The Baby Contract

by Amy Brent

  “You have been with more than me and…him?” I asked as she bit her lip.

  “There was a guy before him, in high school. Nothing serious and just someone that I casually saw before I knew that James and I were going to be set up like that. I knew that my parents would hate him, so I never considered making it last.” Rayna frowned. “I haven’t told anyone that before now.”

  “What happened to him?” I asked as she shrugged.

  “I don’t know. We graduated and then college and James happened. I didn’t think about it.” I looked at Rayna and frowned, realizing how brainwashed she was by her family and husband. Could I convince her to leave them for her own safety?

  We watched some television on the couch before she was yawning, heading to bed as I made sure that everything was locked up and the lights were off. I met her in there, snuggling with her under the blankets as I thought about our going away together. She had two more days of the office, and we could leave, and I knew I would start looking tomorrow. I wanted to find something that took her away from her reality, a place that made her forget it. I wanted a place where she would see how much I wanted to take care of her.

  Rayna slept soundly beside me as I tried to think of the perfect place. I noticed her move here and there as I had trouble settling into sleep, but she looked so peaceful. I imagined that she had trouble sleeping at the house that she’d hopefully left for good, not knowing what was coming next. She must have been on edge every moment that they were there together, and I felt the constant bubble of rage in my stomach as I wondered if he slept with her. I knew that it couldn’t be completely consensual in their kind of relationship, if at all. I pushed myself out of bed to walk into the kitchen and get some water, needing some space.

  With me, Rayna was so willing. Was there any part of her that felt forced with me? I never asked her that since she seemed a bit unwilling to discuss James in detail, but now I needed to know. I ran my hands through my hair and took a deep breath before I sipped the water. She needed to sleep. I needed to be patient.

  I calmed myself down and returned to her, pulling her close to me as I drifted off to sleep. I knew that she was safe now and during the time that she was with me, but I needed to work on after that.

  We woke up in the morning and ate a light breakfast before going to the gym across town. We walked in apart from one another, but Rayna joined me on the treadmill beside mine as she slipped a headphone over her ear. We exchanged a smile before starting the machines, both of us quietly watching the other in the mirror in front of us from time to time. I liked the way that she let her eyes drift down my body slowly, realizing that I’d felt this tingle before in the past.

  She was a welcome sight as well. I took in the way the light pink shirt clung to her sweaty breasts as she walked, her thighs covered by fitted compression Capri pants. I knew that Rayna thought that she was a little bigger than she should be, something that I wanted to change. She looked beautiful and had just the right amount of curves for me. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and I sucked in my breath as I increased the speed on the treadmill. I was about ready to pull her to the floor for another form of exercise, one that involved me tugging those hot pants down her thighs and taking her right here.

  Judging from the look in her eyes as she gazed at me in the mirror, Rayna was thinking the same thing. I downed some cold water and told my cock to chill out silently in my head, feeling it growing as I started to jog at a steady pace.

  We worked out with some of the weights afterward, and I gave her some tips after she stared at me working out with some heavier ones. I knew that she didn’t want to bulk up, but I knew a lot about exercise and the benefits of lifting. I couldn’t help staring at her ass as she moved with some light ones, lifting carefully. Fuck if I didn’t want to reach out and grab it. She was gorgeous.

  We were there for an hour and a half before going back to my place to shower, fucking hard once we were under the hot water. We worked ourselves up there as much as we got in a good workout, and it was only going to continue here as I lifted Rayna’s body and slid inside of her wet pussy. Rayna moaned my name as she wrapped her arms around my neck and found my lips in the steam. Our tongues danced together, and I pressed her harder against the tile as I gripped her ass, fucking her hard and deep as she kissed me eagerly.

  We both came hard, and she slid down my body slowly as she kept her arms around me. We kept kissing as the water ran down our bodies, letting it start to cool before we soaped each other and took advantage of our hands on each other.

  The things that Rayna could do with her hand and some soap were dangerous, and since she was first, I tormented her nipples with slick soap and hard squeezes she laughed at me. That led to more sex on the bed while we were still wet, making her curse me for her hair drying so poorly as I laughed at her.

  Rayna fixed her hair and did her makeup in the bathroom before she came out wearing a black dress and heels, looking good enough to eat. I looked at her longingly as she laughed and shook her head. “I know that nobody sees me but I like to dress up sometimes, and that is stronger when I am feeling this good.” She dropped next to me on the couch and grinned as she picked up my sandwich. She took a bite as she leaned her head on my shoulder. “You make me feel so beautiful, Dec.” I loved her calling me that.

  “You are. You should feel that way without me telling you that,” I kissed her hair softly as I took in every moment with her. “What do you want for dinner tonight?”

  “Surprise me,” she said as she smiled at me and slowly pushed herself from the couch.

