The Baby Favor

by Andrea Laurence

  A ping of awareness went off in Scarlet’s brain. Did tonight mean more than she thought it did? It didn’t sound as though he was working under the premise of one night for old times’ sake.

  Did it matter? Not right now. She would deal with the fallout in the morning. She wasn’t about to put on the brakes while he was stroking her center so expertly. He had been right about one thing—she was ready for him. He’d barely touched her and she was aching to have him. One stroke across her sensitive parts had put her on the edge. If he wanted to, he could send her over with the flick of his wrist.

  And he knew it.

  “Are you close?” he asked. “I want to hear you come apart for me. That sound has haunted my dreams these last few months without you in my bed. Let me hear it again. I thought I never would.”

  Scarlet barely had a choice in the matter. He placed a breathy kiss against her neck and stroked her hard and fast. In half a heartbeat, she found herself trembling in his arms.

  “Yes,” he coaxed as the pleasure washed over her like the crashing waves down below.

  Suddenly, her knees were like butter, her throat was raw from her cries, and if not for Mason’s support, she’d be pooled on the floor with her clothes. He held her tight through the whole thing, finally walking her backward to the bed. She didn’t have enough energy to do anything other than exactly what he guided her to do.

  With the backs of her calves pressed against the bed, she fell onto the mattress. Mason moved quickly to her hip, where he located the zipper to her skirt and slid it down. She lifted her pelvis just high enough for him to pull the skirt and her panties down the length of her legs.

  Scarlet expected him to join her on the bed, but instead he simply stood there, admiring her. “What is it?” she asked.

  “You’re just so beautiful,” he said.

  She squirmed under his scrutiny. “I look the same as I ever have.”

  “Exactly. You were beautiful then and you’re beautiful now.” He started unbuttoning his shirt with his eyes still fixed on her naked body. “I’d tried to convince myself that you weren’t as sexy as I remembered. That I’d embellished your appeal in my mind. But I was wrong. You’re even more alluring than you were in my memories.”

  Mason tugged his shirt off and threw it aside. Scarlet tried not to stare too much at his broad chest and strongly carved arms, but she couldn’t help it. It was her favorite part of him. Years of paddling his surfboard out into the sea had created a hard, defined body. She could even remember the first time she’d seen him walk up onto the beach with his wet suit peeled down to his waist. Her tongue had suddenly become so large in her mouth that she could barely speak when he said hello to her.

  The years had added a few pounds and a manly scattering of chest hair, but she liked it. She was especially happy to see his trousers declaring he felt the same way about her. Scarlet licked her lips in anticipation as Mason unfastened his belt and slipped out of his pants.

  She pushed herself into a seated position and slid farther back across the bed. As she inched away, Mason moved forward until his large body was hovering over her own. The heat of his skin so near to her own chased away the chill of the sea air. It made her want to curl against him. Instead, she lay back and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him into a kiss.

  Mason propped on his elbows and settled against her body as his lips touched hers. The heat of his skin pressed against hers sent a chill through her and a wave of goose bumps in its wake. She couldn’t get enough of him—his kiss, his touch, his scent.

  Scarlet had tried to be strong as she watched their marriage fall apart—as Mason started sleeping in the guest room before finally moving out entirely. He had pulled away from her and taken with him everything that she loved, everything that was important in her life. Now, as she held everything precious to her in her arms and cradled him between her thighs, she wasn’t sure whether to hold on tighter so she wouldn’t lose him again, or to cling to her heart instead. She could only choose one.

  Tonight could be just tonight. Or it could be a few days, a few weeks of enjoying the physical side of their relationship while they could. There was no way to know. Once Jay passed, everything would change, and Scarlet wasn’t sure how she wanted things to end. Did she dare hope to keep Mason and Luna in her life? To hope, only to lose them both, was something she wasn’t sure she could go through again.

  “Get out of your head,” Mason whispered in her ear.

  He’d caught her overthinking this. It was the risk of giving herself to someone who knew her almost better than she knew herself. Before she could respond, he pressed into her. As his firm heat pushed farther inside of her, setting off sparks of pleasure through her body, all the thoughts and worries disappeared. This moment, right here, was all she needed to focus on. She needed to enjoy it. Cherish it.

  Scarlet pulled her knees up to cradle his hips and draw him deeper inside. He groaned and swore softly against the bare skin of her shoulder before nipping gently at it. She gasped and arched her back, urging him on.

  Mason thrust into her, apparently setting aside any thoughts of a slow, romantic seduction as his need took over everything else. She raised her hips to meet his every advance, feeling the familiar tension in his body increase even as her own release built up inside her again.

  “Are you going to come for me again?” he asked in a rough voice that betrayed how close he was. “Please say yes. I need to hear it again.” Mason slipped his hand between them to stroke her center.

  “Yes,” she gasped. “I...” was all she managed to get out before Mason thrust hard inside of her and she came apart. Like glass shattering, the pleasure shot through her in every direction and then rained down all over her body.

  Through her own cries of passion, she heard Mason’s own low groan as he stiffened and poured into her. Rolling to his side, he collapsed onto the bed beside her.

