by Katie Dowe
“I have companies all over the world and you already know that.”
“I do and I was crazy to agree to become your wife. I am not good at being the kind of wife who sits and waits for her husband to come home from wherever. I am not used to all this.” She waved her hand to encompass the surroundings. “I had decided to be a single mother and live a simple life, now I am exposed to all this and I am not sure it is the right thing for me, for us.”
“It’s too late to back out now,” he told her lightly as he put his glass on the countertop.
“I am not talking about backing out!” she cried as she pushed the bowl away from her. “I am talking about your lifestyle and mine being totally different and wondering if I can deal with it.”
“You want me to cut back?”
“I want you to want to be with me and the baby. I want you to realize that we are getting married so that means you are going to be committed. I want you to realize that this is serious and you are not going to just park me here while you go all over the world.”
There was silence for a moment as he stared at her. “I am going to be here for you and Yasmin,” he told her quietly. “I do a lot of traveling and when I do I will make sure you are able to come with me sometimes. But I promise that I will be here for you.”
She took a deep breath and then said, “Thank you.”
“Your father was not there for you,” he said softly.
She shook her head no. “I asked my mother about him and she told me he could not stand up to his responsibility and he left.” She passed a plate to him. “I am a little scared,” she said with a short laugh.
“You have nothing to be scared of. I am here and I am not leaving.”
She looked up at him. “Good,” she said briskly as she started eating. “Good to know.”
*****
That night long after she had fallen into an exhausted sleep after he had made restless love to her he spent the time staring up at the ceiling. She was curled up into his arms and her head resting on his chest, her breathing even. She had asked him if he was going to be traveling and leaving them by themselves and he had told her he would be there and he meant it but he had not told her that even though he could not stand to be without her he was having qualms about the baby. Maybe if he did not know who the father was it would have been better but to know that the man who was handling their accounts was the same one who had made love to her and gotten her pregnant was sticking into his craw! He had not taken the account from the firm even though he was thinking about it, but Yanique had told him that if she found out he did it on her account she would never forgive him! Did she still have feelings for him, he wondered. He had had a past himself but he had never planted his seed inside a woman before. He had always been careful. He had decided that having a child would have to be with the woman who was wearing his ring and his name. It was going to be so obvious that the child was not his, but he needed Yanique and he could not very well have her and not have the child as well. He closed his eyes briefly. He was going to have to find a way to deal with it!
*****
It rained the morning of the wedding! It was not a heavy shower just a light sprinkling as if nature had decided to wash everything clean for the event. She had asked both Monique and Leesa to be her attendants and had almost broken down when she thought about Shelly who would have been the one to stand next to her. She had given up the apartment and had taken out their personal things. She had started painting the room in a delicate shell like pink and had stood there staring at the walls before she left. She had felt as if she was saying goodbye to her friend forever. She had moved into Brandon’s apartment and still felt like a stranger.
Her mother walked her up the aisle and she had to force herself to stop the trembling in her limbs. The dress was of a delicate lilac and was silk covered over with lace. It had a sweetheart neck and flowed gently over her belly. She wore white elbow length gloves and a matching hat perched jauntily over her forehead. Her hair was done up in a very intricate and neat chignon and her face had been expertly made up by a professional. The chapel was packed to capacity and Yanique had a feeling that they were more curious to see the woman Brandon was marrying than anything else! Her eyes were drawn to the man who was going to be her husband in a few minutes. He stood tall and erect in his black tuxedo and snowy white shirt with the orchid on his lapel. His hair was brushed back severely from his ruggedly handsome face and his blue eyes were expressionless. He had never told her he loved her, but then again neither had she.
Her mother kissed her on the cheek as she handed her over to her groom and went to take her seat.
They repeated their vows quietly and without pomp and very soon it was time for him to kiss her. He tipped her chin up and stared down into her flawlessly exquisite face. She had just become Mrs. Yanique Simone Reynolds and that made her the most important person in his life. He had not expressed what he felt about her but he was not sure himself! “My wife,” he whispered as he bent his head and took her lips with his!
*****
“Where are you going on your honeymoon?” Aaliyah Moore asked her as she sat next to her. The reception had been going on for a few hours now. She had eaten a few bites of the sumptuous food, cut the five tiered cake with the lilac flowers hanging from the side and with the huge letters that spelled Mr. and Mrs. at the top and had danced with her husband and mingled with the guests making small talks even though she just wanted to go somewhere and lie down.