  “Where do you want to go for the trip?” I pressed her, and she blushed as she licked her lips.

  “Ah, surprise me there, too?” I chuckled at her response and nodded.

  “I’ll make sure there’s water for you.” She leaned down to kiss me, and I cupped her head to keep her close to me. She left for work, and I grinned as I shook my head and reached for my laptop.

  CHAPTER 19

  Rayna

  I walked into the office with a happy greeting, still playing back the morning in my head. It was almost magical, and I couldn’t believe how much he turned me on at the gym. Okay, so it wasn’t the first time, but it was stronger when I was so close to him, knowing that I was going to be going home with him.

  Yes, that was awesome.

  I warmed up the computer and sipped the coffee I bought on the way in, setting up the cold water beside it as I glanced out of the window. It was Thursday, and I only had a couple of days left of working before we left town. I was both excited and scared, wondering what I’d do if James tried to contact me. He rarely did when he was gone unless there was something social coming up that I had to be ready for, and I was sure that was just because of our parents. I knew that there was nothing major to worry about and since my own parents were gone for a few weeks longer, I wasn’t worried.

  I wasn’t sure if that was the right way to feel.

  I started making the bookings on auto pilot as I listened to Pandora turned low, thinking that I should shut my phone down. I could always say that I lost it since money was no issue and could just replace it once I was home. I could even get another one before I left with a new number and even another company. Once I left him, I wouldn’t need to speak to James any longer. We didn’t have kids, and there was nothing at the house that I wanted. I’d have to deal with my parent’s reaction, but it felt like it was worth it as I thought about Declan.

  I felt like I could do this, go through with it. The talk with Angela and Lana only solidified that, and I smiled absently as I glanced at the next booking. My face paled when I saw that it was James asking for Angela again, for a travel job. The way to handle that was to say that she was no longer available but this was more personal to me. I saw her arm. I sent back a generic message and moved on, trying not to think about James.

  He responded, angry and demanding to see Angela. He offered a lot of money to have her join him, but I took a deep
breath and sent back the same message. The intention was for it to sound like a robot would and I fought hard not to add something to it suggesting who I was.

  He waited a few moments to respond, demanding another couple of girls. I fought the bile in my throat as I thought about sending anyone to him after seeing Angela. I said that I would see who was available and moved onto the next bookings, ignoring him. Surely, he’d let this go.

  I could let it go to the other girls since Angela was flagged in the system as unavailable to James. They might go through with his other request, which worried me and I felt sweat pooling in my hair.

  Was this job too personal for me now? James was a new name in the system, relatively speaking. I knew that he more than likely wasn’t faithful before that, but this was more invasive than anything before.

  I thought of something and smiled deviously as I pulled up client information. I looked over towards the other offices and deleted his account with the push of a button as I widened my eyes. Holy shit…did I really just do that?

  It didn’t happen often, but I’d seen it done with some of the rougher ones in the past. Lana did it twice to avoid certain clients, and they never showed back up, since she knew how to block them. I didn’t, but I hoped that James would just move on to something else that I wasn’t personally involved in. That thought sickened me as well, and I shivered as I longed for him to just disappear. That was extreme, but I hated him more these days.

  I walked down to the cell phone store on lunch, signing up with an entirely different company and buying a new phone. I was going to turn mine off and toss it into the ocean as soon as possible, but I needed to set the new one up once it was charged. I grabbed a salad to nibble on while I worked, plugging in the newest Google phone as I smiled.

  I messaged Declan from work, telling him what I did. He sounded pleased, and I grinned at his praise. I didn’t tell him about James, but it also slipped my mind to mention the talk with Angela the other day. He was just too damn distracting for me.

  He told me that we’d get the new one set up when I got to the house, offering to throw the old one into the water himself. He seemed excited about that idea, and I felt secure inside as I booked another girl. He also told me that he had a great idea for the trip, but it was going to wait until I was there and in his arms.

  I knew that his house was beginning to feel like home, something that scared me. I knew that it was too fast, given our situations. I also knew that it was dangerous. James had friends in high places and finding me wouldn’t be that difficult if he chose to. Finding me with another man would put Declan at risk, even though I was already doing that being with him now.

  I hoped that he chose something far away, where we could be completely different people. I just wanted to escape this place and this life before reality hit hard.

  I kept working through the night, happy to not see James pop back into the system. I knew that wasn’t all I’d hear from him, but for tonight, I just wanted to forget about James.

  Once my shift was over, I took the new phone and put it securely in my purse before walking outside with the security guard. He was chatty, and I laughed as I unlocked my door, bidding him good night.

