Naya thought about trying to stay awake so that she wasn’t so off on her sleep cycle, but the lure of the bed was too strong and she crawled onto the beautiful white coverlet and was asleep almost instantly.
Pierce came upstairs several hours later and looked in on Naya. She was curled up on the bed, her shoes still on and she looked…beautiful. There was a glow about her that he attributed to the sunshine earlier today.
His housekeeper had come by and cooked a meal, which was now simmering on the stove. He’d told her not to bother to serve, that he’d take care of it and he’d sent her on her way. Pierce knew from experience now that he didn’t want anyone in the house while he was alone with Naya. He finally had her alone for an extended period of time and he didn’t want her to feel inhibited by anyone’s presence. This was their time and he wanted to get to know her. He wanted to know more than where she liked to be touched or how long it took to help her climax in his arms.
Even more intriguing, Pierce wanted to know her. He wanted to understand how she thought and hear about her past, what experiences made her the person she was today.
Leaning his shoulder against the door, he crossed his arms over his chest and just watched her. She really was stunning. Her legs were long and shapely, her breasts full as they pressed against the silky material of her top. She’d pushed all of her long, brown hair over the top of the pillow so that it draped off of the edge like a cascade of soft curls. His body had reacted to the sight of her, but he relished the throb of need that pounded in his veins as he looked down at her. She was a beauty but there was still something more to her. Something that drew him in and made him want to possess her. Perhaps it was the elusiveness of her. She’d disappeared after every sexual encounter except for the flight here. And now he had her in his house, in his bed.
The need was too intense now and he moved over to the bed. She’d slept for hours and now it was night. She would be well-rested and, perhaps over the next several hours, he could binge on her beauty, make love to her so much that they were both satisfied.
Walking to stand next to the bed, he stripped off his clothes, then bent over her and started kissing her along her bare arm, absorbing every gasp as she slowly came awake. Pierce no longer tried to figure out what it was about Naya that was different. He just accepted that she was as he made love to her. When she sighed and rolled over, wrapping her arms around his neck, he groaned with need. “You’re awake.”
She laughed and wrapped her legs around his waist. “Wasn’t that your intention?”
“Yes. But you were slower to wake up than I expected.” He rolled over so that she straddled him and quickly took her shirt and bra off, cupping her naked breasts with his hands while his fingers tweaked her nipples. “You were sleeping hard.”
“Yes!” she hissed, throwing her head back as she arched into his touch. “How long did I sleep?”
“A few hours,” he replied, lifting up and taking first one, then the other nipple into his mouth. “Dinner is ready.” Then he flipped her over again and pulled back to take her shorts and panties off. “I’m hungry.” With firm hands, he pressed her legs further apart and smiled in anticipation.
Naya laughed, but the sound changed to a gasp when his mouth closed over that nub, sucking it in gently at first, but with increasing pressure as his tongue darted out to tease and his finger slid into her wet heat. “Pierce!” she screamed and yelled, her hips writhing as she climaxed almost instantly. He took all of it, teasing and extending her pleasure until she relaxed against the bed.
After that, he took the condom and rolled it down his length before pressing into her body, reveling in how her body tightened against him. “Damn, Naya! You feel so good!” Pierce tried to move slowly, to take his time. But feeling her like this, her body taking his deeply into her heat, he couldn’t do it. With every thrust, the need to claim her, to imprint himself on her, grew stronger. He was only able to hold back long enough to feel her climax again before his control snapped. The pleasure was once again almost blindingly intense.
Afterwards, he cradled her in his arms, his fingers running down her spine. This, he thought, was bliss.
Chapter 16
Naya felt as if her whole being was drenched in pleasure. She’d never known this kind of happiness before. All her life, every day had seemed like a struggle. A struggle to finish her homework, to pass the next test, to write the best essay so that she wouldn’t be kicked out of boarding school and sent back into the foster care system. During her college years, she’d earned a scholarship, but that had required an grade average that was high, so she’d pushed herself harder and harder to meet those requirements. After college, she’d put pressure on herself to be the best at her job and ensuring that she paid her bills ahead of time, earning the next promotion at work and creating the best marketing campaign. Even seeing her mother had been a struggle, worrying if she would be good enough, worthy enough, to keep her mother from running away.
