On a Whim
Page 3
“I can’t do it.” She pushed at his chest, her eyes flashing when he didn’t budge.
He arched one brow. “So let me get this straight. I’m offering to father your child, no strings, as you’ve always wanted our relationship to be—and for some reason, you can’t do it.”
“That’s right.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want to have a baby with you.” She pushed at him again. “Damn it Chad, move!”
But he didn’t, or rather he did, just not in the direction she’d wanted him to move.
She gasped when he closed the distance between them, his body pressing against hers, so that she could feel the hard ridge of his burgeoning cock, the muscled planes of his chest, his abdomen. Goosebumps instantly broke out across her flesh as warmth churned in her belly.
“You don’t want to have my baby?”
“That’s what I said,” she snapped, but it lacked power given the slight trembling of her voice. Damn it, why did he have to suck the air right out of the room whenever he was so close to her.
“I don’t believe you.” And she didn’t believe herself either when he dipped his head to kiss her cheek, her neck, the bare skin of her shoulder.
“Especially not when you know how much fun we’d have making this child,” he whispered, tugging down the strap to her tank top. Fun. Oh yes. They would have lots of fun making a baby—no—NO—she was not even supposed to be considering this, not even thinking about it, but then he captured one nipple between his fingers and she simply forgot how to think altogether.
She called his name, and he whispered hers, and somehow all their clothes managed to disappear under five point two seconds.
Naked and trembling in his arms, Chad seized her lips with his, his tongue probing deep inside, tasting her, until she was shivering with need.
He lowered her to the plush carpet of her living room floor and covered her with his body, her legs wrapping around him, to cradle him close.
Heat wormed its way through her, tightening her nipples, causing her cunt to fill with the juices of her arousal. Their hands were everywhere, searching, caressing, stroking. It had been so long. Three whole damn months since they’d been like this, and her body ached for him.
“I missed you,” she whispered, shocked that she’d revealed something that would leave her so vulnerable, so bare before him, but it was the truth.
The look on his face told her he was just as shocked as she, but then he smiled. He cupped her cheek with one hand as he settled the tip of his cock at her entrance and began to push inside.
“I missed you too,” he groaned as he thrust into the deep, wet tunnel of her pussy, pushing past the clenching muscles of her sex that clamped around him.
He filled her up, and she stretched to accept him, to accommodate his thick hard length.
He moved inside her, back and forth, the rhythm, hard and hurried, his brutal strokes, driving her deeper into the carpeted floor.
“Maia,” he whispered, his cock pummelling inside her, his warm breath tickling her skin.
She closed her eyes, her head thrown back as she threw her pussy at him, sending his shaft tunnelling deeper and deeper inside her.
“Oh God. Oh God,” she cried out over and over again, her orgasm building steadily until she was nearly mindless with pleasure, so mindless that she almost forgot.
She could feel him growing harder inside her, and already her body was beginning to quiver.
“Chad,” she gasped. “You have to pull out. I’m not on the Pill anymore—”
He thrust into her harder, brushing against her g-spot, triggering her orgasm. She moaned loudly, her nails digging into the flesh of his shoulders, but even as she experienced heaven, she still struggled to stop him before he could—
“You have to stop,” she panted. “If you don’t—”
He drove into her one last time, burying his shaft deep, as he exploded inside her, his warm semen flooding her. “But I do,” he groaned, his body trembling above her, inside her, as he pumped stream after stream of his seed into her until he collapsed atop her body.
“I do,” he whispered, and she held him to her feeling all warm and tingly inside at the thought that she and Chad could have just made a baby. And yet, even in the midst of her heady euphoria, she couldn’t ignore the tiny voice that nagged at her.
What had she just done?
Chapter Two
Chad held her to him, their limbs entwined, as they lay stretched out across the floor. She listened to the hammering of Chad’s heart beneath her ear, her fingers absently stroking the sprinkling of hair on his chest.
“Don’t you think we should try?”
She lifted her head. “Try? For a baby?”
He grinned. “Yes, for a baby. Isn’t that what we were just talking about?”
She shook her head, hating how a tendril of heat spiked low in her belly at the vision of her holding a baby in her arms, with Chad’s playful dimples, his twinkling green eyes. She shook herself again, pulling out of Chad’s embrace.
“I can’t,” she said weakly.
He frowned as he stood beside her. “Why not?
“I already told you why not,” she argued, as she threw on her clothes. “Because it’s complicated.”
He followed suit, dragging on his clothes with jerky movements and she knew he was frustrated with her when he shoved a hand through his hair.
“I don’t get it, Maia. You say you want a baby. I come here offering to have one with you. I promise no strings, no romantic entanglements, as you’ve always wanted, and yet, you still say this would be complicated. I don’t get you.”
