by Katie Dowe
He bit her neck gently and lifted her into his arms to carry her over to rinse her mouth out before going to the bedroom. “How about some soup?”
“How about sucking on my nipples?” She grabbed his arm to keep him there.
“Alicia, we can’t!” he told her huskily.
“We can improvise. Please.” Her dark brown eyes pleaded with him.
He shuddered as he looked down at her. He had seen her retching helplessly into the bowl and had wondered if he was not putting her through too much. He get to go on about his business as if nothing was going on and she was the one who had to bear everything!
She pulled the pajama top over her head and his eyes encountered her hardened nipples. “They are super sensitive,” she told him huskily.
He ran his thumbs over them and she arched her body in response. Without a word, he bent his head and swirled his tongue over the hard bud. Her fingers dug into his thick ash blonde hair and held on, her body trembling. It had been almost three weeks since they had been physical and it was telling on them!
He lifted his head to look at her.
“Maybe you could just put it at the edge,” she whispered.
“I can’t risk that,” he rasped. He was hard as the proverbial rock and was aching badly.
“We have to do something or neither of us will be getting any sleep tonight.”
He hesitated a moment and then moved away to take off his clothes. He came over her and took her bottom off, running his hands over her bare skin before opening her legs. He opened the lips of her vagina and ran his fingers between the folds before inserting a finger inside her slowly as if feeling his way inside her. Alicia felt the desire slam into her like a well-aimed fist! He pulled his finger out after a time and looked at it to make sure there was no blood before putting it back in, easing into her slowly and working his way inside her, his thumb rubbing at her mound. Alicia felt the heat swamping her and the passion quivering through her body at a rapid rate! She came against his finger, her hands clenched into the sheets, her lips parted as she panted with the intensity of what she was going through! He pulled out of her and came over her, using his hands to prop himself up as he stared down at her. “I am still not sure,” he whispered.
For an answer, Alicia reached between them and placed him inside her. He stayed at the edge, slipping in and out of her slowly, keeping himself under rigid control. The effort caused him to remain stiff, his body clenched as he reined in the desire beating at him. At one point, she started to wrap her legs around his waist and he pulled out of her to stop her before going back in. The tip of his penis was barely inside her, but he felt the tightness of his testicles and knew he was going to erupt soon. As soon as he started, he sank deeper inside her, his body shuddering uncontrollably as he spilled himself inside her!
*****
“You are going to have to take the trip, Steven.” Marjorie came into the office and sat on one of the chairs in front of his desk. “The software that was sold to the Japanese company has glitches and you are the only one who is capable enough to deal with it.
“I can’t leave her.” He pushed away from his desk and started pacing. It was the second day of December and in a week’s time it would be her birthday. Their wedding was a month and two weeks away! “I was the one who told her to cut back and told her in no uncertain terms that she had to do this for the good of the baby.”
“I am sure Alicia will understand,” Marjorie said soothingly. She had met the woman a month ago and thought that she was the perfect woman for Steven. He was obviously smitten with her as she had never seen him behave this way before! “It’s only for a couple of days.”
“Get Mr. Tanaka on the line,” he said tersely.
“You are making a big thing out of a small matter, Steven,” she told him quietly as she got to her feet. “She is going to be fine.”
“And if anything happens I will be thousands of miles away,” he said grimly. “Just get him on the phone.”
*****
“Hi. I am finally cleared to come downstairs like a normal human being,” she said as soon as he made his way into the living room. He had taken off his coat as well as his suit jacket. Alicia and Grace were in the living room talking with a cheerful fire blazing in the fireplace. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He forced a smile as he greeted his mother first and then came over to pull her onto his lap. “It’s good to see you up. Are you sure are supposed to be up?”
“I cleared it with Henry.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Marjorie called me.”
“What for?”
“Steven, you are going to have to trust that we are going to be fine. I promise that I will not do anything to cause me to lose this baby. I thought you knew that by now.”
“What did she tell you?”
“That you have to go to Japan.”
“She had no right.”
“She had every right since she also told me that you were planning on not going,” she told him mildly. “Grace is here as well as the members of staff who make sure that I do not lift a straw. Allen is monitoring things for me and handles what he can. I do very little and as much as I am not used to sitting around I am dealing with it. Please go to Japan and come back home to us safely.”
“I don’t want to leave you-”
“And for that I love you even more, baby.” She kissed him on the mouth. “We are going to be fine.”
“I will make sure of that too, darling,” Grace assured him.
He heaved a breath. “Okay, but please call me no matter the time.”
*******
“What about the PR team? Is everything on target for the advertising campaign?” Alicia cradled the phone at her ear as she made some modifications to the emails she was sending out. Steven had been gone for three days and was coming back home tomorrow.
“Everything is going as scheduled. The PR team are on target and the ads have already gone out. The tasting party is set for Friday, too bad you won’t get to be there.”
