by Claire Adams
I squeezed Olivia's hand. I'd gone through all of this before with Emily, of course, but this was just as exciting as the first time around. Or perhaps more exciting, because, despite the fact that I was still nervous, it wasn't the all-consuming worry of a first-time parent that I had to contend with.
“All right, let's get started,” the doctor said, snapping her gloves onto her hands. She smiled at both of us and passed the wand around on Olivia's stomach.
Olivia giggled. “That really tickles,” she said, helplessly squirming a little before doing her best to remain still.
The doctor grinned at her and peered at the grainy image on the monitor, moving the wand a couple more times. “Right there,” she said, pointing. “That's your little one. Looking good, for it being so early in the pregnancy. I'd say you're due for a winter baby. We'll take some measurements and give you a more specific timeframe shortly.”
I bent down to kiss Olivia's hair, unable to contain my emotion and only hoping that I could express it through the kiss.
“We're having a baby,” Olivia said as I broke away. She sounded just as awed as I felt.
“You're having a baby,” the doctor confirmed, smiling at us. “Dr. Jones, why don't you take over with the wand and I'll give the two of you a moment.” Before she left, she switched on the sound, and the distinct thumping sound of the fetus's heartbeat suddenly filled the room.
“It's really in there,” Olivia said, sounding breathless. There were tears in her eyes. She reached up to swipe at them, looking embarrassed.
I brought her hand to my lips, softly kissing the fluttering pulse point at her wrist, thinking of how that heartbeat moved in time with the baby's heartbeat. “It's really in there,” I murmured, feeling just as moved by the moment as she was.
“Thank you,” Olivia said softly.
“For knocking you up?” I teased, grinning crookedly at her.
Olivia burst out laughing. “No!” she giggled. Then, she frowned, looking considering. “Well, maybe,” she said shyly. “We'll see; motherhood could be the best thing that's ever happened to me. But I meant more, thank you for being here with me.”
“Thank you for letting me be,” I said seriously.
Things had been going well between the two of us, but there was no denying that our relationship was still young. I think we were both just relieved that things seemed to be going smoothly for now. I didn't want to say that I had been worried that she wouldn't want me to have any part in the baby's life. But then again, I supposed that went without saying: we both knew exactly where this relationship had come from.
I turned away, finding that I suddenly needed to brush away tears as well. Olivia squeezed my hand but didn't comment.
“Is it too early to start thinking about names?” Olivia asked a little while later, as we were strolling along Michigan Avenue.
I laughed. “Well, we've already heard her heartbeat,” I pointed out.
Olivia was quiet for a moment. “If it is a little girl, do you think we could name her Anne?” she asked. “That was Mom's middle name.”
I paused, pulling her around to face me and kissing her gently. When I finally pulled away, I rested my forehead against hers, looking seriously into her eyes. “Of course we can name her 'Anne,'” I told her. “Emma and Anne. Sounds pretty perfect.”
Olivia smiled over at me. “And if it's a boy?” she asked.
“Andrew?” I suggested.
“Andrew,” Olivia said, rolling the name around on her tongue. “Andy Jones. I like it.”
We smiled at each other and continued to walk. I barely suppressed a groan as we saw none other than Georgia Witherspoon coming out of one of the luxury stores with a couple of bags on her arm.
“What are the chances,” I sighed. Seriously, it was unbelievable that of all the days that Georgia might come to Chicago, and of all the places she might be in the city, she had to be right there. Again, I wondered if she was stalking me, but to be fair, I hadn't seen her that much over the past couple weeks. I'd assumed that she had finally given up once I'd made it clear that I was never going to be interested in her.
Olivia looked up at me, a small smile on her lips. “Well, I guess it was about time for the whole town to know, anyway,” she said.
Georgia stopped and stared at the two of us for a moment, and I half-expected her to stalk off in the other direction. But then, she marched up to us. “I guess you're fine with raising some other man's bastard, huh?” she snapped, without even bothering to greet us.
