by Riley Shane
My eyes grew damp, but I blinked back the tears. “You’re pretty great, you know that?”
“I’ve been telling you so for years.” Her expression softened, and she smiled. “Love you.”
“Love you back.”
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yes and no. I don’t think I can truly be happy until I know how Devlin feels about this. The financial end has me concerned, but there’s also the fact that our schedules are insane. More than that…having a child changes things. For the better, I believe, but…”
“But you have to know what he thinks,” Leah finished for me. “Fair enough. If you want my opinion, you and Devlin will make great parents. This is a blessing.”
“Thanks, Lei.”
She stood and dropped a kiss on the top of my head. “No problem. Now pull up your big-girl panties and get back to work.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Leah dropped back into her chair and grinned at me. “And enjoy this stage of being pregnant. You haven’t popped, but your tits are gonna look awesome in that nightie you bought for tonight.”
That succeeded in making me laugh. “Shut. Up.” I shoved a notepad at her. “If you can get your mind out of the gutter, we’ve been slacking on keeping track of our cleaning supply inventory. Can you check the closet and do orders?”
“Not my favorite thing, but sure. Have you looked at the summer special ads I drafted?”
“Next on my list.”
“We each have our marching orders, then.”
I brought the ads up on my computer, and we spent the next few hours working in companionable silence, all talk of nerves and children on hold.
* * * *
I’d spent longer at the Emerald than planned, and by the time I got home, I was cursing myself for getting sweet-talked into reading a bedtime story to Miri and then eating a late dinner with Jon and Lei when I was already running late. Fortunately I still had some time before Devlin got home. I’d need every minute of it.
Like every other room in the house, save for the kitchen, our bedroom was fairly empty. Not quite the romantic setting I’d been hoping for, but I’d make it work. Our bed was still at the Emerald, but we had pillows, blankets, and a gorgeous new rug and nightstands that had been part of Devlin’s Valentine’s Day surprise. The rug had been rolled back up and the nightstands pushed back in anticipation of our moving furniture in, but I had pulled them back out while Devereaux was doing his magic in the kitchen. I laid out the rug in front of the fireplace I’d drooled over during our first walk-through and maneuvered the nightstands into place around it. I set out the candles and silverware in rapid succession, scrounged around to find the matches I’d almost forgotten to buy, then checked my watch and mentally cheered. Still enough time to shower and get all dolled up.
By the time I’d cleaned up and tamed my hair into some sexy waves I knew wouldn’t last longer than the time it took for Devlin and me to hit the floor, my stomach was a tangle of excited nerves. I’d run down to the kitchen and put the cake in the oven, but I still wasn’t ready when I heard Devlin downstairs.
“Gah!” I’d just finished putting on my makeup, but I was wearing sweats and a ratty T-shirt rather than the sexy red lingerie I’d bought for tonight.
“Hey, Naya?” he called up the stairs. “What are you cooking?”
“A mini chocolate cake. Dev wants to add it to Decadence’s menu,” I called out as I raced out of the bedroom and down the stairs. “It’s not quite done baking yet.”
I nearly collided with Devlin, who was coming out of the kitchen. He instinctively caught me by my shoulders to keep me from tumbling, then gave me a wicked smile. My heart skipped a beat, and everything in me simply stopped for a moment as I stared at my husband’s face. I’d known Devlin all my life, had loved him even before I’d truly understood what love was. And yet there were still moments when just the sight of his face, with its strong, square features and bright whiskey-brown eyes, made me catch my breath.
When he brought his mouth down to mine for a kiss, I forgot all my plans and slid into the sensation of our tongues twining.
“You smell good,” he murmured when we came up for air.
“Mmm,” I murmured, sinking into him as he slid his hands under the elastic of my waistband to cup my ass. “You…” I pulled back and wrinkled my nose. “Don’t.”
Devlin laughed and stepped away from me. “There was a collision in the kitchen, and I got hit with a whole lotta seafood. I can shower once the cake is done.”
“You do know there’s a fifty-percent chance I can actually finish baking it without the cake burning, exploding, or mutating into a sentient life-form.”
“As high as fifty?”
I rose up on my toes and nipped his lip. “Keep teasing, and I won’t give you the surprise I had planned for tonight.”
His eyes darkened, and he reached for me, but I danced out of the way. “Get a fire going in our bedroom fireplace; then take a shower.”
“And after that?”
“After that…” I kissed him deeply. “You’ll see.”
* * * *
I wasn’t a born seductress, but I thought I managed to set up a pretty good scene. The cake was fresh out of the oven, and the scent of warm chocolate filled the bedroom. I heard Devlin turning off the shower, and I hit the light switch, admiring the warm glow cast by the candles on the nightstands and the fire in the hearth. After a final adjustment to keep my breasts from spilling out of the almost-sheer nightie before I wanted them to, I picked up the last part of my ensemble: a pair of soft leather cuffs—a favorite toy of mine we hadn’t gotten to use much lately. The chain on this pair was long enough that I could secure my hands behind my back myself. Setting complete, I knelt on the rug and made myself comfortable.
