"What would make you happy?" Guillermo ran a hand through his hair, making the black strands stand up. "I am trying to accommodate you, but you never seem to be happy."
"I just want to be on my own."
"Do you really think that being on your own is better for the baby?"
"I guess not." Devanta looked down at her shoes.
"So why do you keep running away?"
"I am not used to answering to someone else." Her arms were crossed in front of her, and Guillermo tried not to look at the cleavage created by her breasts.
"How could I possibly make the situation better? Just say the word.“ He would do what it took.
"I don't know. I just don't feel like you're very committed to us. You seem to want the baby now, but will you feel that way in a few years? What is stopping you from hiring another surrogate to give you another baby?"
"I only really want one." Guillermo sighed. "What would make you feel secure?"
"I do not think that anything would make me feel secure. This whole thing started with the contract, and there is nothing that could possibly make me feel like you would love the baby until the end of time."
"What about this?" Guillermo dropped to his knee on the gravel, careless of the expensive fabric of his suit being torn by the gravel.
Devanta put her hands over her mouth. "What are you doing?"
"Making you feel secure. Devanta, will you marry me?"
"Get up. No, I will not marry you."
"Why not?" Guillermo looked offended. "There are plenty of women who would love to be married to me."
Devanta looked at him. Despite the small tears in the knee of his pants, Guillermo looked like the definition of attractive in the dictionary. "I know."
"So what is holding you back?"
"I don't know."
Guillermo frowned. "If you say yes, I can offer you a lifestyle that you have never dreamed of."
"I do not really care about living in luxury. I just want a safe place for me and the baby."
"I can definitely offer you that. Why are you turning me down? It doesn't make any sense."
"I want a lot more out of marriage than a hasty proposal without an engagement ring."
Guillermo's eyes turned gold. "It seems that no matter what I do, I will never please you." He spun on his heel, and he walked into the house.
Mansion
Devanta
Devanta looked inside of the car. While they had been talking, someone had taken the baby into the house. Devanta guessed that she needed to follow Guillermo.
When she walked in the door, she stopped, completely starstruck. The foyer of the house had a huge ceiling. Everywhere around her, there seemed to be crystal. She could not help herself. "Oh my goodness."
"This is the housekeeper, Mrs. Goodman."
Mrs. Goodman was a pretty, 60-year-old with an apron and a no-nonsense bun. "How do you do?" She shook Devanta's hand. "I set up a room for the baby. The baby is still sleeping. Jimena is upstairs with him, so he’s fine.”
Devanta slumped a little bit. Now that she knew that the baby was perfectly safe, she wondered what she should do with herself.
"Are you hungry? I was just taking dinner out of the oven."
Devanta sniffed. She could smell chicken. "Smells good. I would love some dinner."
"Come this way."
The three of them walked through the house, and the smell of chicken got stronger. Now that they were closer, Devanta could smell carrots and onions.
Mrs. Goodman opened the stove, and she took out a roasted chicken.
"I already set the table in the dining room. Go sit down, and I will bring the food in."
"We better do what she says." Guillermo brought Devanta into the dining room. It was way too fancy. There were cabinets all around with what was very clearly extremely expensive china.
"I'm afraid to touch anything. This is the opposite of baby friendly."
Guillermo frowned, looking around the room. "I did not even think about that. I guess I need to rearrange some of my house. We have some time, though, because the baby will not walk for a little while longer."
"I guess I can make my project."
"Are you going to stay?" Guillermo raised an eyebrow. "Just a few minutes ago, you seemed eager to get away. You rejected my marriage proposal. What do you want to do? I will not keep you here if that is not what you want."
Devanta sagged a little bit more into her chair. "I guess this is the best place for me and the baby right now."
"You talk about not feeling secure, but how am I supposed to feel secure? You have run away with the baby twice. Instead of me trying to make you feel secure, you should be trying to do that for me." Guillermo arched a brow.
Devanta gasped. The nerve!
Mrs. Goodman broke the tension by bringing in dinner. She had given each of them a chicken breast, and the roasted vegetables had chicken gravy on them.
Before Guillermo had the chance to offend her anymore, Devanta dug in. They ate in complete silence. All of Devanta's emotions whirled in her head. What should she do? What did she even want?
As soon as Devanta cleared her plate, there was a knock on the door.
Kaitlyn
Devanta
Guillermo stood, carefully placing his napkin to the left of his plate. "I have no idea who that is."
He went to the front door, and Devanta could see a very tall, blonde woman. She looked like a Snow Queen, the snow in her perfectly straight blonde hair and in her eyelashes. She was wearing a fluffy white coat. She was nearly as tall as Guillermo, because of her very high heels, completely inappropriate for the ice and snow outside. They looked way too expensive for someone like Devanta to buy, let alone wear during a normal day. She froze in place, hoping that the woman would not see her.
"Someone told me a crazy story. They said that you had a baby. Is that true?"
Guillermo cleared his throat. "It is true, Kaitlyn. Would you like to meet the mother?"
"The mother?" The blonde sounded like she had never heard of such a concept before.
