Ryan (Members From Money Book 16)

by Katie Dowe

  “Thanks.” He sat on one of the single sofas and gestured for them to have a seat. “I am expecting a son,” he said brusquely causing the two people to stare at him. He explained the situation as best as he could and then stopped waiting for them to comment.

  “That’s pretty unusual, isn’t it?” Evan ventured as he looked at his wife.

  “Not really,” he said with a touch of impatience. “It’s the way I chose to go about it. I just wanted to let you know before it came out.”

  “And that’s the only reason you are telling us.” His mother said quietly.

  “You would have heard eventually. After all, he is going to be your grandson.”

  Rosalie stared at her cool aloof son and felt her heart break. “What about the mother?”

  “What about her?”

  “Is she going to want to part with a child she has bonded with for nine months?”

  “We signed a contract, Mother.”

  “What does that say, Ryan? Yes, she signed a contract and from what I hear it was the only way out for her. But she has this child growing inside her for months now. How is she going to feel when you take it away?”

  He got to his feet abruptly and Rosalie knew he was about to leave.

  “That is not my problem,” he said abruptly. “I came over to let you both know and I have done so. I really do not want it leaking to the press so if you would not mention it to anyone, that would be fine.”

  “I would never mention something like that to my friends,” Rosalie told him passionately. “Wasn’t there any other way?”

  “No,” he said abruptly. His eyes went to Evan who had come over and taken his wife into his arms. “I will see you.” With that he took his coat and left.

  Rosalie gripped her husband’s arms and sighed tearfully.

  *****

  Aaliyah explored the place. She had been there for two days before she decided that she was not going to sit and mope but she was going to be happy if it was even for her son’s sake. She had secretly given him a name. When she was in her room or walking through the other rooms she would talk to him and she would call him Cameron. She liked he name and she referred to him as that when she told him what she was seeing as she did her explorations. She had made friends with Loretta although the woman had been reluctant to do so and would help her in the kitchen, learning how to bake Rhubarb pie and creamy potato salad. She called her mother every other day and discovered she was feeling much better. Ryan called her every day to check on her and his son.

  “How are you?” he would ask her politely.

  “We are fine. I felt Cam- I felt him move last night so much that I was not able to sleep.”

  “You named him?” he was quick to pick up on her slip and Aaliyah closed her eyes in dismay.

  “Don’t worry, I am not going to renege on our deal.”

  “I have no doubt about that,” his voice was soft and menacing. “It’s you I am concerned about.”

  “Don’t worry about me I can always bounce back. The nurse said I am doing well and Doctor Whittaker came up to check on me.”

  “He told me. Are you going to take the money I offered?”

  At that moment Aaliyah found herself hating him. “Not everything is about money, Ryan.”

  “Isn’t it?” he asked her sardonically. “I am sure even you do not believe that.”

  “Is there anything else?” she asked him coolly.

  “That’s about it. Goodbye.”

  He was a monster! She thought angrily. How could she be in love with such a monster? She had gone outside to sit in the shade of the huge oak tree and had taken her lunch there as well. Nurse Whittaker had come out to find her sitting there and joined her. “It is so lovely here,” she murmured as she looked around the place. “It reminds me of the time I stayed at Apple Farm.” She then proceeded to tell Aaliyah about the triplets.

  Chapter 5

  “Could you come over?” Aaliyah asked him softly one night after she had been there a week. It had rained earlier in the day and there was the fresh scent of flowers all around them. She had eaten with Nurse Whittingham and she had retired for the night along with Loretta, but Aaliyah was unable to sleep.

  “Aaliyah what is it? Where is the nurse?” he asked her urgently.

  “I –it’s nothing like that. I just need to see you, please.”

  “Why?” he asked her baldly.

  She paused having no idea what to say. “I-I need someone, physically.”

  “That’s not part of the arrangement–”

  “Dammit Ryan! I just need a favor. I promise not to charge you for it.”

  There was silence for a moment before he hung up. Aaliyah closed her eyes and flopped back against the pillows. She should not have called him but ever since she had been pregnant and the nearer it got to her due date she had felt the physical yearning, especially when she touched her nipples. She moaned a little bit as her hand brushed against her nipples. She supposed that she was going to have to deal with it for now.

  She was watching television when she heard someone at her door. She turned it off and raised up in shock when she saw him. “Ryan!” she breathed. He came further into the room and stood there looking down at her. He had not seen her in almost two weeks and he could have sworn she had gotten bigger. “I am sorry–”

  “Shh,” he murmured as he reached out to put a hand over her belly. His eyes closed and he smiled as he felt his son move beneath his hand. The movement stopped and he removed his hand. “What do you want me to do?”

