by Sara Orwig
His heart pounded and he regretted that he had waited this long to come see her. He stepped back a moment and, watching her, yanked her T-shirt over her head to toss it away. Her bra was gone swiftly and then he unfastened her shorts and let them fall around her ankles and she stepped out of them.
He looked at her, his gaze drifting slowly over her as if he had to memorize every inch. He finally looked into her eyes again and saw longing and desire in her gaze. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her hard again.
“I’ve missed you, called you a dozen damn times, wanted to see you, but every night I got in too late to bother you,” he whispered as he showered kisses on her, leaning down to run his tongue over her nipple, his hands sliding over her. “You feel wonderful. I want to spend the weekend in bed with you.” He leaned back as she opened her eyes to look at him.
“I’ll take you out first and feed you,” he said, “and we can dance a few dances if you want. I need you, Vivian.”
She looked up at him. “I don’t think you really need me. You can be so wonderful, Mike.”
He focused more intently on her. “I’m waiting for the other half of that sentence,” he said, feeling anxious, more certain than ever that something was wrong between them. He thought of all the unanswered phone calls. “Vivian—”
She slipped her hand to his nape and brought his head down to kiss him. One touch was all it took. He picked her up to carry her to bed and he forgot his worries.
* * *
The next day, Mike tried to slip out of bed without waking her, but she opened her eyes and turned to him. He came back to take her into his arms and kiss her and it was a little more than an hour later that he got out of bed again.
“This time I’m going. I need to go to work, but I don’t want to leave you. I’ll see you tonight about seven. I’ll make the reservations—”
She smiled. “I will. I’m the club member.” Her gaze ran over him and she rolled over to get closer to him and run her hand across his chest. “You are one sexy man.”
“I’m glad you think so.” He kissed her. “Oh, hell, I can be late to work once.” He threw himself onto the bed.
Minutes later, after some serious kissing, she pushed him away.
“Go on. We’ll kiss tonight.”
He looked into her gorgeous blue eyes. “Vivian, you’re beautiful.”
“Thank you. You need to move, Mike.” She scooted across the bed and bent to grab her T-shirt from the floor, glancing over her shoulder at him.
He straightened his clothes and crossed the room. “If I walk down the hall to my suite, am I going to encounter anyone?”
“No, usually they clean this floor on Tuesdays.”
“Usually. That leaves a loophole. See you tonight.” He left, hurrying down the hall and already thinking about the evening. He intended to ask her about the missed phone calls. She needed to take his calls or tell him why she hadn’t answered and whether it had been deliberate because she hadn’t wanted to talk to him. But why would that be? When they had made love, it was as if everything was fine between them and the uneasy feeling he’d had for a few minutes had vanished into the night and never returned. But not taking his calls was odd. He had a feeling there was something he was missing. If so, surely he would find out what it was tonight.
* * *
Vivian finished dressing almost an hour before she expected to see Mike. He had called three times today. First he called to check on the reservations, the second time just to talk to her and the third time to tell her he would try to be on time. If she hadn’t been facing the evening that she knew was ahead, she would have laughed at his last call, but she couldn’t. She had the feeling that tonight would change their relationship forever and she didn’t think that the change would be good.
She was going to tell him about the baby.
At seven o’clock she checked herself again in front of a full-length mirror and turned first one way and then another. She looked at herself and ran her hand over her flat stomach. She wore a slim, sleeveless, figure-clinging black dinner dress that ended at her knees. It had a deep V-neckline and the diamond pendant was perfect with it. She did not look pregnant at all, but then it was so early.
Her phone buzzed and she answered to hear Mike’s greeting. Her pulse sped up at the sound of his voice and she wondered how long she would continue to have such an intense reaction to just seeing him or hearing him speak.
“Hi. I’m downstairs and I’m ready. Shall I come up or do you want to come down?”
“I’ll be right down. I’m ready.”
“Wow, you really are a wonderful woman—beautiful and on time,” he teased. “See you in the hall.”
He was gone before she could say goodbye. “If you only knew. You’re not going to feel that way about me later tonight. And I won’t feel the same about you, either,” she said.
She glanced at a picture of her with Thane on their wedding day. A sharp pain stabbed her. She had been so happy at that moment when that picture was taken. The future looked golden, perfect with Thane in it.
She picked up the picture. “How I wish I could have given this news of a baby to you. You would have been the happiest man on the planet. Well, maybe you and Henry would have been. It didn’t work out that way. I love you. I miss you so much.” She thought of the man waiting downstairs for her. “In so many ways, he’s a good guy. But I guess I don’t have to tell you that.”
She replaced the picture, gathered her things and left her suite. Mike stood at the bottom of the stairs and watched her as she walked down. As usual, at the sight of him, her heart beat faster. She wanted to laugh and dance and go to her condo and make love later. She didn’t know at what point tonight she would break the news to him. Or should she wait until the next weekend? It wouldn’t change anything, she rationalized. She sighed, knowing in her heart she should tell him tonight so they could both get on with the changes in their lives.