Every favor I had to ask, every minute I had to scramble around like a madwoman today, was worth it. When Devlin stepped out of the master bath and into the bedroom and caught sight of me, he nearly tripped over his own feet.
How I managed to play it cool, I’d never know. I raised an eyebrow. “Like it?”
“Love it,” he said in a low rumble that had my nipples standing at attention.
He dropped the towel he’d had wrapped around his waist, and damn if I didn’t almost come from that alone. Every inch of his six-foot frame was cut and deliciously hard. I licked my lips as he came toward me, and my mouth opened of its own volition, desperate for a taste of him. He stopped before me and reached down to cup the back of my head. Ever so gently, he drew me to him, and I obeyed the unspoken command, taking him deep into my mouth until the head of his cock bumped the back of my throat. I drew back as slowly as I could, sucking hard. Devlin’s hand tightened convulsively in my hair as I reached the tip. The salty taste of his precum coated my tongue, and I savored it, lapping at the head until he cursed and pulled free.
I whimpered, hating the loss, but my disappointment didn’t last for long. Devlin knelt in front of me and lifted me onto his lap. The head of his cock brushed my lower lips, then found home at my core. With my hands bound, I had to give up control and let him set the pace. Devlin didn’t make it easy; he sank into me, inch by torturous inch, filling me so slowly I wanted to cry…or scream…or come…or all of the above.
“Naya.” Devlin murmured my name, and I opened my eyes, not realizing until that moment they’d been closed. He was fully seated inside me, keeping me impaled on his lap with one hand bracing my back, the other gripping my waist tightly. “Ride me, love.”
I rebalanced, putting my weight on my knees. Not an easy feat when even the slightest movement triggered spasms of sensation in my core. I rose up on my knees, then sank back down on Devlin’s cock, letting his hands guide me in a familiar rhythm. I kept going when he released my waist and moved his hands to the straps of my lingerie. His rough, calloused fingertips dipped under the straps and lowered them. My breasts spilled free of their confinement, and I groaned, coming to a stop when Devlin leaned
down and took one hard nipple in his mouth. He bit gently, and I jerked, but he grabbed the chain linking the cuffs, wrapping it tightly around his hand to still my movements. With his free hand he alternated pinches at my bud with nips at the one in his mouth. The slight bites of pain had me gasping, and futilely I tried to rise on his cock. I wanted, needed, hard thrusts, but he kept me steady, pinching a bit harder in warning, and all I could do was grind against him.
Just when I thought he would reduce me to tears of frustration, Devlin released my breasts and undid the cuffs. I reached for him, but he’d already unbalanced us, and we tumbled to the rug. Flat on my back, I stared up at him, wordlessly begging. A small cry escaped me, and that seemed to trigger something in my husband. He thrust inside me, hard, and I screamed, my orgasm shooting through me like lightning. The nightie I’d so carefully picked out shredded quickly, the thin fabric no match for the flurry of our hands racing over each other.
There was no time for me to come down from my first orgasm. As I crested, Devlin brought me back up, my nerve endings on fire everywhere he touched me. When he lifted my leg higher, changing the angle of his thrusts, I came again, screaming out his name. This time he came with me, shuddering and burying his face in my neck.
* * * *
We lay on the rug, boneless in the aftermath of our orgasms. Finally Devlin shifted and leaned up, resting his weight on his forearm. He studied me, and I smiled drowsily, content to curl up right where I was and go to sleep.
“You can surprise me like that anytime,” he said.
The word “surprise” reminded me that seduction wasn’t the only thing I had in store for him tonight. Before I could tell him, however, Devlin spied the cake on the nightstand.
“We should eat this. Or did you already eat yours and I get this one all to myself?”
“I was the first official taste tester, but no, you still have to share.”
Devlin reached up to pull the plate and a fork off the nightstand. I winced. “Careful, that’s our wedding china.”
“Sex and chocolate and you’re worried about the dishes?”
I glared mutinously at him. “Wedding. China.”
He laughed but handled the plate with care. I sat up and turned, propelling him up as well. With my back to his front, I settled into his embrace and accepted the first forkful of cake. It was as delicious as I remembered, and Devlin’s happy hum seemed to agree with me.
“We’re definitely adding this to the menu. Rich, dark, sweet but not overpowering. Dev’s outdone himself with this one.”
“You’d be crazy not to add it. It’s pure decadence, which makes it perfect for your restaurant.”
“Decadent, huh?” He picked up the cake and set the plate aside. “I think it needs a little something to earn that title.”
Disbelieving, I turned to face him. “Don’t you dare change a thing. It’s perf—” I let out an inelegant squeak when he tilted the dessert slightly, letting the filling ooze out and land on my nipple. Devlin put the cake back down, then swirled his finger in the sticky mess to coat the entire areolae. His mouth followed his fingers, licking and sucking up the hazelnut fudge until I was panting.
“Now that,” he said, “is decadence.”
