She caught the relief in his eyes before he leaned into her, brushing a kiss on her mouth this time. It was the first time he’d actually kissed her lips since he’d thrown her out of the house, and her heart nearly stopped. It wasn’t sexual, but it was intimate. Just like sitting between his thighs was intimate.

“I want the baby too, Siena. It makes me happy that you do as well.” He tugged at her hair until she turned her head around so he could continue braiding it.

“Elijah, I want the baby, but I don’t like the fact that we made this child the way we did.” There, she’d told him the truth. “I can barely look at you without hearing the things you said to me. Every word is branded on my soul. That may sound dramatic to you, but it’s the absolute truth. I don’t want to be here. I told you that when you said you were going to bring me here. I don’t want you to be my baby’s father. I don’t know if I can ever get past what happened.”

She bit down hard on her lip, afraid he’d be angry with her. He’d asked for the truth and she’d given it to him. She kept her head down, staring at her fingers, locked together so hard in her lap they were white.

“That’s fair, baby. I don’t blame you. I was a dick to you. What woman wants to remember the father of her child being a bastardo absoluta?”

She drew in a startled breath. It was the last thing she expected him to say.

“That said, I am the father of our baby. I am your man. You’re my woman. I know that’s going to take some getting used to, but we’re here and we’ll find our way.”

“I don’t know who you are, Elijah. That man who said those things to me or this man, the one who’s so sweet he makes me want to cry.”

“Wish I could say I was only the sweet one, babe, but we’re being truthful, and I have to admit I’m both. I can be a real bastard sometimes. You know the worst of me.”

She shook her head. “I can’t handle that, Elijah.”

He tugged on the braid. “You think I don’t know that, Siena? You think I don’t know just how bad I fucked up? You think it doesn’t eat at me night and day that I hurt you like that? I know you now. I know I have to protect you, and I swear, Siena, you give me that chance, you let me in, I’ll take such good care of you, you’ll never have to worry about anything again.”