“Hi, handsome cowboy,” she said, looking at him.
“You know, taking you out for a fun night and a good dinner and going to your condo afterward seemed a great idea at the time. But right at this moment, looking at you as you came down the stairs, I want to carry you right back upstairs and take that sexy black dress off you and kiss you all over, put my hands all over you and make love to you the rest of the night.”
Dropping the little purse she carried, she wrapped her arms around his neck. She stood on the second step that put her on his level and she could look directly into his eyes. “I won’t argue with that one,” she said, wanting him with all her being and wondering if this would be the last time they would make love. She had a feeling he wasn’t going to take her news well at all.
His eyes narrowed. “Do you really mean that? I can call and cancel our reservations. I don’t want you to get a bad name with your club.”
“I won’t. This is kind of fun, being on your level.”
“I don’t care where you stand, you’re irresistible,” he said, nuzzling her neck and then kissing her.
After a moment, she placed her hand against him and leaned back slightly. “Call the club. I can go get you a beer or a drink or whatever you want.”
“I want you. Put some steaks out to thaw. By breakfast, they may be ready to cook.”
“I’ve already put steaks out. I had a feeling we might not ever get out of the house when the time arrived.”
“I promise you, I will take you out, just not tonight.”
“I think this is better.” She dropped a light kiss on his mouth. “I’ll go get our drinks and you call the club and cancel the reservations.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he said.
She went to the kitchen and got a beer and a glass of water for herself and carried them to the family room. It was her favorite room because it was informal, a c
olorful, cheerful space that she enjoyed.
He caught up with her to take the drinks from her hands and set them on a game table. He shed his charcoal sports jacket and turned to reach for her. “Come here, Vivian. I just can’t wait.”
“Mike, you’re going to have to wait a little. I want to talk first. We have something to talk about.”
He looked intently at her.
“Okay, we’ll talk,” he said. “But first I’ll have that beer. This sound serious.”
“It is serious,” she said, knowing there was no going back now as she looked into his curious green eyes.
* * *
Mike took a swallow of his beer. He wondered if she had decided to sell the ranch. He couldn’t figure out why she stayed now. If she did sell it, he wouldn’t care. All along, he’d planned to leave when his three months were up, but that had been before they had slept together. Since that time, he did some rethinking on that and decided he would stay where he was, at least as long as Vivian was in his life. Continuing their affair sounded good to him.
He took another pull on the beer bottle then set it down and looked at her. “What do we need to discuss?”
“I don’t know any way to say it except just to come right out and say it. I was shocked and you’re going to be shocked, too.”
He figured he knew what she was about to say and said it for her. “You’re going to sell the ranch and move back to Dallas.”
To his surprise, she shook her head. “No, not at this time. I may do that in the not-too-distant future, though. No, I have something else to tell you. Mike, I’m pregnant.”
Her words hit him like a lightning bolt. He felt stunned, paralyzed, as if the breath had been knocked out of him. He stared at her and repeated the words, as if doing so would help him process them. “You’re pregnant.”
“Yes, I am. I bought a pregnancy test kit and then I went to see a doctor. I’m definitely pregnant.”
Once more he felt as if he were back in a minefield in Afghanistan. He stood, picked up his beer and walked to the window, just to move around and take a moment to think. She waited in silence and he was thankful for the moment to try to wrap his thoughts around her news. Finally, he turned around to face her.
“I don’t know how shocked you were, but this is not anything I anticipated. I’m going to be a dad. Vivian. That is something I absolutely never expected.”
She sat in a wing chair and sipped her water, waiting quietly, saying nothing, giving him the time he needed to work through the announcement.
“I thought you said you’d had trouble getting pregnant. And we used a condom, always.”
“Right and right. Thane and I wanted a baby, but it just never happened.” She set down her glass and looked up at him. “Mike, I’m financially taken care of. I don’t need anything, so you’re really off the hook, so to speak.”
He took a long drink of beer, more to give himself some time to absorb the news of his change in status than for thirst. He had gotten Vivian pregnant and he was going to be a dad. That had seemed impossible with the protection they had used and the fact that she and Thane had wanted and tried for a baby but she’d never gotten pregnant.
“If you had told me to guess what you were going to tell me, we would have been here until the sun was high tomorrow and I still wouldn’t have come up with the correct answer. Pregnancy is the last possibility I thought might happen.”
“I agree. I felt just as shocked as you must feel because Thane and I wanted a baby so badly. When everything physically checked out as normal, the doctor said I might have been too uptight about it and if I could just relax I might get pregnant. I must have been relaxed with you.”
He couldn’t begin to label the emotions that were running through him. All he could do was state the obvious. “Wow. This is a big one. Our lives will change forever.”
