I ached and he gave.
I needed and he was there.
I hungered and he was everything I craved.
When I collapsed in his arms, he held me, stroking my face.
"Beautiful," he said easily. "Just like I knew you would be."
17
Jack
I'd intended to let her sleep. Fuck the goddamn hard on that was damn near to exploding on its own. She was the mother of my child and I'd be damned if I was letting it have its way.
But her eyelids fluttered back open only minutes after she'd come. She tasted sweet and juicy, just like I'd known she would. What I hadn't expected was for her to climb up on top of me, sitting on my thighs as her hands worked to free me. I sprang out, thick and throbbing with the pace of my heart. She shifted and slipped my pants down, leaving me raw, naked and pounding. "Put your hands on me," I groaned, grasping them and guiding them onto my enormous shaft. "I can't fuck you, I can't risk hurting you… But god, Libby, I need the feeling of your skin on me."
I arched back as she grasped me. What was already huge got even bigger. I was like putty in her hands. Thick, hard, demanding putty with a fucking mind of its own. She started to stroke me, using both hands on my length. "Oh my god, Jack," she breathed. "Oh, my god."
Before I knew it, she had me in her mouth. She'd slipped her ass back along my thighs and in one move had fallen forward, engulfing me in a world of hot, wet, silk. "Oh, Christ…" I barely got the words out.
She took me in as far as she could, resting her heavy breasts on my thighs, working her hands and her mouth together. I could feel the sides of her cheeks on my shaft, the muscles moving as she sucked. "Oh… fucking… shit…," I gasped out. My balls were huge and tight, ready to explode. I clenched my teeth, holding out as long as I could bear it. But everything about Libby was overwhelming… Fucking everything…
I reached down, grasping her curls in my hands. As much as I wanted to come in her mouth, I wanted something else even more. I took her perfect ass in my hands and slipped her hips up and over mine. Her soft, sweet, hot pussy lips wrapped my cock. She was so slick, so ready for me… but I didn't dare thrust up inside her…
"Just work yourself on me, baby." I moved her back and forth on my shaft, feeling her hard little clit sliding on my length. "Rub that fucking sweet pussy on me and make come all over your little belly."
She was breathing fast and hard as she fell into her rhythm. She knew what I wanted… just what I needed… and she used her pussy the way she'd used her mouth. Sliding up and down along my cock, faster and faster.
"God, Jack I want you inside me so much," she gasped out, her shoulders falling forward with her movements. Her breasts were in my face, her nipples against my cheeks as her hips worked. I held her tight, using my hands to help her move, setting a pace that had us both racing for release.
"Fuck, baby." I was so close, my cock was already seeping. It would have been so goddamned easy to slip right in… "I want you, sweetheart," I gasped out as she rode me faster. "So fucking much… so fucking deep…"
Her thighs clenched me as her climax shook her and I could feel the spasms as her pussy tightened along my shaft. A second later, she took me with her over the edge and our bodies drove frantically against each other. Hot pulses of come covered my belly and hers as we held onto each other…
And even long, long into the night, even once we finally slept, we never let go.
I woke before she did, and eased myself from under the sheets without waking her. Her long lashes fanned out over creamy skin, her lips were still swollen from my kisses…
I wanted her all over again, even more powerfully after having had a taste of her. But I knew I'd been right to hold back last night. We were, at most, only a few weeks away from confirming that Libby was pregnant. And fuck, if I was being too cautious. There was nothing I wouldn't give up to protect that child.
I closed the bedroom door behind me and headed for the shower, turning the water on full blast. The cold hit my skin with a shock, but warmed fast. All I could think about was Libby. Her taste… her touch… her sweetness…
As the sun rose outside the window and I remembered every moment, each exquisite inch of her skin, there were other feelings too, more complicated ones that kept creeping in. What had happened between us had been perfectly natural. An attraction based on the unusual circumstances we were in. Two unattached people, living together for the next nine months. About to experience one of life's greatest miracles together… Soon we'd be presenting ourselves as a happily married couple. It was natural that we'd both gotten carried away, understandable that we'd wanted to give in…
I stood under the water, letting it run through my hair, down my chest. It was good to have gotten it out of our systems… and good it hadn't gone any farther than it had. But still…
My cock stirred, stiffening again. Hell, I still wanted to fuck her. I wanted to fuck her now, and when we found out she was pregnant. And again when her belly started to grow round and her breasts grew even heavier… Ripe and delicious… like my own fucking fertility goddess…
All I wanted was her, all I needed was her. And yet we'd both signed that fucking contract. And the deal between us was still just business.
There was no place for a relationship in my life. And I knew Libby felt the same. She signed the papers, stating once the baby was born, she'd be out of our lives forever. No matter what else might happen between us, nine months from now, we'd be signing divorce papers and she'd be packing up her bags. The thought made something in my chest constrict painfully.
What I'd experienced with Libby in these last few weeks had made me feel things I'd never felt for any woman before. Even without having taken her completely last night, without having truly made her mine, I felt a deeper connection to her than I'd ever experienced before in any other relationship.
