by Tina Martin
“Baby steps. Start with your mother first. I asked you to call her a few days ago and I assume you haven’t done it.”
Felicity sighed. “Regal, I’ll call her on my own time.”
He shook his head. “No. Call her today when you go to the office.”
“Why?”
“Because as your husband, I’m requesting that you do so.”
“Ugh…okay. I’ll think about it.”
“Good,” he said, still looking at her. She was a stubborn little thang he realized. He had to shake her out of that.
After she finished eating, she said, “I should probably get going now.”
“Yeah, me too,” he said standing up.
“You gotta go get all decked out in one of your fancy suits first,” she teased.
“Yep.” He walked around the table to where she’d just stood up, then reached for her hand to escort her to the car.
Once there, he asked, “Are you coming back after work?”
“I don’t know yet. Why?” She stared into his dreamy, dark eyes.
“Because I want to see you again at some point today.”
“I’m not sure how late I’ll be working, so—”
“I’ll call you later and we’ll make some arrangements.”
“That’ll work.”
“Okay.”
He leaned down, took a long, deep kiss like this would be his last time seeing her. “Drive safe,” he said, opening the door for her.
“I will.”
Chapter 32
She had to keep her guard up, she knew, but that didn’t stop her from floating all the way home. She showered again and put on a black skirt with a ruffled purple blouse and slapped a few curls in her hair. She pulled up to her office building and hummed a song up the elevator to Wedded Bliss’ suite.
“Hey, girl,” Zandra greeted her. “I was surprised when you told me to open up shop today. Where have you been?”
At my man’s house. Felicity smiled. “What do you mean, where have I been? I told you I was going to take a break.”
“It must’ve been a good break. You can’t get the smile off of your face and your office is filled with an inventory of roses from your new hubby. I got a morning workout taking them to your office.”
“What are you talking about?” Felicity asked but when she stepped inside of her office, she saw exactly what Zandra was talking about. Her desk was covered with bouquets of red roses.
“You’ve decided to take this marriage thing seriously I see.”
“After everything that happened yesterday, yes I am. He genuinely cares for me.”
“I’d say. I can’t get a man to give me one, single raggedy rose, and you got eight dozen.”
Felicity’s cheeks turned blush red. “Gosh, I have to call him, but I feel like all of this is happening so fast and at the wrong time. I have to call DHHS and the private investigator and then Regal wants me to call my mother—I have so much on my plate right now.”
“And from the looks of it, you have one of the most accomplished men in Charlotte on your team.”
A smile came to her face. “Yeah. I do.”
“Hey, ain’t nothing wrong with a lil’ help. You let a brother like him roll up on me. I’ll be all over that.”
“I’m sure you would, Zandra.”
“But anyway, let’s get down to biz. Your client, Danella, called to let you know she no longer needs your services.”
“O-M-G! I forgot all about Danella. Why did she cancel?”
“Something about working things out with her ex.”
“Figures…any other updates?”
“No. You do have some new prospective clients. I sent you an email with names and contact information.”
“Okay. Thanks, Zan.”
“No problem, Mrs. St. Claire,” Zandra said then winked.
Felicity felt knots form in her stomach at the sound of Zandra calling her that. She looked at the roses on her desk and smiled. She’d call Regal to thank him but first, she wanted to follow up with Tucker.
“Piedmont Investigations,” a woman answered.
“Hi. Is Tucker available?”
“No, ma’am but he’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“Can I take a message?”
“No. I’ll just call back. Thank you.”
As soon as she hung up, a text came through from Regal.
Regal: Rub-a-Dub…where you at baby?
Felicity laughed.
Felicity: LOL! Something is really wrong with you.
Regal: You’re right. Something IS wrong.
Felicity: What’s that?
Regal: Your boy over here going through withdrawals because I miss my girl. Her name is WB, and she got a fatty. Do you know her?
Felicity: Nope.
Regal: I got a feeling you do. Oh, and FYI, from this point forward, W.B. stands for Wild Baby
Felicity: I’m wild now?
Regal: Yes you are. I got the footage to prove it.
Felicity: You what?!
Regal: I’m kidding. You get the roses?
Felicity: I did. They’re beautiful. Thank you.
Regal: You’re welcome. So, listen, I’m not going to beat around the bush. I want to see you tonight and by ‘see you’ I mean I want to beat around ‘your’ bush and test the strength of your bed. I put an extra suit in the whip so I can spend the night with you. What do you say?
Felicity: Did you really just type that you want to ‘beat around my bush’?
Regal: Yeah. That wasn’t auto-correct.
Felicity: SMH…
Regal: Don’t shake your head. Gimmie an answer. Can I have some wedded bliss?
Felicity: Um…
Regal: Ummmm…what? You said you want a thug don’t be scared now.
She burst out in laughter.
Felicity: You’re silly. LMBO.
Regal: For real though. All kidding aside. I want you.
Felicity: Regal…
Regal: I do. Can I come thru or what?
