by Toni Jackson
“Sean, I – oh god, Sean -,”
“Let it go baby, let it go,” he panted, increasing the speed of his strokes.
Dani’s body soared. From a distance, she heard him groaning above her. He slammed into her and came deep inside her, triggering another orgasm. She was surprised when he did not move immediately to the side. Instead he lowered his body to hers, wrapping his arms around her, holding her tight.
As his breathing returned to normal, Sean realized holding Dani in his arms fulfilled him more than anything else he could imagine. She was not impressed by who he was, or what he had. She just wanted him. He eased his body over to the side, bringing Dani with him. He kissed her gently on the lips and looked deep into her eyes. Smiling at him, Dani kissed him back.
In that moment, he had a revelation. Dani’s smile was the first thing he wanted to see in the morning and the last thing he wanted to see at night. His great plan had backfired. He never expected this to happen.
He had fallen in love with her.
“I think I’m going to take the day off today,” he said, stroking his hand up and down her arm. Sean could tell that Dani liked the idea by the way her eyes flared, but then her expression closed off. She pulled back a little and started to sit up. “You don’t have to do that, I’ll be fine-“
Sean sat up in alarm as Dani paled and grabbed her mouth. “Dani?”
Tossing the covers aside, Dani ran for the bathroom with Sean only steps behind her. By the time he stood in the doorway, she was curved over the toilet, heaving. Easing to his knees beside Dani, he placed one arm around her, and used the other to hold her hair away from her face. Sean lost track of how long they stayed that way as he stroked her forehead, hating the thought of her being sick. When it was finally over, he helped her stand so Dani could rinse her mouth and carried her back to bed. He was scared to hope that she was pregnant. As much as he wanted it, he did not want to jinx it. There were so some many other things it could be – stomach flu, food poisoning….
He felt helpless as he watched her curl into a ball. “Dani, I think you should go to the doctor.”
She shook her head. “Don’t overreact, Sean. It’s probably just something I ate.”
“Still, Dani,” he sat on the edge of the bed causing her to roll towards him. “It’s better to have it checked out.”
Dani’s hand slammed down over her mouth again and she pushed him out of the way. Within seconds, she was back on her knees in front of the toilet. Sean stood and watched her for a moment, feeling completely helpless.
“That’s it. You’re going.” Sean resembled a drill sergeant as he marched back into the bedroom and threw on some clothes.
***
An hour later, Sean sat in the chair beside Dani’s hospital bed. He had bullied Dani into her clothes and brought her in to be examined. She had protested the entire time, but all Sean could think of was how someone had broken into her house. What if someone put something in her food? Or left something around that made her sick? Now that he had finally come to grips with how he felt about her, he was not going to lose her.
Sean glanced over to where Dani lay sleeping, her stomach finally calm. Their hands were entwined on the side of the bed. He had not moved from her side since they had arrived. He turned at the sound of the curtain sliding back to reveal the doctor, a black woman somewhere in her mid-thirties, staring down at her chart. Dani’s eyes fluttered open. Sean tensed for a moment until the doctor smiled.
“Congratulations!”
Dani frowned at the doctor and stared in disbelief. “What?”
“You’re going to have a baby. By my guess, I’d say you’re, oh, close to six weeks along. I’m going to prescribe some vitamins for you. You’ll need to schedule an appointment with your OB/GYN as soon as possible.”
Both of them looked at each other in disbelief. Dani had gotten pregnant their first night together.
CHAPTER 27
Dani was silent on the ride back to Sean’s house. Her mind was spinning. Pregnant? She was amazed. Without realizing what she was doing, her hand had been steadily rubbing her stomach. Somehow, she had never expected to have children. Then the fear set in.
What if she couldn’t hold it to full term?
What if something went wrong?
She took a quick peek at Sean while he drove. She wanted to say something, but had no clue where to begin. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she planned this. Turning back around, she stared out of the window for the rest of the ride to his house.