  She moved restlessly suddenly feeling shy. “I–my nipples are sensitive–” she broke off at the intense look on his face. He was wearing a pearl grey jacket suit and it appeared that he had come straight from the office. He went over and locked the door before coming back to take off his jacket and started to unbutton his shirt. He had on a snowy white undershirt and she watched in fascination as he pulled it over his head. She stared at his powerful, bare chest with the rippling muscles. He sat on the side of the bed and got rid of his shoes and socks and then his pants but left his underwear on. He turned to her and their eyes met, his inscrutable and hers plain to read. He lifted the nightgown over her head and his eyes darkened as they touched on her hardened nipples. His hands drifted to her belly and lingered there. To her shocked surprise he bent and kissed the bulge lingering there for a minute before he climbed over her. He bent his head to her nipple and took it into his mouth. Aaliyah arched her back and clenched her fists into the sheets, a moan escaping her as his tongue swirled around the tight bud. He lifted his head and looked at her passion filled face.

  “Don’t stop,” she whispered, her hand going up to touch his bare chest. She felt when he stiffened but she was past caring. All she wanted was to feel him next to her, on top of her. Without a word, he released his erection and turning her onto her side he reached beneath and entered her from behind. His breath escaped him in a whoosh as he pushed into her tightness. His hands encircled her belly and he groaned as he felt his son move inside her. She lifted her head back and sought his lips with hers. He would have preferred that the intimacy be left out but it was too late for that now. He moved and she moaned inside his mouth. He could not stop himself from pushing further into her, his heart thundering inside his chest. He had told himself that he should not come but he had been unable to resist! His mouth sought and captured her tongue with his own as he moved into her with an urgency that could not be helped! Ryan did his best to ignore the heating of his flesh and the passion of the moment. This was just sex, he told himself even when his body melted against hers. His hands held her tenderly as he thrust into her. His hands drifted up to her nipples and the minute his fingers touched the sensitive buds she cried out, tearing her mouth from his as the orgasm powered through her unsuspecting body. He held her still as he drove into her deep, his testicles tightening, making him aware that he was not too far behind her. His teeth clenched as he tried to stop the hoarse cry coming from his throat,
but he could not quite make it as he groaned deeply feeling the orgasm grab him and squeeze everything from him as he spilled his seed deep inside her! He could not move! His body was still twitching and his heart felt as if it was bursting from his chest. She was holding onto him as she did not want to let him go. He had planned that he would gratify her quickly and be on his way but now he was still deep inside her and to his horror he was still hard. She moved against him and twisted to face him. “My nipples,” she whispered.

  Without a word, he bent his head and took one inside his mouth, moving into her wet warmth as he started all over again!

  *****

  She fell asleep in his arms and with him still inside her. He had made love to her for the third time and then she had fallen asleep with her face pressed against his chest. But he had been unable to fall asleep, his thoughts troubled and besides he did not want to give her the wrong impression. No matter that the sex was good- correction it was pretty damned good, he thought with a shudder. No matter that he had no compunction about telling her goodbye when it was all over. He started to ease away but she murmured and burrowed closer to him. He could not spend the night. Pretty soon, his housekeeper and the nurse would know that he had come here and stayed with her and maybe formed the impression that they were together and besides that he had to get on his way. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost midnight. He had early morning meetings and he needed to get going. Very quietly, he moved away careful not to wake her. He eased off the bed and silently put his clothes back on. He hesitated a moment and looked down at her naked body, his eyes going to her breasts and the nipples still wet from his lips. His penis stirred inside his underwear he swore silently. He looked at her belly swollen with his son and for a moment he felt a strange tenderness inside him. But right away he was brought back to when Barbara had told him that she had aborted his child. His expression hardened and he turned away and headed for the door.

  “Ryan?”

  He closed his eyes and after a moment of hesitation he turned to her. “Go back to sleep,” he said coolly.

  “Can’t you stay?”

  “Like we are a normal couple?” he asked her coldly. “You called me and told me you had an itch to scratch and I very graciously rushed down here to scratch the itch. That is it, plain and simple, so don’t look for something that is not there.”

  “You bastard!” she whispered tearfully as she pulled the sheets over her.

  “That’s right Aaliyah. I say it like it is and please do not call me again for anything like this.” Without another word, he turned and left closing the door behind him.

  Aaliyah clutched the sheets close to her. Her body still bore the imprint of him on her, she still felt his lips on her nipples and his penis inside her. She groaned as she remembered how he had filled her up. She loved him! Her heart quivered in despair as she realized that it was going to be a long uphill battle trying to make him love her back!

  *****

  Ryan brooded that night when he got back home. He had said the words deliberately to hurt her and make her realize that he was not available. He had seen the look on her face and the way she had clung to him and knew that she was falling in love with him. How the hell had it gotten so complicated? He should have stuck to the original arrangement. He should not have touched her in the first place and now he had gone even deeper than that! He had made love to her! His hands clenched as he remembered how it had felt to be inside her. His penis had stretched and expanded reaching deep inside her. When all this was over things were never going to be the same.

  *****

  “You got somebody pregnant and did not tell me?” Elaine asked in an accusing voice as she called him the next morning.

