by Joss Wood
Cady nodded. She watched as he dried his hair with a small towel and slung it around his neck.
He walked to his closet and within seconds he was back, with a hanger holding a complete outfit. Tawny-colored pants, a white shirt and a dark gray jacket. He tossed the outfit on the bed and she saw a tag showing a complete list of every item, including shoes. She recognized the logo on the card as that of one of the city’s best and most discreet men’s stylists.
Cady grinned. Beck did not have fabulous taste as she first suspected; he just had a great stylist. Thinking that she could mess with him, she tipped her head to the side.
“I think a navy jacket would look better than the gray.”
Beck looked at the outfit, looked at her and back at the outfit. Panic crossed his face. “Uh... I don’t think so.”
“The gray is a bit dull. I think it needs some punch, a red pullover, maybe orange?” She couldn’t help her grin and Beck caught it.
He grabbed the wet towel from his neck and threw it with deadly accuracy right at her face. “Brat.”
Cady pulled the towel off her face, laughing as she threw it back at him. “You are so spoiled! I thought you had great taste in clothes but it’s Stefan’s.”
“It is my taste, sort of.” Beck flicked the towel at her leg. “Initially, for every ten outfits Stefan chose, I’d only wear one, the most conservative one. He now knows what I will and will not wear.”
“Why don’t you just choose your own clothes?” Cady demanded.
“Shopping?” Beck shuddered. “Shoot me. Besides, I really do have crap taste. I’d go to work in faded jeans and flannel shirts if I had the choice.”
He sat down on the edge of the bed, his butt next to her thigh, and placed his hands on either side of her body, caging her in. He looked serious, his jaw tense. “We need to talk.”
Cady nodded. Maybe this was it; maybe he was about to tell her that it was time they walked away. He’d be gentle with her; he wouldn’t be as abrupt as last time. He’d explain why he thought it better that they part and she’d agree and she wouldn’t cry.
She wouldn’t. Okay, she’d try not to.
“We’ve avoided the subject of your pregnancy, mostly because you’ve ducked the subject every time I’ve raised it.”
Pregnancy? He wanted to talk about that? Cady pulled her head back to look at him, utterly confounded. “You want to talk about my baby?” she clarified.
“Yeah. And you’re not going anywhere until you answer my questions.”
Oh, God, he wasn’t breaking it off! Her relief made her feel light-headed and she grabbed Beck’s thigh to ground herself.
“How far along are you, Cady?”
Flustered, Cady had to think hard to answer that question. “Twelve, thirteen weeks?”
“Have you seen a doctor?” Beck asked.
Cady shook her head. “I’ve been meaning to but I’ve been quite busy, you know, trying to run a successful campaign.”
Beck didn’t react to her peevish tone. “And the father? Will you tell me who he is?”
“Does it matter?”
Cady saw impatience in Beck’s eyes at her evasive response and she sighed, lifting her hand from his thigh. “He’s not interested in me or the baby.”
“Is he going to pay any of your medical expenses, support the kid when it comes along?”
“No.” Cady snapped the word out.
“Cady, I’m not the enemy and I don’t want to pull this out of you. Talk to me.”
She lifted her arms and cradled her head. “It doesn’t matter, Beck,” she cried. “I’m doing this solo.”
“It does matter. Talk.”
Cady dropped her arms and stared past Beck’s shoulder. She’d talk, but she’d keep it short. “He’s married. I didn’t realize until I told him I was pregnant. He lied to me, told me he was divorced. He wanted me to have an abortion. He’s not prepared to pay child support.”
“Douche.”
Cady’s eyes flew to his face and she saw his anger, not at but for her. Underneath the anger, she saw support and empathy and understanding. If she was going to tell him everything, now was the time. “It gets worse.”
Beck lifted an eyebrow and waited for her to continue.
“He was a client and he fired me and my company when I told him about the baby.”
A muscle jumped in Beck’s jaw and his lips thinned. “Double douche.”