“It’s the first time I am going to miss it since I started working at ColaCo.” She stopped what she was doing and felt the wave of sadness hit her! It was just now occurring to her that her life was never going to be same again!
“But you will be starting a whole different life!” Allen declared as if he could read her thoughts. “Mother and wife! Nothing can top that, honey.”
“You don’t have to tell me.” She sent off the email. “I am going to need you to conference a call to Simon later today.”
“Already done, honey.”
Alicia hung up the phone and stared off over the cream and beige wall of the luxurious bedroom. She should be happy, she told herself sharply. She had a wonderful life, a man who loved her to pieces, and a baby on the way. It was not like when her mother had her. She had to do things all on her own and find a way to make things work by doing two jobs. Steven loved her and wanted to take care of her, but that was the problem! She was not used to anyone taking care of her. She had pulled herself up by her boot straps and made a life for herself. She was one of the few black woman to be in charge of a fortune five hundred company and she had been handed no helping hand. She was very proud of her accomplishments and did not want to be think of anything less than that woman! She looked up as Grace came into the sitting room. “I thought would be hungry.” She brought the tray forward and placed it on the table. Alicia moved her laptop and put away the papers she had been working on.
“Fresh strawberries and whipped cream!” Alicia said with a smile. “You read my mind.”
“Actually, it was Sophia. I swear that woman has adopted you,” Grace said with a smile as she handed Alicia the dish with the fruits.
“She told me the joy of having five children.” Alicia spooned the fruit into her mouth and closed her eyes at the taste of it. “I told her that I admire her.”
Grace laughed in delight. “Some women are a natural at childbearing.”
“I am not sure I am.”
Chapter 10
Grace’s eyes met hers. “Why do you say that?”
Alicia shrugged as she scooped out the last of the delicious concoction. “I have always been career driven. I grew up watching my mother struggle to make two ends meet and I swore that I would work hard and have something in life. Don’t get me wrong. I admire the way she went about putting her shoulders to the wheel and not letting her situation get the better of her. I want this child and I want it to work between Steven and I, but I don’t know what kind of a parent I am going to be.”
“You are going to be a good mother.” Grace poured a glass of lemonade and handed it to her. “I was scared when I was pregnant,” she added with a laugh. “I grew up as a debutante with nothing more than maybe a scraped knee or two. My mother was very rigid when it came to appearances and I was always supposed to look my best. I was basically groomed to become a wife and mother and I left straight from my parents’ place to the manor. It took me a great deal of time to get pregnant and the pressure was getting to me. I had to provide an heir and I knew my husband was expecting me to do so.” She smiled at the look on the girl’s face. “I was not like you, darling. I was not career minded or anything like that. Those were different times. The only technical things we had to think about was what dress to wear to the next function.”
“But you dedicated your life to being a mother and a wife,” Alicia pointed out. “I am not sure I can do that. I want to be there for Steven and our child but I am not sure I can be like that.”
“And nobody is asking you to be like that. It’s different now. Women can have children and have a full-time career. Just make sure you are here to read him a bedtime story.”
“I want to be here to see his or her first walk and hear the first words. Hopefully it will be ‘Mommy,’” she said with a smile.
“Steven’s first word was ‘Dada,’” Grace told her with a wry smile.
“What was he like as a baby?” Alicia asked curiously.
“He was a quiet baby, hardly ever cried, and was always pleasant. I used to love sitting in the nursery and watching him sleep. His dad used to come home and join me, sometimes we would fall asleep in there. Growing up he was the same. Quiet and gentle and always looking out for others. He would be outdoors on the basketball courts or wandering the grounds under the watchful eyes of the staff and of course myself. He taught himself to swim when he was just six years old! I was terrified when I looked out in the pool and saw his little head bobbing up and down the water. I got a coach for him straight after that.”
“He is not my type,” Alicia mused. “If I had to say go out there and be with someone, it would not have been him. I liked guys who are forceful and demanding, kind of like me. But Steven is remarkable, he changed my way of thinking and the way I look at relationships. He opens doors for me. I used to tell myself that it was okay for a man not to open the door for me. I am an independent woman who can basically do whatever she wants so when I went out in the past and a guy did not open the door for me that’s what I would tell myself. The first time Steven pulled out a chair for me I was so shocked that I stood there looking at him! God! He is so different from what I am used to and now he has spoiled me forever.” She threw up her hands. “I am now going to want to be treated like that for the rest of my life!”
********
He came back very late the Friday evening when she was asleep. He had almost killed himself getting back from the airport! He had found himself pining over her so much that it had almost been impossible for him to get through the meetings. He bounded up the stairs in the silent house and opened the doors that led to his bedroom. He stopped short as he watched her curled up in his bed fast asleep. He had called her earlier in the day and told her that he would probably be home quite late.
“Am I supposed to wait up for you?” Her tone had sounded confused and he had laughed.
“Not if you do not want to,” he had teased her.