  “I asked Mother to tell you and it is really none of your business.” He told her wearily as he drank his second cup of coffee. He had been unable to sleep and had gotten up in the early hours of the morning to try and do some work. It was coming to the summer and the airlines were at their busiest along with the hotels and he was thinking of shifting the managers around.

  “Oh no, you don’t! I am going to be an aunt, so I would say it is my business. What’s this I hear about a surrogate mother?”

  “You heard right and I am not going to discuss it with you. Don’t you have a job to do?”

  “I am on break. Ryan I know you are the big bad wolf or at least you pretend you are but when are you going to let go of the hurt of the past and start living again?”

  “Isn’t that what I am doing now?” he asked her with forced lightness. Her words had him thinking of Aaliyah and he could not afford to do so.

  “Who is she?”

  “You don’t know her.”

  “How does she feel about such arrangement?”

  “As I said before, it is none of your business. Now I have work to do.”

  “As your only sibling I think I am entitled to say this to you. You are letting her win Ryan and that is not something you want her to do.”

  He hung up from her and stared down into his now cold coffee. Damn them!

  *****

  She ignored the thoughts of his rejection tumbling inside her and decided to call him. It had been two weeks since he had come to her and apart from calling and asking her politely how she was that had been it. She had done her crying in her pillows and cursing herself for falling in love with a man like him and had tried to go on from there. She waited until she knew that the staff had left his office and made the call. He picked up immediately. “What is it?”

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “How would you like to have dinner with me?”

  He was silent and she feared he would hang up on her. “Not a good idea, Aaliyah.”

  “Don’t make me beg,” she said with forced lightness.

  “So don’t,” he said a little sharply.

  “Please, Ryan, just have dinner with me. I am cooped up here with too much time on my hands and I need company.”

  “You have two women there.”

  “I want to see you.”

  “This is not a relationship, Aaliyah.”

  “I know. Please.”

  He bit off a sigh and closed his eyes. “What are you doing?”

  “I don’t know. I am sorry Ryan but I need you. I know you have every intention of not having anything to do with me after–” she paused and he heard when she took a deep breath and realized that she did that when she was confused or afraid. “I will have to deal with losing you and our son–”

  “Stop it!” he rasped feeling the guilt inside him. “You knew the rules before Aaliyah and my son and I are not yours to lose.”

  “Are you going to dictate how I should feel about the entire thing?” she asked him quietly.

  “When this is over and it will be in another month or so. We are going our separate ways with you being richer than when you started out,” he gritted. “We are not going to see each other again and you are going to move on with your life, Aaliyah. I am not interested in a relationship because I have done that already and it turned out that it is not something I am interested in. Please do not call me again unless it has to do with my son.” He hung up on her.

  *****

  “Henry what is it?” he asked urgently as soon as the doctor took his seat in one of the chairs in his office. He had been alarmed when the doctor called and asked to meet with him. It had been a week since he had spoken to Aaliyah and he had not called her back.

  “Have you spoken to Aaliyah?”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “She is suffering from depression, Ryan, and I am afraid it is the acute kind. Do you have any idea why?”

  Ryan looked away and felt the guilt inside him. He had been pretty harsh with her and had not called her back. “I can guess,” he said reluctantly.

  “You are going to have to get to the bottom of it and try and get her out of it. Her condition is not good for the baby.”

  “I will call her.”

  “
Good,” the man got to his feet and looked at the younger man. “You must be pretty excited for the upcoming birth. Have you started interviewing nannies yet?”

  “I still have time.”

  “I am sure. I will see you next month.”

  Ryan nodded and waited until he left the office before he called her number. She did not pick up. He called her three times and did not get a response. He was forced to call Nurse Whittaker’s number. “Mr. Sullivan how are you?”

  “I am fine,” he said tersely. “Where is Aaliyah?”

  “She is not here.”

  “What?”

  “She said something about going to look for her mother. I thought you knew.”

  “She did not take her phone?”

  “I have no idea, sir.”

  “Thank you.”

  He tried calling her again and did not get her. A frown knitted his brow as he realized that he was worried. What the hell was she doing and how had she left the premises? He called the driver. “Where is she?”

  “Ms. Cole asked me to let her off in town and I did, sir.”

  “If anything happens to her, it is on you.” He told the man grimly. What the hell was she doing?

  *****

  “You look like you have lost your best friend,” Maxine commented as they sat down to lunch. She knew he was going to be mad, but at this point she did not care. She had cried so much that she felt lightheaded and faint. She barely ate and only did that because she had her baby to sustain. He was hers no matter what he said!

  “I am just feeling a little cooped up where I am and I decided to get out. I am going to visit Mom after this.”

  “Where exactly are you?”

  “I cannot tell you. I am sorry. The birth parents want to keep it hushed that I am the one carrying the child.” She improvised quickly. No matter how she felt about Ryan Sullivan at this particular moment she was not going to betray him.

  “That sounds strange,” Maxine looked at her friend curiously. “Are you sure they are not trying to take the baby and kill you after?”