Never before had she simply…enjoyed life.
Being with Pierce over the past two days…every moment had been amazing. He kept her up into the early hours of the night making love. Over and over again, he’d brought her to the peak of pleasure, then held her in his arms with such tenderness, it had almost brought her to tears. He cooked amazing meals, taught her to body surf and sail, laughing with her when she’d tipped the small sailboat over. Naya had then had the pleasure of watching his muscles pull the sailboat back on top. Her punishment? Sailing naked. He’d ordered her bathing suit off. But that had only lasted for five minutes before he’d packed up the sail and made love to her on the tiny boat.
Just swimming with him in the surf had been mind-blowing. His strong arms carried her along in the waves, their bodies rubbing and sliding against each other and…yep, making love in the sunshine again.
Pierce seemed to have unending stamina. He could go on forever and…she loved him. They’d laughed and talked and played all weekend. Now it was Sunday and she didn’t want to leave this oasis of happiness.
Especially since she still hadn’t told him that she was pregnant. Naya wished that she could say that there hadn’t been an opportunity. She wished that she could say that he’d filled her mind with so much activity that she simply hadn’t gotten a word in.
But that would be a lie. There had been many times when she could have told him. Naya had simply been selfish. She hadn’t wanted to break the cocoon of happiness that had formed around them over the weekend. But she’d have to tell him. It was his right to know, plus, she’d start showing pretty soon. She was about ten weeks pregnant and, although her clothes still fit her pretty well, she could tell that the waistbands on her clothes were becoming a bit more snug.
Although, that might be from the amount of food he’d fed her over the past two days. But she’d suspected that the near constant activity had burned off most of the calories.
Rolling over, she stared up at the ceiling. She needed to shower and change into her old clothes. He’d mentioned flying back in a few hours and she didn’t want to keep him waiting.
With another sigh, she pushed off of the bed and went into the bathroom. The morning sickness hadn’t been an issue this weekend. For some reason, she hadn’t felt nauseous, but she knew that it would be back. She’d felt a bit…uneasy this morning, but no throwing up.
Stepping into the shower, she shampooed her hair and soaped her body, finally stepping out of the amazing shower area and drying off. Padding barefoot into the bedroom, she pulled out one of the summer dresses and pulled it on, along with a pair of panties. She didn’t bother with a bra today, wanting to torment him a bit. With a smile, she lingered over her makeup, but simply brushed her hair out and let it air dry so that the curls tightened around her shoulders. She knew that Pierce preferred her hair down so she hadn’t bothered with styling it all weekend.
Tomorrow when she got ready for work would be soon enough to try and look less…savage.
She packed up her
clothes in the suitcase that had magically appeared in the closet yesterday and carried everything down the stairs, finding Pierce in the kitchen making something that smelled delicious. But he was also on the phone, speaking in a language she didn’t understand. He winked at her as he placed a plate in front of her that was filled with fruit and eggs, but continued to talk. She suspected it was a business call and felt the bubble of happiness pop. Reality was coming back to them. It had been inevitable, but she’d hoped to stave off that moment for a bit longer.
She nibbled at the breakfast, focusing on the fruit since she suspected that she needed the nutrition. But then ate the eggs, wondering if her baby needed protein as well. Naya promised that she would get to the doctor as soon as she got back home. Cassy took vitamins for her pregnancy and there were probably other things she should be doing. Maybe drinking more milk? Didn’t babies need calcium?
Pierce got off the phone and came back to her. “You doing okay?” he asked, kissing her forehead.
“Yes, I’m fine but…” she was interrupted by his cell phone ringing.
“I’ll be right back.”