She must have realized it was over then, if she wasn't going to try to be civil and sugary toward me anymore.
I raised an eyebrow at her, knowing the best tactic was just to remain calm. “Good to see you too, Georgia,” I said pleasantly. “By the way, Buck told me all about your scheme. Paying someone to lie, just so that you could get a man, I wouldn't have expected that from you. But then again, I always knew you had no confidence or self-respect. Or class, for that matter.”
Georgia stared at us for a moment, and I could practically see the gears turning in her head. But she didn't say anything else, and when she hurried off down the street, she was practically fleeing to get away from us.
I looked over at Olivia prepared to apologize again to her, but then I noticed that she had a huge smile on her face. “Enjoying the show?” I asked her.
“Immensely,” Olivia told me.
Then, she sighed. “But I guess it must be time for us to head home, huh? Traffic is going to be pretty bad getting out of the city if we wait any longer.”
“I booked us a hotel room for the night,” I informed her, putting a hand on her lower back and guiding her up the street. “We're almost there now.”
Olivia blinked up at me. “You did?” she asked, sounding surprised. She shook her head. “Eric, you know you don't have to keep apologizing to me or trying to impress me,” she said quietly. “You've already got me.”
“Doesn't mean I shouldn't spend every moment that I have trying to make you smile,” I told her easily. “Besides, the hotel room is as much for my sake as it is for yours. I want to spend every minute of tonight making love to you, kissing every last inch of your skin, without having to worry about interruptions in the form of my little devil-child and the monsters that might be lurking beneath her bed.”
Olivia laughed. “Well, when you put it that way, I guess it doesn't hurt to spend a night in a hotel every once in a while,” she agreed.
“Just think of how it'll be when there's two of them,” I said, giving an exaggerated, playful shudder just to hear her laugh again.
“I've got a dinner reservation for us as well,” I told her. “It's a pretty nice place, so I was hoping you'd take my credit card and do a little shopping this afternoon.”
Olivia raised an eyebrow at me. “You know I can afford a nice dress on my own, don't you?”
“Of course I do,” I said, rolling my eyes at her. “But I want to treat you today. And every day.” I grinned at her, kissing her again, albeit mindful of the fact that we were in the middle of the street still. “I want to spoil you rotten,” I told her.
Olivia hummed quietly. “I guess I could get used to that,” she said. “How nice is this place that you're taking me to?” she asked.
“However nice it is, you're going to be the prettiest woman in there,” I said, winking at her.
She giggled and ducked her head demurely. “What time is our reservation?” she asked.
“6:30,” I told her. “You have plenty of time to find the perfect outfit. Then come along to the Millennium Hotel.”
“I'll be there at 4:30, or 5 at the latest,” Olivia promised.
I raised an eyebrow at her, glancing pointedly at my watch. “That doesn't leave you much time,” I pointed out. “What are you planning on doing at the hotel for that long, anyway? You don't need to waste time on a fancy hairdo or makeup.”
Olivia grinned at me. “Well, I figured if I got there a little early, you could he
lp me out of these clothes, since I'll have to shower and put on the new dress anyway,” she said, innuendo clear in her voice.
“Ah,” I said. “Well, what kind of a man would I be if I complained about that?”
I wrapped my arms around her, kissing her one last time before I spun her off toward some of the shops. “I'll see you soon,” I promised.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Olivia
I found an evening dress in record time and headed to the hotel to meet Eric, unable to deny how turned on I already was just thinking about getting into bed with him. My lust for him, not that it ever really went away as long as I was around him, had spiked when he had admitted that he wanted to kiss along every inch of my skin that night.
I shivered in excitement, just thinking about it.
When I got up to the hotel room, Eric opened the door before I had the chance to, looking as though he had just gotten out of the shower, with a towel wrapped around his waist and water droplets beading on his chest.
I made a soft noise and pushed him back into the room, leaning up to kiss him.
