His hips are grinding against mine already, and neither of us has lost our clothes yet. His strong hands massage my body as his lips kiss lower, pushing and pulling clothing out of the way. When he rips off my jeans, he slides two fingers inside of me, and his tongue flicks against my aching clit. My eyes flutter closed at the same time my lips part with a heavy gasp. My hips begin lifting on their own, moving back and forth with his tongue. I never want to separate. I need him right where he is for the rest of my life.
When my release begins to build, he pulls away, leaving me hanging.
“Hey,” I cry out as he moves back up my body.
He grins. “What’s the matter, Val?” he asks, sliding deep inside of me, filling every last inch.
I can no longer complain. My head falls back against the pillows as my eyes close. His mouth finds mine just as he begins to thrust in and out of me. God, I love the way he fills me completely. It’s like his body was made to fit mine. It’s like we were made to be a couple. He knows every spot to touch, every place to caress. I never thought we made much sense, but now, I can’t see myself with any other man. Callan Gregory is it for me.
I know we should make this quiet and quick, but I don’t want to. I want to take our time, feel every touch, every emotion that we cause one another to feel. I want to feel like I’m being pushed to the edge of the earth, nearly ready to fall, only to be pulled back again. I want that process repeated and repeated until I can’t stand it anymore. I want to feel like a tornado is wreaking havoc on my body. Like I never know which direction it’s going to go, which path it’s going to take. I love the way he keeps me on my toes, never knowing what move he’s going to make or what he’s going to say.
“You’re so fucking perfect, Val,” he whispers against my skin. “God, just sliding into you makes me want to come undone.” He thrusts inside of me again, this time deeper.
I call out, causing him to repeat the move; this time, he rocks his hips when he can go no further. My body tightens and prepares for my release.
“Callan, I’m going to come,” I cry out quietly so that we don’t wake my mom.
He doesn’t stop. “Shhhh, not so loud. Your mom will hear,” he whispers, turning his head to look at the ceiling.
My nails dig into his back, and I open my mouth to let out the moan that’s dying to escape, but he presses his mouth to mine, causing me to whimper into his mouth.
“Fuck,” he moans quickly just as his release builds and breaks free, spilling into me.
His hips slowly still, and he rests his head against my chest. “Your heart is pounding like crazy,” he says.
I giggle. “It’s all your fault.”
He lifts his head and looks deeply into my eyes. “I love you, Val. More than you’ll ever know. More than I could ever express.”
I can’t hold back the smile his words cause. “Me too, Callan. I don’t have the words to explain how much you mean to me.”
He doesn’t say anything, he just gives me a soft kiss, then lays his head back against my chest so he can hear how crazy my heart is going for him.
22
Callan
ONE MONTH LATER…
* * *
Today marks Val’s sixteenth week of pregnancy and the morning sickness hasn’t slowed down a bit. Every morning, she lays in bed or sits on her knees in front of the toilet while I get ready for work. While she showers, I make her toast and get her a bottle of water. We have to get up an hour early just so she feels decent enough to go to work. But today, the sickness doesn’t seem to be going away. She insists on going in anyway.
We’re in the car, stuck in morning traffic on our way to the office. Her eyes are closed as she leans her head against the window. I reach over and take her hand in mine.
“You know, there is no reason for you to be putting yourself through all of this. I know this isn’t the job of your dreams. Why do you keep forcing it?”
Her eyes pop open as she rolls her head to the side to look at me. “Because I’m an adult. I need a job. Women everywhere work while pregnant.”
I nod. “I know they do, but it’s because they have to or because they’re working their dream job and don’t want to miss a minute of it. Neither of those are the case for you. I mean, you haven’t slept in a single day. What if, this whole time, you could’ve been sleeping through your morning sickness hours. Maybe a little extra rest will do you some good. I’m sure you and the baby could both use a little extra sleep. I read somewhere that your pregnant body does more work while you sleep than a normal man’s body does all day with a full day of work. Your only worry needs to be growing this baby to be strong and healthy.”
She offers up a weak smile. “But what about you? That would leave you short-handed at work.”
I wave her off. “I’d gladly pick up the extra work if it meant that you’d be home resting.”
She nods. “Okay. I’ll go in today, gather my things, and tell everyone goodbye.”
I smile and kiss her hand that I’m still holding. “Good. Tonight, you can go to bed early and sleep late tomorrow. Hopefully, we just figured out the key to allow you to keep down the contents of your stomach.”
Traffic begins to move, and I drive on, never letting go of her hand. When we get to the office, Val gets busy on today’s work. She brings me a cup of coffee even though I insisted weeks ago she stop. I don’t want her on her feet more than she has to be. She goes through my mail, returns phone calls and emails, then sets to checking messages. All the while, I sit at my desk, watching her do everything but gathering her things.
“Val, I will check the messages. You, get a box from the supply room and start packing. I’m taking you home at lunch. We can eat together, and when I come back to work, you can take a nap. How’s that sound?”
She leans her head back against her chair. “Amazing. I know I slept a full night, but I’m tired already, and I’ve only been up for three hours.”
