His Baby Deal (The Diamond Club Book 6)

by Elizabeth Lennox

“Probably time to clean them out and throw stuff away,” she said out loud. But as she looked around, she smiled. “Perfect for a nursery!” Because she still wanted to have a baby. Very badly! A baby would be…amazing! And she wasn’t getting any younger. Jessa had no prospects for a husband…even if Jayce’s face popped into her mind, so this really was the best way to go.

  Chapter 13

  “Seriously, sir, we’ve got this,” Mark said.

  Jayce looked around, trying to find something else to do or fix. He’d arrived in Laos two days ago and resolved several of the issues the team had been struggling with. They’d found a servant on the diplomat’s kitchen staff who was the threat and had turned him over to the authorities. Apparently, the man had been cutting the wires for the communication system, which was why the security team hadn’t been able to complete their daily check-ins.

  Rubbing his hands over his face, he knew that his excursion was at an end. Even though Jayce would prefer just a few more days away from…okay, Jayce desperately wanted to get back to Jessa, but he wanted his sperm far, far away from Jessa’s fertile egg. Unfortunately, if he went back now, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to stay away from her. Even now, thinking about her soft skin and that full, lower lip that she tended to bite whenever she was thinking of something sexy, his body hardened with need.

  She was so damn beautiful! So incredibly sexy! It wasn’t fair that…what the hell was he saying? It wasn’t fair that a gorgeous woman wanted to have sex with him?

  The idea sounded crazy, even to his bachelor mind. But that was the truth. He wanted Jessa forever. She didn’t want a man in her life. She’d proven that over and over again with the men she’d dated, as well as her decision to have a baby all on her own.

  A sperm bank! He snorted, drawing Mark’s startled gaze. “Sorry, different issue,” he explained quickly.

  “I’ll call your pilot,” Mark assured him.

  Jayce nodded, restraining himself from taking the man’s cell phone and tossing it into the jungle. “That would be great,” he said instead of what he really wanted to say. Which was that he needed to stay away for another couple of days. Forty-eight hours! Wasn’t there some crisis in the world he could fix that would take that long?

  When he realized what he was saying, Jayce shook his head. An hour later, he was on the plane heading home. Home to Jessa. He just prayed that she was past that point.

  Next month, he vowed. Next month, he’d fulfill his promise to her. But he was sure going to enjoy the next several weeks as they ‘practiced” conceiving a baby!

  The alarm on her phone jarred Jessa awake. She shut off the alarm and picked up the thermometer, slipping it under her tongue. “Temping” or taking her temperature each morning to determine her basal body temperature should tell her if she’d passed the point of no return – or the point when her body was no longer ripe for determined sperm to meet eager egg. She’d also bought one of those ovulation test kits. According to that kit, she’d ovulated thirty-six hours ago. But she checked her temperature again this morning, just in case the kit was wrong.

  When the slight ping announced that her temperature was set, she pulled out the thermometer and checked. “Bingo!” she laughed and jumped out of bed. If Jayce came home now, she’d be safe. Hopefully! Okay, yes. She glanced at her charting again, just to be sure. Yes, she was no longer fertile. Apparently, there was only one day during the month when the egg was fertile. And she could have sex two days before that day in order to get pregnant.

  She pulled on running clothes and stretched, feeling good. Thirty minutes later, she slowed down, checking her pulse as she walked down the short street towards her house, letting her muscles cool down.

  But as she turned the corner on her street, her breath caught when she spotted the black SUV in Jayce’s driveway. “He’s back!” she gasped and started running again, but instead of a nice, easy jog, she was sprinting down the street.

  There! Jayce was at her doorway, knocking on her front door and looking concerned.

  “I’m here!” she called out.

  As soon as he saw her, he walked down the steps, a grin on his handsome features. Jessa realized too late how she must appear, all sweaty and gross, without makeup on and a bit frantic to reach him. But before she could stop herself, to pull back and appear more casual, he lifted her into his arms and kissed her. He didn’t stop, kicking the door closed with his foot. Even then, he carried her right up the stairs and into her bedroom. “Strip!” he ordered, placing her on her feet.

