by Chloe Lane
“Matthew.”
The tone in my father's voice makes me stop and turn around. “What?”
He's absolutely beaming.
I tighten my grip on Skye's shoulders when he starts moving because I'm honestly not sure what he's going to do. There's been so much tension between us since I left for the Army that my body gets ready to either punch him or run right out of the room.
But what he does is something I didn't expect.
He comes across the room, puts both hands on either side of my face, and then pulls me in for a hug, Skye slipping gracefully to the side to make room.
When he pulls back, my father's eyes are shining with tears. “You're alive.”
“I know. I've been alive this entire time.”
“I'm sorry.”
“You're sorry that I'm alive?”
He lets out the first real laugh I've heard from him in years. “I'm sorry that I've made it so difficult for you, son.”
I grin at him. “We've both had a hand in that, I think.” Underneath my shirt, I can feel the ridge of my scar against the normal skin.
He hugs me again.
When the embrace is over, I reach out for Skye's hand. She takes mine in hers. “I'd love to talk about this with you, Dad, but I think it's going to have to wait.”
He looks from me to Skye, then glances down at her belly. “By all means.”
My heart is lighter than it's ever been as I lead her out past Tina's desk and to the deserted corridor outside the elevator. But my heart is pounding.
Chapter 29
Skye
Matthew's eyes are bright with pain and hope and love and fear when he turns to me in the hallway, and each emotion battles with the others until it's impossible to tell which one is on top in this moment. I feel like I can't catch my breath. I don't know if I want to catch my breath.
“Skye.”
He says my name so solemnly that I almost giggle. It would be a weird, crazy reaction, but I have to stifle the laughter as it bubbles up in my chest. “Yes?”
“I can't believe you came here for me.”
There's a weight lifting from my shoulders. With every moment that Matthew looks at me the way he's looking at me right now, I feel lighter and lighter. “I came here for you because you deserve it.”
“I didn't deserve it. I didn't at all.” He puts his hands on either side of my face and draws me in closer, bending down to press a gentle kiss against my lips.
I groan. “Oh, God, don't do that.”
He pulls back, a confused expression on his face. “What?”
“Don't kiss me like that.”
“Why not?” He sounds so offended that this time I do laugh.
“Kiss me like this.” I reach up and pull his face down to mine, kissing him hard. Kissing him fierce. Kissing him like I never want him to leave my side again, not for the rest of my life. “I've missed you,” I say, when I can finally bring myself to release him and come up for air. “I've missed you so much. I don't want to kiss like we've been married sixty years. I want to—” I catch myself just in time and look around. Is there anybody here? The office earlier was probably a near thing, and I just got his dad on my side, so...
“Damn,” Matthew breathes, and then he reaches out and punches the call button for the elevator. “What was I thinking, making you leave me like that?”
“I think...” I trace a fingertip down the front of his shirt. “You didn't want to get hurt. And I can't blame you for that.”
He smirks, and somehow his face is still the most gorgeous face I've ever seen. “Oh, and you did?”
“I was desperate in a different way.”
“You needed a place to live.”
“I so needed a different place to live. And Robin—oh, my God, Matthew, Robin's so much better.” I start to choke up. Damn the baby hormones. “I was willing to be hurt if it made things better for her.”
A look crosses Matthew's face then, and it erases all the other expressions. I finally recognize it. It's pure love—or at least as close as we can get to it in this life. “See, that's what I love about you.”
“That I'm willing to put myself last?”
“No. That you'll go out on a limb and you still find a way to get what you want.”
I drop my hand to my belly. “You think this is what I want?”
“Damn right I do.” He sweeps me up into his arms and I laugh out loud, unfiltered joy rushing through my veins. “Damn right. I saw how you looked at me all that time you were my secretary.”
I hold on tight, looking down into those blue eyes. “How was I supposed to help myself?”
“I didn't.”
“No. You really didn't.” I lean down into another kiss. At some point, my feet touch the floor, but I barely notice it.
There's a ding as the elevator comes to a stop on our floor. Matthew gives me a wicked grin and turns to practically force the doors open with both his hands. “Get in, Skye.”
“I'm not going to fight you on that.”
The moment the doors slide shut, he pounces, pressing me back up against the wall. It's cool on my back and my whole body sighs with relief. Matthew's hands are everywhere—cupping my breasts, holding my hips tight, shoving my skirt up, spreading my legs. He takes just enough time to hit the stop button and the car shakes to a halt somewhere between floors. I don't care where we are. I just want him. I need him now.
And he needs me now, too. His strong arms lift me so I can wrap my legs around his waist, and he tears my panties away. God, how many pairs of panties am I going to lose with this man? Hopefully hundreds. He undoes his zipper and then he's thrusting inside of me.
The angle makes me want to explode right away, and lucky for me, there's no reason to hold back. He's filling all the available space, thrusting deeper than I've ever felt him before, and the ridges of his cock are bumping up against places inside me that send wave after wave of raw pleasure spiking through my core.