“If you’re tired, it just means you need more rest. Stop pushing yourself so hard.”
When lunch rolls around, I carry her box of things to the garage and place it in the trunk before climbing behind the wheel.
“What are you thinking for lunch? You want something at home, or should I swing by someplace and grab whatever you’re craving?”
She looks at me with a smile. “I already called in our lunch order at Sammo’s.”
I laugh and shake my head. “You’re never going to get enough of that place, are you?”
“Not any time soon. Every morning, I wake up craving their buffalo wings covered in ranch dressing and their Cajun chicken pasta. I don’t know what it is, but this baby likes spicy foods, even if it does give me heartburn.”
I grab our food and then drive us home. I carry in her box and the bags of food she ordered. “My God. How much food did you order?” I ask, walking toward the door with my arms full.
“I ordered wings, nachos, mini burgers, cheese sticks, and then both of our meals. I couldn’t decide on an appetizer, so I ordered them all.”
I laugh and shake my head. “Of course you did.”
We take all the food to the couch, and she has it all spread out across the coffee table when I come back with two plates, forks, and water. Instead of sitting on the couch, she sits on the floor, between the couch and coffee table. She keeps her attention on the TV show she picked and the food she’s eating, but I can’t keep my attention off of her. Even with buffalo sauce smeared across her face, she’s absolutely breathtaking. She makes my heart skip a beat and makes me feel as if I’m floating off into space. I now know what it’s like to be genuinely happy, and it’s all because of her.
I eat the steak she ordered me along with the freshly steamed vegetables and watch as she eats a little of everything. When she finishes, she crawls up onto the couch and lays down.
“I ate way too much.”
I snicker to myself as I clean up the food. When I come back from the kitchen, she’s sound asleep. I
bend down and press a kiss to the top of her head. “I love you. I’ll be home from work in a few hours,” I whisper.
She offers up a small smile, but she doesn’t open her eyes or speak. I slip out the door, locking it behind me.
For the next two weeks, I leave her to sleep in while I go to work. Every day, she tells me about spending her days, eating, swimming, and napping. On several occasions, she has dinner on the table when I get home, and she often tells me about how good she’s feeling: no more morning sickness and she has so much more energy with all the extra rest she’s getting. What I don’t tell her is how tired I am from not only doing my job, but hers too since I haven’t replaced her at work yet. I’ve been looking over applications but haven’t yet decided on one. Nobody will do the job like she did, and to be honest, I’m not looking forward to spending all day with another woman in my office. It makes me wonder how in the hell I ever did it before her.
I leave work at lunch and swing by the house to pick up Val. She’s up, dressed, and has her hair and makeup done. She’s glowing. She’s smiling with excitement at the hopes of finding out the sex of our baby. Her blue eyes are shining bright, and now that her belly is rounded, she looks sexy in a whole new way.
I always wondered how men felt when their hot wives gained weight during a pregnancy. My number-one reason to avoid having children before was that I was worried that I’d no longer have any interest in the woman I was with. But with Valerie, seeing her carrying around our growing baby, it makes me want her more. I love being able to put my hand on her stomach and feel the baby kick. I love feeling it move when I put my lips against it and talk to him or her. I love sleeping with one hand on her stomach. It makes me feel like I’m protecting her and our baby all with one hand. And here libido is on high alert, always down for a long fuck or a quick romp. She keeps me worn out but in a good way. I couldn’t ask for more.
“Do you hope it’s a boy or a girl?” she asks, glancing at me from the passenger seat.
I shrug. “It doesn’t matter to me. As long as it’s healthy.”
She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “I hate when people say that. When you think about our future, do you see yourself playing catch in the backyard with a boy or having tea parties and playing dress-up with a little girl?”
I laugh. “I think it’s twenty-nineteen and I can do both of those things with a boy or a girl.” I look over at her and smirk.
She laughs and shakes her head. “I kind of want a girl. I want to dress her up in frilly dresses, paint her nails, fix her hair. I picture going for mommy-daughter mani-pedis, going to Starbucks and getting me a coffee and her a hot chocolate. Watching as she grows from a baby, to a child, to a teenager, and then an adult. Passing on my wisdom, the kind of things only a girl needs to know. Helping her recover from her first broken heart and sharing stories about all the men I left with broken hearts.” She smiles, and her eyes glaze over like she’s picturing everything she’s listing off.
I pick up her hand and press a kiss to the top. “I hope we have a little girl too. It sounds like you have too many plans to cancel now.”
She looks at me with a smile. “Yeah, but it’s the same way with a boy. I picture teaching him to be gentlemen, watching him take his date to prom and not having to worry about raising a grandchild,” she laughs out. “Everything from his first smile to my last.”
I park the car at the ultrasound office. “Well, let’s go inside and find out.”
She nearly jumps from her seat and drags me to the door.
We quickly check in and have a seat in the waiting room. The whole time, her legs are bouncing uncontrollably. She picks at her pink nail polish and nervously bites her lower lip.
I place my hand on her thigh, and her legs settle down. I then place my hands over hers to stop her fidgeting, then I lean forward and kiss the lip she’s biting.