He kept saying that—no strings, no complications. But she knew it would be complicated. Her feelings for Chad would be complication enough.
He sighed as he grabbed his jacket. “You say you’ve already considered me, but I want you to at least think about it again. At the end of the day, we have been friends for years. We know each other, trust each other, and we would make good parents. Ask yourself, do you really want some stranger to father your child when you don’t have to?”
With that, he slipped out the door, leaving her to consider his words and the very real possibility that she could already be pregnant.
* * * *
When Maia got her period two weeks later, she of course, discovered that she was not pregnant, but the intensity of Chad’s words had not dimmed.
They were all she could think about, especially now, as she sat in the waiting room of the fertility clinic. She’d made an appointment with the head fertility specialist to go over the entire process one last time, and discuss when she could begin.
This was now her fourth time visiting the clinic, to ask questions, to mull over her decision. But after today, after this meeting, there would be no more discussions. She would be put on a treatment schedule and the process of conceiving a child would begin.
She’d been excited that morning—she was about to take that next step. And yet, Chad’s words still nagged her, the ringing in her ears growing louder the closer she got to the clinic. Was she really going to do this? Could she really have a baby by a stranger when Chad was prepared to do this with her? With Chad, she wouldn’t have to do this alone, he’d be there with her every step of the way. He’d ease her fears, reassure her through the entire process, he’d—
“Maia Lee.”
Maia started at the sound of her name, until she remembered where she was. She gave the nurse a shaky smile as she crossed the waiting room to where the woman stood, holding the door propped open with a clipboard in her hand.
“The doctor will see you now.”
Maia nodded as she followed behind the woman, her heels clicking down the hallway. She blew out a long breath when the nurse ushered her into one of the patient rooms.
This was it.
* * * *
Chad was just finishing up a phone call with one of his clients when Maia burst into hi
s office with his assistant in tow.
The stocky older woman glared at Maia’s back, her militant face twisted into a dark scowl.
“I told her you were busy, Mr. Buchanan.”
He nodded with a sigh. “Thank you Mrs. Waltman. I’ll handle this.” She hesitated for just a second before she twisted on the heels of her practical, conservative black flats and stomped out with a huff.
As soon as the door closed behind his secretary, he looked at Maia. He hadn’t heard from her in two weeks, so he was more than a little surprised to see her. After a couple of days passed he’d just assumed she’d disregarded his offer, and moved full steam ahead with her original plan. But he’d held out hope that she’d change her mind. He’d also harboured the hope that maybe their one time together would be enough—that maybe she already carried his child.
He leant back in his chair, and clasped his fingers together, waiting for Maia to reveal the reason she’d barreled into his office in the middle of the day.
“You were right. I can’t do it.”
He arched one brow. “You can’t do what?” He asked, although he already knew, and he had to take a deep breath to keep his heart from racing out of control.
“You know what,” she said in a rush. “I sat at that clinic today just thinking of how I didn’t want to do this alone, not when I didn’t have to.” The look she gave him was intense, unwavering and his gut tightened at what he glimpsed in her eyes. “If you still want to have a baby with me, I—I…”
He stood up from his chair and crossed the room, cupping her cheek in his hand when her voice trailed off. “You what, Maia?” He asked quietly. “Say it.”
Chad swore the air in his lungs didn’t move as he waited—waited for her to say the words that he knew would change their lives.
“I want you to be the father of my child,” she said in a soft voice, so low he had to struggle to make out the words, but he heard them nonetheless.
A spike of heat caught him low in the gut as he smiled. She looked so vulnerable, so uncertain—she looked as if she thought he would say no. In all the years he’d known her, Maia was rarely vulnerable, rarely uncertain of anything, but something had changed inside her these past months, something that had softened her, that had made her let down her guard just a tiny bit.
“If you still want to,” she rushed to add when he didn’t speak. “It’s been two weeks, I understand if you’ve changed your mind.”
“I haven’t changed my mind.” He dipped his head to press his lips to hers in a gentle kiss, inhaling the sweet scent of her, mixed with jasmine and wildflowers—the same perfume she’d worn the day they’d met, and every day since.
Her lips were warm against his, and already he felt his body tightening even with just the innocent peck. He ached to surrender to his desires, lock the door, and ride her sweet body atop his desk, but he was expecting a client in fifteen minutes.
Reluctantly, he lifted his head with a low groan, and he had to bite back another at the glimmer of moisture shimmering in her eyes.
“Thank you,” she whispered and he didn’t bother asking her for what because he already knew, but he didn’t want her thanks. What he wanted from Maia was so much more—far more. He wanted her and their child—a package deal and it frustrated him to no end that Maia refused to see that when he knew deep down she wanted the same thing too or else she wouldn’t be there.
* * * *
Two weeks later, Maia was seated behind the wheel of her car, zooming down the highway on her way to Chad’s cabin up in Stone Mountain.