Felicity: Yes, you can come thru
Regal: :-) I’ll bring some dinner. We’ll have each other for dessert.
Felicity: Okay, now go do some work.
Regal: See you later Wild Baby
Felicity felt heated all over anticipating being with him again. The roses, his playful demeanor, his good looks – she could get used to having him around and from the looks of it, she would have him. Permanently.
Chapter 33
Thanks to the stellar investigative services of Tucker, Regal had the address for Dahlia James – Felicity’s mother. He’d already sent her flowers, saying they were from Felicity in hopes of softening the tension that separated them over the years. Felicity had yet to call her so maybe it wasn’t enough of an icebreaker.
Today, he wanted to meet the woman in person, so he drove to her house shortly after lunch and when she answered the door, he said, “Hi. Are you Dahlia James?”
“Who wants to know?”
“I’m Regal St. Claire. I know your daughter. Felicity. May I have a word with you, please?”
“Sure. Come in.”
Regal stepped inside of the house and upon entering, he saw a little girl come running down the hallway toward him. He didn’t have to ask if she was Rayne. She looked just like her mother – a mini version of Felicity – with two, long ponytails.
The little girl stopped and angled her head to look up at him.
“Hi,” she said.
He smiled. “Hi.”
“Are you my daddy?” she asked.
Her sweet, little face glowed with confusion and optimism. Regal chuckled. “You’re not shy, are you?”
“No, she’s not,” Dahlia said. “Rayne, sweetie, you can’t just run up to someone and ask a question like that, lil’ girl.”
“It’s okay, Ms. James,” Regal said. He kneeled so he was on the same level as Rayne and said, “Yes, I’m your daddy.”
Rayne’s eyes
grew big. She attempted to wrap her arms around him and squeeze. Then, up close and staring right into his face, she looked at him, familiarizing herself with his features. “I knew you would come to get me. I told you he would come, Grandma.”
“I brought some toys for you,” Regal told her. “I’ll get them out of the car before I leave.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie.”
“Okay, Rayne, go back to your room for a minute so I can talk to Mr. St. Claire. Okay?”
“Okay,” she said, obediently following instructions.
Dahlia looked at Regal and asked, “Have you lost your mind? Why would you tell her something like that? You’re not her father.”
“Felicity is my wife so I may as well be her father.”
“Wife? Felicity got married?”
“She did,” Regal said, holding up his left hand so Dahlia could see the ring.
“Oh, my—” Her eyes teared. “I didn’t think my daughter would ever find love. We’ve damaged her. Me and her father. We weren’t a good example for her. To be honest with you, Mr. St. Claire—”
“Call me Regal.”
“Okay, Regal. To be honest with you, our relationship has been nonexistent for a while now. I don’t know why Felicity sent me flowers. I was completely shocked when I got them.”
“Why didn’t you call her and thank her for them? Maybe that could’ve opened up the lines of communication again.”
“I don’t have her number anymore and even if I did, she wouldn’t want to hear from me.”
“Is that why you haven’t told her you’re Rayne’s foster mother? Because you think she doesn’t want to hear from you?”
“She doesn’t,” the woman sniffled.
“I got news for you, Ms. James. Felicity has been looking for Rayne. Why wouldn’t you tell her you’ve had Rayne all this time?”
“Because I didn’t want her to know until I knew she was ready to take her and raise her. There’s no way I was going to let my grandchild be tossed into the foster care system and end up with God knows who. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“If you could be there to take Rayne as a baby, why couldn’t you have been there to help Felicity when she was making the torturous decision to give her up? As a mother, she needed you in that moment.”
“You’re right. She did.” She sighed. “Things were so strained between us.”
“I guess I don’t understand that. You’re her mother.”
“Yes, I am her mother, but if you know my daughter, Regal, you know how stubborn she is.”
“Yes, I do. I also know she uses that stubbornness as a protection for her soul because she’s lost so much. She lost you, her father, her daughter’s father and then her daughter. She needs so much nurturing, so much love and I’m trying my hardest to give her all of that, but I can’t fill the role of you, her father and I certainly cannot replace the emptiness in her heart where her daughter is supposed to be. So, here’s what I want to know from you, Ms. James. I want to know, first of all, that you will be willing to transfer custody of Rayne to Felicity.”
“I would. She needs her mother. I’ve always looked at myself as a temporary mother to her. I love my granddaughter and I want what’s best for her. Felicity is what’s best for her.”
Regal nodded. “I’m going to do my best to get Felicity comfortable with at least talking to you again.”
“Why? Why are you doing all of this?”
“Because I love your daughter very much, Ms. James. Felicity is a phenomenal woman and all I want is for her to be happy. I know for a fact that she won’t be happy until she has her daughter back.”
“I’m looking forward to working things out with her,” Dahlia said. “I don’t want this rift between us any longer. I miss my daughter.”
“I have a feeling she misses you, too.” Regal smiled. “I’m going to get Rayne’s toys out of the car. You don’t mind that I bought some things for her do you?”