“I promise you that sleeping with my clients is not what I do. He was the first guy since you and then there was you and I slept with you both. I’ve worked for you both!” She covered her face with her hands. “God, it’s just so not me! I’m not the girl who does this!”
Beck pulled her hands from her face and rested his forehead on hers. “Did you know he was married? Did you sleep with him to get the contract?”
Cady slapped his shoulder. “No!”
“Then you didn’t do anything wrong, Cades. With him or with me. So just let it go.” Beck gripped the back of her neck and used his thumb to push her chin up. “You need to see a doctor and make sure everything is okay with the baby.”
Cady grabbed the sheet and twisted it in her hand. “I’m scared, Beck. My mother miscarried a few times between Will and me, and Will was autistic. I’m scared they’re going to find something wrong with the baby and—”
She hadn’t really realized that was the way she felt until the words flew out of her mouth. She was scared and so very tired of being alone.
“I’ll go with you, Cades.”
“You don’t have to,” she said, not realizing that she’d wanted him with her. But now that he’d offered, she was desperately hoping that he would.
“I’ll get Amy to find a decent OB-GYN and she’ll make an appointment for you.”
“Not this week. I’m crazy busy trying to finish the arrangements for the cocktail party and the exhibition and I have an industry awards dinner on Friday night. I don’t suppose you’d—” No, of course he wouldn’t be interested in accompanying her to one of the most boring functions on Planet Earth.
Beck smiled. “Are you asking me to come with you? As your date?”
“Yeah, sort of.”
Beck kissed her once, his smile against her mouth. “Then I accept. And if we can get you a doctor’s appointment, you’re taking it, busy or not. But right now I want you naked and begging.”
“You’ll be late for your breakfast meeting,” Cady breathlessly said, her hands skimming across his shoulders, down his hard pecs.
“They can wait.”
Beck stared into her eyes, his mouth a breath away from hers, and he saw it on her face—desire—right before he kissed her.
At the first touch of his lips, she opened up and let him in. She ran her splayed hands against him, trying to make as much contact as possible with his hot, masculine skin.
His mouth snacked on hers, suckled and teased and she followed his lead, thinking that there was redemption and forgiveness in his kiss. His mouth on hers assured her that she was okay, that she was redeemable, that she was allowed to be imperfect and make mistakes.
Beck’s hands moved under her T-shirt and pulled it up and over her head, dropping it to the floor. Then they slid up her sides, his thumbs brushing the undersides of her breasts. Cady murmured insensible words of encouragement, silently demanding him to touch her. His thumbs finally brushed her nipples as he dropped hot, openmouthed kisses along her jaw.
“More, more, more,” Cady chanted.
“Not yet,” Beck growled. “I want to see you, every beautiful inch of you.”
He stood up, yanked away the covers and, with little ceremony, grabbed her ankles and pulled her so that she lay flat on her back, her legs slightly spread. She felt shy and exposed and her hand came up to shie
ld her groin. Beck picked up her hand and lifted her knuckles to his lips. “Don’t be shy, Cades. Not with me.”
“I’m not nineteen, Beck. I’m pregnant, and my boobs are bigger.”
His smile touched her fingers. “Bigger boobs are never a problem.”
Cady jerked her fingers away. “Beckett! I’m being serious here.”
“So am I.” His hot, dark glance moved down her body, lingered on her breasts and then her crotch, and heated the skin on her tummy and thighs before returning to her face. “You’re exquisite and I can’t wait to touch you, taste you. Every inch of you.”
Cady knew that he was struggling to keep himself from reaching for her, flabbergasted by the heat and passion in his deep, dark eyes. Under his hot gaze her inhibitions disappeared and she lifted her hand to touch her nipple, sliding her fingers down her abdomen to flirt with the small strip of hair at her thighs. “I’d much rather have you touch me and me touch you,” she murmured.
“Oh, we’ll get to that,” Beck assured her.
