The Baby Pact

by Riley Rollins

  “And I could beg you not to kill the father of your children,” he shot back, pulling a handful of my hair back and kissing my mouth roughly. “Plus, I am still technically your boss, too, you know…

  But I think I like this dominant side of you…”

  I bit into his lip and felt his cock raging between my legs. “Do you?” I asked, leaning forward, reaching underneath my pillow, searching with my hand for what I wanted. He caught one hard nipple in his teeth and sucked without mercy. I’d already soaked his cock and the sheets underneath us. I sat back, dizzy with desire and held up the ribbon in my hand. “Then you won’t mind if I tie you?”

  I shifted back, without waiting for an answer, and slipped the thick ribbon around the base of his cock and pulled it tight. His shaft, already huge, grew bigger with every beat of his heart. He picked me up by the waist as if I weighed nothing, and held me over his dripping head.

  “Tie me all you want, sweetheart,” he replied darkly, licking his lips. “But I’ll make you beg for it, just the same.” He held me as my pussy squeezed a long ribbon of silky wetness down to his cock… and I felt it cool underneath me. “Beg me, Angel…,” he said. “I can wait as long as it takes…”

  But I had no such patience. I moaned his name and all my needs. And he filled every one of them. He didn’t stop until my throbbing clit was stroking the rough, wet texture of the ribbon that bound him. He held my hips in his hands, grinding me against him, rocking me forward and back, up and down his shaft… movements that made me dizzy with pure pleasure and building excitement. He rocked my breasts against his mouth, his lips, his chest. He bit and licked, sucked and teased until I was only a breath away from orgasm. He’d always made me come easily… and with our baby inside me, it seemed to happen even faster. “It’s right there,” he whispered in my ear. He bit into the lobe and I felt everything inside me clench down. “I can feel it inside you.” He put his hand on my belly.

  “My climax?” I gasped, digging my nails into his hard back.

  “The love between us,” he answered, pushing in… pushing us both over the edge. “Family… our child…,” he gasped out as he began spilling hotly inside me… “Our miracle baby…

  Just under the surface…”

  “I’ve never been so happy in my life,” I said to Mattie.

  The week Will had agreed to give me had gone by in a flash. But with Mattie’s help, and Donna’s, everything was finally ready. I turned, looking into the mirror, and sighed with satisfaction. There were no more doubts anymore, no hesitation left inside me… I belonged to Will, heart and soul…

  My dress was ankle-length, long enough to cover most of my cast, and made of cream-colored silk that rustled softly with every movement. And I wore the gold and diamond bracelets he’d given me. Just the mere touch of them against my skin made a hunger surge inside me, in anticipation of the night to come… Mattie adjusted the pearl tiara in my hair and a hot blush swept over me. The boxes, I remembered… for the playroom… We hadn’t had a chance to unpack them… yet…

  She grinned and turned me around to face her. “You sure as hell have your glow on,” she said. She closed one eye and looked at me critically. Then she loosened another curl and let it fall over my shoulder. “Perfect, damn you. I never saw any woman in the throes of morning sickness look so good. And I don’t remember those pink cheeks when Violet was on the way…”

  “I didn’t have Will in my life back then,” I said, taking her hands. She’d chosen a bright red dress for herself, the color of her hair. She was beautiful, too. Perfectly and beautifully herself. “I never would have made it to this day without you, you know.” I said, suddenly emotional.

  “Bullshit,” she replied, practically. “It just wouldn’t have been as much fun.”

  There was a soft tap at the door. Donna opened it, poking her head in, then leading Violet into the room ahead of her. “Oh my God, baby…” I knelt down to her and reached out my arms. “Look how beautiful you are,” I breathed. I touched the tiny string of violets in her dark hair, the soft chiffon of her lavender dress, and looked up at Donna. “How can I ever begin to thank you both…” I said, my voice breaking.

  “By not spoiling your makeup by getting all weepy, that’s how,” Mattie said. “It’s not like we’re never going to see each other again. Rex found us a loft that’s only twenty minutes away from your place in the city, and Will said the boat and even the helicopter are at our disposal.”

  Donna nodded. “And I’ll be seeing Vi almost every day for her sessions,” she added, her plump face all smiles. “This isn’t the end of anything, honey. It’s the beginning of the whole world…”

  The three of us locked in an embrace, bound forever by the strength of our love and devotion to each other. Will had been right… Love is what makes family…

  “Time’s up.” His resonant voice came through the door. “I know the groom isn’t supposed to see the bride until she walks down the aisle, but since I’m the one carrying her…”

  He opened the door and I watched him exhale, all the air seeming to leave his massive chest. He looked at me like no one ever looked at me before. Like I was the beginning and the end of his whole world. I certainly knew he was for me. He taught me how to love, how to trust. He’d shown me that everyone needs something, someone to have faith in. I’d wanted him from the day I’d first seen him. I’d loved him from the night he first danced with me. I’d belonged to him from the moment he’d first touched me. This incredible man had given me permission to find my own strength… and the courage to own it. He’d given me back my heart.