Once inside, Dani sat on the couch, resting her head against the back. It was going to take a while for her to come to grips with their new situation. Biting her lip, she watched Sean walk over to the window and stare outside. He had not said anything since they left the hospital and that scared her. He was closed to her, no emotion, no words. Nothing.
“Um, Sean?”
Sean turned to her, his face completely blank. Her heart dropped at the look on his face. “I just want you to know that I don’t expect anything from you.” She shook her head. “I honestly never thought that this would happen, not with my past medical history. I can understand if you don’t want any children right now, I mean, we haven’t been seeing each other that long – I can support the baby perfectly fine without you if that’s what you want -,” Dani stopped speaking as Sean walked towards her and sat down.
His arms wrapped around Dani and he pulled her close. Tears formed in her eyes as Sean began to speak to her in hushed tones. “Shh. I’m not going anywhere Dani.” His lips captured hers in a deep kiss. “I want this baby, and I want you,” he whispered. “We’re in this together. I want you – both of you – here with me.” More tears fell as he reached out and caressed her stomach. Sean’s touch burned through her clothes and seemed to brand her. “I want to watch you grow round with my child inside you.” Sean’s voice grew hoarse. “I want us to raise this child together.”
Grabbing her face between his hands, he lowered his lips to hers. The kiss was sweet and gentle, unlike anything they had shared before. Dani’s heart raced at his words. She sat back and struggled to pull herself together enough to speak. “Wait a minute. You want me to move in with you? Won’t that cramp your style?”
He smiled at her and tugged her closer. “Not as much as you marrying me will.”
“You want me to marry you?” Dani screeched.
Nodding, he kissed her again. She frowned. “Sean, I’m not expecting you to marry me because of the baby. This isn’t the dark ages. People raise children apart all the time-,” she started.
Sean’s expression darkened as he shook his head. “Not my child.” Chills raced through her body as his hands eased under her top to caress her back, then back again to rub the lacy undersides of her bra. “And not you.” His thumbs lightly grazed across her nipples.
Dani shook her head to clear it. “Sean, we barely know each other.”
Heat pooled between her legs as he pinched her nipples. He shook his head and pulled her blouse over her head. One hand eased down and unfastened her pants, his fingers searching until they reached her center to find her wet and welcoming.
Dani whimpered when he removed his hand, watching as he drew back to peel her jeans and underwear down. By the time he removed his shirt and pants, she was more than ready for him. Her mouth went dry at the sight of his toned body with its slight dusting of hair. He covered her body, spreading her legs to drive deep inside her. She gasped as he pushed against her womb.
This time there was no foreplay, but she did not need it. Sean grabbed her legs and pulled them over his shoulder without stopping. This new angle pulled him even deeper.
“Marry me, Dani,” he grunted as he moved inside her.
“We can’t!” she gasped, closing her eyes.
“Yes, we can, Dani. We can do whatever we want, baby.”
Dani wanted to scream out in frustration. Sean was doing just enough to keep her on edge. Opening her eyes, she looked into h
is face and wanted to scream in frustration. She was so close.
“Sean, please!” She used her vaginal muscles to clamp down on him in the hopes that he would give her that extra bit that would send her over the edge.
Sean grabbed her legs and held her down, then proceeded to drive her crazy by moving even slower.
“Tell me what I want to hear and I’ll give you what you want, Dani.” He smiled down at her. “Or better yet, I can stop.”
Her eyes snapped to his in disbelief. “You wouldn’t!”
Smiling, he stared down at her and slowly eased himself out, his eyes watching her expression every inch of the way.
He held her down to keep her from trying to pull him back down.
“Sean!”
“Tell me, Dani,” he panted. It was agony to stop, but he had to prove his point. He wanted her answer. And that answer had to be yes.
Dani wanted to scream in frustration. “Yes, damn it! Yes!”
