Desire

by Simone Sowood

  “Oh well, things turned out just fine,” he says.

  Leo trails kisses down my neck, but my mind wanders. How did I get pregnant when we used a condom? How is it possible?

  His hips tilt, and suddenly my walls are stretching as he pushes himself into me. All thoughts of anything vanish as I’m overcome with the feeling of being so full.

  “Fuck,” Leo mutters to himself.

  He begins moving in me, his skin rubbing against mine. I wrap my legs around his, pushing my hips up for more of him. His thrusts get faster and faster and all the heat in my body pools between my legs. It’s like I’m a volcano, about to blow.

  The longer he pounds into me, the more my body becomes a ball of tingles. I want to do this forever and ever.

  A sound forms deep inside me and leaves my mouth as a loud scream.

  Leo yanks himself from me, and flips me over like a rag doll. My breath is ragged, and I’m unable to beg for his cock back.

  Pulling me to the edge of the bed, he forces his way deep inside of me again. This time there is no gentleness in his actions, and my walls throb in response.

  “I need to fuck you like this before your belly gets big,” he says, his teeth gritted. Gripping my hips, he drives deep inside me, grunting as he moves.

  He reaches around, and searches through my folds for my clit. He presses on it with his index finger and rubs it back and forth so hard and fast that I can’t focus on anything else.

  The world seems to melt away, and all I know is how good Leo makes me feel. There’s a giant crash, and an enormous orgasm rips through my body.

  I’m vaguely aware of Leo falling on top of me as the waves of pleasure wash up and down my body.

  He grunts, and drives deep inside me with his own orgasm.

  My body is a quivering mess and I melt into the mattress in pure happiness. Leo’s dick pulses and throbs, prolonging my orgasm.

  I become aware of his rich laugh, and open my eyes.

  “What?” I say.

  “Look around you,” Leo says, laughing.

  Somehow, the entire bed has collapsed. The mattress is askew on the box spring, and the legs seem to have disappeared completely.

  “You really did make the Earth move,” I say and burst out laughing.

  Leo pulls out and flops onto the mattress beside me. We are about a foot lower than we started, and the bedside table and second bed tower over us.

  Neither of us gives a shit.

  Rolling onto my side, Leo’s gaze catches my own, and we simply stare at each other, grinning like fools.

  He leans over and kisses me on the forehead, while tracing the outline of my body with his finger. When he reaches my waist, he splays his hand over my belly.

  “You have my baby in there,” he says, a broad smile across his face.

  “I do.”

  As the words leave my mouth, my earlier thoughts come back to me. How did I get pregnant?

  “This is going to be fun. You are going to be a great mother.”

  “I wanted to have a career. I didn’t think I’d be a mother for another ten years.”

  “Careers are overrated, family matters more,” he says, still cupping my belly.

  “Easy for you to say, you’ve had one.”

  “Exactly. And I’m telling you from experience that there nothing to get excited about. All I want is out of mine.”

  “Maybe you can be a stay-at-home dad, and I’ll go out and earn the money,” I say, and stroke the back of his hand.

  “Baby, we don’t need any more money. Now is the time to spend it.”

  “Shut up,” I say, and chuckle.

  “I’m serious. I’m selling my company as soon as this baby is born, and were going to have a ton of fun spending the cash. My whole life all I’ve ever done is work my ass off. It’s finally time to enjoy the rewards.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Very. And I want out of New York City, too. I want the perfect family life, and to give this baby the best childhood ever.” His voice is full of earnestness, and I don’t doubt him for a second.

  “Where do you want to live? On an island in the Caribbean?”

  “I don’t know yet, but I can’t imagine leaving the States.”

  “We can move here to Tennessee and be near my mother,” I tease.

  “Easy, I wouldn’t go that far. I was thinking more like a nice place in the mountains in Vermont.”

  “That sounds much more enticing,” I say, my mind wandering again. I could easily picture myself in a big house in the country, with lots of dogs and maybe some horses.

