Sealing the Deal

by Sandy James

  Beth tried to let the words sink in, and for the first time, she struggled to look at her relationship with Robert through the eyes of her friends. Hope sparked inside her, and she tried to grab it and hold tight.

  She loved Robert so much; how could he not love her in return? How could he make love to her the way he did if his feelings weren’t involved? Sure, guys were horn dogs, but she could sense some of how he felt when they were joined. It was more than sex. It was truly making love.

  “You can’t let your insecurity ruin this,” Jules insisted. “If you keep insisting he doesn’t care for you, you’ll turn things sour. He’ll start to think there’s nothing he can do to convince you of his sincerity. Besides, you and Emma are a package deal now. You should be celebrating the fact that he loves you both. A lot of guys would run the other way at the idea of a ready-made family. We’ve all known guys like that or had students from families like that. It’s never a good situation. You’re lucky. You got one of the good ones to fall for you.”

  “And he’s definitely one of the good ones,” Beth couldn’t help but point out, feeling the weight lifting from her shoulders.

  “Damn right, he is.” Dani lifted her glass in toast. “Sounds like you’re finally opening your eyes.”

  “I’m trying.” But it wasn’t easy.

  Yet the more Beth thought about everything Robert had done for her—and not only because of Emma—she started to realize there had already been a bond between them before Emma was thrust into her life. Their lives.

  Her own attraction to him might be years old, but maybe it just took Robert a little longer to see how good they could be together.

  Perhaps she’d been looking at things all wrong. It wasn’t that he loved Emma more; it was that he could love Emma freely, with no fear of rejection. He couldn’t tell Beth what was in his heart any more than she could tell him.

  She grasped hold of that thought and hoped she could squeeze tight enough she’d never let it go.

  “You know what?” The smile on her face matched the lightness in her heart. “I think you’re all right. He does care for me.”

  Dani put her hand over Beth’s. “He does more than care, but at least now you’re getting it.”

  * * *

  Robert breathed a sigh of relief when Dani gave them one last wave before she went inside her apartment.

  Since he’d volunteered to be the sober ride home for their Ladies’ night out, he’d had to endure the giggles and teasing of Beth’s three rather tipsy friends directed right at him. Most was about his marriage proposal, which was a sore spot since Beth hadn’t immediately accepted. Not that he could blame her.

  As far as romance, the proposal had left much to be desired. The funny thing was that he’d always had such great ideas for how to propose to the woman he finally decided to marry. A hot air balloon ride. A surprise trip to a beach for a moonlit stroll. A Jumbotron proposal when he’d take her to a Chicago Bulls game.

  Instead, he’d just blurted out they should get married as a way to make an adoption easier. Beth had to be thinking he was more concerned about Emma than her.

  “Dumbass,” he whispered to himself.

  “Pardon?” Beth gave him a sexy smile and then put her hand on his thigh. She rubbed his leg, easing closer and closer to his groin.

  “Nothing.” Robert didn’t stop her, rather enjoying her being so frisky. The fact that her attention turned his cock hard as a rock made it a bit tricky to drive with great skill, but they were almost home. At least Emma was still sound asleep in her car seat. She probably wouldn’t even notice when he put her back in her crib. Now that she slept through the night, there wasn’t much that would make her stir once she’d closed her eyes.

  Beth rubbed his erection with the heel of her hand.

  “B, you’re making me crazy here.”

  “That’s the plan.” She popped her seat belt and slid closer. “I want to make love.” She ran her tongue around his ear.

  Heat raced through his veins. “Probably not a good idea right now. Would hate to cause an accident.”

  “I meant when we get home, silly.” She ran his fingers over his jeans, outlining the shape of his cock. “And I think it sounds like a wonderful idea.”

  “You’ve been drinking,” he said. “I-I don’t want to take advantage.” She wasn’t acting at all like the reserved Beth he knew so well. Sure, she might be a bit of a wildcat in bed, but she’d never been quite this insistent.

  “I only had three glasses of sangria,” she insisted. “I’m not drunk. I just want you.”