When he reached for his fork instead of me, I narrowed my eyes, then pushed him onto his back and straddled him. His laughter told me I’d been played, but I let it slide. I did, after all, have him right where I wanted him.
Or at least I did once he was inside me.
* * * *
Much later, after the candles had gutted out and the fire burned low, Devlin and I grabbed some blankets and pillows and curled up in front of the fireplace to get some rest. We both had hectic schedules the next day, but neither of us was quite willing to give in to sleep just yet. Besides, I had one last surprise for my husband.
“You should plan surprises like that all the time,” he murmured as he rubbed his hand gently up and down my back.
“I think after the third or fourth time in a row, I’d lose the element of surprise,” I said, burrowing my head against his chest. “Besides, you’re at Decadence all the time, and I’ve been tied up with the Emerald and photography clients almost constantly of late. We’ve barely stopped to take a breath since our wedding.”
His hand stopped stroking, and he shifted so we were both lying on our sides, face-to-face. That whiskey-brown stare burned into me.
“I didn’t know it bothered you. I thought we were on the same wavelength—put in a lot of hours now and get our businesses to the point where we can back off, take some time just for us, start a family. We’re almost there, Naya. We’ve got the house; we’re doing well enough financially. With a little time…”
I focused on a point to the side of his face, unable to meet his eyes. “We planned a path for ourselves that didn’t allow for any deviation.”
“The unexpected makes life interesting. That’s how we got back together, after all.”
“You say that now, but—”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re not talking about the Emerald or photography or Decadence?”
“Because I’m not.”
“Then tell me what’s gotten into you. If not work, then what?”
This was it. Anxiety threatened to overwhelm me. “Devlin, we’re going to have a baby.”
For a long moment, I didn’t even see him breathe. Then a smile filled with delight spread across his face.
“You’re pregnant.”
“I’m pregnant.”
With a shout, he pulled me into his arms, and I laughed. The surge of relief caused my emotions to go haywire, and I started sobbing uncontrollably.
“Whoa.” He pulled back. “What’s wrong?”
It took a few minutes before I could get myself under control, but Devlin waited patiently.
“I…I was worried.”
“Why?”
“This wasn’t in our plan. We’ve got so much going on…”
Devlin sat up, pulling me with him until I was in his lap. “Trying to soften me up with seduction, were you?” The teasing smile he gave me helped calm my nerves further.
“Maybe. A bit, yeah. We didn’t expect this, and while part of me is so, so happy, the other part of me is overwhelmed, thinking about all the changes we have to make in only a few short months. It’s—”
Devlin silenced me by placing a finger over my lips. “You’ve been stressing yourself out worrying about this, haven’t you?”
I moved his finger. “Just a little.”
His snort told me he clearly saw through the lie. “Answer me one thing: do you want this?”
“Yes! Of course I want our baby. We’ve been talking about kids since before our wedding. I only—”
He cut me off again. “That’s what I thought. And just so we’re absolutely clear”—he ran a hand over my stomach, a smile curling the edges of his lips—“I want him or her too. The timing isn’t ideal, but we’ll make it work. I’ve been setting things up at Decadence so I can work fewer hours than I have been. We have time before the baby comes, and we will get everything sorted.”
Hearing his rationale soothed the last of the frayed nerves inside me. I knew there would be a lot to figure out in the coming months, but as Leah had reminded me earlier, Devlin and I weren’t alone.
“I’ve been going a bit crazy since I found out I was pregnant,” I admitted.
“I bet there’s a clause in the pregnancy handbook which states that craziness is allowed. Are you excited?”
I swallowed hard over the lump in my throat and nodded.
Devlin laid me back down on the pillows and blankets, then leaned over me, brushing one hand above where our child grew. “Me too. I love you,” he said, and my throat tightened with emotion to the point that I could only mouth the words back.
Happiness comes in many forms, some decadently rich and sensual, others steady and calm, still more purely unexpected. Now that my fears had been put to rest, my mind quieted, al
lowing me to bask in the joy of what Devlin and I had created. There would be time to talk about the practicalities later. For this one moment, Devlin and I simply reveled in the news of our child, in the bright promise of our changing future.
Loose Id Titles by Riley Shane
Blood Rose
* * * *
The EMERALD VALLEY Series
Bed, Breakfast, and Bondage
* * * *
The SEATTLE MARAUDERS Series
Two-Man Advantage
In the Penalty Box
* * * *
Decadence
(an Emerald Valley Spring Fling)
Riley Shane
I am a native Californian who has spent the years since graduating high school bouncing around the world at every opportunity. I am a graduate of Vassar College where—despite often being distracted by British Literature—I received my Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. I’m an avid reader who spends much of my time engrossed in romance novels…when I’m not being shanghaied by the loud, demanding, often-crazy characters that live in my head. Right now you can find me in Northern California, but who knows where I’ll be next? So long as I have my laptop and most discerning critic with me, I’m ready to travel and write from wherever the wind may take me.
Enough about me—I’d love to hear from readers. You can find me on the Web at http://www.rileyshane.com.