And then he was gone again. She stared down at her half eaten breakfast and wondered what was so urgent. But she really couldn’t blame him. It was past noon and he’d probably been awake for hours working on business issues while she’d been lazy about getting out of bed this morning.
She stared at the beautiful kitchen. “So this is what his life is like,” she said to the empty room. Then sighed, shaking her head. “That’s not fair. I had him all to myself for two days.”
With that, she got up off of the stool and cleaned the kitchen.
“You don’t have to do that, Naya,” he called out to her when he stepped back into the kitchen. “My housekeeper is coming by right after we leave.” He took the plates out of her hand. “Unfortunately, we have to go separately. I have a jet flying you home to London in half an hour. A driver will be here in about five minutes to pick you up and take you to the airport.”
His words startled her and Naya couldn’t stop the sharp stab of pain at the idea of not being with him tomorrow. “What do you mean? Why are we flying home separately?” she asked, feeling a crash of sadness hit her with his announcement.
“Unfortunately, I’m not going back to London. A problem came up and I have to fly to Tokyo and then to Toronto. But I’ll be back by the end of next week.” Unfortunately, he was already walking away, his mind preoccupied with…whatever was going on with his businesses.
The end of next week? The words echoed in her mind over and over. “I really need to talk to you,” she called out.
He stopped and started to turn towards her, but his phone rang again. He looked at the number, a grim expression coming over his features. “We’ll talk tonight,” and he was gone again.
Naya stared at the place where he’d been standing just moments ago, her heart aching. She’d missed her chance to tell him about the baby and it was all her fault. She’d had plenty of chances over the past two days.
There was a knock on the front door and she walked over to answer it, smiling up at the driver standing on the front steps.
“Ms. Banks?” he inquired.
This was the end, she thought. “Yes,” and she forced a smile to her lips. “I’ll just get my suitcase.”
The man stepped into the foyer and reached for her case. “I’ve got it. I’ll store it in the trunk.”
Naya looked back at the house, wondering if she should say goodbye to Pierce. But she knew that he was busy on the phone. She really shouldn’t disturb him. He seemed preoccupied about whatever was going on in Tokyo or…wherever the latest crisis was.
“Time to go,” she told herself firmly.
Naya walked out of the beautiful house. She didn’t glance over her shoulder as she followed the driver out of the house and down the landscaped steps to the vehicle waiting to take her away from this blissful oasis. No looking back, she told herself. Just keep going forward.
“Ma’am,” the driver said, holding open the back door for her.
Naya looked at the beautiful interior with the air conditioning already going full blast. She was just about to step inside when she shook her head.
“No,” she whispered. “This doesn’t feel right.” She looked up at the house, then at the driver. “I’ll be right back,” she told him and rushed back into the house. She wasn’t exactly sure where Pierce was, but she suspected that he was in the back of the house somewhere. When she searched, she followed the sound of his deep voice.
She knocked on the door softly, then stepped inside. He was still in the middle of a conversation, but after one look at him, she walked over to him and…took the phone out of his hand and pulled him down for a kiss. Naya put all of her heart into that kiss, showing him exactly how much this time alone with him meant to her. It took barely a fraction of a second before she felt his strong arms wrap around her waist, lifting her up against him and he took control of the kiss.
For long moments, they stood like that, kissing as if this were the end of time. Then slowly, he lifted his head, his arms still holding her waist and he looked at her. She was breathing hard and his breath wasn’t exactly steady. Plus, she could feel his body’s reaction against her stomach.
Slowly, very slowly, he released her and Naya stepped back, straightening her sundress. “I just…wanted to say goodbye.”
With that, she turned and walked out of the office. Vaguely, she heard someone calling through the phone, but she was more focused on walking out and not turning around to beg him to take her with him. He needed to focus and she had a job to get back to.
Every step was painful, but she managed to walk out of the house one more time. The driver was still standing by the back door of the limousine and Naya smiled at him as she stepped into the back. He closed the door and moments later, the driver pulled away from the house.