But the agreement between us had nothing to do with connection or relationship. It was about creating a child. My child. She'd made it perfectly clear she had no desire to be a mother herself. And I'd already been through that painful experience before…
While my heart and my body wanted more, so much more, I knew I had no right to complicate Libby's life with desires she didn't share. I didn't want to confuse her. And I couldn't imagine doing anything to hurt her… I owed her too much.
No, last night hadn't been a mistake. At least not for me. I prayed Libby wouldn't regret it either.
But I also knew it wouldn't be fair, to ever let it happen again.
When the time came, I knew that for her own sake, I would have to let Libby go.
18
Libby
I pushed the hair back out of my eyes and pulled the cover over the clay. I'd promised Jack I wouldn't swim again without him, and I'd kept my promise. But I wandered out to the edge of the water anyway, squinting from the sun. There was no one around to see and I bent down splashing water over my hair and tee shirt. It was really getting too cool to swim anyway, but the sun was warm on my skin and I stretched out on the white sand.
The night Jack and I had… well… let's say been together… was almost a week ago now. I could still feel him on my skin. Every time I looked at him, I felt the same hot, flood of desire roll over me. But something had changed between us. And we hadn't talked about it. Not yet.
It was almost as if he'd had his fill of me. Oh, he was still kind and attentive. Almost too attentive. It seemed like he knew what I needed before I did. And he was always there, with a warm smile and those velvety brown eyes… But he'd never reached for me again. And I wasn't sure he ever would.
Sometimes, I'd catch him watching me. In the evening, when we were curled up in our matching chairs. Watching a movie… or just watching the fire in the fireplace. We talked about his work and mine. How I was feeling. What the baby might look like. If I could feel her inside me yet…
His eyes would shine and we would laugh together. We'd spent hours on the phone with his mom and India, vetoing or
approving wedding ideas. I couldn't think of a time I'd ever felt so completely content. So truly happy. And when our eyes would meet, I could swear he was feeling the same deep pull inside that I was. That instinct under all the rest that draws us toward that one right person…
But he'd never reached out for me again. And despite my crazy baby hormones, I think I knew it was for the best. After all, it had never been me he truly wanted. Even though he was kind and thoughtful and caring… The only reason I was here was all about the baby. I had no right to want anything more from him. And the contract made that perfectly clear.
When I was alone like this, I knew it was really all for the best. What sense was there, in developing the sexual attraction between us any further? After the baby was born, I had a life of my own and a career to pursue. It had been enough for me before Jack, and it would be enough for me again. For the next nine months, it had to be the baby that came first. That was a commitment I took very seriously. But after that, Jack and I would go our separate ways. It didn't matter that I'd allowed myself to fantasize about having more. No matter what we were pretending at, we weren't a real couple. And nothing about the marriage would be real either.
It was just that sometimes, if I let my mind wander, it felt good pretending it could be real. That he was taking care of me, too… and not just the baby. I liked to imagine having a real family of my own… even though I knew it just wasn't in the cards. I didn't even know what it felt like, to be part of a real family. How can a woman be a mother when she never had one herself?
I heard the tires roll up the drive and turned toward the sound. Jack was heading toward me, India smiling at his side. I'd forgotten our plans until just then.
Today she was taking us both out to lunch. And later, while Jack was being fitted for his tux, his sister and I would be picking out my wedding gown.
"If you don't choose this one, you're out of your mind, that's all I have to say." India sat with a glass of champagne in her hand while I looked at my backside in the mirror.
"But it's so… so…" I twisted around to look from the other direction, as if that would somehow make it appear smaller. "Big," I added.
"Like the rest of us would kill for, you mean." She stood up and waved her glass. "You've got all the right curves in all the best places, Libby. Now stop being critical, and just look…"
The gown was creamy white and clung from my shoulders to my knees. From there it flared out in a sweeping froth of embroidered lace. It was daringly low and exposed more cleavage than I was strictly comfortable with. And it nipped my waist in tight before hugging my hips.
"Now, take a deep breath and tell me it's not perfect." She raised a brow, daring me.
"I can't take a deep breath in this, India. And it's so… so… formal. I always imagined getting married on the beach somewhere." I tugged at the neckline. "Wearing a light, flowy sundress or something."
Her brow wrinkled as she looked at me hard. "So you have imagined it?" she asked slyly. "I thought that tough, independent Miss Jones never dreamed about her wedding day the way the rest of us girls do."
I cringed. "Everyone imagines all kinds of things…," I said, turning my attention back to the mirror, "that they don't necessarily intend to follow through on." I tucked my hair behind my ears. "I used to dream about growing up to be a forest ranger… Doesn't mean it's what I want today."
"No, it doesn't. But we are still planning a wedding here," she said, putting down her glass. She stood behind me, watching my reflection in the mirror. "And even a casual ceremony in the Mason family means tuxedos and formal gowns, and shoes that hurt your feet." She kept watching me, her eyes narrow and shrewd.
"Do you know what you really want?" she asked softly. I swallowed hard, unable to answer.
She smiled a gentle, secretive smile.
"The dress, Libby? Is this one a yes, or a no?"
