed the guy, there was nothing left there. .net
Yvonne shot him a look. “Aren’t you worried it’ll affect the baby?”
Xander, all geared up for passion, came to a screeching halt. Her words
extinguished his fire in an instant.
She was right. He couldn’t take any chances now.
He stole a lingering, hungry kiss, his teeth grazing her lip before he finally rolled off, thoroughly defeated.
Yvonne yelped, her lip throbbing with
pain and her temper flaring even
hotter. “What is wrong with you?
How am I supposed to face anyone tomorrow with this?
Xander just grinned. “Who’s so important that you can’t face them?”
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