The two of them walked into the dining room, and Devanta reluctantly stood up. She walked over to the blonde, and she extended her hand. "I am Devanta. I am so pleased to meet you."
“I’m Kaitlyn. Likewise." The blonde smiled, but the smile did not touch her eyes, which if looks could kill, would have murdered Devanta on the spot.
"So, how do you know Guillermo?"
Guillermo stepped in before Devanta could reply.
"We met a few months ago. This is all moved very quickly."
"I'll say. I have never even heard of this woman. Now she has your child?"
They all heard Guillermo's phone ring. "Excuse me. I need to take this."
"I will give you a check for $50,000 if you leave right now. No questions. Just go."
"My baby is upstairs. Do you honestly think that I would abandon my child?"
"You have no rights to Guillermo." Devanta shrink back as Kaitlyn towered over her, using her height to intimidate Devanta. "We have been involved for a decade, and I'm not going to lose my position to some fat, short woman."
Devanta put her hands on her hips. She wasn’t going to take this from a blonde stranger. “You may have wanted to marry him, but why did he ask me to carry his baby?"
Kaitlyn sniffed. "I would never carry a baby. It would ruin my body forever."
Devanta looked at Kaitlyn's completely flat stomach. She could see why Kaitlyn did not want to have a baby. She felt much more self-conscious about the soft curve of her own stomach. She tried to suck it in.
Kaitlyn smirked at her. “You should leave. It would be for the best. We can hire a nanny to take care of the baby. It's not like they really need a mother anyway...just someone to take care of them, that's all."
“No way!” Devanta shouted. “I will take care of my own baby. What kind of twisted childhood did you have to make you think that all a baby needs is a nanny? Babies need to be loved, a
nd you obviously didn’t get enough when you were a child.”
Kaitlyn slapped her. The sound echoed in the foyer. Devanta put a hand to her stinging cheek.
"Get out."
Convincing
Guillermo
Both of their heads swung towards Guillermo, and he might've laughed at how surprised they were if he was not so angry. He felt like there should be steam pouring out of his ears.
"You are not welcome here, Kaitlyn. Please leave.”
“It was her fault. She provoked me. You don't mean that Guillermo. How could you possibly choose this…person…over me?It doesn't make any sense."
"I know this is news to you, but she is the mother of my child. It means a lot to me. If you have wanted to have my child, we would already be married. You didn't, so we aren't, and you have no say in what I do with my child."
"You will change your mind. I know you will. When you are ready, there is an orchid diamond necklace that I want from Tiffany's. I would accept that as an apology."
Guillermo and Devanta watched her leave. Her stride was as smooth as if she had not just been kicked out of Guillermo's house.
"I'm sorry you had to meet her. She is clearly insane. We dated for a decade, but she did not want to commit to me and have a child. She is married."
Devanta gaped at Guillermo. "She is married?"
"Yes, she is. After we broke up, she got married to an 80-year-old billionaire. She has nothing to do with me now, but she still obviously feel something."
"Yes, she offered me $50,000 to leave you and the baby."
Guillermo paused. "Do you want to leave me in the baby?" His voice was carefully neutral.
"No, I do not want to leave the baby behind."
"In me?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure what to do. How can we live together?"
"I proposed marriage. You turned me down. What you think is a better solution?"
"I have no idea. Do you think that we could make a marriage work? We barely know each other."
"We have a baby together. Surely that ties us together, whether we want to be married or not. I intended to be a single parent, but you want to have a hand in raising your child."
"Of course. I have no idea what I was thinking when I signed that contract." Devanta looked down at her hands. "I want us to find a way to move forward."
"I can provide for you and the baby. What more do you want?"
"I don't know. I'm not a Disney Princess, but somehow, I believe in love."
"Love is just a bunch of chemicals inside of your body. Why do you need it?"
"Some of us aren't as cold as you."
"So, if you felt that you loved me, you would marry me?"
Before she could say anything, Guillermo picked her up and slung her over the shoulder again.
"What are you doing?"
"Something I should've done before."
Guillermo took her into the bedroom and put her on the bed. He took off his shirt.
Devanta’s eyes were wide.
"Oh my goodness. Are you even real?"
"Of course I am." Devanta backed away from him, but it curiously seemed to turn him on. Her eyes were glued to a bulge in his pants, and it was growing.
"I don't think this is a good idea." But as Guillermo got closer to her, she did not resist.
“I think that if I claim you, you'll agree to stay." He licked her neck. He felt her shiver. “Just give it a try."
He kissed her deeply, plunging his tongue inside of her mouth. He stopped.
“Is it safe to do this so soon after the birth? Is this going to hurt you? You have some problems walking.”
They were both breathing hard. “I am partially healed, at least.”
“Let me see if I can help.” With that cryptic remark, he eased Devanta’s pants off. She was wearing very unsexy mesh underwear, but he didn’t care. He wanted what was underneath anyways.
He buried his face between her legs, and she bucked and shouted.
He put a hand over her mouth. “Shh. You’ll wake the baby. We aren’t alone in the house.”
