"Now this is real barbecue," he said, opening the grill and letting the mouthwatering aroma fully escape. "None of that bottled sauce…" He touched the meat with a fork and it began to fall away in shreds. "Spices, a good, long smoke, a little love and a touch of magic," he drawled. He cupped his hand under a forkful of tender meat and held it up for Libby to taste. He laughed out loud when she chewed and pretended to swoon. "Everybody get your plates, now. Miss Libby, will you have some potato salad?"
The barbecue, my sister's suggestion, had been the perfect call. As usual. We gathered under the trellis that covered the flagstone patio, warmed by the outdoor fireplace. Ben and India sat, legs crossed, with their plates in their laps. Mom and Dad shared a loveseat as did Libby and I. Reid and Blake sat on either side of Janet, Blake's longtime girlfriend. I'd told the story of meeting Libby, and how we'd been together every moment since. No one had blinked an eye when I said I'd moved her into the lake house with me. So far, everything had gone smoother than I'd dared hope.
It was the kind of evening we'd had countless times through my childhood. Even a dozen or so times during my marriage to Elaine. But as I settled back next to Libby and watched as she chatted and laughed, my brothers trying to ply her with second helpings, I realized that in all those years I'd never been as relaxed and happy as I was now. My dad and brothers had taken to Libby instantly. How could they not? She was bright and vivacious and charming, seemingly at perfect ease in spite of the secrets we were keeping. And Mom had already warmed to her in a way she never had with my ex-wife. When Mom leaned toward Libby and wiped the lipstick smear away with her thumb, Libby just glowed. I put my arm around her possessively, pulling her closer and dropping a kiss on the soft curve of her neck. We had appearances to maintain, after all…
"You're perfect," I said into her ear, nuzzling as I spoke. "I think everyone here has fallen for you tonight." I flashed to how she'd felt in my arms only hours ago. Naked and soft. I hadn't been able to shake the image. Or the feeling. Or the desire…
"I… you…," she started under her breath. "Well, you're lucky, Jack." Her breath tickled my jaw. "You have a terrific family. It must have been incredible, growing up like this…" We watched the others as they ate, leaning toward each other… laughing easily. My brothers took turns keeping Libby's plate full. From the looks on Reid's face and Ben's, it was a good thing I'd found Libby first…
The evening was wrapping up, just as the first raindrops started to fall. It was only a light mist in the beginning, giving us enough time to gather the plates and glasses and head for the house. But by the time we came back for the brisket and the salads, it had become a downpour. Dad and I saved the last of the food, but stood streaming onto the kitchen floor along with the rest of the crowd. Mom tossed us all towels, but only after draping one carefully around Libby's wet shoulders.
"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" Mom said, wiping her own face with a kitchen towel. "I'm not letting any of you drive back out in this tonight. You can all have a hot shower and just sleep in your old rooms. Head home in the morning, when the storm's blown over?"
"But we have the insemination scheduled in the morning," Libby said as I closed my bedroom door behind us. "We can't just sleep here… together…"
"The procedure isn't until eleven," I answered. "There'd be plenty of time to get there…," I pulled the curtains aside and was blinded by a flash of lightening, followed a second later by a deafening crash of thunder. "We can't make it back to the cabin in this this, Libby. We don't have a choice." We stood on opposite sides of the twin bed. My hair was still dripping and Libby's dress was thinly plastered to her body. Our eyes met…
"You should shower," I said, inclining my head toward the adjoining bathroom door. "Get warm and I'll find you a pair of my old pajamas…" I broke our gaze to rummage in the chest of drawers and found a single pair. I held out the blue flannel, trying to force the smile from my face.
"Tops for you, bottoms for me…?"
12
Libby
I let the water flow over me, praying it could wash away all the emotions warring inside me. The water was hot and it felt good. Too good. And the feeling of Jack's hands on my body had been wreaking havoc with me all evening. He was so close, even now. Just in the other room… his bedroom, that we were going to be sharing tonight…
There was no way in hell I could give myself another damned climax, I thought irritably. Not when I had to go out there and climb into bed next to him. He would fucking sense it.