“Not at all. I really appreciate it and I know she does.”
“She looks like a beautiful, smart little girl.”
“She is. Just like her mother,” Dahlia said. “How long have you and Felicity been married?”
“It hasn’t quite been a full week yet.”
“Oh, I see. Newlyweds.”
“Yes, and she’s something else.”
Dahlia grinned. “She is. A huge part of me regrets that I’ve allowed our relationship to suffer as much as it has. In a way, I considered keeping Rayne and raising her as recompense for the things I’ve done wrong when it came to Felicity, but I figured out quickly that it was of no use. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I have Rayne, but I do want my daughter back, Regal.”
Regal nodded. “I’m working on her, Ms. James. I’ll see what I can come up with.”
Chapter 34
Whatever he bought for dinner smelled delicious but it didn’t smell better than he looked, Felicity concluded. She felt like she’d been instantly struck with a fever when he passed through her doorway. Her eyes connected with his and she knew dinner wouldn’t be a priority. Gosh, he was the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on. Everything about him exuded masculinity – his beard, slender tasty lips, his top-of-the-line suits and size fourteen leather shoes. He didn’t have on a suit jacket and his broad shoulders looked massive. His eyes were filled with desire. She swallowed hard when she saw the bulge at the front of his pants. Him standing there had her legs weak and wobbly already.
“Do you make it a practice to answer the door in a skimpy, see-through nightie?” he asked looking at her chest and the darkened buds of her breasts poked out and made his mouth water like he was about to dine on a delicious, full-course meal. In a way, he was…
“No. I only answer the door like this when I know my man is coming over.”
“Is that right?” he said, stepping inside.
“Yep. That’s right.” Felicity closed the door while he carried the food bag to the counter.
He turned around, unbuttoned the crisp white shirt he had on, popped off his cufflinks and stepped out of his shoes. Then went his pants, his briefs and without saying a word more, he pulled out a kitchen chair and sat there. Aroused. Waiting.
“Your turn,” he told her.
Felicity removed the thin fabric she was wearing, then walked over to him. “Now what?” she asked, chewing on her lip.
“I’ll let you make the next move,” he told her.
She straddled him then bit down on her lip, threw her head back and closed her eyes when she felt the moment she took him in, her body stretching for him. Deeper and deeper she felt him tunnel inside of her until there was nowhere else to go. She opened her eyes to see him, to take in all of his handsomeness.
She gasped, the experience overwhelming her senses. She gasped louder when she felt his hands on her bare bottom. She shrieked when he squeezed her there and pulled her closer. Burying himself deeper with intention while his gaze sharpened on her as he held her tightly in place with his strong, thick arms. Her bare breasts smashed against his chest.
“Ah,” he moaned. “I’ve been feenin’ for you all day. I can’t concentrate at work because you’re all I think about.” He squeezed her backside again then captured her lips while holding her possessively still, plowing his tongue into her mouth. He pulled away to lave her breasts and then he was right back to her mouth, feeling her move and rock her hips into him.
“You’re amazing, Felicity,” he groaned as she continued rolling her body, taking him the way she wanted. And he let her. She increased the rhythm as her need become more desperate. As her breaths became more ragged.
While still kissing her, he held on tightly, stood up with their bodies still connected and lowered her to the edge of the bed, driving into her with precise strokes, testing the bed’s stability as he took and took and took.
Her body exploded while she screamed his name and toppled over into an abyss of pleasure. And then he grunted a
nd growled when his release came, tearing through him but spurring him on to keep grinding, to keep getting more of her – pumping into her until she cried out his name over and over again.
He looked at her while she panted and then he smiled like he knew his job of pleasing and satisfying her was complete. Afterward, he gave her another long, deep, tongue-stealing kiss.
* * *
“I want you to move in with me,” Regal said right before he took a bite of his steak sub.
Felicity wasn’t surprised by his request. It was the next logical step after marriage, but when the marriage didn’t seem all that logical, she couldn’t help but think that moving in with him wasn’t such a good idea – at least not right now.
“I’m not so certain if that’s a good idea at the moment, Regal.”
He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Oh, you thought I was asking.” He chuckled slightly. “That wasn’t a request, Felicity. I’m telling you to move in with me. I put that rock on your finger. We’ve already convinced DHHS that we live together. Rayne has her own room. Why pretend when we can have the real thing?”
“First of all, I haven’t gotten Rayne back yet. I haven’t seen her. I don’t know who has her or where she is. I don’t even know if I’ll be granted custody.”
“You will be.”
“How can you be so certain?”
He finished chewing, wiped his mouth then said, “How many times have I asked you to call your mother?”
She rolled her eyes. He was on that again? “Rayne is my number one priority right now. She takes precedence over my mother. She takes precedence over everything.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that Rayne was with her mother, but he bit his tongue and stayed on topic. “Let’s talk about us for a moment—me and you.”
“Okay,” she said, not sounding too thrilled now – odd since they’d just made love and she’d climbed figurative walls and whatnot.
