“Sex isn’t love, Leah.”
“No, but flying out to Los Angeles to tell me he loves me because he couldn’t abide by your rule and break up with me is love. Holding me when I’m crying because my father is hurting me is love. Telling me I had to follow you home to try to work things out because he knows how much you mean to me, is love.”
My father stared at me with glassy eyes. “I’m afraid he’ll hurt you. He’s not worthy.”
“For a man who used to sing Sebastian’s praises, you now have a low opinion of him.”
Hoping I was getting through to him, I took his hands in mine. “We love each other. We’re having a baby. It’s important to both of us that you’re a part of our lives.”
“I’m not sure I can let this go.”
“You have to try, dad.”
“I need time. Thank God he’s not coming to your graduation party tomorrow.”
That was the first I heard of that. Since I’d made some progress, I didn’t push it. Instead, I worked to sober my dad up, and then put him to bed.
He woke a few hours later, and we hung out, although we didn’t talk about Sebastian. I told him about my job interview and finishing my finals.
I texted Sebastian that I was spending the evening with my father, which he replied that he was happy to hear, and he’d see me at my graduation tomorrow. I considered asking him if he’d planned to come to my party, but my father was asking if I wanted to take a walk so he could clear the final remnants of his drinking from his brain.
The next morning, I sat with my classmates as we each received our graduate diplomas. Despite the fatigue and conflict between my father and Sebastian, I was feeling hopeful. I was officially not a student anymore, which I hoped would help my father see I was grown up and not Sebastian’s intern lover. I still hadn’t heard about the job in California, but I had several prospects in New York. The thing I was looking forward to the most was being with Sebastian and our baby. We weren’t engaged, and I supposed it was possible that things wouldn’t work out. But right now, our plans were to be together and have the baby. That’s all I really needed.
“Leah Marie Hammond.”
I walked up the steps of the stage, taking the diploma in one hand, and shaking the dean’s hand with my other.
“Congratulations,” he said.
“Thank you.” I turned, held the diploma up toward the clapping audience. Somewhere out there, my father and Sebastian sat, not together, but the two most important men in my life were there.
I started to walk toward the other side of the stage to make my exit when the world started to spin. I stopped and took a breath, hoping to regain my bearings. But when I took my next step, the world tilted and then went black.
I came to in Sebastian’s arms, with a commotion of people around me.
“Leah, baby… wake up.”
“I’ve called 9-1-1,” someone said.
“Leah!” My father’s voice broke through the noise. “Get away.”
“I will not,” Sebastian held me tighter.
I reached out my hand to my dad. “I’m okay.”
“You passed out.” He turned on Sebastian. “You said you’d take care of her.”
Sebastian’s eyes turned dark. “She was with you last night.”
“Don’t you blame me.”
“Hey!” In my mind I was yelling, but I could hear the weakness in my voice. “Stop it. Please, just stop.” Tired, weary and light headed, there was nothing more I could do but cry.
“Don’t cry, baby.” Sebastian kissed my forehead.
“I’m a doctor,” a woman’s voice approached us.
Sebastian released me as she knelt next to me.
She held my wrist to take my pulse. “Do you have any health conditions?”
“She’s having a baby,” Sebastian blurted.
“Ah,” the doctor nodded. “Fainting isn’t uncommon in pregnancy, but you should go to the hospital.” She looked up. “Looks like the paramedics are here.”
The paramedics worked in a flurry and within minutes I was in the back of an ambulance on my way to the hospital. This time my father won the battle to be with me.
“You scared me to death, Leah. I can’t lose you honey.”
I wanted to reassure him, but I couldn’t be sure I was okay. The lady doctor seemed to think it wasn’t a big deal that I’d fainted, and yet, she still sent me to the hospital.
“Dad, I need you to do something for me.”
“What. Anything.”
“Be nice to Sebastian.”
He sighed and shook his head. “I don’t think I can.”
“You don’t have to love him or be his friend, although I think it’s a tragedy that you’d allow yourself to lose that friendship. But I love him. I want you to respect that and at the very least figure out a way to tolerate him.”
My father pulled my hand that wasn’t tied to an IV to his lips and kissed it. “I’ll try, honey.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
“He tried to keep me from you.”
“He was scared for me too and you told him to get away. I would think it would be a good sign that he defied you on that. It shows he loves me.”
“Harrumph.”
32
Sebastian
If the hospital staff thought they were going to keep me away from Leah, they had another thing coming.
“Only family,” the bored looking nurse at the emergency desk said.
“I’m the father of her baby, that makes me family.”
She quirked a brow, clearly unimpressed with my outburst. “I’ll let the doctor know.”
“You do that.” Fuck. Where was she? What was wrong with her? Was I really going to lose another woman? The moment the New York police showed up on my doorstep at the behest of the Las Vegas police to tell me Valerie died came back to me in vivid detail. At first, I couldn’t process what they were saying. Valerie was bigger than life, and too feisty to let the grim reaper get his hands on her.
Then I felt like all my bones had liquified as I fell to my knees. Valerie and I had an unconventional marriage that may or may not have lasted, but I felt the loss of her deeply. She was the other part of the life I’d built, and I grieved that such a vibrant woman was gone from my life.
