Tempt ME

by Mia Ford

  The doctor came in and checked her, looking surprised and then running from the room. I watched the monitor and grasped her hand as another wave of contractions moved over her. She breathed in and out just like the class she went to taught her, groaning as the contraction hit its peak. She was in so much pain, but she held tightly to her beliefs, refusing the epidural they offered her. When the doctor came back, he was dressed in a coat and was wearing gloves, the nurses scurrying along behind him.

  “It looks like this baby is ready to get moving,” he said with a laugh.

  They lowered the bed, and she scooted forward, sweat beading on her forehead. I held her hand while the doctor told her to keep breathing and not to push just yet. The nurse watched the monitor as the spikes began to rise, looking over at the doctor and nodding. He moved forward on his stool and reached his hands below her gown.

  “Okay, when I say so, I want you to bear down and push,” he instructed.

  Tiffany shook her head and breathed deeply, feeling her belly begin to contract. As the waves moved up on the screen, the nurse nodded again and the doctor took his position. I leaned down and pressed my head against her forehead and whispered “I love you” into her ear.

  “Now,” the doctor said.

  Tiffany grabbed tightly to my hand and held her breath as she pushed down hard. She screamed out as the doctor put his hand back in the air to signal her to stop.

  “Okay,” he said. “The shoulders are out, one more good push, and you will be a new mother.”

  She looked at me with tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. I kissed her lips and nodded my head, waiting for the doctor’s orders. As soon as he said push, she began, and after a few short seconds, he lifted a beautiful baby boy into the air. The baby began to cry immediately, and they rested him on her chest, cleaning out his airways and cutting his cord. Tears filled my eyes as we huddled together, just the three of us.

  “I love you,” I said, crying.

  “I love you, too,” she replied through laughter and tears. “I am thinking Justin is a perfect name.”

  “I love it.” I watched the nurses take him and start doing their weighing and blood work.

  They cleaned up the baby, wrapped him in a warm blanket, and handed him to me as they finished up with Tiffany. I walked out of the delivery room and down the hall where my mother, father, and Jordan were all waiting nervously. They looked up as I rounded the corner, and my mother burst into tears, looking down at the sweet blond-haired boy in my arms. He looked just like Tiffany, and even Jordan joked about making sure I was the father. My family took turns holding him before I could take him back to the room. It was late at night, so they kissed us both and went home, promising to come back the next day to give Tiffany love and see Justin again.

  By the time I got back, they had moved Tiffany to her room where she was patiently waiting for me to return. I put Justin in her arms and stood back, completely in awe of the two of them. The nurse had her feed the baby before she could finally rest, leaving him to fall asleep in my arms. I looked down at his little cheeks and back up Tiffany, who had fallen asleep right away. I leaned back in the chair in the room and soaked it up, knowing that life wouldn’t be this simple again for a very long time. Justin cooed and smacked his lips, looking up at me as I held him close. The nurse turned the lights down low, and I rocked Justin slowly until his eyes closed and he slept quietly in my arms. At that moment, I couldn’t help thinking about how lucky I was. I was sitting here with a healthy baby, a healthy wife, and the best life I could have ever dreamed. Justin was even more beautiful than I could have imagined, and I couldn’t believe how much you could love someone. My heart was bursting, looking down at his absolutely perfect little body. He had been made with love and brought into the world to two parents who couldn’t have been more excited to have him join the family. Even his Uncle Jordan teared up while holding him, which is something you didn’t see often. Life was perfect. The silence of the hospital was peaceful, but holding him like this, I didn’t want to fall asleep and miss a thing. Instead, I hummed a nursery rhyme to him and waited for his mom to wake up again. She had been through hell, so I wanted to make sure she got enough rest.

  Suddenly Tiffany gasped, sitting straight up in the bed and looking around frantically. Carefully, I stood up and walked to her side, taking my free hand and stroking her head. She focused in on me and looked down at Justin in my arms. Her face went relaxed, and she put her hand to her heart, letting out a deep breath.

  “Oh, my God,” she whispered. “I woke up thinking I fell asleep with Justin in my arms. I just about had a heart attack.”

  “Say, no, Mommy, I’ve been sleeping in Daddy’s arms.” I walked back over to sit down with him.

  “It is so amazing watching you bond with our little boy,” she said. “I couldn’t imagine a better father for him. He is going to be so spoiled.”

  “Haha.” I laughed. “Maybe not by us, but definitely by his grandma and grandpa.”

  “And probably Uncle Jordan, too,” she added.

  “Oh, yeah.” I shook my head. “They probably already have a car full of goodies and a lifetime membership to the candy company.”

  “Oh, Lord,” she sighed. “Can we make a rule that if you feed him candy, you have to keep him for the night?”

  “Sounds legit to me,” I said, looking over at her and laughing. “You give him a sugar high, you pay the price.”

  “Done.” She laughed again. “Gosh, what a day. That definitely happened a lot faster than I expected.”

  “You were amazing,” I said. “Seriously, I love you so much and you were a freaking rock star.”