  Horses would be great, as long as we have someone else to clean out the stalls.

  I shake my head at the thought. Is this really my future?

  How did this happen?

  How, indeed.

  “How did I get pregnant?” the words leave my mouth without me even realizing it.

  “Well, when a sperm reaches the egg—”

  Interrupting him, I say, “No, how does it reach the egg when there’s a condom in between?”

  Leo purses his mouth and is quiet for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. “Sometimes condoms fail.”

  “I guess it doesn’t matter now.”

  “No, it doesn’t. What matters is that we’re both committed to the baby.”

  “You sure are a rare breed. I don’t think many men would be reacting to the news the way you did.”

  His eyes soften, and he says, “I told you that day we were in the hotel, I’ve always wanted to be a father but after my ex-wife, I never thought I would be one. Or if I was, it would be with someone who viewed it as a financial arrangement. I wasn’t about to buy a child. But now, it’s this strange twist of fate, and the greatest gift I’ve ever been given. With the most perfect woman I could ever want. Baby, I’m serious when I say you’re mine.”

  Though I try to fight it, tears stream down my cheeks. I’ve never felt so cared about.

  So loved.

  All I ever had was my unloving mother and my indifferent sister. No one has ever made me feel wanted in my whole life. Warmth spreads through me, replacing the earlier heat.

  I push on his shoulder and say, “Damn you, setting off my pregnancy hormones like this.”

  Using the back of my hand, I wipe my cheeks and eyes. Leo pulls me closer so that our bodies touch and our legs intertwine.

  Chapter 27

  Leo

  “Thank you for coming back for me,” Grace says through her sobs. “When you left to find your brother, I felt like a piece of me was missing. I started counting down the days until you returned. But when you didn’t, and I found out I was pregnant, I felt more alone than I’ve ever felt in my life. And trust me, I spent a lot of time feeling alone. But it was different. It was different because I cared so much about you, in ways I’ve never experienced before. I was heartbroken.”

  Grace’s words get harder and harder to comprehend through her crying, but at the same time they get easier to understand.

  The niggling doubt about the real reason she agreed to come to New York with me dissolves. I wrap my arms tight around her and we lie together in silence.

  “I won’t be able to sell my company for several months, so unfortunately the baby is going to have to start life in New York City. In the meantime, I have to keep working but you can get ready for the baby. Pick any one of the bedrooms and turn it into a nursery, do to it whatever you need to do.”

  “I haven’t even thought about preparing for the baby. I’ve spent most of the time with my head in the sand. There was no choice, otherwise I would’ve had to picture the baby laying on the floor beside my sister’s couch.”

  “Well, now you can picture the baby any way you want. I’ll leave the decorating completely up to you,” I say, stroking her arm.

  She twists her mouth in thought for a moment and says, “I want animals. Giraffes and elephants and lions.”

  “A safari nursery?”

  “Exactly.�
��

  “Have you been on safari?”

  Grace looks at me like I’m an idiot for asking the question. I suppose I am. Having grown up with money, I sometimes forget not everyone can do whatever they want whenever they want.

  “No, I have not had the pleasure of jetting off to the Serengeti,” she says, the earlier sarcasm back.

  “I’ll take you one day,” I say.

  “In the distant future. I can hardly go when I’m pregnant, or with a baby. Or a toddler, or young child for that matter.”

  “It’ll be worth the wait,” I say, and kiss her forehead.

  “Are things really going to be okay?” Grace asks in a quiet voice.

  “You need to start believing me when I say things are going to be better than okay. Everything is going to be perfect.”

  “If it’s a boy, we can call him George,” Grace says, her voice deadpan.

  “Like hell,” I say, and squeeze her waist, tickling her.

  “Stop it,” Grace squeals in laughter, her body wiggling.

  “There are some things you just don’t joke about,” I say before pulling my hand away.

  She’s beaming, and my body fills with a foreign sense of warmth. It’s not anything I’ve experienced before.