“Good girl,” he said, slipping back inside her and speeding up his strokes. Dani’s body clenched as her climax rushed over her. From a distance, she heard Sean groaning above her as he poured himself deep inside her.
He leaned over her, resting his weight on his arms. Kissing her, he slowly withdrew from her body and stood. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her towards the bedroom.
The next morning, Dani woke up late and alone. She vaguely remembered Sean waking her up and kissing her goodbye, saying that he had to go the office early. It felt strange waking up alone in his bed, in his house. Things had moved so fast between them. Too fast. If someone had told her six weeks ago that she was going to meet Sean and wind up married to him and pregnant with his child, she would have told them to have their head examined. Instead, here she was, as well as commissioned for a sculpture that would make her career.
Dani shivered as she thought about how perfect things were.
Too perfect.
CHAPTER 28
Sean was engrossed in looking over the papers for a possible merger when his secretary buzzed him. “Yes?”
“Mr. Davenport, Mr. McKennon is here to see you.”
“Send him in.” Sean sat back in his chair, schooling his features to conceal the anxiety he was feeling. He hoped McKennon had been able to find something to put his mind at ease.
McKennon walked in and reclined in one of the chairs in front of Sean’s desk. “I see you’re looking well rested,” McKennon said, smiling. “It’s not like you to take off a day. I was surprised to hear you didn’t come in.”
Shrugging, Sean allowed himself to smile. “I had a slight emergency yesterday.”
McKennon began to look intrigued. “What kind of emergency?” McKennon’s voice was calm, but Sean knew McKennon was not.
“I thought Dani had been poisoned. She woke up yesterday morning violently ill.” He folded his hands on his desk. “I rushed her to the hospital, only to find out that it wasn’t poison.” Pausing a moment, he sat forward. “She’s pregnant.”
Frowning, McKennon stared at him. “You don’t look too happy about that. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
Sean wiped a hand over his face. The past few weeks had shown him what a selfish bastard he had become over the years, all in the name of continuing the family business. He had sacrificed everything for his cause - friends and whatever type of life he could have truly had. Now here he was, finally able to make a connection with someone else, only to know that the slightest wrong move could see it all blow up in his face.
“Yes, it is. But I don’t want to hurt her. I care about her.”
“You picked a fine time to think about that. Is she in love with you?”
He nodded, feeling worse by the second. Running a hand through his hair, he pushed away from his desk and turned to look out of the window over the city. “It’s exactly what I wanted. But I didn’t expect to feel anything. Now I can’t help but be scared that she’ll leave me.” Sean ran his hands over his face. “It’s not even about having a child anymore.”
McKennon sighed. “You’ve got a hell of a problem on your hands and it’s bigger than you thought.”
Frowning, Sean turned back towards McKennon. “What do you mean?”
Sean had been so wrapped up in self-pity that he paid no notice of the folder that McKennon held in his hands until he tossed it on the desk. Sean picked it up and flipped through the photographs and information that was inside. He was only half listening when McKennon started to speak.
“In a nutshell, what you’re looking at is several footprints, originating in Dani’s workshop. They contained fresh mud, which could have only been picked up while she was gone. It hasn’t rained in weeks and this dirt was still damp. Besides, she doesn’t strike me as the type of person to keep a dirty workshop.”
Shaking his head, Sean answered. “She isn’t. So you found signs of the break-in?”
“Oh yeah. Whoever did it was damned good. We got a partial print from the window that I sent over to some of friends in high places to see if they could make a match. That’s going to take a while. Even with modern technology, a partial is still going to take some reconstructing. They may not be able to find anything, but it’s worth a try.” He shuffled a little in his seat. “By the way, it’s funny you mentioned poison. Did Dani eat anything when she was at the house, before she left?”
Sean’s head shot up. “No. Why?”
“On a hunch, we checked out the food. Someone had added Arsenic to the sugar, flour, - hell, in damn near every open package in the house. Sean, this wasn’t some random break-in. Someone wants this girl dead.”