  “I thought I was going to break your hand there for a second.”

  “Me, too,” I scoffed. “But all is well. I love you, Tiffany, so very much. I’m so proud of you. You did such an amazing job.”

  “Meh.” She waved a hand. “It was easy being a human incubator—said no one ever.”

  “You’d do it again.” I winked at her, knowing I was right.

  “Maybe once I can walk straight again.”

  I stood up from the chair and walked over to her, leaning down and kissing her on the forehead. I gently placed Justin in her arms and stood back watching as she fed him, humming the same tune I was humming earlier but with much better vocals. I stared at the two miracles in the room with me and just couldn’t believe how lucky of a man I really was. I had the most beautiful wife and child I had ever seen. My life had been so empty before they came around, even though I didn’t realize it until now. Before Tiffany, I didn’t really live. I had simply gotten up every day, went to work, drank, and went home. I’d had nothing substantial to look forward to. When Tiffany came barreling through my world, it was like she shined her light into every dark corner of my life. Even the days I wanted to sit and mope, she was there to lift me up and bring her amazing smile to my world. In the ten months we had been together, my entire life had turned completely upside down and in such a good way.

  I pulled the chair over to the bedside, and Tiffany and I talked as she nursed the baby and rocked him to sleep. We talked about life changing, we talked about what we wanted to show and teach our son, we talked about his future and our future, and we sat there bonding until the sun came up the next morning. She looked over at me and smiled as I poured her a cup of decaf and unwrapped the sandwiches I had grabbed from the cafeteria. Her eyes were light and hopeful, and she giggled as the baby grasped onto her finger.

  “I love you more than anything little man,” she whispered to Justin. “And I love your father that much, too. I can’t wait to get you home and all comfy in your new pajamas.”

  Looking at these two, I felt like the luckiest man in history. I couldn’t wait to get them home as well and all settled into their new life. Tiffany, Justin, and I were a family now, and I would never let anything come between us. It was the best gift I had ever been given, and I couldn’t imagine life getting any better than it was right then.
No matter what sleepless nights, temper tantrums, or fits came our way, I had the most perfect family in the whole world.

  The Most Eligible Bachelor

  Blurb

  I was just a simple girl from a tiny town in Texas. I’d had one man in my life, in my bed, in my body, and that ended in a nightmare. My ex-husband Earl made my life a living hell, and his daddy’s money let him get away with it. I was running out of time and options. Then, he walked into my life…

  My heart skipped a beat when I saw him sitting there with dust on his boots and the wind in his hair. A tall, dark, handsome cowboy named Chance. He had a mysterious air about him, like he was hiding some deep, dark secret that he didn’t want anyone to know about. And he had his sights set on me.

  I had no idea how deep that secret ran, or that he wasn’t who he said he was. I also had no idea how deep I could fall after just one night. His body was rock hard, lean, riding him was like riding a wild Texas stallion.

  But bliss doesn’t last long when the truth comes out.

  He’s not the man I thought he was, and learning the truth might just break my heart.

  Chapter 1: Chance Ridder

  “Come back to bed.”

  I didn’t turn around. Didn’t need to. I already knew the petite brunette calling to me was lying lazily on one side, eyes half open, looking at my naked body from across the room. There was the distinct ruffle of silk sheets, the soft moan of her equally-hot friend waking up next to her, a muffled giggle as their naked bodies intertwined.

  I smiled to myself. Staring out at the street below through the large floor to ceiling window, I took a long puff from my cigarette and let the smoke cloud my faded reflection. The sun was coming up, and from the thirtieth floor, I had a perfect view of Austin as the city slowly woke up. I relished these moments, the few minutes in my life when I had complete peace and couldn’t be bothered by anything else except the view and the smoke filling my lungs.

  The fact that the girls were waking up naked in my bed was only going to ruin that for me.

  “Come on, Chance,” came the voice of the second girl, don’t ask me her name, hoarse from all the screaming she did last night, yet seductive enough to make my cock twitch. “How about we give you a little breakfast in bed?”

  After what I had done to the both of them last night, I had a feeling their idea of breakfast was going to be just a little too tame for my taste. I took another drag from my cigarette, watched as the morning joggers ran down the sidewalks of the park across the street, and stretched my arms toward the high ceiling. My phone beeped, a reminder that my life was already starting, and I sighed as I put the cigarette out.

  “Sorry, girls, work beckons, you’ll have to eat without me,” I said, walking out of the room, barely glancing at them as they watched me leave.

  I crossed the large expanse of the living room, kicking panties and bras aside as the automatic curtains opened and let the sun in. The automated penthouse where I had spent the last seven years of my life slowly came alive, coffee machine turning on, the large flat screen waking up and displaying the six o’clock news, and the chime of my computer starting up with an immediate display of my email and to-do list.

  I walked past it all and made my way upstairs to the second floor to the secluded master bedroom. I never brought girls here. This was my sanctuary. The parties always happened in the second master downstairs with the oversized king-size bed.