  I looked around as I drove to Declan’s house, excited to arrive. I’d been dying to know where we were going all night but he wouldn’t cave. I tossed around the idea of getting another car along with the phone since I had some unpleasant memories of James in this one. Something new sounded nice, and I made a mental note to tell Declan about that idea as well. I was so glad that I was working and saving my own money and I could do all of this. I knew that there were women that didn’t have this luxury in the same situation; women with kids that lived in fear every single day.

  I vowed to donate something to that cause, maybe a local shelter or something. I was blessed to have the money and friends supporting me in my choice, something that I would never take for granted. Being raised around wealth never made me spoiled or gave me the idea that I was above anybody else. I saw the bad thing about having too much money and felt the loneliness that came along with it. Meeting Declan made me realize that not everyone with money was like my parents or James' family, only wanting more.

  He had plenty of money and a very successful job, but Declan seemed to down to Earth to me. He enjoyed life without being conceited about it. Declan was a man that made me feel so special inside and out, and I painfully admitted that I was falling for him as I pulled into his driveway. I opened the garage and pulled inside, sitting for a moment as I considered the painful truth.

  I had all my stuff here, and I was falling for Declan. I knew that I should take everything and run screaming, but I wanted this trip with him. I wanted this feeling with Declan to continue.

  I’d leave after that and make my way alone in a new life. I couldn’t let him save me from my collapsing marriage. I would just enjoy the time that we had. I smiled slowly before I got out of the car, walking inside to see Declan in the kitchen. “Whatcha doing?”

  “Finishing some salads for dinner,” he replied as he smiled at me. “How are you?”

  “I’m good,” I got lost in his eyes for a moment, and I walked forward and set my purse on the counter, brimming with excitement. I wanted to ask him where he was taking me and when we were leaving, but I kept my thoughts to myself as I took in how handsome he was. “How are you?”

  “Better now.” He left the counter and came over to kiss me, pulling me close to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back as our bodies molded together. We slowly made our way to the table with the generous Caesar salads and some wine as he asked me about the new phone. “So, you’re going to trash the old phone?”

  “Yeah, initially I am. I mainly want him to not be able to call me, but I’ll go look through real friends and add them to the contacts. I hope that my parents want to call me still, but…” I shook my head. “That might not happen, and I have to be fine with it. I can’t let it hold me back anymore.”

  “I hope I get to be in the contacts.” Declan smiled at me as I felt the warmth spread over my skin. “I want to be first.”

  “Did I tell you that James booked a girl through the agency?” I asked him as he nodded. “He tried to book her again tonight, but she blacklisted him.”

  “Blacklisted?” Declan asked as I nodded and smiled grimly.

  “He got rough with her. We talked the other night, and she apologized for what happened with him, but I was honestly more worried about her than anything. The business…it is what it is. I know that married men book appointments, and I’ve learned not to judge it. I know that life isn’t pretty.” I shook my head. “Anyway, he tried to book her again, and I denied him. I ended up deleting him out of the system.”

  “Is that legal?” He asked with a smirk as I shrugged. “I mean, I agree with that. Nobody should hurt a woman, no matter the circumstances.”

  “She’s a nice girl, just getting through college. She can study and keep up her grades working fewer hours this way. The story is similar for most of the girls, and I see them differently than when I started the job.” He nodded as I took a sip of wine. “They are going to be the ones that stick by me through this, not my family. I never would have guessed that ten years ago.”

  “I am here for you as well,” he told me as I blushed. “I mean that.” Declan smiled and scooted away from the table. “Come into the living room. I have a surprise for you.”

  I grabbed my wine and looked at the plates before I followed him. His laptop was on the table, and he sat in front of it, bringing it to life. I joined him on the couch, surprised when he turned to me and kissed me firmly. “This is going to be so fucking great.”

  “What is?” I pressed as he brushed his lips against mine. He turned back to the screen and brought up a gorgeous picture of a beautiful building on a cliff overlooking the ocean. “What is that?”

  “It is one of my favorite little spots in The French Riviera,” Declan told me as my mouth d
ropped open. He clicked on another picture that showed a gorgeous room with a balcony overlooking the same ocean. “It is called Cap Estel Hotel.”

  “It’s stunning but…France? I was thinking somewhere closer. That’s so…much.” I told him as he tilted his head at me.

  “You have a passport, don’t you?” He asked as fear crossed his face for a moment.

  I had taken a cruise with James and the families a few months ago, so I did. That wasn’t my issue. I knew that France was so far from all of this, which was great. It was also expensive and that resort…it was gorgeous. It didn’t matter that he was rich to me and I didn’t need France. I was holding onto the money that I’d saved for my future, and I didn’t want to seem like the kind of woman that was only interested in Declan’s wealth.

  “Rayna?” I blinked and looked at him. “Passport?”

  “Yes. I have one but that’s not the issue,” I replied as Declan frowned. “It’s a lot.”