19
Jack
Lunch with my sister had been quick and interesting. I'd finally asked her about her dinner with Spencer. All she'd admitted to was that at the end of the evening, he'd asked if she could put the check on her expense account. That he'd forgotten his card. It had struck her as odd, boorish. Nothing more.
Then she's asked all about the procedure, and whether or not we knew yet if we were pregnant. We'd told her it was still too soon and filled her in on all the details. It felt great to have someone we could share it all with. She'd smiled and nodded supportively. All through lunch I'd felt her eyes, moving back and forth between Libby and me…
"Saul, as always… a pleasure," I shook the old man's hand and left the shop. He could fit a tux in a matter of minutes and the family had used him for decades. "Congratulations to you, Mister Mason," he'd called out after me as the little bell on the door chimed. "And all the best to your bride…"
My bride, I thought as I climbed into the leather seat. I liked the way it sounded… even if it did have a shelf life. I smiled as the engine started, and I headed to the office for the afternoon.
The wedding was only four days away. And we were meeting up at Mom and Dad's place tonight to tie up the loose ends. I was grateful they'd been able to pull it all together so quickly. And while it was too formal to suit my idea of the perfect wedding, it would be traditional enough to please my family and their social circle. The whole thing after all, was about satisfying convention.
I spent the rest of the day returning calls and emails. Everything Spencer had provided me about the merger looked good, even though some of our stockholders had still needed my reassurance. I gave it, trusting Spence to come through like he always had. The final papers were set to be signed on Friday, before the wedding. While I didn't like pushing it to the edge, I knew Spence took his work very seriously. He'd eaten, breathed and slept this deal from the start. It couldn't be in better hands.
Typically, I'd have been handling virtually everything on my own. But what with the complicated divorce settlement and the surrogacy plan… Now there was a wedding and a honeymoon to look forward to… Well, I'd been distracted from business. And once the baby came, I'd be spending even less time at Mason. I threw a few files in a drawer and logged off the computer. It was time, after all those years of endless days and sleepless night, giving everything I had to the company. I was more than ready to take a step back. Hell, more than that. It was finally time for me, my dreams, a family of my own.
Almost everyone was gone for the day, but as I passed Spencer's office, his light was still on, the door cracked open. I stuck my head in.
"No, I don't think so," he was on the phone, his chair turned toward the window. "I got the last five thousand today… Right baby… see you at eight-thirty."
"Sorry, Spence, didn't mean to interrupt," I said, knocking unnecessarily on the doorframe. "I'm just heading out." He turned, startled and slipped his phone into his jacket pocket. "Have you got dinner plans as well?"
"Oh, right. Sure." He looked embarrassed. "Just someone I met… we're having drinks later." He didn't meet my eyes, his hands busy shuffling papers. "Casual, you know."
"Right. Well… I'll be in on Friday, seven-thirty sharp. The Big Day." He looked up. "I appreciate everything you've done, Spence. Thank you."
He blinked for a moment. "Jack?"
"What…?"
"I…
Nothing. You're welcome, boss. Have a good night."
Although dinner had been in the formal dining room, the food had been Mom's family-style specialty. Southern fried chicken, bacony green beans, and the lightest biscuits ever eaten by mankind.
"Butter?" Mom asked, turning to Libby with the dish. "She prefers honey," I answered without thinking, surprising myself that I'd remembered… I passed her the little pot and Libby smiled, nodding in pleasure as she took it. "Since she was little."
One hour turned into two, as we sat replete around the table. Mom and Libby had explored their mutual interest in gardening. She and Ben discovered a shared passion for Italian art. Blake and Janet had a
sked Libby gentle questions about her past, which she'd answered briefly and honestly. I'd seen the exchanged looks and the approval in their eyes. I wasn't the only one who found her utterly charming…
After dinner, we took our cobbler into the family room where the fireplace was glowing dimly. I handed Libby into a loveseat and sat down, putting my arm around her. I'd been cautious about touching her since our night together. But it was fucking heaven to have a good excuse for touching her now…
"So, that's it," India said around a mouthful of peaches and cream. "Reverend Harper says the whole ceremony lasts about twenty minutes and bingo, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Mason."
I turned to Ben, who had finished his second helping, and discreetly handed him the tiny silver box I'd picked up at the jeweler's on the way over. "You've got this?" I asked softly. "With my life," he answered back. We exchanged a look between us, and he nodded slowly. Even though he was the youngest, we'd always had a special bond. It was why I'd asked him to stand up for me.
Dad emptied his bowl and put it on the coffee table. "I want you to know, son, how proud you've made your mother and me," he said, smoothing his dignified grey whiskers. "And how pleased we are to welcome you into our family, Libby." He reached out and patted her hand affectionately. "Now, we know that the two of you didn't want us fussing over the details, but…"
"Now, Dad…," I began.
"No, I want you to listen for once, Jackson," he went on. "We know you don't have parents of your own, Libby. And Vivian and I just want you to know that we'd be proud to have you call us Mom and Dad, if you would be comfortable doing so." He leaned forward a little more and I could see moisture starting to pool in the corners of his eyes. Libby sat, still and quiet, her hand in his and he went on.
The Baby Contract Page 7