Eric quickly took control, spinning us around so that I was back against the wall. He kissed me passionately, his tongue hot as it explored the inside of my mouth. I moaned, my fingers grasping at his hips and pulling him impossibly closer to me.
Eric hummed and pulled back, smiling down at me. “How was your shopping?” he asked.
“It was fine,” I said distractedly, leaning forward and chasing one of those water droplets with my tongue. When I looked up at Eric through my eyelashes, his expression had gone desirous.
“I think you said something about helping you out of these clothes,” he suggested.
“I did,” I said breathlessly. “I was going to suggest that we share a shower as well, but it looks like you already beat me to that.”
“I could get dirty again,” Eric said, letting the towel drop from around his waist. He was already impressively hard, and he gave his prick a few firm tugs, making it swell even more. I stared breathlessly at him and then dropped to my knees, putting my mouth on him without a moment's hesitation.
Eric groaned. “Definitely not what I was thinking, but no complaints,” he said, already sounding strained and needy.
I hummed and began to bob my head, using one hand to cover the parts that I couldn't reach with my mouth and fondled his balls with the other hand. He began to move with me, just little thrusts, almost as though he couldn't help it.
“I'm already pretty close,” he warned. “I couldn't stop thinking about you, just waiting for you to get back. I wished that I had gone with you so that I could have you in one of the changing rooms.”
I moaned, moving in earnest, needing him to come. I sucked as hard as I could, using every trick that I knew to turn him on.
He came abruptly, spilling into my mouth, and I swallowed without a thought. When I pulled away, Eric ran his fingers through my hair, looking dazed. Then, he shook himself slightly and reached down to tug me to my feet.
He slowly began to remove my clothing, kissing each bit of skin as it was revealed, until I felt flushed with the warmth of his lips. “Come on,” he murmured against my shoulder as the last of my clothing dropped to the floor.
He led me into the bathroom, turning on the water and testing the temperature. While we waited for it to warm up, he pressed me up against the sink, kissing me again. It was heady and intoxicating, and I could feel my body responding to him. I whimpered as his fingers trailed dangerously close to my pussy and then skittered away again.
“Please, don't tease me,” I begged.
He smiled at that and gave me a quick kiss. “All right,” he agreed, steering me into the water, which was just the perfect temperature.
His hands glided across my skin, and for a moment, he seemed lost in rapture, just staring at me. “God, you're beautiful,” he told me.
I smiled shyly at him, leaning in for another kiss. With the water cascading over us, the kiss was slick, and there was only a little friction as we ran our hands over one another's bodies. I trembled in his arms, melting against him.
After a moment, he pulled away and turned me around, nudging me into place. I bent over, giving him access to my hole, access which he immediately took advantage of, pressing inside me. My soft moan echoed in the small cube, and Eric chuckled in response, his hands sliding across my curves.
“Fuck,” he groaned as I shifted my hips, pressing back against him. He began to move, rocking back and forth, and I about lost it even at that.
“Don't stop,” I whimpered, feeling him start to slow down.
“I'm close,” he groaned, holding my hips still for a moment so that I couldn't move against him. I could feel his member twitching inside me, and something about the situation amused me.
I giggled. “You just came,” I reminded him. I wriggled a little, trying anything I could to get him to keep going.
“I can't help it,” he said. “This feels good.”
“It does,” I agreed. It was warm and intimate, and the water cascaded around us lubricated every movement we made. In fact, I could already feel that I was close as well, my muscles already beginning to clench around me.
As he started moving again, it caught me by surprise, and I whimpered, my hole fluttering desperately.
“That's it, baby,” he groaned. “Cum for me, just like that.”
I was helpless to stop it, my orgasm charging through me. I nearly lost my footing on the slippery floor, but Eric was there to steady me, his fingers holding my hips in place, supporting me just when I needed it the most.
Just like he always did.
I smiled at the thought, reveling in the feeling of him spilling inside of me again. “Fuck,” he groaned as he pulled out.