So I lathered and rinsed quickly, drying off briskly with a luxuriously thick towel. Everything around me was lovely. Homey, yet elegant. The fixtures were gold, the marble polished, the ceilings in the grand old house tall and ornately carved. Every inch of it was like a dream come true. And at any other time, I'd have been soaking in every amazing detail. But as the Turkish towel rubbed my sensitive nipples hard, I'd have given damn near anything to be back in my old apartment with its dripping faucets and leaking ceiling. How the fuck was I going to get through the night, half naked with Jack, in a bed only large enough for one?
I dried my hair, scrubbing at it hard with the towel. I caught a glance of my reflection in the cloudy mirror. My hair was a riot of curls around my face and both my cheeks and lips were flushed. I was, well, let's be nice and say Rubenesque. Other than the color of my eyes, I'd always considered myself pretty nondescript. But tonight… of all freaking nights why tonight?... the girl looking back at me looked downright hot. She looked exactly the way I felt. Like a girl who wanted it. Bad.
I splashed cold water on my face and took a few deep breaths. I was here to do a job, and that was all. The family dinner, Jack's affection toward me… all of it had just been part of the job. One I was being very well paid to do.
I opened the door and swept a hand toward the bathroom. "All yours," I said.
It wasn't until I noticed the glint in Jack's eyes, that I regretted the words.
The water ran steadily as I climbed into bed and waited. So there wasn't enough room. I'd had to share beds with my foster siblings when I'd been little. You just turned your backs on each other went to sleep. Quick. Simple. Easy.
The door opened and Jack appeared, towel over his head, pajama bottoms hanging like a tease from his hips. He peaked at me from under the towel and smiled evenly. "Decent?" he asked.
I pulled the covers up a little higher. "Perfectly," I answered. He tossed the towel on the floor and sat down next to me, on the edge of the bed.
"I know it's awkward, Libby, and I'm sorry." He ran his fingers through his wet hair, leaving lines behind. "But I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you've done for me tonight… for my whole family, really."
"For your family?"
"To let them see what a lovely person you are. So they'll always remember that the mother of the first official Mason grandchild was kind and warm and loving…"
"Only after the baby's born, you tell them the relationship between you and me just didn't work out…?"
He smiled. "May I?" he asked, lifting the edge of the covers. "It's getting cold out here."
"I'm sorry… I wasn't thinking…," I stumbled, holding back the covers and holding my breath as he climbed in beside me. He stretched out on his side, facing me, propping his head up with his hand. My flannel top kept sliding up, and I kept pulling it down. My eyes were level with the sprinkling of dark hairs across his expanse of muscled chest. I knew nothing was going to happen between us, no matter how wet my pussy was getting. He smelled like soap and man. Christ, this was going to be a long night.
"Tomorrow, you're going to give me the greatest gift a woman can give a man," he said softly and my toes curled in response. He shifted his legs and his knees bumped mine. I flashed to a picture of us throwing tomorrow's procedure out the window, and giving in to the very natural needs of a man and a woman finding themselves in the sack…
"I want you to feel safe with me, Libby," he went on. "We can both feel there's a mutua
l attraction between us… It's natural after all, what with the circumstances. But I want you to know I'd never take advantage. I respect you and I'm grateful to you. I'd never do anything to ruin the trust between us."
All the moisture in my mouth seemed to have pooled between my legs. Cotton-mouthed, I worked to swallow while my hormone-soaked brain worked to come up with a reply. Fuck respecting me, damn you, and just give it to me hard. Do something, say something to let me know it's what you want…
"I respect you too," I muttered, feeling ridiculous. "Our contract clearly defines the boundaries of your expectations… and mine," I added. "We should get some sleep, shouldn't we? Tomorrow's a pretty big day for both of us."