“That’s right. Other than you and Millie and Henry and my doctor, no one knows. I would just as soon keep it that way for a little while until we sort out how we’ll deal with the future.”
“I agree with that one. I want to be able to answer questions.” Then her words finally found their way into his brain. “Millie and Henry? You’ve told them?”
“I guess Henry hasn’t said anything to you yet. Millie is pregnant and not much farther along than I am. I told them I hadn’t told you yet. They’re not going to say anything about it.”
He looked at her. She had turned her head away and was sitting quietly again, giving him more time to think. A baby... Financially, she wouldn’t ever need anything from him, but there was more to raising a baby than money. He thought of his own family, his mother.
He knew what he had to do. Just as he had been raised to believe the man should have the money and be the provider, he also had been raised to believe in shouldering his responsibilities and that if possible, children should have their mother and dad. His mother and dad had instilled strong beliefs in their kids and he didn’t see any choice about it.
He went to her side and squatted down next to her, resting his hands on her forearms. “Vivian, I want to know my baby. I want to watch my child grow up. It seems to me, there’s an obvious solution. Vivian, will you marry me?”
Eight
Vivian stood up and took a step back as she shook her head. “That’s a knee-jerk reaction and no, I will not marry you. Your mom raised four kids by herself. I am financially very well-fixed and I can hire all the help I need and build the kind of house I want and do what I want.”
This wasn’t the reaction to his proposal that Mike was hoping for. He closed the distance between them. “Are you thinking about this baby at all?”
“Definitely,” she replied. “You’re doing exactly what I expected you to do. I knew you’d propose to me tonight.”
“And that’s so terrible? You don’t want a dad for your baby?”
“You’re our baby’s dad, but I don’t want to marry you. You’re proposing to me only because I’m pregnant.”
“Well, hell yes, I am.”
“When I marry again, I want the man who proposes to me to love me. Really love me,” she said softly.
He stared at her a moment. “Vivian—”
“Don’t say you love me when you don’t. You have never declared your love.”
“And you haven’t said you love me. That doesn’t mean we can’t fall in love.”
“Mike,” she said quietly, “when we fall in love and then you ask me if I’ll marry you, I’ll say yes.”
“You’re being ridiculous about this,” he said, trying to hang on to his temper.
“No, I’m not. Now I’m the old-fashioned one who wants to get married because a guy is in love with me. You’re not. If we fall in love later, we can talk about marrying then. Life is tough. Marriages don’t work well where there’s no love. Love can get you through a lot.”
He ran a hand through his hair and blew out a breath, his patience fraying. “I live down the hall from you. We’re living in the same damn house and we’re in the same damn bed a lot of nights. That’s mighty close to being married. If we get married and live the same way we do now, we can raise our baby, fall in love, have more kids, live like normal parents—”
She held up a palm, interrupting his argument. “Are you going to be happy married to me with all my money?”
He stared at her and it was difficult to get his breath. Her logic was skewed as far as he was concerned, but she was right. Her damn money was a problem. He didn’t like it now and he wouldn’t like it tomorrow and he hadn’t liked it since he first drove up to the ranch to see about working for her.
“No, I won’t be happy if you want an honest answer. That is an old-fashioned view. I’m trying to get beyond it and be happy about it like some other guys would be. I can adjust, I think, to having a very wealthy w
ife. I want my baby in my life. I want you in my life. I—”
She closed the space between them to put her finger on his lips. “Shh. Don’t you say you love me, because you don’t.”
Anger blazed in his expression and they stared at each other. Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her, drew her against him and kissed her hard and passionately, leaning over her until she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him in return. His kiss was demanding, thorough, sexy, his lips challenging her to do what his words could not. Forget everything else but the passion between them.
* * *
As he held her, his mouth hard on hers, Vivian’s anger boiled because she loved him and she knew she did. She had fallen in love while he hadn’t and that hurt. He wanted sex. She wanted love and sex. She kissed him, feeling as if she really kissed him goodbye. They would never have the same relationship they’d had before tonight and the news of the baby.
His hand slipped beneath the deep vee of her dress and his fingers stroked her breast through her lacy bra. Desire burned away her anger and she wanted him. She stopped thinking about the future and being pregnant. Instead, she thought about the here and now. Right now, she wanted Mike to make love to her. She wanted to lose herself in hot sex and stop fighting and quit worrying about tomorrow and next month and nine months from now.
He must have wanted the same thing because he picked her up and carried her to a downstairs bedroom. He shoved the door closed and in minutes they were both naked. He picked her up to place her on the bed and then he moved over her, between her legs, coming down to enter her in one smooth motion.
Crying out in passion, she wrapped her legs around him and arched against him. While he thrust into her, she ran her hands over his back and his butt, tugging him against her as she thrashed beneath him. Finally, she arched her back and let her climax burst through her. Almost at the same time, he shuddered with his own release.
