by Lucy Leroux
“Then what’s bothering you?”
Maia pulled her legs in against her chest and put her head down against her knees.
“This is not a trial period, is it?” she whispered.
“What do you mean?” he asked, confused.
“This is not a trial period if you don’t use protection and I get pregnant right away. Is it?” she asked, finally looking at him. “Unless you forgot. Did you forget?”
Calen opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He wanted to reassure her, but there wasn’t anything he could say. It was true. He’d never intended on letting her go...but fuck, if that’s what she wanted he didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t force her to stay.
He sucked in a hard breath, bracing himself. “No. You’re right. You don’t get to choose. Not unless you want to run. I mean, you’re probably not going to get pregnant after one time. We can call this all off right now, and you can leave tonight. If that’s what you want, I will help you,” he said softly.
Maia shook her head quickly. “I don’t want to leave,” she said before meeting his eyes with a frown. “As for tonight, not using protection—I should have asked before we did it. It’s not fair blindsiding you like this. You assumed one thing, and I assumed another.”
Calen put his arm around her. “Maia, I would never hurt you. What I want is to take care of you. I think we can have a good life together. A happy life. We can start using protection from now on if you are genuinely against having kids right away. But you did say you loved babies.”
A corner of her mouth quirked up. “You have an excellent memory,” she muttered.
“When it’s something I like to hear, yes,” he said, grinning unrepentantly before sobering. “But I can’t guarantee my family’s protection unless they think you’re important to me. We are not always on the best of terms. I can handle my dad well enough these days, and it might take a long while for him to come around about you. He didn’t want me to intervene the way I did. Colman’s a stubborn old goat, and I don’t like the idea of you having to live with any uncertainty until he does. And he’s not even the biggest problem. His second, my cousin Darren, is the real issue. He hates me. But if you were pregnant, Darren would get on board, or it would look bad. Everyone would back you then. And,” he added honestly, “I want kids. With you.”
****
Maia felt like there was a bright spotlight shining on her. She’d been hoping to put off this talk about the future until later. Much later. But she’d been living on borrowed time from the start, and now she was out of it, too. She stared at Calen.
“Why me?”
He toyed with a stray lock of hair. “I think you’re beautiful and funny and smart. And yeah, you look like jailbait and probably always will. That innocent look really does it for me.”
Unable to help it, she laughed. “Okay. I think you’re crazy, but I believe you mean what you say.”
“Does that mean you’re willing to getting married next Saturday?” he asked her.
She sucked in a breath. “Now I know you’re crazy,” she said shakily.
“It’s for the best, nymph,” he said, kissing the top of her head.
“I know,” she said. “But it’s so soon.”
“It’s not soon enough for me. And it doesn’t have to be a big thing. A quick ceremony to make it legal. Then no one can touch you. Well…except for me.”
Maia swallowed hard, but she nodded. “All right,” she said, but she was still unsure, and it was probably obvious in her voice.
“What about the other thing?” he asked quietly.
A feeling of light-headedness swamped her. “A baby,” she whispered.
He nodded, not bothering to remind her again that she loved babies. Smart of him. But Calen was extremely intelligent. Not to mention ruthless. He was also kind and generous...and too sexy for her piece of mind. And if she used the way he took care of her as an indication of how he would care for their child, he would be a wonderful father. Overprotective, but wonderful.
It wasn’t politically correct for her to admit, but she wanted to give him what he wanted. It was instinctive, like breathing. Did that make her a submissive? Except for her, every woman in her department had read that Fifty Shades book. There had been endless discussion at coffee hour about it. Maia hadn’t paid much attention at the time, but what if deep down she was that kind of woman? Should she be concerned about that?
She had always been shy, but she had always thought of herself as an independent person. And now the first man in her life was blowing up all of her preconceptions of herself. What if she wasn’t who she’d always thought she was?
A tightness in her chest that she hadn’t realized was there eased away slowly. So what if she wasn’t? Should that stop her from seizing this chance? Even if things don’t work out afterwards, you’ll never be alone if you have his baby.
“Why don’t we let nature take its course,” she eventually agreed, taking a long look at Calen’s long muscular body.
He was so damn masculine—his body screamed virile potent male strength. She’d probably be pregnant by the end of the month.
****
Immensely satisfied, Calen wrapped his arms around Maia before dropping a kiss on her forehead. “We can get married here. Or at the Caislean. In fact, that would be a better place. I’ll ask the guys and their sister. Some of my staff. And I should ask my father.”
“Oh,” Maia said. “Should I ask my coworkers?”
Calen relaxed. She wasn’t going to change her mind or try to talk him out of it.
“Maybe just that girlfriend you mentioned. And your boss since he already knows. Is there anyone else you would want?”
“Chang and Wesley. They’re my best friends in the lab. Well, Chang is my best friend, but I can’t invite one without the other or I’d never hear the end of it from Wes.” She smiled suddenly. “This is probably how wedding guest lists explode to unreasonable proportions.”
He chuckled. “All right. They’re going to find out anyway once the deed is done. You can shop for a wedding dress early next week. Why don't you ask Maggie and your friend to help you pick one out?”