  Her words made his breath catch.

  Once he pulled into the garage and killed the engine, Robert gave in to the overpowering need to kiss her. The moment his lips touched hers, she threaded her arms around his neck and pressed her breasts to his chest. Her tongue slid past his lips, rubbing against his. She tasted wonderful, a heady mixture of Beth with a touch of sweet wine. A growl rose from his chest.

  Easing back, she smiled at him. “Why don’t you put Emma in her crib? I’ll go get ready.” Before he could say a word, she’d slipped out of the car and was going through the door into the house.

  Emma didn’t even twitch as he gently unstrapped her from the car seat and carried her up the stairs. He normally liked to watch her as she slept, marveling at how perfect such a tiny creature could be. Tonight, he only stayed long enough to be sure she stayed asleep. His mind and his senses were full of Beth.

  She was going to marry him. There was no way she’d be trying to get him in bed if she wasn’t ready to accept his proposal. He vowed to make the lack of a romantic proposal up to her, maybe by taking her to Hawaii or somewhere else special for their first anniversary. At the very least, he’d get the Ladies to help make their small, rather quick wedding nice.

  Caught between being relieved that Beth had accepted his proposal and being excited at the prospect of making her his wife, Robert had taken only a few steps into the room before he stopped short and gaped.

  Beth was standing next to the bed, waiting for him.

  Naked.

  With no memory of jerking off his clothes, he picked her up and laid her on the mattress. Then he blanketed her body with his. A slight shudder raced through her, echoing the one that moved through him. There was no better feeling in the world than being skin-to-skin with her.

  “So you’ve forgiven me?” he asked as he gazed into her chocolate eyes.

  “Forgiven you?” Her gaze searched his as her brows gathered. “For what?”

  “For botching my proposal. I should’ve gotten down on one knee and asked you to m-marry m-me. Instead, I—”

  She kissed him, a quick hard kiss. “It’s fine, Robert.”

  “It w-wasn’t—”

  When she kissed him again, he got the hint.

  But he needed to hear her say she’d accept him. “Will you marry me, B?”

  “Yes,” she hissed a moment before she arched up against him. “If you make love to me. Now.”

  Whatever the Ladies had done during that girls’ night out had freed something inside his Bethany, and Robert wasn’t a man to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Oh, no worries there.”

  He gave her another deep kiss before nuzzling her neck, licking and nibbling at her silky skin. His need for her was so strong he knew this would be one of their quick, rather rough trysts. The way she scraped her nails across his shoulders fired his blood and revealed her need was every bit as great.

  Moving lower, he drew one of her tight nipples between his teeth and gently tugged. She replied with a throaty moan and tunneled her fingers through his hair. Shifting to her other breast, he sucked the nipple hard, loving how she started to squirm.

  “Robert… now.”

  “Too soon,” he managed to spit out before he pressed his lips against her stomach, moving lower and only stopping long enough to kiss or lick her skin. After teasing her navel with his tongue, he scooted back farther and eased her thighs apart.

/>   “I want you,” Beth said. Her words ended on a moan when he slipped his fingers between her folds.

  “You’re so wet already.” He had to taste her.

  She let out a gasp when he stabbed his tongue into her. Then she raised her knees, digging her heels into the mattress as he loved her with his mouth. The way she tugged his hair stung, but it only added to the multitude of sensations that were bringing him closer and closer to losing control.

  “I love you.” Her throaty declaration ended when she cried out in release.

  Something inside him snapped. He rose over her and thrust inside her body. Lifting her legs higher up on his hips, he pushed into her again and again, mindless to anything except helping her come again.

  And she did. The way her body squeezed his cock set off his own release. His heartbeat roared in his ears as his body shuddered in orgasm.

  In the aftermath, his muscles had all the tension of wet noodles. Since he was probably crushing her, Robert broke their connection and rolled to her side. When Beth didn’t immediately move into his arms as usual, he glanced over only to find her scrambling off the bed.

  “B? What’s wrong?”