She still couldn’t believe this was happening, that Chad had actually agreed to father her child. But he had, and he’d gone so far as to make it official by having it all written out on paper.
They’d drawn up a very straightforward contract regarding their arrangement, from the issues of custody to child support payments. Everything had been pretty standard—even the conditions for conception. They’d spend one week together up at his cabin, during the time of her ovulation period—and if that didn’t work, they’d meet one weekend of every month until she conceived.
Yes, perfectly neat and clean cut, exactly how Maia liked her life. No strings, no drama, just completely straightforward—or at least that’s what she kept chanting to herself as she neared Chad’s cabin, lest she forget herself by letting her nagging feelings for Chad ruin what was otherwise a perfect arrangement.
Maia slowed down her car as she made her way up the mountain. The lush green forest, had given way to the splashing rainbow of colour that came with autumn. Leaves were just starting to fall, the air turning colder as the winter months approached.
Maia’s car rolled over the last ridge and she came to a stop in the driveway beside Chad’s SUV. Cutting the engine she piled out of the driver’s side and popped the trunk.
She heard the front door open and glanced up as Chad ambled towards her, dressed in a fitted flannel shirt and a pair of jeans that were slung low on his hips. Her heart skipped a beat when he winked at her, a lopsided grin on his face.
“I’ll get your luggage. Go inside. I just finished making lunch.”
She flashed him a smile. “Thanks.”
Maia climbed the three steps to the porch and walked inside his cabin.
She’d been up here many times with Chad, and she’d come to look forward to their trips to his mountain refuge. She always enjoyed a quiet serenity when she was at his cabin, with its earthy décor, hand woven rugs, and the intricately crafted stone fireplace. That’s why she’d suggested his cabin instead of spending a week at her condo or his home, or even on some tropical vacation, as he’d offered. She wanted them to conceive their child in a place where there were no distractions, no interruptions—a place that was familiar and comfortable to her. Up here, it was just them, and the quiet tranquility of nature.
She shrugged off her coat, casting it aside as she sat down on the plush, wool rug in front of the fireplace, warming her hands before the dancing heat of the fire.
Chad returned with her luggage and set it down by the door, before slowly making his way towards her.
The look in his eyes made every muscle in her body tighten. Damn, no man but Chad had ever had such an instant effect on her. With just a single look, her body awakened.
“You’re not hungry?” He asked as he plopped down beside her.
She shook her head. “Not now. Maybe later.”
His eyes darkened as he moved closer, and she bit back a gasp when he shot out his hand to trace the full curve of her bottom lip with his thumb.
“For some reason, I thought we would eat lunch, then talk, maybe watch a bit of TV.”
She frowned at the expression on his face. He seemed almost nervous. “Why?” She noticed her voice was huskier, the desire that fanned in her belly causing her breaths to come out as tiny pants. “Why would we eat, or talk, or watch anything when, really, we’re only up here to do one thing.”
He quirked his lips into a half grin. “I don’t know. I didn’t want it to seem as if I was going to jump you as soon as you walked in the door.”
She laughed at that image. When they were up here, they usually spent the entire time doing nothing but making love, but now all of a sudden when that was their only purpose for being here, he wanted to fill their time with other distractions.
She didn’t think so.
She cupped the back of his head with her hand. “And what if I want you to jump me?” She whispered with a teasing lilt as she leant in to capture his lips. She didn’t add that jumping him at the first chance she got had pretty much been on her mind the entire drive there.
He groaned against her mouth, dragging her into his embrace, and she clasped her arms around him, holding him close.
His tongue dueled with hers, their kiss deepening as they clung to each other, their bodies meshing together.
He gathered her to him, and with gentle movements, he pushed her down until she was stretched out across the rug, with hi
s body atop hers. Heat radiated from the fireplace, but it paled in comparison to the flames that burned inside her as he kissed her with an urgency that curled her toes.
Chad’s hands were everywhere as he easily tugged her clothes from her body, leaving her quivering and naked beneath him. His lips left hers to trace a path along her frame, gently kissing his way across her bare skin. She tangled her fingers in his hair, her thighs falling apart when he settled between her legs, his mouth poised at the entrance to her sex.
He lifted his head ever so slightly, and their eyes met. Her heart stuttered in her chest at the look in his eyes—predatory, intense, full of an emotion she refused to name. Her next breath caught in her throat as he slid his tongue through the wet folds of her pussy, his eyes never leaving her.
She called his name, her fingers digging into his scalp as she held him to her while he devoured her with his mouth. A throbbing ball of desire curled in her belly and she rolled her hips, her body shivering as his mouth brought her to the brink of climax over and over again, before he would then pull away, his warm breath tickling her sensitive skin as he chuckled.