“O-kay,” she said, drawing out the syllables. “So I guess we are getting married next Saturday.”
“Yes,” Calen agreed, satisfaction dripping from the word like honey.
He squeezed her to him and pulled her into his lap. Despite the nagging guilt he felt, he was also aware of a deep sense of gratification. Determinedly, he pushed away the lingering remorse with the solid conviction that he was doing what was best for Maia, in both the short and the long term.
“You know, I think you were entirely too quiet when you climaxed,” he murmured while kissing her ear and neck. “I take that personally. The next time you come, I’m going to make sure you’re screaming my name.”
And she did. Twice.
Chapter 18
Maia was asleep, nestled in his arms late on Saturday morning when Calen received a call from Davis. Annoyed, he got up and went to the living room before the buzzing woke her up.
“What is it? Is something wrong?” he asked.
He was planning on calling Liam and Trick later to tell them the good news, but for the moment, he was happy to have time alone with Maia. Interruptions for anything short of an emergency were not going to go down well with him.
“Sorry, boss,” Davis said, picking up on his tone immediately. “But there’s some kid here looking for Maia, says he works with her.”
“Really?” Calen asked suspiciously.
Maia wouldn’t have told her coworkers her new address. She would have run it by him first. And he’d had her change all of her correspondence to a P.O. Box that Davis and Stephens checked for her. They brought her mail back to the penthouse and the bills for her cellphone came directly to him.
If this ‘coworker’ knew where Maia lived, it wasn’t because she told him, nor did he simply see her new address on an envelope on her desk at work. He was either a spy
from the Russians, or he had followed Maia home. Either way, he wasn’t getting anywhere near her.
“Take him to the security office,” he growled into the phone. “I’ll be right there.”
He walked back into the bedroom and threw on some clothes. Maia was still sleeping soundly when he left, but she hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, so it wasn’t surprising she was still out. He hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep, either, but he was more accustomed to going without. And, in this case, it had been worth it.
Completely, amazingly worth it, he thought, replaying in his head giving Maia a bath, and then getting her all dirty again.
Calen walked into the security office, still buttoning his shirt. The kid was sitting in a chair surrounded by beefy-looking security personnel, his own and those that worked for the building. The intruder was young and clean-shaven, handsome enough, if you liked skinny and pale.
When the kid saw him, he sat back and gave him an obvious once over. His face tightened. Although he tried to hide it, a tremor in his hand betrayed his anxiety. He was also angry and resentful as he took in Calen's just-out-of-bed look.
Well, that explains his presence here. The little prick had a thing for Maia.
“So which one are you? Wesley, I assume. You don’t look like a Chang,” he drawled as he folded his arms and leaned on the wall across from the kid.
“Yeah, I’m Wes. Where’s Maia? I want to see her,” he asked, disdain in his voice.
Behind him, Davis lifted a brow, and Calen smirked back at him. The situation was becoming clear. The kid was here to warn Maia off of him.
“She’s asleep. We were up late, and I’m not going to wake her. She needs her rest,” he said, not pulling any punches. His tone and delivery made their late night activities clear. “Why are you here, bothering her on a weekend? What is so important that it couldn’t wait till Monday?”
“I need to talk to her, and I want to see her now,” Wes demanded.
If it wasn’t for the petulance in his voice, Calen might actually respect the little prick. Instead, he was just annoyed—and getting closer to losing his temper.
“That’s not going to happen. How did you get this address?” he asked, giving the kid his most steely expression, the one that had made the Russian’s deal and his distributors and staff sweat bullets.
The kid shifted uncomfortably. “I got it from my cousin. He’s a cop. Your address is not a secret,” he said, his voice close to cracking.
No, it wasn’t, but it also wasn’t commonly known. Unless you were law enforcement.
“Let me guess. Your boss told you whom Maia is seeing and you want to rescue her from the evil mobster’s son,” he said, towering over the kid.
The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on him. Under normal circumstances Maia and this kid would have ended up together. They would have had coffee break dates and gone out to movies. She probably would have ended up marrying him, or someone just like him.
Well, fuck that.
“That is not going to happen,” he continued. “Maia is mine. She’s marrying me. Next week, in fact. Your little crush on her is cute, but you are her coworker and nothing else. If I ever suspect you put your hands on my property, you will be in for a world of hurt. Am I clear?”
“You’re getting married? She agreed to that?” Wesley asked, growing even paler than his normal pasty shade of white.
“Yes, she did,” Calen bit back. “So when she invites you to the wedding, do yourself a favor. Tell her you can’t make it. You’re going to be out of town. Do you understand?” he said towering over Wesley.
The kid clenched his jaw. He didn’t reply, but Calen kept staring down at him until he looked away. “Show him out,” he told Davis, ignoring the kid’s renewed protests as Davis and one of the apartment’s security guards hauled him to his feet and out the door.
He was going to have to talk to his nymph about Wes. If the kid gave her trouble, he would step in, but not until he had a reason. As much as it grated, it was probably best if he didn’t mess with Maia’s situation at work or all of her co-workers would probably align themselves against him. He had to watch him step there. Unless the little prick touched her. Then all bets were off.