Yet he still looked at her, seemingly content to enjoy the view. Frustrated with his lack of action, Cady kneeled on the bed, dug her fingers between the towel and his six-pack and tugged his towel away. His erection jutted out from his groin, fantastically hard. Cady ran the tip of her index finger up his length and smiled when his erection jumped and his eyes closed. “I think you’re beautiful, too, Beckett,” she murmured.
She needed to taste him, to take him into her mouth, but she only managed a quick taste before Beck’s strong arm banded around her stomach and he pulled her up his body. Her legs circled his hips and her ankles crossed just above his hard butt.
His penis probed her opening, hot and insistent, and Cady pushed down, feeling him slide inside her.
Cady smiled. He felt so amazing. “Love me, Beck.” She pushed down, taking him inch by inch, and she groaned as he pushed his way into her, filling her.
Nothing felt as good as Beck loving her. Wanting more, wanting everything, she placed her mouth on his and lost herself in his kiss. It was kissing with no start or end point. Sure, sexy strokes of his tongue that echoed the action below.
Cady felt herself climbing, losing track of the here and now and what was real and not. Beck took her into another dimension where only they existed, two bodies intent to give pleasure. It was a battle of the best kind, both determined to give not receive, knowing that their lack of selfishness would result in their pleasure being redoubled.
Beck used his height, power and muscles to pick her up and he walked her to the wall next to his bed. Cady felt the cool wall on her naked back, a perfect contrast to the hot man pressed to her front. Anchored to the wall, he allowed his hands to roam free and his hand trailed lightning down her back, over her hip, across her stomach. His hand moved up to cover her breast and he rubbed the center of his palm across her nipple then pulled it into a harder peak before dropping his head and laving it with his tongue.
He wanted all of her, she realized. He wanted her mindless with passion, feeling him on every inch of her skin. She did and Cady let out a deep, demanding moan, grinding down on him to take him farther into her, if that was at all possible. She wrenched her mouth off his. “Now! Dammit, Beck, now!”
Beck responded by slamming into her, pinning her to the wall, and when his hand pushed between their bodies to find her, she screamed and splintered into a million shards of pure orgasmic pleasure.
His entire body stilled and she clenched her inner muscles once, then twice, and her big man, so in control, lost it and followed her into oblivion.
Perfection, Cady thought, her forehead on his shoulder.
He was her first and, she thought, her last. He was the place she always, and only, wanted to be.
Feeling like this terrified her, the thought of walking away lifted the hair on her neck and arms.
Staying with him petrified her the most.
Ten
Feeling like he was about to jump out of his skin, Beck paced the small waiting room outside the technician’s office and pushed his sleeve back to look at his watch. Dr. Bent was an OB-GYN and a friend of Amy and Julia’s. She’d agreed to see Cady after her last patient of the day. Beck appreciated it but wished she’d hurry up. He wanted to get out of here, and fast.
Beck glanced at Cady, paging through a magazine on her lap. He’d left work to accompany her to this appointment, mostly because she might, accidentally-on-purpose forget the appointment. Her fears that there could be something wrong with this child weren’t unfounded but being an ostrich wouldn’t help her or the baby.
It was better, Beck thought, to face life head-on and deal with whatever problems arose. Yeah, maybe he had bullied Cady into seeing Dr. Bent but he needed to know that she was okay, that everything was as it should be.
He had a million things to do and a thousand fires to extinguish but Beck was rapidly coming to the conclusion that he’d do anything and be anywhere for Cady. What he felt for her ten years ago was not a fluke. She was just the adult version of the girl he’d loved so long ago.
Taking care of Cady was just something he did, something that was. Like the air he breathed, it was just there.
That didn’t necessarily translate into living happily-ever-after. Like their vacation a decade ago, living and sleeping together was something that wouldn’t last. She was gun-shy, and a permanent arrangement wasn’t part of his master plan.
Neither was standing in a waiting room with a pregnant woman!