If I lost Leah, it would be worse. I cared for Valerie, but I loved Leah. If I lost her, I’d lose a piece of my soul.
“Mr. Cox?” A doctor said.
“Leah Hammond. Is she alright? I need to see her.”
The doctor nodded. “She’s fine but until she’s admitted, only family is allowed.”
“The baby. Is the baby okay?”
“Mr. Cox, I’m not at liberty—”
“I’m the father!” I wanted to grab his collar and shake him.
“I see. Let me check—”
“Fuck that.” I started back toward the doors that were locked and I probably wouldn’t get into, but if I had to tear them down, I’d get to Leah.
“Mr. Cox. You need to calm down. Seeing you like this will only upset her.”
“Then let me see her so I can calm down.”
He turned to the nurse, “Can you call Al, just in case.”
“Al? Is he security? Look doctor, I’m not here to make trouble. I’m here because the woman I love who’s carrying my child is here and I’m going fucking mad not being able to see that they’re okay.”
“I understand.” The doctor opened the door, and I followed him back.
Leah was in a hospital bed hooked up to an IV, still looking tired and pale. Her father was on one side of the bed and Karen was on the other. She’s not family, why is she here?
I’d wanted peace with Henry. It was bad enough he tried to get me booted from my own company, but if he’d done something to keep me away from Leah, we were going to have a real problem.
“Sebastian.” She smiled when she saw me. For the first time since I saw her drop to the stage floor, the world started to tilt back to no
rmal.
Karen stepped back which was a good thing because I was prepared to muscle my way to Leah. I took her hand and then leaned over to kiss her head.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“The baby?”
“We’re both fine.” She drew my hand up over her heart and held it there.
“What the hell happened?”
“She probably had a drop in blood pressure, which isn’t unusual in pregnant women. She’s a little dehydrated too, so we’re giving her fluids and want to keep her overnight just to make sure everything is alright.”
“We’ll wait outside,” Karen said with a pointed look to Henry.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Now that I knew Leah was okay, I turned on Henry. “I know you don’t like me right now, but don’t you ever keep me from Leah or my child again.”
“Sebastian?” Leah looked at me with a quizzical expression.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Henry said dismissively.
“They wouldn’t let me back here.”
Henry shrugged. “I guess they just allow family.”
I clenched my teeth. “They let Karen back here. Did you get married when I wasn’t looking?”
“She came with me.”
“No.” I bellowed it, knowing I was causing a scene. “You were in the ambulance with Leah. Karen wasn’t. They let her back here but not me. You told them to keep me out, didn’t you? It was bad enough that you tried to take my company, but I won’t let you take my life.”
“You’re here now.” I heard Leah’s attempt to calm me down, but I was done trying to be civil.
“I didn’t say anything to keep you out, Sebastian. I was preoccupied with Leah. After they treated her, I was allowed back in and by then, Karen was here.”
I glared at him, searching his eyes for the truth.
“Henry, let’s give them a minute,” Karen said.
“I’m not leaving her when he’s like this—”
“Henry!” Karen barked.
He flinched at her annoyed tone.
Before he could respond, she added, “Look at him. Tell me he doesn’t love her and want to take care of her.”
I looked to Karen and then Henry, and they turned my attention to Leah. I took a calming breath. “She’s right. God, my world ended when you went down on that stage.”
“I’m fine.” She squeezed my hand.
I didn’t like eating crow, but it had to be done, because whatever Henry thought of me, or what I thought of him, Leah loved us both and I needed to be civil. “I’m sorry, Henry.”
Leah pursed her lips at her father when he didn’t respond. “Although it doesn’t seem like it, my dad will start being nicer.”
“Yeah, well I guess I can’t blame him too much. If our twenty-year-old daughter comes home with a forty-year-old man, I’m not sure I’ll react much better.”
“I’m twenty three.”
I pulled her hand to my lips and kissed it. “And you’re smarter and more mature than the rest of us.”
“Remember that buster.”
Leah was released with a clean bill of health the next day, and I immediately moved her into my apartment. The following week, when she got the call that she was hired by the company in Los Angeles, I cleared out the extra bedroom and made a home office for her. When I’d finished setting it up, I fetched her from the terrace where she was doing yoga.
“Come see your new digs.” I offered my hand to help her up.
She smiled, and like always, it felt like a gift. “You’re spoiling me, you know.”
“I know.” It was so strange how much I wanted to do things for her. Not because she wasn’t capable, but because I was compelled to. My heart was so fucking full, and all I wanted to do was make Leah happy. It was a completely new sensation, and while it still scared me, I trusted Leah to take care of my heart.
I brought her into the office. “What do you think?”
She scanned the room, which had a large L-shaped desk, with a laptop, docking station and two monitors. It also had a couch in case she needed to rest, a bookcase and file cabinet. I’d had her diploma framed and hung on the wall. I went light on the décor, as I figured she might have her own ideas about it, but there were a few plants and a picture of her as a teenager with her parents.
“Sebastian, I love it.” She walked around the room looking at each item. Finally, she stopped at the desk and turned around to face me. “It’s perfect. We should christen it.”