Calen made his way back to his place. He checked on Maia, and after finding her still asleep, started to get breakfast ready. Humming lightly, he squeezed some oranges and put the juice in the fridge to cool before starting on the pancakes. He was cutting strawberries for garnish, about to load everything on a tray, when Maia poked her head out of the bedroom.
Since her nightgown was lying on the living room floor and her clothes were still in the guest room, she’d pulled on one of his dress shirts. It fell below her knees, covering most of her body—but it was still the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. And his body responded in record time.
“Hi,” she said, blushing madly.
Last night’s activities flashed in his mind’s eye like an expensive porno on fast forward. Tamping down a surge of lust, Calen smiled at her while serving some pancakes on a plate.
“Hi, yourself. Did you sleep well?” he asked, setting the plate in front of her on the kitchen bar.
“Good. You know...eventually,” she said, still red and avoiding his eyes as she hopped onto one of the two barstools.
“Thank you,” she said politely before picking up a fork and starting on the pancakes. She rolled her eyes after the first bite. “Oh, wow. These are incredible,” she murmured. “Why do these taste so good?”
“They’re from scratch, not a mix,” he said, leaning against the counter across from her as he ate his own pancakes. “When we were little, Liam and Trick’s mom always made them from scratch. After you get used to them that way, you can’t go back,” he said pouring maple syrup on top of the butter he’d already spread over his serving.
“Did you spend a lot of time with their family when you were little?” she asked between bites.
“Yeah. The Tyler’s practically adopted me in grade school. My mom passed away when I was four, and since my dad was so wrapped up with other matters, he encouraged me to spend most of my free time with them. It was probably the single biggest mistake he ever made, and the luckiest of mine.”
She raised her brows in question, fork still in her mouth. “They quickly became the most important influence in my life—not him,” he explained. “They were...just a completely normal family. They had a station wagon and a camper. Two point five kids and a dog.”
Maia wrinkled her nose. “Point five?”
“We didn’t think Maggie should get a whole point. We were all pretty obnoxiously anti-girl until puberty,” he said, pleased when she laughed.
Noting her good mood, he figured it was as good a time as any to discuss this morning’s intruder.
“We had a little visitor today before you woke up. That Wesley kid from your work. I didn’t want to wake you, so I sent him away,” he told her, pouring her more juice.
Maia frowned. “But he doesn’t have this address. At least, he shouldn’t.”
“Apparently he had a little talk with your boss. And the illustrious doctor spilled the beans about exactly who your new boyfriend is. Wesley is your wannabe white knight. He got my address from a relative in the BPD. They keep tabs on me as a rule. He may become a problem if you don’t shut him down.”
“My white knight? He wants to save me? From you? That’s ridiculous,” she scoffed.
“Your boss must not have told him the whole story. Or he doesn’t believe I’m helping you. That, and Wes has a crush on you. Has he been bothering you at work?”
The last question had an edge he couldn’t seem to hold back.
“No, not like that. And he does not have a crush on me,” Maia said, squirming in her chair.
She was a terrible liar. Calen would have been amused if the subject hadn’t involved another man. Or, in this case, boy.
“Yes, he does. What did he do?” he demanded as he leaned on the counter with both ha
nds.
****
Though his voice was still mild, Calen’s face had grown hard and cold. Maia was uneasy. Given what they had done last night, several times, the change in him was disconcerting.
Calen was her lover now, but he wasn’t her friend and their relationship wasn’t equal. She had better not forget that.
“He doesn’t have a crush,” she insisted. “And he didn’t do anything except express concern about all the new clothes and bodyguards. And that you were expecting,” she added.
Calen didn’t look convinced. “If he so much as lays a finger on you, I will find out and take care of it,” he said, a trace of warning in his tone.
Maia froze mid-bite. She swallowed a mouthful of pancake that was suddenly too big. Despite feeling daunted, she shook her head. She couldn’t let him scare off her friends and coworkers. It would set a bad precedent. Whatever Wesley’s problem was, she would take care of it herself.
“He’s not going to do that. And even if he did, I would take care of it,” she said, trying to sound firm.
However, her voice squeaked a little, and Calen let out a frustrated sigh.
“Baby, I’m not trying to intimidate you, but you’re going to be my wife soon. Anyone who even thinks about laying a hand on my wife is going to get straightened out. Hard. And that kid is definitely into you. Probably more now that he thinks you’re a damsel in distress.”
Maia chose her words carefully. “I can see your point of view. It would not be okay if Wes made a pass at me—but he’s not going to. Honestly! Wes likes my friend Tahlia. He asked her out, and she turned him down. He avoids her now, but if she wagged her little finger, he’d go running like that,” she said, snapping her fingers.
Calen shook his head. “Maybe he was into this other girl, but he’s over it. He likes you now. Trust me. But you, my sweet little nymph...” he said, coming around the bar, “…you belong to me.” He picked her up out of her seat and carried her to the bedroom.
****
By the time Sunday night rolled around, Maia was aching and sore. She had had more sex in the last forty-eight hours than she’d ever thought possible. Calen was insatiable. His desire for her was intoxicating...and a bit exhausting.