“Will you please go back to the office, Beckett?” Cady demanded. “You’re making me nervous.”
“No, if I do that you might leave without seeing the doctor.”
Cady lifted her chin. “That would be rude after all the effort Amy and Julia went to to get this appointment.”
Beck narrowed his eyes at her. “But you’d do it if you thought you could get away with it.”
Cady slapped her magazine shut and threw it onto the table next to her. “This just makes it all very real.”
“I thought you puking was pretty real. And not being able to button your pants this morning makes it pretty real,” Beck said, sitting down next to her and covering her hand with his. “I’m sure everything will be fine, Cades.”
“Autism can be hereditary, Beck.”
Beck pushed the palm of his hand under hers to link their fingers. “But it’s not something that you diagnose early, so why avoid a doctor’s appointment?”
“How do you know that?” Cady demanded, pulling back to look at him.
“I did some reading.” Beck didn’t bother telling her that when she moved in, he realized that what he knew about pregnancy could fit on a pinhead. He didn’t like feeling ignorant so he ordered some books.
Okay, he ordered a lot of books and read most of them. He was now convinced that having babies was not for the faint of heart.
A tiny Asian woman appeared in the doorway and sent them a bright smile. “Cady Collins? I’m Dr. Giselle Bent. Come on through. Let’s see what’s what.”
Cady stood up and Beck noticed the tremors in her fingers, her suddenly white face. Dr. Bent turned her megawatt smile on him. “Beck Ballantyne, I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Beck shook her hand and sent her a wry grin. “Do not believe anything Amy and Julia have said about me.”
The doctor laughed and motioned them down the hall.
Cady stood up, wincing as she did so. “Are you okay? What’s the matter?” he demanded, walking over to her and placing his hand on her back.
“She has a very full bladder,” Dr. Bent casually said.
Beck frowned. “I hate to state the obvious but—”
“We see the baby better with a full bladder,” Dr. Bent said, opening the door to a small dark room containing a bed and, what Beck presumed, was the ultraso
und machine.
Dammit, he’d forgotten about the full bladder thing. Typical Cady, she fried his brains.
Beck hovered in the doorway but the doctor motioned him into the room and told him to stand on the other side of Cady. “I’m going to do a quick ultrasound, then we’ll head back for an exam and some blood tests. Lie down, open your pants and pull your top up.”
Beck kept his eyes on Cady as she lay on her back, her eyes wide in her face. She quickly readied herself, rolling up her top under her breasts so that her belly was exposed. He’d kissed that skin last night, swirled his tongue around her belly button, traced a path down to between her legs.
He’d made her scream and cry and beg him for more.
Cady met his eyes and she raised an eyebrow. When he returned her stare with a bold look, she blushed and looked away. He knew that she’d flashed back to his bedroom and the explosive sex they’d shared.
He wanted more of that, wanted more of her. But he was balancing on a precarious pile of rocks and they were going to skitter out from under him at any minute. He had to take control of this situation. If he could corral his emotions, stop these flights of fancy, that would be a very good start.
Dr. Bent squirted gel on Cady’s stomach and Cady cried, “That’s cold!”
“Sorry.” Dr. Bent pressed a wand on her stomach, and a picture flashed up on the monitor.
“Here we go,” Dr. Bent said. Using her free hand, she pointed to the kidney-bean shape on the screen and flashed Cady a grin. “There’s your baby. See that constant flash? That’s the baby’s heartbeat. We like to see that.”
Neither Beck nor Cady reacted to her joke; they were both staring hard at the screen. Beck flicked Cady a look and saw tears in her eyes. He felt a lump form in his throat and when Cady held out her hand for his, the lump hardened.
As Dr. Bent turned up the volume on the ultrasound machine, he heard the boom, boom, gurgle, boom of the baby’s heartbeat and wondered how he could describe something so elemental, so incredible. He felt both humble and blown away, in awe and ridiculously overexcited. The baby’s heartbeat told him that he was utterly real, growing and on his way.