I arched a brow.
With a coy smile, she tugged her yoga top over her head, revealing her sublime breasts. Immediately I went uncomfortably hard. Then she shimmied out of her yoga pants and underwear.
“Ms. Hammond, are you trying to seduce me?”
She grinned. “Is it working?” She sat on her new desk.
“Fuck, yeah.” I yanked my t-shirt over my head and tossed it aside. I unbuttoned my jeans and tossed them in a pile on the floor with my briefs. I ran my hands up her thighs, her waist, to her face, which I held as I looked into her fabulous blue eyes before I took her lips in a deep kiss.
She moaned as her hands roamed my chest, sliding over my abs and lower. Her fingers wrapped around my cock, and I hissed as pleasure spiked, electrifying my body.
I broke the kiss and dropped to my knees. “I want to eat you, Leah.”
She widened her knees giving me a stellar view of her perfect pussy, glistening with her wetness.
I ran a finger through her folds and then licked them as I looked up at her. “Mmm. I love how you taste.”
Her eyes flashed with white hot passion. “Make me come, Sebastian.”
I smiled. “Yes, ma’am.” I ran my hands along her inner thigh, opening them further. I inhaled her sweet scent and then pressed a kiss to her pink hard clit.
Her fingers ran through my hair and held my head to her, as I used my tongue on her sweet pussy. I licked and laved her pussy lips and clit until finally I used my tongue to fuck her.
“Yes.” She moaned and her hips rocked against my mouth. “I need to come… oh God Sebastian… please.”
I hooked her legs over my arms as I tilted her hips up so I could devour her. I sucked her clit until she was writing and gasping, then I tongue fucked her again.
“Yes, yes, yes…”
I repeated the moves until she cried out my name, and her sweet pussy juice coated my tongue.
I brought her down and then stood. “You taste so fucking good, Leah.” I pulled her to me, kissing her hard so she could taste herself.
Her hand wrapped around my cock and brought it to her entrance. “Fuck me.”
I pushed in, until I couldn’t go any further, and held still. Before Leah, sex was simply like scratching an itch, but with her, it was a spiritual experience. My body wasn’t just joined with hers, it was a part of her. And she was a part of me, as corny as that sounded.
I held her and kissed her, letting my dick sit snug and hot inside her. I could fucking stay here forever.
She wrapped her legs around my hips, and her hands came to my face. “I love you.”
My heart expanded in my chest. Every time she said that, it felt like a miracle. How the hell did I get so lucky?
“I love you too.”
She smiled and rocked her hips. “Fuck me, Sebastian.”
My cock thickened even more at my innocent sexy woman’s dirty talk. I withdrew and slid in with the intention of taking my time. It was probably a fool’s effort because I always had a difficult time controlling my libido once my dick was in her tight pussy.
When I pressed in, she moaned and dropped her head back. I took advantage by kissing her neck, sucking lightly careful not to leave a mark. I withdrew again, gritting my teeth as her pussy resisted my withdrawal by squeezing and sucking me back in.
“I love your pussy, baby. So fucking good.” I thrust in, pulled out, focusing on her gasps and moans, with each slide.
/> “Faster… harder…. Oh God I’m almost there.”
Not wanting to deny her, I picked up the pace, plunging into her and grinding my hips before pulling back and repeating. Need coiled tighter and tighter, but I fought the release, wanting her sweet pussy to be the one pulling me into oblivion.
“Sebastian…”
I leaned over, sucking on her pretty pink nipple, as I thrust in and ground against her again, making sure I hit her g-spot and clit.
She screamed, and her pussy gripped my cock so hard I saw stars as she shot me like a rocket to the heavens.
“Fuck yes, Leah…” I thrust in again, releasing my seed into her womb until it was oozing from her. When I was down from the high, I wrapped her in my arms and held her as our breaths returned to normal. When I was sure I was steady, I picked her, and carried her to the bedroom, and laid her on the bed. “I need more, Leah.”
“Take all you want, Sebastian. I’m all yours.”
I wondered if I’d ever get enough of her. Even now that I knew she was mine, the more I had her, the more I wanted her. I’d just come hard, but already my dick was growing and thickening. I pressed inside her again, letting her pussy walls massage it back to full width and length.
Once again, my pace was slow and steady, but I was able to hold it like that for longer. As I moved and out of her, I watched her face, the way her eyes sparked with fire and passion. Her cheeks were pink and her lips made that perfect O as I pushed her over into pleasure again. Only then did I let go of the reins of my libido and sought my own release.
Sated, I held her in my arms. She rested her head on my shoulder, as her hand absently caressed my chest.
“Does it ever get old?”
“What?” I asked.
“Sex.”
“Do you want it too?” I squeezed her ass.
“No. It just always surprises me how every time is so intense.”
“Before you, I would have said, yes.”
She lifted her head to look at me. “And now?”
“And now, I can’t imagine it will ever get old with us. It’s like I stick my dick in a light socket each time I fuck you.”
She laughed. “That’s a good thing, I hope.”
Beautiful Mistakes: Contemporary Romance Boxset Books 1-4 Page 38