I come once, hard, and everything tightens around him, drawing out a guttural growl from Matthew's throat. He's close. I can feel the tension inside me, radiating out from him, and I take it all in, meeting every movement with one of my own. With one hand, he tears my shirt open, shoves my bra to the side, and leans forward, swirling his tongue around my nipple. It's so damn good that I come again, Matthew pulling me down hard against his hips, my back braced against the elevator walls.
“One more time,” he murmurs in my ear. My entire body reacts to the command. I can feel the orgasm building, building...and just as the pressure becomes unbearable, he moves inside me again and I'm done for. Matthew meets me at the edge, his own powerful explosion matching mine.
“Yes,” I moan into his ear. “Yes. Inside me...”
“Always,” he says, and I know he's not just talking about the sex. “Always, Skye.”
We don't push the start button on the elevator again for a long time.
Epilogue
Matthew
Six months later
I lick the entire length of Skye's hot, wet slit, tasting her sweetness. I have to remember to savor it. I'm not going to be able to do this for a while, and I don't know when I'll have to stop.
I swirl my tongue over her clit, sucking it in with the gentlest pressure, Skye's face hidden from me by her huge belly. I only know how good it feels by the fact that another gush of juices meets my tongue, and her moans. God, do I love those. I love them every single time. I'm never going to get tired of this.
When she's spent, I climb up on the bed next to her, taking in her gorgeous, flushed face. She's pink partly from the pleasure and partly from the effort of toting around an enormous belly on her slender frame, but she loves it. Skye has only complained a few times, and by evening, she's always ready to immerse herself in the sparkling anticipation.
Any day now, our daughter is going to meet us.
Skye grins at me, leaning back on the pillows. “Go brush your teeth.”
I lean tow
ard her, pretending I might kiss her, and she squeals, leaning away. “Fine. But I'm going to hurry.”
“I wouldn't want to miss you for long.”
When I return, she's lying there with her eyes closed, her arms above her head. I take a long moment and look at her. Skye is absolutely glorious in pregnancy. She's like some kind of goddess, her skin smooth and clear. But the joy that radiates from her is like nothing I've ever seen.
We sit together in the quiet, and I put my hand against her belly and wait. It takes only a moment for Isabella to realize someone is there and kick her little feet against my hand, her body swirling underneath my palm.
“She's happy to feel you,” Skye murmurs.
Part of me believes her, even though the intellectual part of my mind knows that baby Isabella has no idea who either of us are. It doesn't matter. She'll come to know us. She'll come to know that she's loved more than any baby in the entire world.
“What do you think she's going to be like?” I ask her, feeling the movement of that precious new life and basking in it.
“Stubborn, like you,” Skye says with a grin.
“I think she'll be gorgeous, like you.”
She frowns a little. “Is that all?”
“And driven, and smart, and fierce.”
Skye leans over and kisses my cheek. “That's better.” Then she sighs. “I wouldn't mind if she made her appearance soon, though. I'm getting a little tired of this belly.”
“I'll never be tired of it.”
Skye rolls her eyes. “Well, you never know. Maybe you'll get another chance to see me this way.”
“I'd better.”
“Ask me in a year.”
“It's a date.”
It's still going to be a date, even though we're married. We were married in a small ceremony two months ago because both of us wanted things to be official when Isabella was born. Surprisingly, there wasn't any pressure from my father, but it just felt like the right thing to do. Robin was Skye's maid of honor. She'll be maid of honor again when we have a bigger ceremony, with a bigger reception, sometime after the baby is born.
That feels right, too—to have Isabella at our big, fancy wedding with us. She's the reason we're here, after all.
Skye hefts herself from the bed, throwing her legs over the side. I'm around the bed in an instant, ready to offer her my hand, but her feet are already on the floor by the time I get there.
“You're too fast for me, sweetheart.”
She sticks her tongue out at me and heads for the bathroom. A few moments later, I hear the shower turn on. The shower relaxes her and relieves some of her aches and pains, so our water bill has been massive. I don't care at all.
It's a new house we live in, just a few blocks from the apartment building we used to live in. Robin is still there, in the penthouse, but Skye and I have a gorgeous new build with wide open spaces and a nursery for Isabella that Skye has decorated to perfection. The property was a gift from my father. He'll be over later tonight, for dinner, and hopefully he'll be able to stop himself from asking Skye when the baby will be coming.
I lean back against the pillows. It's been a long, lazy Sunday, and I'm tired enough to nap...for once.
“Oh!” Skye makes a little sound in the bathroom, surprise and shock in her voice, and I'm instantly on alert.
“What is it?” I rush across the room to the door, but I'm not going to burst in on her. “Sweetheart? Are you okay?”
“I—I think my water broke.”
“Can I come in?”
“Yes...”
I open the door and enter the steamy room. Skye is standing in the shower, looking down at her feet. “You couldn't have picked a better place.”