  He bent down and swept Violet up into his arms, then he caught me against his chest and kissed me in a way that threatened to undo all the careful work Mattie had done. “You made me a father twice over, my sinful little angel,” he breathed against my lips. “Are you finally ready to make me a husband, too? My patience is starting to run out,” he threatened.

  “Six more months to fatherhood again,” I said tangling my fingers in his thick, dark hair. “But only another minute right now.

  There’s just one more thing I need to do…”

  44

  Will

  I watched as she pulled a long satin sash out of the dresser drawer and handed it to me. The others had already slipped downstairs, taking Violet with them so we could be alone. If everything went according to plan, our daughter would be playing the music that would lead us out to the garden where the minister waited. I could hear Harry’s rambunctious kids playing in the grass and smiled.

  I took the sash from her hands and slipped it around her waist, using it to pull her close. Her breasts spilled over the top of her gown, growing more and more luscious by the day. I buried my face in her scent… the scent I loved so much, her hair… her neck… “I’m using this later, you know,” I warned her, my voice low and thick with desire. I tied it around her waist, looping it into a bow and letting the ends trail down in back.

  “I’m counting on it,” she breathed, biting into my lip until I wanted to gather up her skirt and take her right there… “And then I’ll be using it on you,” she said, through her teeth. “You made me beg, sweetheart… And one good turn always deserves another…”

  “Now I’m counting on it,” I breathed back as she let me go. “You’ve answered every prayer… given me every dream…,” I said, holding her, touching her, almost unable to believe she was real. “There isn’t anything more I could ever want more than this moment… than having you in my arms, Angel. I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you what you mean to me.” I held her face between my palms and kissed her like the precious gift she was. “If I can make you happy, our children happy… I’ll be the happiest, the luckiest man alive.”

  And she smiled at me as the music started. I watched her eyes sparkle… as the song began to register. I could see it on her face that she recognized it. I nodded, and swept her off her feet and into my arms.

  “Oh my God… It’s the piece from t
he hospital,” she said, looking up at me, her arms around my neck. “The one you hummed to her… and she remembers it…

  It’s the song that brought her back to us…”

  We’d planned for Violet to stand between us. But she’d continued to play throughout the ceremony instead.

  It had been short and beautiful. We had said our own vows, spoken straight from the heart. And Violet played very softly while we were speaking. She looked, not at us, but out over the water… as if she was miles away.

  I remembered little after the I do’s… except for the color of Angel’s eyes and the love that shined out from them. Every time I realized anew that my child was inside her, growing larger and stronger every day, I loved her more. And I knew, that if every man had the chance to feel this way, even once in his whole life, it would be the end of violence, of hatred, of war. Because man wasn’t made to hurt or to destroy. He was made to love… the way I loved Angel. And he was meant to protect those he loves… the way I would protect my family to the end of my days. I saw… truly saw… beneath the surface for the very first time. And I was both strengthened and humbled by what I found there… In a quiet, private moment, I stood with my wife in my arms, close to our daughter, and looked out over the water, too.

  “Why blue,” I asked, turning her to face me, turning the satin of her sash in my fingers. “It was always a pink sash for us…”

  Violet stopped playing and came over to where we stood. She raised her arms up to me, and I shot a questioning look at her mother. This had never happened before…

  Angel’s eyes were wide with wonder as I leaned down and picked up our little girl. She was light as a feather. Delicate looking, like her mother, but I knew the true strength underneath…

  She wrapped her arms around my neck and looked at my face for a long time. She looked to her mother, and back to me. She touched her own dark hair and then put her little fingers to mine, as if she was putting the puzzle together. She pointed to her mother’s lovely eyes, sparkling with unshed tears, and touched her fingertip to her own face.

  “Blue eyes,” I said, almost unable to manage the words. “You have dark hair like Daddy… and blue eyes like your mother…” My voice cracked in sweet, sweet pain. “Because you’re part of us, Violet. Because we made you out of love.”

  “And my sash is blue… for little boys,” Angel said, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. “Because Mommy and Daddy have made a baby brother for you, sweetheart.”

  And the love I felt, already more than I could contain, spilled out in laughter and gratitude and tears. It was reflected back in Angel’s eyes… the promise of the night ahead of us, and the future that spread wide and far beyond.

  Violet watched us both, her wise eyes shifting between us. She could feel, I was sure, the emotion… and in her own way she was struggling to understand… She pointed a finger out toward the ocean, the question showing in her eyes.

  “Yes, sweetheart,” Angelina said, “blue is for water, too.”

  I smiled, love and pride bursting from my chest. “Blue is for water… and for my son,” I said to her. “He’ll be your little brother, Violet, and you’ll be his big sister. We’ll take care of him, you and I, because it’s our job. The way you take care of Miri, and Mommy takes care of you…”

  She stared at the water for a long time and pointed her finger again. I started to give her the word she wanted… but she pursed her lips and took in a breath… I held mine…

  “Boo,” she said softly.