"I'm becoming a dad," he said, his eyes shining in the darkness.
"I'm becoming a... ," I broke off.
"Pregnant," I finished, the word sounding oddly flat. "With any luck, I'll become pregnant on the first try."
"I'm counting on it, and that's why I want to make a change to our original agreement," he said. He leaned back, working to see my face in the darkness. The moon was shining through the window on his, and his look was intense, determined.
"I was going to wait until we were sure that the insemination had been successful and we were starting into the second trimester." He looked serious, his voice had an edge. "But seeing you with my family tonight… the way they responded, thinking you and I were…"
"Real," I supplied.
"A couple," he said gently. "They're accepting that we're living together because they believe that we love each other," he continued. "But they're old fashioned at heart. So are most of the stuffy old businessmen who help keep our company afloat." He reached out and touched my cheek. "I'd been planning to wait, but I know how much it would mean to Mom and Dad. Plus, there are appearances to maintain in their social circles.
The ceremony can be here at the house," he went, on as my heartbeat began to race. "We can even spend most of your first trimester on our honeymoon, if you'd like. As long as it's technically legal and everyone believes the marriage is the real thing…," he searched my face in the dark, putting his hand on my hair. "The baby will have been born properly. And later, the marriage can end quietly. Even a second divorce in the family would be less of a shock than an illegitimate grandchild…"
The only sound was my own blood racing in my ears. He took my hands in his and I felt that familiar electric current pass between us.
"I would never expect more between us than the contract outlines," he went on. "I'd never try to take advantage, when you're already offering me more than I ever hoped for. A family of my own…
I'm willing to double the fee, Libby. You'll be free to make every dream of your own come true. To never worry again about having a place to live and to sculpt. Please, Libby?" he asked, and it struck me that I'd never heard him use that word…
"Will you marry me?"
13
Jack
Friday
The only thing that had kept me from stripping Libby bare and burying myself inside her last night had been fear, that if I'd seduced her and taken her the way my raging body had demanded, I'd have lost her for good. Lost her, and my chance at fatherhood with a woman perfectly suited to have my baby. She was talented, kind, beautiful and smart. Any child would be lucky to inherit genes like hers…
The only other thing that had stopped me was the simple fact that I'd lost control in the shower. It had been too goddamned long and the ache had been far too much. After holding her naked at the edge of the lake… seeing what I'd only imagined up until then…
And then knowing we'd be spending the night in the same fucking bed… Well. A man can only take so much.
I looked over at her, working her hands together in her lap as I drove. We were only minutes away from the clinic. And shit, I was as nervous as she was.
I reached over and took her hands in mine. I held them as I drove, keeping them next to my thigh. In spite of the fucking great orgasm I'd had in the shower, I'd still been hard most of the night. Just like I was now. Neither of us had gotten much sleep. We'd been awake until nearly dawn, discussing my proposal…
"Are you still up for this today?" I asked. God knew I was… "We could always postpone."
"I'm good, Jack, really." Her eyes were bright, although they had faint shadows underneath them. "I want this. And I'm ready." She smiled and I felt my chest and groin tighten at the same time. "More than that, my body is ready. I know it doesn't make much sense… but it just feels like the timing is perfect."
I smiled and held her eyes a moment too long. The back tire went over the curb hard, and we laughed together. Although she hadn't said yes outright to marrying me once my baby was growing inside her, I was sure that she would. I parked in the clinic lot and went around to open her door.
"Last chance to bail," I offered. I put my arms around her without thinking. It had started to feel so natural, to hold her like this.
"Not a chance, Jack," she shot back. "Now get your ass inside and let's get me knocked up."