Chapter 17
“You’re going to be fine,” Ella said, sitting next to Naya in the waiting room.
“Yeah. I’m going to be fine,” she repeated, but then shifted nervously on the chair. “I just…I should have told him last weekend,” she whispered, wishing she’d done the right thing.
Ella grinned. “Yeah, but from what you said at lunch the other day, you were a bit preoccupied.”
Naya closed her eyes, trying not to remember the moments she’d spent in his arms. Because over the past few days, the morning sickness had roared to life and she was…miserable. Not just because of the morning sickness, but because she hadn’t heard from Pierce all week. He’d said he’d call that night, but she’d received a terse text message from him letting her know that he’d landed but wouldn’t be able to talk with her because of the time difference.
She respected that, and had texted back that she hoped his meetings were successful. She’d tried to be supportive. She’d tried very hard not to be jealous of his job. But…Naya was failing.
She was jealous and she was hurt and angry.
“It’s just as well she whispered.
“What’s just as well?” Ella asked, flipping through the old magazine. “Hey, did you know that Angelina Joli and Brad Pitt are separating?” She did a mock gasp, then giggled.
Naya rolled her eyes, but grinned. It was a pretty old magazine and the pages were well worn from use. “Who woulda thought it?” she replied with equal sarcasm.
“Well, just because you’re a cynic on relationships lasting, that doesn’t mean that the rest of us are so negative.”
Naya laughed. “Right,” she mocked. “When was the last time you were out on a date?”
Ella’s lips twisted slightly. “Okay, that’s a good point.” She flipped another page. “But at least Ella’s guy came back!” she said with enthusiasm. “That’s a good thing. Evidence that true love does last.”
Naya rolled her eyes. “Twooo luv…” she mimicked the priest from “Princess Bride” a movie that the three of them had watched over and over again
during high school and college.
They both giggled, ignoring the curious or irritated looks from the other mothers in the waiting room in various stages of pregnancy.
“Hey, did I tell you who I ran into at the office the other day?” Naya asked, straightening slightly as her anger started to bubble again.
“Who?” Ella asked, flipping another page.
“Tamara!”
Ella slapped the magazine to her lap, gasping in horror. “NO!”
“Yes!” she replied. “And she’s just as irritatingly gorgeous as she was in high school!”
Ella laughed. “I always wondered what happened to her. Wasn’t she supposed to marry some prince or sheik or king or something?”
Naya shrugged and sat back against the cushions of the waiting room chair. “I have no clue. But I still don’t like her. And she doesn’t like me.” Naya tilted her head slightly as something occurred to her. “I don’t think she was really engaged. I was at the grocery store last night and there was a picture of her dancing in a nightclub with some other guy. She was labeled the naughty princess or something.”
They laughed until Naya was called back by one of the nurses. Instantly, all hilarity ended and Naya tensed, nervous now that the time had come. They both looked at each other with worry. “Good luck!” Ella whispered, squeezing Naya’s hand.
Naya slowly stood up, straightened her skirt, then walked back with the nurse. She was trying hard not to feel as if this were a walk to a prison sentence, but…she was scared, not sure what to expect.
The nurse took her to a chair and smiled reassuringly. “This isn’t going to hurt at all,” the nurse told her. Then snickered. “At least, not yet.”
She then started with the questions, getting a healthy history before bringing her to one of the examining rooms. Five minutes later, the doctor arrived and Naya felt better after the confident smile of the obstetrician. She then listened for the heartbeat and that was a very exciting moment, bringing tears to Naya’s eyes. She was given a prescription for prenatal vitamins, told to get lots of rest, exercise and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. “And milk,” the doctor cautioned. “Get in the habit of drinking lots of milk. The baby is just a blob of cells at the moment,” she said with a reassuring smile, “but soon, your tiny bundle will start to develop bones. If you’re not getting enough calcium, the baby will take the calcium from your body. So start drinking it now.”
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