“Calm down. All questions will be answered soon,” I whisper against her lips.
She nods and takes a deep breath.
“I love you, Callan.”
“I love you too,” I reply.
“Ms. Windsor?” a lady says from behind us.
I turn and look over my shoulder at the woman standing with a chart in her hands and an open door behind her. I spin back to Val.
“Are you ready?”
She nods.
I stand up and hold out my hand. She takes it, and I lead her to the door, where we follow behind the nurse. She takes us into a private room. The lights are dimmed low.
“Please have a seat and the technician will be with you soon.” She closes the door behind her, leaving us alone.
Val sits on the edge of the bed and looks around while I stand at her side.
“We haven’t talked much about this moment. Are we going to tell everyone, or are we going to have some cheesy gender reveal party?”
She rolls her eyes. “I think we should just send out a group text.” She laughs.
“We need to plan your bridal shower too,” I state.
Again, her eyes roll. “I hate things like that.”
“What? Every woman looks forward to her bridal shower.”
“I hate being the center of attention.” She turns and lays back on the bed. “Plus, those things are for people that can’t afford to buy everything on their own. I think we have everything we need, don’t you?”
“Of course, but it’s a way to celebrate this new life we’re starting.”
“Fine, call Maddie and have her plan my shower,” she agrees reluctantly.
I laugh and kiss her forehead just as the door opens.
“Ms. Windsor?” the woman asks as she sits down behind the machine.
“Yes. I’m Valerie. How are you?”
The nurse smiles. “Great. Are you ready to find out what you’re having today?”
“So ready,” she says, pulling up her shirt and pushing down her pants to her hip bones.
“Now, before we get started, I just want to warn you that you may leave here without knowing. It all depends on how the baby is developing and how it’s laying.”
Val nods. “I understand.”
“Okay, let’s get started.” The nurse squirts some clear jelly on her stomach and smears it around with a paddle. Finally, the wall in front of us lights up, and the baby’s image is projected.
It feels like the breath has been stolen from my lungs. I can see the outline of the baby’s head, it’s torso, arms, legs, hands, and feet. I can hear the heartbeat; it’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. Finally, she moves the paddle, and the baby rolls over.
“I know the sex of the baby,” the technician says. “Are you ready?”
Valerie looks up at me and places her hand in mine; with a gentle squeeze, she looks back and the nurse and nods her head.
23
Valerie
“Is it a girl?” I ask.
The nurse smiles and nods. “It’s a girl!”
We both cheer and quickly kiss as a way to celebrate. The nurse says a few things that I completely ignore because I’m so happy and blinded by the image of my baby on the wall. The machine gets shut off and then she’s handing me a couple pictures she snapped of today’s session.
“You can leave when you’re ready,” she says, wiping my stomach clean and leaving the room.
I fix my pants and my shirt and sit up, dangling my legs over the edge of the bed. I show Callan the pictures.
“Can you believe how beautiful she is already?”
He flips through them, nodding. “I can. She takes after her mommy.”
He pulls me up into his arms and kisses me, long, slow, and deep.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here so we can tell the rest of the family the good news.” He takes my hand and leads me from the room. The whole walk to the car, I can’t look at anything other than the pictures of our daughter in my hand.
It’s going on ten at night, and we’re both lying in bed. The pictures of the baby are still in my hands. I can�
�t do anything but flip through them over and over. I don’t know how I can tell from this crappy black and white picture, but I can see a little bit of both Callan and me in her. She looks like she will have my eye shape, but his strong jaw and chin. She looks long too; maybe she’ll be tall like her daddy. I can’t do anything but smile. Is it possible to be this in love with someone that hasn’t even been born yet? Already, I’m so proud of her and know that she’s going to be an amazing person. All I can think about is the remarkable things she’ll do and the good person she’s going to become.
Callan leans over and takes the pictures from my hands. “Come on. Enough of this for tonight. Let’s get some rest.”
I allow him to take the pictures, and I curl into his side. “How’s work been going?” I ask, laying my hand on his chest.
“My new assistant starts tomorrow. I’m not looking forward to it.”
“You replaced me already?” I ask, looking up at him.
He laughs. “I didn’t want to, but Bennet made me when things started piling up. He hired someone on a temporary basis in case you want your job back after the baby is born. But I’ve been thinking, why don’t you go back to the gallery you love so much?”
I scoff. “Because that was a dead-end job that didn’t pay anything.”
“So? I make enough money for the both of us, and you loved it so much. I mean, you almost didn’t want to give it up.”
“I don’t want you supporting me, Callan,” I breathe out as I turn my head upward to see his blue eyes shining.
His hand covers mine, and he squeezes it gently. “Val, I want you to be happy. Sitting at a desk in an office won’t do that. And eventually, you’ll need to escape this house. I’m just trying to think ahead. I don’t want you feeling like you need to escape. I want this house to be your refuge. I want you to want to be here, run here when things out there get too crazy. Not the other way around.”
My Boss’s Sister: Make Her Mine Series-Book 3 Page 15