  Jessa didn’t hesitate. She pulled her sweaty running clothes off, tossing them onto the floor. “Just give me a few minutes to…!”

  “Don’t even think about it,” he growled and tossed her bra off to the side. A moment later, he latched onto her nipple as she gasped and arched into his mouth.

  “Shower!” she gasped, but held his head close, writhing against him. Her body remembered the pleasure his mouth and hands could give her and was throbbing with the need for release. And since it had been so long, she was almost there just from him kissing her nipples!

  “If you shower, I’m joining you in there, Jessa!” he told her. But he lifted her up, tossing her over his shoulder as he carried her into the bathroom. Jessa laughed so hard, she could barely breathe, playfully pounding his back with her fists. Even when he flipped her back over and pinned her against the wall of the bathroom, she was still laughing.

  Until he got down on one knee, tossed her leg over his shoulder and…

  “Jayce!” she gasped, her fingers diving into his hair as his mouth latched onto that throbbing nub. In barely any time at all, she was arching into his mouth as her body throbbed with a climax that literally took her breath away.

  When he stood up again, she could barely catch her breath, her chest heaving with release. “Welcome home,” she laughed, putting her hands on his broad shoulders to steady herself.

  In response, he took her hand, guiding her fingers to his erection. He hadn’t bothered to take off his pants, just unzipped and it was there, huge and beautiful in her hands. She let her fingers slide up and down, her thumb tracing the vein on the outside. “You’re beautiful,” she whispered, licking her lips as she thought about having him fill her up and make her feel whole again.

  “I want to be inside of you, Jessa!” and he spun her around, pressing her hands against the wall of the bathroom. One hand held hers in place, while his other hand slid down her back, against her bottom and then along the backs of her thighs. He spread her legs wider, then that hand moved between her legs, teasing and taunting her. “Did you miss me?” he asked, gently biting her earlobe.

  “Yes! So much!” she replied with a gasp, pressing her bottom against his groin.

  “How much?”

  “Enough that if you don’t get on with it, I’m going to think you’re a tease, Jayce.”

  He laughed, letting that deep, sexy sound caress her body, ramping up the tension even more. “Maybe I am. What would you do if I left you here like this?”

  “I’d run you down, straddle you and have my wicked way with you,” she told him without hesitation. That was the thing about Jayce. His sensuality helped her release her inhibitions. It was just touch and sensation when he was with her. Total honesty in what she desired. If she asked him to try something, he was more than willing. And he gave her the ability to return the favor, fulfilling all of his desires as well.

  “I think I’d like to see that. But later. Right now, I don’t think I would get very far. Not when your perfect ass is right here for me to look at.”

  “Don’t look at my butt, Jayce,” she ordered, but his finger slid into her heat at that moment and she couldn’t speak another word, her body shifting, taking his finger deeper. “More,” she begged.

  “This?” he asked, taking his finger away and replacing it with his thick erection.

  “Yes!” she sobbed, bending to take him deeper into her body. She wiggled slightly, causing him to groan as both of
his hands held onto her hips, pressing deeper into her. Deeper still. She held her breath as he sunk all the way in and froze.

  “Jayce,” she wiggled again. “Don’t make me beg!”

  He laughed, running a hand down her spine. “I love it when you beg, Jessa.” But he was already moving, thrusting deeper into her tight sheath. Over and over, he pressed into her heat, bringing them closer and closer to that wonderful, miraculous point. When he knew that he couldn’t tease her any longer, he reached around and helped her over the edge. A moment later, as her inner muscles were tightening around him, he released his control. The intense pleasure was almost blinding as he held onto her from behind.

  When he could open his eyes again, he pulled her close, hugging her gently while kissing her shoulders and neck.

  She smiled up at him, her arms wrapping around him as she peered over his shoulder at him. “Welcome back,” she smiled. Laughing when he nipped again at her shoulder. “Can I have a shower now?”