  I looked from her to her mother’s streaming face. Violet shifted her eyes to her mother’s face and pointed again…

  She smiled in the gentlest way, as if she was still very far away and inhaled softly, almost like the sound of a sigh, or a wave breaking the surface… Her finger turned away from the ocean,

  and reached out for her mother’s wet cheek and luminous blue eyes…

  “... Mah… mma…”

  45

  Epilogue

  Violet

  My wedding day

  “And that’s the way we fell in love,” Mama finished, adjusting her pearl tiara on my dark curls.

  She stood back and smiled, her face so full of emotions. She reached out for my hand, but looked beyond me, over my shoulder to watch the blue, rolling sea. She took a deep breath and exhaled, quiet now… but I could tell there were still words behind her eyes. Mama has the deepest eyes I’ve ever seen.

  I knew she hadn’t told me everything…

  “So you knew right away?” I asked. “The same way Henry and I did?”

  And it was okay… because I understand now that every love has its secrets…

  “Just the same, sweetheart,” she answered, putting her palm against my cheek. “He took me in his arms and danced with me… and nothing in my life was ever the same.” She kissed my forehead. “I knew when he kissed me… that we were made for each other. He gave me you… and your brother… Your father has always put the beat in my heart,” she said softly, her eyes shining as she stood up and put her shoulders back bravely.

  “Now,” she said, composing herself, “I’ve gone on too long already.” She reached out and smoothed one of my curls. “I should probably get downstairs and send Daddy up. He’s waiting to walk you down that aisle… and I’ve never seen him so nervous. The last time I checked, he was pacing a bare spot into the carpet… And I expect Aunt Mattie needs some help rounding up the twins…” She paused, as the strength of her emotion suddenly pulled her back to me.

  “You are the most beautiful bride, the most amazing daughter,” she burst out, overflowing suddenly, tears spotting the front of her dress. “You know how much we love you, sweetheart. And we love your Henry just as much.” She smiled at me, her face wet and shining. “He’s family too now, you know. And we’ll always be here for you, for both of you… no matter what…”

  “I know, Mama,” I answered, wiping her tears away. “Just like you’ve always been.” I glanced away, feeling shy for a moment and she headed for the door.

  “Mama?”

  “Yes, baby?” she turned…

  “I love you, too,” I said simply, “for everything you’ve done for me, for my whole life, Mama… For your strength of will… for believing in me…”

  And we shared a long silent moment, the way we did when I was little. We had never really needed words to understand each other’s hearts, for the deepest things are often the ones that need no words at all.

  She nodded, bright-eyed, smiling at me with all the courage and power of a mother’s love and slipped out, closing the door behind her.

  Mama had always told me, from the time I was just a little girl, that I was part of their love story.

  But it was only when Henry gave me my first kiss on prom night under the stars… that I finally began to truly understand about the hidden depths that exist between a man and a woman… and how it feels to have something secret that belongs to the two of you alone. I saw it in Henry’s eyes that night. And I saw it in my own, when I looked into the mirror after he’d brought me home. It was the same sweet mystery I’d always seen in my parents’ eyes when they looked at each other, and my first real awareness of the beautiful, exciting world beneath the surface of love.

  Henry is my best friend, my whole world, the music in my heart. He’s the only man I’ve ever kissed, and the only one I ever will. He’s a gentle man who understands me, who understands all the things that words aren’t powerful enough to say. He listens to me… but he understands my silences, too. He should, for we practically grew up together as students at Aunt Donna’s school. Then we transitioned together into the mainstream by middle school, and have been completely inseparable ever since. I can’t remember a time in my life before him, and I can’t imagine a life without him. We’ll be living in the cottage for a little while after the wedding, but only until he’s worked out the final details of the concert tour. I’m still a little nervous, but he’s confident that I’m ready… and just looki
ng into his eyes makes me feel courageous…

  I smoothed the creamy silk of Mama’s wedding gown over my knees and looked into the mirror at my reflection. Daddy’s dark hair and Mama’s blue eyes. The same sprinkling of freckles as my brother, David. My family, the loves of my life… but then so is the man I’m about to marry. On my finger, his diamond caught the light, and sparkled with flame and passion… promise and love.

  And if there was anything in the whole world I understood, it was love. I’d had my whole life to learn from my parents what it looks like, how it feels. I saw the way they looked at each other, felt the way the air crackled between them when he took her in his arms and she laughed with sweet pleasure. Love is the way they looked at my little brother the day he was born. And it was the way Daddy sat beside me at the piano, and wrote down my notes as I played them. Love is the way they nurtured me until I was able to grow beyond my own limitations, and it’s what taught me how to share my music with the whole world. Love is what they gave to me my entire life, without reservation, even when I wasn’t able to express it in return.

  And after twenty-five years, my parents still share the same passion, the same pure devotion, the same bond between them that I remember growing up. It’s like something secret ties them, one heart to the other. And it knows no bounds. It’s the same for Henry and me. And tonight, we’ll learn together, for the very first time, what that love really means. I’ll take care of him… and he’ll take care of me. He’s the one man in the world I know I can trust with my whole heart. And I know I’ll always be safe in his arms.