  We carry on laughing and chatting about everything and nothing until our eyelids are heavy and we are more asleep than awake.

  At some point we move to the other bed and crawl under the covers, naked, together.

  We sleep and wake and fuck, and sleep some more. My dreams and my reality converge into one of the best nights of my life.

  All the hollowness I’ve carried around all these years has disappeared, replaced by Grace. She has no idea how she’s transformed my life.

  Not to mention the freedom she’s given me. With this baby, I can finally sell my company.

  I fall into a deep sleep that’s more satisfying than any I remember. In the morning, I awake. The light in the room is hazy and tinted green from the ancient curtains.

  Grace is still asleep and I watch her peaceful slumber. The flimsy blanket rises and falls with her breath, drawing my attention to her breasts.

  Her glorious fucking tits.

  Even though I’ve come more times in the past twelve hours than I thought possible, my dick stirs. Slipping my hand under the blanket, I caress down her front and gently cup her tit.

  Her nipple hardens against the palm of my hand, urging me on.

  “Leo?” Grace says, her voice quiet and groggy with sleep.

  With my mouth close to her ear, I lower my voice and say, “Lie still and rest.”

  She half whimpers, and I trail kisses down her neck. Sliding myself under the blanket, I nuzzle and suck her tits, circling my tongue around her now pearled nipples.

  In my head I bury my cock between them, using my hands to mold them around my shaft and I fuck them until I explode all over her chest.

  But in reality, this moment is about her and I lick and kiss down her front until I reach her mound. Nestling myself between her legs, I nip the insides of her thighs.

  Grace wiggles and shifts in the bed and I use my hands to hold her still. With her legs spread wide, I lick and tease the delicate area between her lips and her legs. I brush my fingers over her mound, her lips are soft and wet, and a surge of desire washes over me.

  My mind goes completely blank except for the need to make Grace come.

  I brush my lips over hers, inhaling her lusty scent deep into my lungs. Placing my tongue at the base of her folds, I probe deep and slide it, tasting her, until I connect with her clit.

  Spreading her lips with my fingers, I expose her clit. Without pause, I circle her nub with my tongue until she moans. I keep my focus and use my tongue to lap and probe her swollen nub.

  It’s hot under the blanket, the air heavy with lust and desire, but I ignore everything except my need to pleasure Grace.

  Using my left hand to keep her clit in place, the fingers of my right hand move through her slick folds until they arrive at her tight entrance. I circle it with my finger, preparing it. She tilts her hips, wanting more.

  Ordinarily, I’d be inclined to tease her a little, but today I can’t help myself.

  I push two fingers into her and they’re hugged by her walls. She’s wet and soft and I think I could easily spend all day like this. After relishing the situation for a moment, I begin moving my fingers in her, hooking them so that my fingers can coax an orgasm out of her.

  Grace lets out a loud moan, urging me on further. I suck her clit into my mouth and move my free hand to her ass. Without stopping the probing of her clit with my tongue, or the moving of my fingers against her walls, I squeeze one of her fleshy ass cheeks.

  She doesn’t flinch, so I slowly move my fingers over the curve of her behind until I’m in the crease. I’m not sure how she’ll respond, given how inexperienced she is, but I rub the sensitive skin of her asshole with my middle finger.

  A long whimper flows from her throat, and her breath quickens. She’s close, and I want to push her over a cliff higher than she’s ever known.

  A phone rings, presumably hers, the ring tone some silly cartoon voice saying “Get me” over and over. We both ignore it.

  Her walls begin to pulse tight around my fingers and her wet lust coats my entire hand.

  “Leo,” she wails in a throaty voice.

  My dick is rock hard at the knowledge of the way I am making her feel. She’s mine. Forever.

  Without hesitation, I push my middle finger into her ass and swirl it against her forbidden walls.

  Her phone rings again, and I envisioned smashing it to pieces.

  I move my hands in unison and Grace squeals. I wonder if she noticed the phone.