  “Yes,” he replied, kissing her softly. “As long as we can do that again, at a much slower pace after we shower.”

  “We?”

  “Hell yes! I’ve been on a plane for the past twelve hours. I need a shower too.” He reached around her and turned the lever, adjusting the temperature until it was adequately warm. “Come here, woman,” he growled, sounding all caveman and sexy.

  Jessa laughed, knowing that she shouldn’t find the caveman attitude sexy, but this was Jayce and he was sweet and kind and tough and…well, hers for the moment. Hers for at least the next thirty days.

  Chapter 14

  Thirty-five days later, Jessa stared at the plastic stick, awash in conflicting emotions. Positive, she thought blankly. Pregnant. She was going to have Jayce’s baby! Wow! At that thought, her heart leapt so hard, she thought that it might just leap out of her body. She was pregnant! A baby! Wow! A baby! How exciting!

  “Jessa?” Jayce called from the other side of the bathroom doorway.

  Right! He’d been pacing across her bedroom this whole time.

  She reached for the doorknob and paused, taking a deep breath. He’d wanted to be in here with her while she’d taken the test, but…no. She just couldn’t pee when he watched. So she’d banished him to the bedroom and now, she’d give him the news. If they’d truly been together, this would have been more exciting. But knowing that she was pregnant, that meant that he’d stop coming over. He’d stop hanging around. No more dinners. No more nights on the dock together.

  No more wine, she thought with a mental chuckle.

  “Jessa, you’re scaring me,” he called through the door.

  She pulled open the door and…he was right there! A hand braced on either side of the bathroom doorway and all of those yummy muscles flexed as the tension increased between them.

  “Well?” he prompted.

  With a nod and another burst of happiness, she nodded. “I’m pregnant,” she whispered, still not sure that the idea had fully sunk into her muddled mind.

  His eyes widened, then he whooped, wrapping his arms around her waist as he lifted her into his arms, twirling her around. “Yes! Pregnant!”

  He seemed just as thrilled as she was and Jessa laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck as her happiness bubbled over. When he stopped twirling, lowering her back to the ground, she held her breath as she looked into his eyes.

  “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” he asked, pushing her hair out of her eyes as he kissed her. “I think I should make love to you, very gently, to celebrate!”

  She laughed, smiling as he kissed her again and again. “I think that is a wonderful idea.” And with that, he lifted her into his arms and laid her gently down on the bed. Stripping off her clothes, he kissed her everywhere, not allowing Jessa to touch him as he skimmed his fingers over her body. When he pulled her jeans off, his mouth lingered on her softly curving stomach. Looking up the line of her body, he grinned. “Girl or boy?” he asked, his mouth tickling her slightly.

  “Girl,” she guessed, not really caring one way or the other.

  “Boy,” he argued. Then his eyes moved back to her stomach, almost as if he were trying to see through the flesh and muscles to the baby nestled in her womb. At this point in the pregnancy, the baby would only be a cluster of cells embedded in the lining of her uterus, but to her…and obviously to him…this was their child.

  Jessa swallowed, touched by his excitement. They’d made a baby together. A baby!

  And then he stood up, stripping off his own clothes before coming back to her. Pressing himself into her slowly and gently, he shifted in and out, pressing deeper and deeper until she felt as if all was right and perfect with the world.

  “I’m not hurting you, am I?” he asked softly, pulling her closer. “I don’t want to hurt the baby either.”

  “You won’t,” she replied. “I’m protecting this baby,” she promised.

  And with that, he began to move again, taking them higher than anything they’d experienced before. When it was all over, he rolled over onto his back, pulling her close as if to protect her from the world.

  Chapter 15

  Jayce walked into the office the next day, feeling as if he’d just conquered the world. He was gonna be a daddy! Hell, Jessa was pregnant with his child!

  “Stop it!” Carly snapped, tossing several files on to his desk.

  “Stop what?” he asked, picking up the top file, and opening it, but not really seeing the words. He was still thinking about Jessa and their baby.