  She shook her head and scurried into the bathroom.

  Although he was so sated and content that it was hard to move, he threw his legs over the side of the mattress and got to his feet. After what they’d just shared, he couldn’t understand why she’d hurry away like that. “B?”

  She’d grabbed her robe off the hook and sat on the closed toilet seat, cocooned in terry cloth. Her face was red, and she appeared close to tears.

  Confused, Robert strode over and knelt at her feet. “What’s wrong?”

  She bowed her head and gave it a shake.

  He nudged her chin to get her to look at him. “You just sent me over the moon, but now you’re upset. I don’t understand.”

  “I said it first!”

  * * *

  Beth hadn’t meant to shout, but she was so incredibly angry at herself. In that moment when he brought her to sheer bliss, she’d gone and blurted out that she loved him. Just like that. She was mortified.

  So why in the heck was he grinning?

  “You didn’t say it,” he said, his tone teasing.

  “I did.”

  He grinned and shook his head.

  “I did, too! I said I loved you!”

  “You didn’t say it. You shouted it. I think the neighbors heard.”

  And just like that, Robert’s wonderful humor snatched away the self-directed anger. “They’ll get over it,” she drawled.

  “Did you m-mean it?”

  As if she could deny the words, especially with the hopeful, somewhat wary way he watched her. It dawned on her he was every bit as nervous as she was, which meant one thing.

  The Ladies were right. He cared. Maybe even loved.

  So with a deep sigh, Beth confessed what was in her heart. “Yeah, I meant it. I love you, Robert.”

  He took her hand and kissed the back of it. Then he gave her a heart-stopping smile. “Damn good thing, because I love you, too.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “If you know, Mom, you’ve got to tell me.” Beth tried to temper her tone, knowing if she pushed her mother too hard, Carol would get her back up. “If we don’t let the guy know, then Robert and I can’t adopt Emma.”

  Carol snorted. “Why does Robert care anyway? Why would he wanna be saddled with a kid that isn’t even his? He hasn’t married you yet, and God only knows if he’ll follow through on that. Why buy the cow when the milk is free?”

  “Robert loves Emma.” The heat of anger and hurt rose inside Beth, setting her face on fire.

  The cow analogy had always been one of her mother’s favorites. Whenever she preached it at her daughters, Beth had winced. Tiffany? She’d started “mooing” before laughing her butt off and then doing whatever the heck she’d wanted.

  If only I could find some of Tiff’s chutzpah.

  “Please, Mom. Don’t make me beg,” Beth said, even though her tone had already slipped into pleading. Anything for Emma.

  Carol released a weighty sigh. “Right after basic training, Tiffany started seeing that Darren kid again. Such a bad influence.”

  “Darren Brown? Seriously? I figured by now he’d be in prison or something.”

  Of all the scumbags Tiffany had latched on to, Darren had been the only one she’d claimed to love. Thankfully, he wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the guys Tiffany left in her wake. Although he did get arrested for possession of weed back in his senior year of high school.

  Beth remembered it well because she and Tiffany had been in the car when Darren was pulled over for having a broken taillight. After the officer took his license and registration, he started shining the flashlight in the car and sniffing deeply. Then he asked why he smelled marijuana and told everyone to get out of the car.

  In a gallant gesture, Darren had pulled a baggie of marijuana out of his pocket, handed it to the officer, and told him that the girls didn’t even know he had it. No doubt Beth’s horrified expression had added weight to his confession.

  “Tiffany never said for sure,” Carol added. “For all I know, she might not have even known who Emma’s father was. The way she carried on and all.”

  Even though Tiffany was gone, Carol still had to get in one last insult.

  “I guess I’ll try to hunt him down.”

  “No need for that,” her mother said. “I saw him when we were in Princeville.”

  “Where?”

  “He was working at the Burger Barn in Meadows Plaza.”

  Beth gave her mother a rather terse farewell, letting Carol enjoy herself by getting in a few acerbic comments about Robert’s lack of a romantic proposal before they ended the call.