  Grace screams so loud she could wake the dead. If anyone else is staying in this dump they’re definitely awake now.

  Her entire body quivers and shakes as she continues to squeal.

  Pulling my hands away from her softness, I quickly climb on top of her and drive my cock into her.

  “Get me, get me,” the helium-fueled voice of her phone chants again and again.

  Her spasming walls grip my shaft, sending shudders up my back and tingles down my legs. My balls draw tight against me and I shoot my load into her as the phone goes again.

  Ignoring it, I bury myself deep in her and let the last moments of my climax take over my senses.

  “Holy cow, that was unreal,” Grace says, still short of breath.

  “You’re telling me.” I kiss her forehead.

  My dick is still throbbing when the phone rings again.

  “Could you have a more annoying ringtone?” I say, half laughing.

  “Any ringtone would’ve been annoying in this situation.”

  “That’s true. Someone obviously really wanted you.”

  “I don’t know why anyone would be so desperate to get hold of me.”

  The phone rings again, chanting the now too familiar “Get Me.”

  “You should get that,” I say, reluctantly pulling out of Grace.

  “Fine,” she pouts and rolls over to get her phone off the bedside table.

  She looks at the screen and with a furrowed brow says, “It’s my sister.”

  “Hey, Charity, what’s up?” she says into the phone.

  Her eyes widen and any earlier happiness drains from her face as she listens.

  “What? Mom’s dead? How? Why?”

  Chapter 28

  Grace

  “It’s all my fault,” Charity says, her dark eyes puffy and ringed in red.

  “Don’t be silly,” I say, taking her hand and leading her to the kitchen.

  Moving on autopilot, I pour us each a mug of coffee. Ever since the phone call, I’ve been numb. It is still difficult to comprehend the fact that my mother is dead.

  “You haven’t heard what happened yet,” Charity says, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hand.

  Mug in hand, I follow her through the doorway and bac
k into the living area. She avoids the armchair my mother was so recently sitting in and takes a seat on the couch. Still numb, I sit in the armchair.

  Fortunately, Leo took her three kids for a helicopter ride so that we could talk in private and figure out funeral arrangements. Along with our feelings.

  Partly I’m angry at myself for not feeling as sad and upset as I should. My mother just died, but I can’t stop thinking about all the mean things she ever said or did to me. And there were a lot of mean things.

  Right now, I’m struggling to think of any kindness that she showed to me, at any point in my life.

  Still, she was my mom.

  “What happened? She seemed her normal self yesterday,” I ask.

  “After you left, she got angry that she has to go to the Betty Ford Center in order to get a house. She kept saying ‘You get a house, why don’t I?’ She just kept drinking, drinking, more than usual, saying it was her last night of freedom.”

  “Good God.”

  “Wait, it gets worse. She kept attacking me, trying to physically hit me. All the things she’s done in the past, but there was more anger this time. I told the kids to stay in their bedroom, but they heard what was going on and kept coming out, trying to protect me. She clocked Brandon square in the nose. At that point I told her to get the fuck out of my house. She took a bottle of vodka and staggered away. That was the last time I ever saw her.”

  Charity takes a deep breath and continues, “The police came to the door around four this morning. Apparently, she was trying to walk home and passed out on the way. They found her at the side of the road. She’d choked on her own vomit.”

  “Jesus,” I mutter. My heart wrenches at the details of my mother’s death. I can only hope it wasn’t painful.

  Her chin quivers, prompting me to move from my chair to the sofa and I embrace her. Charity wraps her arms around me and rests her head on my shoulder.

  Finally, the numbness eases a little and my tears start to fall. We stay in each other’s arms, grieving.

  “She drove me nuts,” Charity says, sniffling.

  “I have no idea how you lived with her. I fled to the other side of the country.”

  “At least she was free childcare. Even though I only needed that second job to pay for her food, smokes, and booze. And she’s probably scarred my children for life.”