I straightened up and turned into his arms, letting him just hold me for a long moment. “We're going to be late for dinner if we don't get a move on,” I sighed.
Eric sighed as well, but he took a step back, reaching for a loofah and squirting some body gel onto it. “Let me wash you,” he said, already reaching out to scrub the coarse material over my skin. I shivered a little, just watching him move the thing slowly across my body, raising goosebumps across my skin in the process.
When he had lathered me up, he began to rinse off the suds, directing the spray carefully. He reached the nook between my legs and directed the spray onto my clit, and I gasp, feeling a tug in my core. Eric raised an eyebrow at me, and I could tell that he was cataloging that reaction, saving it for some other time. For now, though, we needed to get ready for dinner, and he regretfully reached around me to shut off the spray.
Then, he kissed me one more time, before opening the door and stepping out onto the bathmat. He grabbed two towels and handed one of them to me, his gaze still heated as it traced my body.
I blushed and went out to the hall to grab the bag containing my dress and the pretty lingerie that I'd bought to go beneath it. “If you don't stop staring at me like that, we're never going to make it to dinner,” I told him.
“I'm starting to regret having made that reservation now,” he commented.
My stomach rumbled loudly, and we both laughed. “Apparently the baby isn't regretting it,” I said.
“Anne,” Eric said softly, spinning me so that my back was to him and we were looking at ourselves in the full-length mirror. I had to admit, we looked good like that, as a couple. We looked like we belonged together.
And it was starting to feel as though we belonged together as well.
I stepped away from him and pushed at his shoulder. “Go on, get out of here and let a woman get dressed,” I said. “No peeking.”
Eric sighed but smiled at me, giving me a peck on the cheek before stepping out of the steamy bathroom, shutting the door as he went.
I locked it behind him and pulled on the lacy red slip and panties. Then, I pulled the dress over the top of it. The dress was low-cut in the back, nearly all the way down to my tattoo,
but the slip was as well. I'd been careful to make sure that the dress fully covered the slip so that Eric wouldn't know about it until he stripped the dress off me later that evening.
It was still early enough in our relationship that I didn't feel like I needed to wear sexy lingerie for him. As evidenced by this encounter, he was still interested in me in whatever way he could get me. But all the same, this evening felt special. Who knew how many nights like this we would have, especially not once the baby came along. I wanted to take advantage of it while I still could.
I smiled at myself in the mirror and then reached over to unlock and open the door as I started to blow dry my hair. Eric came to the doorway of the bathroom, leaning against it as he watched me. When I finished, he stepped inside.
I giggled as he trailed his fingers down my bare back and rested his hand against the curve of my behind. “Stop that,” I said. “Or else I'm never going to finish getting ready, and we're never going to make our reservation.”
“Maybe I don't care,” Eric said, his eyes challenging mine, where they met in the mirror. “Maybe we should just stay in and order room service.”
I hummed as his arms looped around me, his hands resting on my stomach. “That does sound nice,” I admitted.
“Then again,” he said slowly, his eyes still transfixed on mine. “I suppose that if I take you out to dinner, I get to show you off to everyone in the city. Let them all see how beautiful you are. Have I mentioned that that dress looks absolutely stunning on you?”
I blushed and ducked my head. “Thanks,” I said. “I'm glad you like it.”
“Like it?” Eric asked incredulously. He spun me around to face him and kissed me soundly, making sure I knew exactly how much he 'liked' it. I could feel his member digging into my thigh, not at full hardness yet but definitely trying to get there.
The fact that he wanted me so badly hit me like a sack of bricks, and I couldn't help smiling breathlessly up at him. “You don't look so bad yourself,” I said, tugging playfully at his tie.
“What's this?” Eric asked suddenly, tapping the iconic pink tag that had fallen out of the bag that had held the dress, probably accidentally blown by the hair dryer. “Nothing,” I said, blushing and shoving the bag away.