  After a few moments of rushed breath and racing heartbeats, the room grew awkwardly quiet. Now that the wave of passion had faded, they seemed to be at a loss for words. She wasn’t sure what to do. Normally, she would’ve curled against him and fallen asleep. That felt a bit too comfortable, too familiar for where they found themselves now. That was the risky part of falling back in bed with an old lover—moving too far, too fast. She didn’t want to do that and ruin the moment, along with any chance of future moments.

  But the mood had probably already soured. Scarlet could almost feel the tension, as if a cloud of regret was settling down over them both. It had come even more quickly than she ever anticipated.

  The loud cry of Luna echoing from downstairs provided her the out she desperately needed. “I’ll get her,” she said. Rolling out of bed, she pulled her robe out of the closet and slipped it on before disappearing from the room.

  As though things weren’t already complicated enough without the reminder of why they were really together.

  Six

  Mason awoke the next morning back on the futon in Scarlet’s studio. She hadn’t asked him to leave the night before, but the speed at which she fled their bed had made it obvious that she had some regrets over what had happened. He had a few of his own, although they hadn’t been enough to stop him from sleeping with her again.

  While she had been downstairs with Luna, he’d gathered up his clothes and carried them back to the studio with him. She hadn’t come looking for him. He hadn’t even heard her come back upstairs. Instead, he was awakened by sunlight and the sound of Luna squealing with laughter.

  He knew he needed to go downstairs and talk to Scarlet about what happened. They were adults. Married adults at that. He was supposed to be able to tell her anything, but he was dragging his feet because he wasn’t sure what kind of conversation he wanted to have with her.

  Mason opted for a shower instead to gather his thoughts first. As he ste
pped into the streams of steamy water, he was reminded of the warm oblivion he’d found in Scarlet the night before. He’d missed it. That much had been obvious. Their physical relationship had been passionate and nearly overwhelming. That hadn’t changed even as their circumstances had. But was it the right thing for both of them? Especially for Scarlet?

  Leaving her had been hard. Walking out of their home with luggage in his hands had been one of the most difficult things he’d ever done. He never thought he and Scarlet would divorce, much less that he would be the initiator. The only thing that had propelled his concrete-filled shoes down the driveway to his car was the knowledge that this was the best thing for her. She didn’t believe that, but it was true.

  They’d both survived the separation. Like riding out a rough withdrawal, they’d made it through to the other side only to backslide. Now he had to decide if he was going to continue to indulge in something he knew he shouldn’t, or if he was going to put himself through the hell of getting over her a second time.

  If he’d actually gotten over her the first time.

  He’d fallen into her bed so quickly it made him think otherwise.

  Once he was dressed and had made it downstairs, he found Scarlet in the nursery painting again. She was back on the ladder in one of his old T-shirts she’d long ago claimed and a pair of yoga pants smeared in blue and orange paint. Luna was lying on the baby jungle activity mat on the floor, alternating between laughing and chewing on a toy tiger that hung from the bar overhead.

  “Good morning,” Scarlet said without turning away from her work. Her voice was frustratingly neutral, giving him no clue to which outcome she was hoping for today.

  “Morning,” he replied with the same noncommittal voice. “It’s looking great.”

  “Thanks. I should have it done today or tomorrow depending on how much Lulu lets me work.”

  An idea came to Mason’s mind. “I was actually thinking of taking her to see Jay today before I went into the office. That would give you a couple hours to work uninterrupted.” And give us some time apart to think. “Then Carroll should be back soon, right?”

  Scarlet set down the brush and nodded. “That’s what she said, but I told her that if she’s still feeling bad she should stay with her sister. She may not be contagious, but she’ll be miserable and that’s not good either. I’m not worried about it, although you taking Luna to see Jay is a great idea. She’s fed and dressed for the day. You’ll just need to pack a diaper bag to take with you. There’s a bottle made up in the fridge.”

  Mason hadn’t thought that far ahead. Running an errand with a baby in tow was a completely different scenario. It was something he’d managed to stay ignorant of when they had Evan. Scarlet had stayed home with him while he was at work. This time, it would be just him and Luna. He had to remember the diapers, the wipes, the toys and the food. He had to know how to set up the stroller and how to change a diaper without it sliding right off.

  Carroll would be there to help in the future, but he needed to know these things, too, if he was going to be a single father. The idea was terrifying. He owned and ran a major retail chain he’d started from a cart on the beach. He could handle any crisis, and yet this tiny human threw him for a loop. He wouldn’t tell his brother or Scarlet or anyone else how he felt, but it was true.

  “Thank you,” he muttered, turning in search of the diaper bag she’d referenced. After a moment of searching in vain, he heard the creak of the ladder as Scarlet climbed down.

  She went straight to the bag, lifting it over onto the changing table. She grabbed a handful of diapers and stuffed them inside the bag. “This is more than you’ll need, but better safe than sorry. There’s already wipes in here and a change of clothing in case of disaster.”

  “Disaster?” Mason frowned.

  “Yes, either she spits up all over herself or she has a massive diaper malfunction.”