It didn't take nearly as long as I'd expected. Nothing like it would have been, done the way nature intended, I thought. I'd have had Libby in bed with me for days, exploring her responses, discovering her needs… I'd have exhausted us both, satisfied us both…
As it was, I'd pushed the soft porn mags aside in the room they'd put me in, while they prepped Libby for the procedure. I had all the images I needed already in my head, of her lush round body. I unzipped and took cock in hand. Then I imagined her wrapped around me, the way I'd wanted her when I'd pulled her from the lake. Half submerged in the water and almost weightless, I could have fucked her right there, her breasts bobbing on the surface as I pumped inside her and her legs gripped me as tight as her sweet little pussy…
To her credit, the nurse merely raised her eyebrows as I emerged, specimen cup in hand, only a few minutes later. I was in the waiting room for less than half an hour when they told me to come in, that Libby was asking for me.
"I didn't want you to miss this," she said, reaching out for me from under the drape. She was on her back, knees in the stirrups. I took her hand and held it tightly.
"Okay, Mom and Dad," Dr. Tiller said, not glancing up from under the drape. "This is it." She glanced up at me. "You can do this with me, if you like."
I looked at Libby, who nodded and smiled. Her eyes were so bright, so brilliantly green. For a moment, I forgot everything but her. Then the doctor cleared her throat.
With one hand, I held Libby's warm little hand, threading my fingers through hers in an unbreakable bond. With the other, I reached down and helped the doctor press the little plunger. Though it was nothing like how I'd always imagined it, I was filling my chosen woman with my seed. This was the beginning of a whole new world… a whole new life… Gratitude flooded through me… along with something else… something even deeper…
I kissed Libby's forehead and found myself unable to pull away. The doctor left the room discreetly as I remained, holding onto this beautiful woman, who with every passing day, was becoming more and more important to me, in every imaginable way.
"So help me, Jack, if you help me with one more goddamn thing…" She was exasperated after I'd offered to carry her up the stairs. "I'm not really pregnant, at least not yet… and my legs sure as hell aren't broken."
I let her walk up to her bedroom on her own, but I kept one hand on her elbow as she went. I didn't relax until she was settled on the bed, a pillow under her head and one under her knees.
"Dr. Tiller said it couldn't hurt, didn't she?" I asked, sitting down beside her. "How do you feel? Can I get you anything…?" I couldn't seem to keep my hands to myself. I stroked her arm, her hair. I was used to feeling powerful and in control, and here I was fussing like an old woman. "When you're settled, I can make us lunch and bring it up here. Unless you'd like to sleep for a while." I held her cheek in my hand, cupping her face. "This morning I didn't think you could be any more beautiful,
and yet here you are…"
I leaned in. Maybe it was gratitude. Maybe it was exhaustion. Maybe it was relief that the day I'd dreamed of was finally here. Or maybe it was just that even a strong man can only hold out in the presence of a woman like Libby for so long. But I leaned in and I kissed her. Hard, the way I needed to, the way I was meant to. A second later, her hands were tangled in my hair, my chest on her chest, my hips working their way between her legs. I was lost in the taste of her, the way her legs felt, wrapped around my waist. My cock was enormous and I could feel how hot she was at her core. I knew she was wet, just like I was. That's what snapped me back into consciousness.
"Libby," I pulled my weight off of her. "I'm so fucking sorry. Did I hurt you?" My heart was pounding. "I didn't mean to do that…" Who the fuck was I kidding. I'd meant every single second.
She laughed and pushed herself up higher in the bed. "It's okay, Jack." Her eyes were brilliantly green. "Couples have actual sex all through their pregnancies, you know." She licked her lips and I yearned to do the same. "It's not like you're going to break me."
"It's just that this is so… I've never felt this way before, Libby. I'm excited and grateful and happy and terrified."
"I know," she said. "Me too." She reached out and smoothed my hair. "It's really too early to know anything. I just have such a good feeling about this, you know? Like it's actually going to happen. That, in a couple of weeks, the doctor will be giving us good news."
"I know she will," I answered, smoothing her curls behind her delicate ear. "I can feel it deep inside, that this is right. That everything that's happening is somehow meant to be."
The Baby Contract Page 5