  “Stop being so happy. It’s annoying.” With that, Carly stalked out of his office, obviously in a snit. Jayce watched his sister’s back retreat, but then the thrill of knowing that he was going to be a daddy hit him again and he turned around, grinning at the window.

  Then another thought occurred to him. Jessa being pregnant meant….were their nights over? Was she done with him? That had been the deal! The only reason they’d taken their relationship to a sexual level was so that she could get pregnant.

  But no! Hell no! He wasn’t nearly finished with Jessa yet! He still had things to show her, different things to…he was going to say “tell her” and “be with her”. But that might scare her away. She didn’t want a man in her life. She wanted a baby.

  That was the deal, but was there any reason to not change the deal? Picking up his phone, he texted Jessa with a suggestion.

  Jessa paced back and forth, her fingers tapping a rhythm that she didn’t consciously notice but she was frantic, trying to figure out how to move forward.

  She really should stop lusting for Jayce. He’d promised only to help her get pregnant. But she wanted more. Good grief, she wanted him for the rest of her life, but that was out of the question. Jayce was an intensely sexual man, she knew. And he’d never dated one woman for too long.

  Come to think about it, he hadn’t dated anyone for a while. Even before he’d suggested helping her get pregnant, there hadn’t been a woman around his place for…well, she couldn’t remember the last time there’d been a woman. Other than his sister. She, Carly, and two other ladies, Charlotte and Deni, met every couple of weeks to learn how to play poker. To be honest, the four of them were more interested in talking than truly learning the fine art of poker playing, but none of them cared. Jessa had grown to respect and appreciate the three, considering them friends now.

  What would she do if Jayce brought other women home? She’d been in his house, in his kitchen, and in his bed so often over the past two months, it felt like an extension of her own house. She’d helped him cook and clean and…okay, so she didn’t help him clean. He had a cleaning crew come through once a week. But she’d done the dishes with him and made love on the kitchen table and his couch and…oh so many places! The man was very creative!

  She’d have to move, Jessa thought. There was no way she could live next door to him and see him bring other women home. She couldn’t picture him doing the same things to other woman that had given her such intense pleas
ure.

  Yes, that was what she’d do. Jayce didn’t want to be a part of this baby’s life. Every time she’d brought it up, he’d referred to the baby as “your baby” or “your child”. Never “our child”. In her world, words were everything. Writing and words and the phrases told a story. So, in her mind, Jayce continuously distanced himself from this baby.

  Protectively, she covered her stomach with her hands, thinking about Jayce and how he would go on with his life. He had to stay here. His work was here. His company. She could go anywhere. She could live anywhere that allowed her to connect with electricity and the internet. So she should be the one to move.

  But oh, it would be so nice to….

  Her cell phone buzzed. The message was from Jayce! Goodness, just a text message could send her into a tizzy!

  Rereading the message, she laughed, rolling her eyes. “You’re going to be overwhelmed as a new mother, Jessa. I think we should continue with our relationship for a bit longer. I promise to give you something to smile about during those nighttime feedings.”

  “Deal!” she texted back, before she could think better of it.

  With relief, she went back to work, thrilled to know that her love affair with Jayce was not over. She could still be with him and, at least for now, she wouldn’t have to see Jayce with another woman. For now, that was good enough.

  Chapter 16

  “Okay, what gives?” Oz demanded, walking into Jayce’s office later that week.

  Jayce looked up at his brother, tossing another file onto the stack that Carly had given him yesterday. He was plowing through the issues, not complaining about doing the security reviews, which were tasks he normally hated. In the past, when Carly gave him those files, Jayce pulled them out of his stack and put them in Ryker’s pile. Of course, Ryker then pulled them out of his stack and gave them to Oz, who would in turn sneak them back to Jayce’s stack. It was a game that went on and on until the deadline for the reviews came close, at which time, Carly would find the files that had traveled around the office and smack them down on someone’s desk with a look that told each of them not to mess around.