  I continued on the master bathroom, which was larger than most apartments in Austin, and turned on the hot water and stepped inside. I leaned against the Italian marble tile wall and let the steaming jets wash away last night’s grime, then stepped out and dried myself off. My day had begun. I was in work mode. Everything on a precise schedule. Three minutes for a shower when I was alone, tops.

  My suit had already been laid out for me the night before, a gentle reminder from Pauline that she had been here to tidy up despite my late-night antics. I made a mental note to give her a little something extra the next time I made out her check.

  From downstairs, I could hear the soft giggles and whispers of the girls as they gathered their clothes. I got dressed quickly, slapped on my platinum Rolex watch, and made my way back downstairs. The girls were sprawled across the couch in their lingerie now, lazily filling up glasses with what was left of last night’s champagne and enjoying the view.

  “This place is incredible, Chance,” one of them said, turning around to look at me as she swayed gently from side to side.

  “Didn’t notice much last night, huh?” I asked, grabbing my phone and keys.

  “We were too busy noticing other things last night,” the second girl giggled. “Like the size of your cock.” Giggles all around.

  I nodded. “Well, make yourselves at home,” I said, heading for the door.

  “We’ll be here waiting when you get home!” the first girl called. Again, no clue what her name was. She did have an amazing set of tits and the tighter pussy of the two, but I digress.

  Babe, I’ll never see you again...

  Pauline would see to that. She’d be here within two minutes after I left and would chase both of them out with a shotgun if she had to. Another bonus for Pauline.

  * * *

  I rode the private elevator down in silence, briefly checking my messages as they came in one after the other over my phone, already clouding my head with crap I would have to deal with before the day was out.

  I tucked the phone inside my jacket, walked across the lavishly furnished lobby, and waited as my car pulled up to the curb. The back door opened, and Alice gazed at me from over her horn-rimmed glasses, a scowl on her face that left unattractive lines etched on her forehead.

  “We’re going to be late,” she announced as I slid into the backseat, closing the door behind me.

  “Good morning to you, too, Alice,” I greeted.

  “You have a meeting in ten minutes,” Alice said, ignoring the tired smile on my face. “Dennis has been planning this meeting for weeks. The least you can do is show up on time.”

  “Alice, sweetheart, I pay you to keep my life organized, not to give me advice,” I replied. “Or to chastise me. I’m pretty sure I pay other people to do that.”

  Alice grunted, and I couldn’t help but smile. Ever since I had hired her as my personal assistant slash wrangler, I had definitely upped my game. I didn’t have to worry about incompetence anymore, and since Alice enjoyed pussy as much as I did, I didn’t have to deal with office drama, either. She was the perfect fit for me, and she knew it just as much as I did. Which made her one smug bitch.

  My kind of girl.

  “Okay, Miles,” I called out to my driver. “Get us to the office, pronto, before Alice here rips us both a new one.”

  “With pleasure, sir,” Miles replied, giving me a knowing smile in the rear view mirror. “And may I say, you look exceptionally well today, Mr. Ridder.”

  “I feel like crap, Miles, but thank you.”

  “You’re quite welcome, sir,” he said as the car pulled into the morning traffic to head downtown. “Just doing my job.”

  * * *

  “As you can see, investing in this would put Ridder Technology at the forefront of the game.”

  I was slumped in my seat fiddling with my phone, barely listening to the pitch Dennis had lined up for me. When you’re a rich and famous entrepreneur like yours truly, people come out of the woodwork to pitch you all kinds of business ideas… the next big thing… nothing like it on the market… the greatest invention since sliced bread. At least that’s what everyone claims. Some of the ideas are truly crazy, some are not, most would lose rather than make money. I get pitched everywhere I go: at the office, at social events, on the golf course, in the men’s room at a strip club; even at the fucking Astros games standing in line to buy a freakin’ hot dog.

  This pitch was no different. I just wasn’t standing at a urinal with my cock in my hand. The kid standing across the conference room looked like he had
just come out of high school, nervous voice cracking, zits and all. The suit he was wearing was a size or two larger than his frame, his glasses kept slipping down his nose, and he fumbled along his presentation as if he were asking a girl out for the first time.

  I was already bored to tears.

  “What do you think, Chance?”

  I looked up and lifted an eyebrow at the man sitting to my right. Dennis East was my best friend and right-hand man, and the one person on the planet that I truly trusted. Ever since freshman year at college, we had been stuck to each other’s sides like ticks on a blue hound. I had started my company with the little bit of inheritance my good-for-nothing old man had left me when he finally choked and died, and building it up to the billion-dollar tech conglomerate that it was now had been a real challenge. A challenge I could not have overcome without the help of Dennis.

  He was as ruthless as I was, his charming smile hiding the true tiger that hid behind it. He could compliment a man one minute, then tear off his head in the next. If there was one person I knew who could run my company as well as I could, it was Dennis. That was a thought that gave me both comfort and pause. Sometimes, Dennis acted like he did run the place. I’d have to gently nudge him back into the second chair to get us back on track.