He could feel her breath coming hard. He smiled.
He licked her again, slowly, softly. Carefully lapping, he touched every bit of her lower lips.
“It doesn’t hurt,” Devanta said wonderingly. “Even where they cut me, it doesn’t hurt. It’s healed.”
“Mm…” Guillermo nuzzled her clit. Devanta went off like a rocket, her jaws and eyes clenched tight as she struggled to stay quiet through it all.
He turned her onto her stomach and pulled her ass up so that her knees were under her.
“My turn now.”
He touched the tip of his cock to her opening flower, and she shivered in front of him. In reply, he gave her an inch of his cock. Too impatient to wait, she thrust her body back onto his, impaling herself. They both could not hold back a groan.
“You’ll. Pay. For. That.”
Guillermo felt himself losing control. He could not stop a snarl rising in his throat.
He trapped her small body under his much larger one, and he thrust into her body wildly. He pressed her into the mattress as he went at it wild and untamed. He felt her walls contracting around him, and he knew that he would not last long.
He put a hand under her, and he flicked her clit.
With a cry, she orgasmed again. The feeling of her warmth fluttering around him was enough to push him over the edge. He emptied himself in a dozen spurts inside of her waiting body.
When he was done, he withdrew. He pulled her into his arms, and she buried her face in his neck.
“Do you feel like staying?”
She pushed herself up on one elbow.
“If you give me sex like that every day, I’ll stay forever.” She kissed him gently.
Epilogue
“Where are you, Samuel?”
It was his second birthday, but Devanta could not catch the little one. Ever since he learned to crawl, he had been a little Speedster, running through the house. The adults could find him when he giggled, but sometimes he could control it. They knew that he was safe somewhere in the house, but they did not know where.
She got on her hands and knees so that she could check under the couch. Someone Samuel’s size had an advantage when it came to hiding places.
“That’s a lovely sight.”
Devanta blushed and got to her feet.
“Good evening, Guillermo.”
Guillermo swept her in his arms and kissed her soundly. “Is our boy hiding again?”
“Yes. I’ve looked everywhere, but I can’t find him. The party starts in thirty minutes, and he hasn’t gotten dressed. I changed him 20 minutes ago, but he wouldn’t let me put on his clothes. He’s still running around in just a diaper, and I’m at my wit’s end.”
“It’s okay. To catch a kitten, you must think like a kitten.”
Devanta frowned. “What? Samuel’s a baby.”
Guillermo put a finger to his lips.
“Oh no, I can’t find Samuel anywhere.”
Guillermo prowled around the room, sniffing. “Where could Samuel be hiding?”
Normally, saying his name was enough to make Samuel giggle. Today of all days, he could keep himself quiet.
“Is Samuel under the table?”
Devanta bent to look, but Guillermo touched her arm and shook his head.
“Is he under a chair?” Still no giggles.
Guillermo tiptoed closer to the couch and motioned Devanta forward. He quickly yanked a cushion up. Underneath was a tiny panther cub, soundly asleep.
Devanta screamed.
The cub woke up and started roaring. Or trying to, anyway. He squeaked more than anything. He was too little to roar.
“There you are!” Guillermo picked the baby up by the skin on the back of his neck.
“What the heck is going on?” She looked from the tiny panther cub to her husband. “You’re not telling me that my son is…”
“A panther, ye
s.”
Devanta sank straight to the floor and looked up at her husband, dazed. “What?”
Instead of answering her, Guillermo took off his suit and carefully placed each part on a chair. Normally, Devanta would be enjoying the show, and she could not help but appreciate the perfect lines of Guillermo’s body. No matter how many years they were married, she would never grow tired of looking at him.
All of a sudden, a huge panther filled the space where Guillermo had been.
Instead of screaming, Devanta blinked hard. There were still two panthers in the room with her. She held out a hand to the cat who used to be Guillermo, and Guillermo roughly purred.
Samuel jumped into her lap and curled into a little ball to go back to sleep.
Guillermo switched back to human form, totally naked and unashamed. “What do you think?”
She smiled up at him a little shakily. “I think that I have the most unique family in the world.”
They kissed, and Devanta was glad that she had signed that baby contract with Guillermo.
* * *
About the Author
I love writing about shifters and the women who love them. I’m always working on new and naughty books. There are so many sexy men to write about! If you’d like to be notified of free and discounted new releases, sign up HERE and get a free steamy story sent to you.
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alysezaftig
www.amazon.com/Alyse-Zaftig/e/B00VF6YSGU/
[email protected]
Bear Naked for Christmas
by Edith Hawkes
Chapter 1
As I approached Scarfell Mountain I could feel all the muscles in my shoulders relax. It had been a tough few weeks at the hospital, and I was so glad to have the break. I was lucky I was able to get Christmas off—I’d managed to trade a few days with a younger, less senior staff member who owed me a favor. But nonetheless, I was still happy to give up my days off in the New Year for a chance to spend the best time of the year on the mountain with my parents.
Shifters in the Snow Page 50