Sean sank into his chair. “I want to know the minute you find out something. I don’t care what it takes. Post guards at the house.”
Nodding, McKennon rose from the chair.
McKennon’s words about someone trying to kill Dani echoed in his head long after McKennon had left. Sean sat back and tried to imagine who could possibly want to kill Dani; no one came to mind. She only had a few friends, and fewer enemies. The only reason he could someone would want to harm her…was him.
CHAPTER 29
The first thing Dani did after she took a shower the next morning and settled her stomach was call Tina.
Tina’s reaction when she heard Dani’s voice soothed away some of the tension she had been feeling.
“Dani? Girl! Where in the hell have you been? I’ve told you about disappearing on me! You still messing with the Davenport guy? You musta put the swerve on him. The man can’t leave you alone can he?”
Dani was laughing too hard to answer. Talking to Tina made her realize just how much she had been cut off from her friends lately. “I’ve missed you, Tina. I swear, we should have just closed the gallery and brought you with us.”
“You’re right, you should have. Clay thinks that he’s the only one that can have fun. I’ll show him. So where are you? Back home? Imma swing by.”
“No, I’m - I’m at Sean’s.”
Dani waited patiently for the explosion she knew was coming. She was not disappointed. “You’re what?” For the next several minutes, Dani attempted to follow the flow of Spanglish that bombarded her ear.
“It’s okay, Tina. Can you come over? I need to talk. There’s a lot going on right now. My head is spinning.”
“He won’t be mad?” Dani heard the hesitancy in Tina’s voice.
She smiled. “Believe me, its fine.” She gave Tina the address then sat back to wait. Relaxing, closed her eyes and sank into a deep sleep.
Thirty minutes later, Dani jumped as the buzzer rang from the gate.
“Chica, I’m at the gate. Can you buzz me in?”
Dani frowned for a moment. Since she had always come in with Sean, she never had to open a gate. “Hold on a minute.” Dani felt silly texting Sean a message to ask Sean for the code to the gate. She was in luck when he immediately responded back.
She quickly punched in the code and ran to the door to watch for Tina’s car.
&
nbsp; Dani hugged her again and laughed. It felt so good to have her friend here with her. “Come on,” she said as she ushered her into the apartment. Once inside, she shut and locked the door, then turned to see Tina’s expression.
“Madre de dios,” she whispered, turning around in awe. “Please tell me he has lots and lots of rich male friends.”
“Not that I know of,” Dani said moving forward into the room. “Come on and have a seat. I’ve got something I need to tell you.”
Tina frowned at her and came to sit down on the couch. “What’s going on, chica? It’s not like you to shack up with some guy.”
Crossing her legs on the couch in front of her, Dani began to smile. “First things first. How do you feel about being a godmother?”
Dani watched as Tina’s face went through several contortions. When she saw the full comprehension of her question sink in, Dani smiled. “Oh. My. God. Are you saying…? You’re actually..? But how?” Dani laughed as Tina slapped her forehead. “That’s a dumb ass question, scratch that. I know the how, but didn’t the doctor say that there was almost no chance?”
Dani nodded. “Yeah, but evidently Sean is in that negative five percent that has what it takes to get me pregnant.” She paused, smiling. “So…do you want to be a godmother or not?”
“Oh course I do!” She said, bouncing up and down on the couch. “That little bambino is going to be spoiled rotten by the time Tia Tina gets through with them!” Her expression turned serious.
“I wish your mother could be here for this sweetie. She would have loved being a grandmother. I don’t know what I would have done without you and your mom when my mother passed,” Tina shook her head. “My father missed her so much it was like he wasn’t there. She might not be here, but I am.”
Dani felt tears forming in her eyes at the thought of her mother. “You have always been like a sister to me. You are really the only family I have left.” They hugged, each lost in their own memories. Tina was the first to sit back and try to pull herself together.