She laughs, and then a pained look crosses her face. “Oh, wow. Wow. I think that was maybe a contraction. Not a huge one, but...wow.” When she looks up at me, her green eyes are uncertain. “Matthew—”
I step into the shower with her, fully clothed, and wrap my arms around her. “You can so do this,” I tell her, because I know that's what she needs to hear. “You're going to be amazing. Today, and forever. You just—” I squeeze her tightly, and she squeezes back. “You just let me know when you're ready to go to the hospital.” What Skye doesn't know is that my father has pulled some strings so that she'll be in the birthing suite reserved for celebrities, with all the attendant treatment. We'll all be in the best possible hands.
Skye takes my hand. “I'm ready now.” Then she smiles up at me, her face lit up with hope and love and anticipation. “Now and always.”
Filthy Flirt
An Office Romance
Maxwell
She doesn’t hesitate when I tell her to sit down, her body turning toward the chairs located across the desk from mine, almost before the words are completely out of my mouth.
If I’m not mistaken, Emma Mason wants me.
I can’t ask her now, on her first day, in her first hour, but I can see her nipples poking against the fabric of her suit jacket, and the rosy color in her cheeks isn’t just from being nervous about starting a new job. No—when she walks, her hips sway in spite of herself, and when she was standing in the doorway between our offices, I saw her press her thighs together under her skirt, the muscles tensing.
Her hands tremble on the packet of papers as she sits, back straight, in one of the leather chairs normally reserved for clients. She bends over the summary, reading, the curve of her neck exposed by the way her blonde hair is pulled back into that bun, and those lips—
Damn it, her lips are already driving me crazy, and it’s just her first hour on the job.
The tip of her tongue peeks out between those lips as she reads, forgetting herself for just a moment, focusing hard.
I can’t tear my eyes away from her. Her breasts move up and down with her breathing, and every movement is intoxicating, alluring. I want to cup those breasts in my hands while I take her from behind, bent over my desk.
She keeps her knees tucked primly together as she sits, feet crossed at the ankles, and I would bet anything—anything—that if I could get her to spread those legs, it would reveal the world’s most perfect pussy. Ten minutes in, and I know she hasn’t been with many men. I can just sense it by the way she looks at me, by the way her gaze follows every move I make, by the way she fucking gasped when our hands touched.
I felt it, too. I felt that surge of energy as it sparked between us. It shot straight down my spine and made my cock jump in my pants.
I have to get it under control, but she’s close enough that I can smell the clean scent of her shampoo, smell the dab of perfume she’s wearing—not enough to be cloying, just enough to be noticeable—and I want to bury my face in her neck, lick that creamy skin from jawline to navel, and keep licking until I’ve had my fill of her juices, until she can’t possibly come anymore.
It takes her almost a minute before she feels my eyes on her and looks up at me through her fluttering eyelashes, blushing again so prettily that I almost lose it right then.
“I think I’ve got the gist of it,” she says softly, biting at her lower lip. “But Mr. Kane?”
Mr. Kane.
I want my name on her lips, crying out for me, submitting to me, begging for more as I claim her. I want to hear her say it, and the need is so desperate that it’s all I can do not to shut the door to my office right now and get started.
“Any questions, I’m an open book.” I keep my tone light and jovial, all while keeping my eye on the office door.
“What is it that you want me to do while we’re in court?”
I want her to bend over and hold the witness stand tight while I thrust into her with my cock. The image brings a smile to my face, and Emma smiles back, a hint of nervousness returning to her expression.
“Don’t worry,” I say with a laugh. “It’s your first day. Right now, I just want you to observe and take notes. You graduated at the top of your class, didn’t you?” It’s a tidbit I read in her file last
Friday, back when I thought she’d be…well, something else entirely.
Emma smiles wider, pride lighting up her face. “I did, yes.”
“Then you’ll be caught up in no time. For now, just get a feel for how I navigate the courtroom, and stay right by my side when we enter and exit the courtroom.” I lean in, dropping my voice confidentially. “It’s not a secret, you know.”
Her eyes go wide. “What’s not a secret?”
“That you’re here to make me look good.”
She laughs, wrinkling her nose. “I don’t know how much help I’ll be with that. You already make yourself look pretty good.”
I sigh, rolling my eyes. “My boss begs to differ. But don’t be overwhelmed by the court scheduling today. I’m not expecting you to change everything on your first day.”
Her big, blue eyes lock on mine, and a little grin plays at the corner of her lips. “Don’t be surprised if I do.”
My cock strains painfully against my pants. I know Emma is talking about making a good impression at the office. She wouldn’t dare say anything about the way she’s keeping her legs clamped together like she can hardly stop them from spreading for me. There’s no way she’d casually bring up the tension that’s radiating between us, hot and strong and overpowering.
She would never say it, but the fact is that she’s already changed everything, and it’s only her first hour on the job.
I give her a jovial laugh, letting my smile travel all the way up to my eyes even as I fight the urge to grit my teeth. “I’m sure you’ll do very well here, Emma.”
“I’ll do whatever I can to help out. I’m so grateful for the opportunity.” The smile on her face has turned a little unsure, and it sends a hot spike of need thundering through every single one of my nerves.
“Duly noted,” I say with a grin, and then I arrange my face into something more serious. “So…are you ready?”
Her hands grasp the packet of papers tightly in her hands. “Ready for what?”