“I will try and wait up, but I am carrying a baby inside me, Steven. This child can be pretty unpredictable. I never used to sleep during the days and I find myself falling asleep as soon as I eat lunch! Not to mention when it touches eight at night. I can barely keep my eyes open.”
“So sleep. I will be next to you when you get up in the morning.”
“I miss you,” she had surprised him by saying.
“You do?”
“Yeah. I guess you are growing on me.”
“You are kind of growing on me too,” he had told her softly. “I cannot wait to get home.”
“Are you going to be this sweet when we are celebrating say ten years of matrimony?”
“I am naturally sweet, baby.”
He went quietly to the bathroom to take a quick shower before going into the bedroom to put on a loose sweat bottom and t-shirt before climbing into bed next to her. She stirred against him and opened her eyes. “You are home,” she murmured sleepily as she snuggled into his arms.
“I did not want to wake you.” He kissed her forehead gently.
“I tried to wait up, but I fell asleep.”
“I thought you said you would not.” He pushed back the tangled hair from her face.
“I kind of want to practice to be this dutiful wife,” she said with a grin.
He laughed softly. “As if you could be.”
“I am trying.” She lifted her head and took his lips. “Now that you are home.” She reached into his pants and felt the warmth of his skin. “Hmm. What have we here?”
“Alicia, you need to sleep,” he said with a groan.
“No, what I need is my man inside me. You have been gone for almost a week.”
“We promised to take things slow-” He bit off a groan as she used the tip of her finger to probe the opening of his penis.
“I never promised any such thing.” She started stroking him slowly. “Give me my gift.”
“If you insist,” he whispered as he started to undress her.
“Good. I was beginning to think I would have to take it by force.”
*****
“What are you guys doing here?” Alicia exclaimed as her friends came into the sitting room.
“It’s your birthday, bitch! What do you expect?” Donna asked as she ran forward and hugged her friend. “I have not seen you in two weeks and you look as if your belly has gotten way larger.” She cupped her friend’s slight bulge.
“You are exaggerating as usual,” Alicia said as she hugged her friend. “Elaine, why are you dressed as if you are going to a function?”
“Because that man of yours told us that there was going to be a party. So I am dressed for a party.”
“He never said anything to me,” Alicia said with a frown.
“That’s because it’s supposed to be a surprise,” Grace said as she came into the room. “Good evening, ladies. Now, as per your fiancé’s instructions, we are to see to it that you have fun. Pierre prepared your favorite meal and there is a huge butterscotch cake with vanilla and strawberry frosting waiting for you. He said to tell you that he has gone to the club and he will be celebrating later when he gets back.”
“And he could not have told me all those things himself?” Alicia asked, her tapered brows raised.
“He did not want to ruin the surprise.” She rang the bell and within a few minutes a maid came wheeling a tray inside. There was also a vase with freshly cut roses and a second tray with a huge cake, the writing on it read: “Happy birthday, baby.”
““I take it that Steven gave Pierre the instructions on what to write on this?” Alicia asked wryly.
“He gave specific instructions on the entire menu. All your favorite things, Miss Alicia,.” Sophia told her with a smile.
“Thanks, Sophia. This is wonderful! When was the last time I celebrated my birthday like this?” she asked her friends.
“Last year, we got drunk at that club and you almost went home with the guy who plied us with drinks!”
Donna remembered. Her eyes flew to Grace and she clapped her hands over her mouth.
“I take it you did not go home with him?” she asked in amusement as she took her seat.
“Thank God for common sense,” Alicia said feelingly. “Okay, ladies! Let’s party!”
*****
“I heard you had a good time earlier tonight?” Steven said as he walked into their bedroom later that night. The girls had left at seven and she had sat there chatting with Grace and eating some more of the delicious cake.
“You missed all the fun.” She reached up and clasped him around the neck, bringing his head down for a kiss. “How was the club?”
“The usual.” He tilted her face up and searched her features. “I figured you had not seen your friends in such a long time so I decided to let you girls have your brand of fun. I have something special plan for tonight.”
“Is that so?” she asked him softly.
“Hmm.” He scooped her up into his arms and carried her off to the bed.
“Don’t we do this almost every night?” she queried as he laid her gently onto the bed.
“Not for what I have in mind.” He dug into his pocket and brought out a long slim velvet box in deep blue.
“What’s this?” Alicia asked, her eyes lighting up. “I did tell you that I like diamonds and sapphires, right? And of course rubies.”
“I remember,” he said with a smile. He opened the box and she gasped as she stared at the lovely diamond and sapphire bracelet set in platinum. She reached in and took out the jewelry slowly, examining every facet of it and watching in fascination as the lights from the lamps picked out the lights and flashed it all over the room.
“What do you think?” he asked her quietly.
She looked up at him and smiled dazedly. “It’s magnificent.”
“Turn it over.” She did and peered at the clasp which read: “To my love forever- Alicia. From your man- Steven.” She felt the strange fuzzy feeling inside her stomach and for a moment she could not say anything.
“Now you are going to make me cry,” she whispered hoarsely.