  “Oh,” he said with wide eyes. Those were possibilities that hadn’t even crossed his mind.

  “There’s a container of Cheerios left over from last night and, like I said, a bottle in the fridge.”

  Mason lifted the bag. “Thank you.”

  Looking up, he noticed that Scarlet was making eye contact with him for the first time since the night before. “You’ll be fine. You’ll learn all this soon enough.”

  He was glad she had confidence in him. He wasn’t so sure. Before he forgot, he grabbed the bottle from the refrigerator and tucked it into the diaper bag. He slung it over his shoulder and picked Luna up off the floor. “Thanks, Scarlet.” The words felt odd in his mouth. There was a time when he never said her name. Scarlet’s name was “babe.” But despite last night, it didn’t seem appropriate. Things were...unresolved at best.

  “Say hello to Jay for me,” she said before picking up a brush and returning to the mural.

  “Will do.” Mason and Luna headed out the door and loaded into the car. Since the funeral, Jay had been moved from the hospital to a hospice care facility. Some terminal patients returned home, but with Rachel gone and Luna with Mason, there was no point. The nursing facility was closer to Malibu, so they were there in less than twenty minutes.

  After they signed in, they were directed to the hallway where Jay was now staying. He readjusted Luna on his hip and knocked at the door.

  “Come in,” his brother’s voice responded. At least it sounded like a version of his brother’s voice. It was weak and shakier than he’d ever heard it before.

  Mason pushed open the door and stepped in. “You’ve got a very small visitor, Daddy.”

  Jay’s eyes lit up the moment his gaze fell on Luna. “Hello, my beautiful girl,” he said, reaching out to hold her.

  Luna squealed with a wide grin and reached for Jay. Mason gently settled her into Jay’s arms, making sure she wasn’t pulling on any of his IVs or monitoring wires. Once he was certain she was steady, he sat in the guest chair and gave them a moment together. They had precious few left.

  “Thank you for bringing her by,” Jay said after a couple of minutes chatting with her and getting big hugs. “She’s the best medicine I’ve received in days.”

  “How are you feeling?” Mason asked.

  “Truthfully?” he asked with a heavy sigh. “Like I’m about to die. But I’ve felt like this for several weeks now. Now that we’ve stopped treatment, I almost feel better. The chemo was so hard on my system. But even so, I know I’m counting down the hours.”

  Mason wanted to argue with his brother and tell him that negative talk wouldn’t help matters, but he held his tongue. They were past the point of trying to be ridiculously positive. Cancer had won the war and they both knew it.

  “How have things been with you and Scarlet lately?”

  Mason sat bolt upright in his seat, an undisguised look of panic on his face. “What? What do you mean?”

  “I mean how has it been for you two having Luna around? You’ve spent most of your marriage just the two of you. Suddenly having a baby in the house has to be different. Or even difficult, considering how long you two struggled to start a family.”

  Mason sighed in relief and shook his head. “It’s an adjustment, I won’t lie. We brought Carroll over, but she’s had the flu the last few days, so we’ve been on our own. Scarlet has adapted to having a baby in the home faster than I have, of course—she was the one home with Evan while I was at work.”

  “You seem to be doing fine. Luna wasn’t screaming when you came in, so she must like you.”

  Mason chuckled softly. “Well, that’s just because she’s a mellow baby and we’ve had her less than a week. I don’t know how I’m going to handle the idea of every week from here on out. School, boys, makeup, broken hearts...”

  Jay looked at his daughter as she snuggled against his chest. “You’ll handle it like every other father handles it. You
learn. You make mistakes. You get better. As long as she grows up to be a relatively functional member of society, you’ve done your job.”

  “You make it sound deceptively simple.”

  “It is that simple,” Jay said. “And that hard. And that wonderful. You and Scarlet will do just fine. I have all the faith in the world that the two of you will be good parents. You might even be better at it than Rachel and I would’ve been because you two have wanted a child for so many years.”

  Mason’s gaze dropped to the floor. He couldn’t look his brother in the eye and not tip him off that something was wrong. Lying to Jay about the divorce had seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, facing him, it felt awful. Mason’s only consolation was knowing that no matter what happened between him and Scarlet, Luna would be as well cared for as humanly possible. But he still couldn’t tell Jay the truth. He couldn’t bring back Rachel or cure his brother’s cancer, but he could ease Jay’s worries about Luna and her future.

  So he would keep his damn mouth shut.

  * * *

  Scarlet and Luna were sitting on the beach together the following afternoon when her cell phone rang. She picked it up, spying her manager April’s number on the screen.

  “Don’t eat the sand,” she said to Luna as she answered the call.

  “I’ll try,” April replied.

  “Very funny.” Scarlet wiped the sand off Luna’s face and handed her the little plastic shovel to play with instead.

  “I’m calling to be polite and warn you that I’m on my way to your place. I hate to just arrive unannounced.”

  Scarlet frowned at the ocean. “Thanks for the heads-up. Why are you coming by again?”

  “Have you forgotten what day it is?”

  She ran through a dozen options in her brain without landing on something relevant. “Thursday?”