  Exhausted from the uncomfortable conversation, Beth practically fell onto the sofa, thinking about the ramifications of Darren Brown being Emma’s father. No matter what angle she looked from, he was bad news. But could that be good news for her and Robert?

  This was supposed to be an easy adoption once she and Robert were married. Tiffany had named Beth as Emma’s guardian should anything happen to her while deployed. There was no father mentioned, which was good enough for the army. Evidently it wasn’t good enough for anyone else.

  The patio door opened, and Robert carried a laughing Emma inside. The days were getting warmer, so he often took her out to push her on the swing. He and Ben had built an enormous playground-worthy swing set that had everything from a slide to swings to a child’s version of a climbing wall.

  Emma would be one very spoiled young lady. She had her Bobber firmly wrapped around her little fingers.

  Beth plastered on a grin even though she felt nothing like smiling. “Did you two have fun?”

  “We sure did,” he replied. “Emma got to swing.”

  “Bobber!” Emma gave him a kiss on the cheek after he took off her coat and hat. Her smile lit up her entire chubby face. “Seen!” Her way of saying “swing.”

  She’d gone from being entirely silent to babbling constantly. Her first birthday was in a couple of weeks, and Beth had already made plans to have the Ladies, their guys, and Jules’s twins over for a small party. If the weather cooperated, Robert wanted to use his new gas grill. The thing was bigger than Beth’s first car.

  After he helped Emma wash her hands, Robert got her a sippy cup of milk and sat her down in her playpen. She set the drink aside and promptly jerked off her shoes as he laughed.

  “I’d rather be barefoot, too,” he said, tousling her curls.

  Plopping down on the sofa next to Beth, he draped his arm over her shoulder. “So what did your eternally pleasant mother have to say? Was Alexis right?”

  Beth nodded. “I’ve got a name. Can’t guarantee he’s the father, but it’s as good a place to start as any.”

  He gave her a squeeze. “I know you’re worried, but we have to do this. It’s the only way to adopt Emma. Besides, whoever he is, t
he guy deserves to know if she’s his. I’d want to know.”

  “His name’s Darren Brown. He and Tiff dated most of high school.” Beth told him the story about the traffic stop and how Darren had to serve some time in juvenile detention for the possession charge—one of a handful of times he’d been caught doing something against the law back when Beth knew him.

  “He wasn’t eighteen?” Robert asked.

  “A few months shy. Saved his butt, because it wasn’t the first time he’d been caught with drugs.”

  “Drugs? More than just weed?”

  Beth shook her head. “Only marijuana, according to what Tiff told me.” She knit her brows. “What’s it matter anyway? Drugs are drugs.”

  “We might have to agree to disagree on that, B.”

  She gaped at him. “Are you serious?”

  He nodded.

  “I don’t understand. Marijuana is a drug.”

  “It’s no worse than tobacco.”

  “Did you smoke dope?”

  His exaggerated sigh was as good as a confession.

  “You really smoked dope?” Her tone was bordering on hysterical. The Robert she knew might have been a bit of a player with the ladies. But drugs?

  No. No way.

  He heaved a sigh. “A lot of people don’t consider pot a big problem. Some of the guys in my frat smoked it, so I did, too. It wasn’t a big deal, B. I only got in trouble once. J-just a misdemeanor for p-possession. At least give this Darren a chance.”

  * * *

  Robert couldn’t believe his own ears. Why in the hell was he defending the guy when he hadn’t even met him and knew absolutely nothing about him? If Darren Brown was Emma’s biological father, he might have the power to take Emma away from them.

  Sure, Tiffany had made things crystal clear in all of the military paperwork, naming Beth to be Emma’s guardian. But Alexis had explained that the biological father’s rights might supersede Tiffany’s wishes, especially since he’d never been informed of Emma’s birth.

  Losing Emma would be a blow Robert might never recover from, and it would be worse for Beth. He scrambled to think of scenarios that would give them joint custody with Darren, any way to save a part of Emma’s life for themselves.