“We are putting it off until after the baby. I am not up to traveling right now.”
“Don’t put it too long, my dear,” the very attractive plus sized woman told her kindly. “It might not happen if you do.”
“Thanks,” she said a little wearily. “How do you deal with all this?”
“One day at a time,” she said as she looked over to where her husband Edward was talking shop with some of his associates. She remembered how he had railroaded her into being his wife and she had never regretted one moment of it. “My husband makes it easier.”
“It is going to take some time.”
“It is.”
*****
He carried her over the threshold much to her surprise. And when they went into the huge master bedroom he undressed her rubbing her soles as if he knew they were aching. “It’s been a very long day, huh?” he asked as he rubbed her feet.
She nodded and sighed in appreciation as he massaged her feet. Her eyes flew open when she felt his fingers going up her calf and her thighs. “Brandon,” she moaned as his fingers went further up. He peeled off her stockings and dumped them on the tan carpet. He stepped back and took off his jacket and then his pants. He unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off leaving on his white undershirt before continuing with his massage. His fingers were gentle and slow as they wandered over her skin. He peeled off her white lace panties and opened her legs to stare down at her sex. His fingers parted the lips of her vagina and he trailed a finger between the folds slowly, his eyes holding hers. Yanique squirmed as he continued and she felt herself moisten from his touch. Her expensive wedding dress was bunched up around her waist and felt too tight on her. He read her thoughts and turning her around he unbuttoned her and pulled the dress off. He also unhooked the bra and took it off leaving her naked to his touch. He bent her knees so that her feet were flat on the bed and sank a finger inside her slowly, inching in until he was in deep. Yanique arched her body against his finger, her breath escaping her lips in desperate pants that seemed to fire up his blood. He took the finger out and put it inside his mouth licking it off and then sucking on it loving the taste of her. He finished undressing and climbed behind her. He wrapped his arm around her belly and slipped his penis inside her, pushing in until he was up to the hilt. He bent his head and bit her shoulder softly causing her to jump! “Move with me,” he whispered as he began thrusting into her. She did not need to be told a second time as her body was already fragmenting from his movement against her.
His hands drifted to her hips and he guided her movements, his fingers holding her tight. He screwed her slowly for a few minutes before he changed position. He lifted her feet and placed them onto his shoulder before entering her again. He rubbed the tip of his penis on her mound and almost drove her crazy with need before entering her again. She came immediately, clutching at the sheets and crying out his name, her body vibrating from the powerful orgasm that rushed through her body!
Chapter 9
“You look like you are going to pop any minute now!” Leanne said in amusement as her sister-in-law sat in one of the chairs in front of her desk. It has been two weeks since the wedding and Brandon had told her very firmly that it was time to stop working.
“I certainly feel that way.” Yanique looked around the simple but elegant office in admiration. “I am not used to inactivity. I thought that I would have spent the time I have waiting for the baby to arrive by decorating the nursery but even that has been taken out of my hands.”
“My brother is a force,” Leanne said with a laugh. The girl was very beautiful and pregnant and the very expensive designer clothes she now wore added to the allure but there was a hint of sadness there.
“He travels a lot, doesn’t he?”
“He has been here for longer than Mother and I have seen him in the past,” Leanne commented. “What are you afraid of?”
“My baby is not his,” Yanique murmured and caught the girl’s eyes. She looked so much like him, she thought with a pang. “He does not have to be here.”
“He made a promise to you and he is going to keep it. He is very successful and he has built his business out of practically nothing so it is very important to him.”
“My dad left when I was little,” she said with a nervous laugh. “So I am kind of paranoid.”
“He is not going anywhere.”
*****
“The doctors said I am healthy so I have no idea why I am not pregnant yet,” Marisa said fretfully as she stared at herself in the mirror.
“We have been married for three months, you need to give it time,” Wayne said a little impatiently as he browsed through the file he had brought home with him. He had gotten the large sprawling house in the Valley and had become partner at the firm and he had also stopped worrying about Reynolds taking the account from the firm. He had seen them in the papers frequently and wondered how the man could stand the fact that his wife was pregnant with another man’s child. He must be a sucker for love, he thought cynically.
“You don’t seem to care,” she said with a pout as she turned to look at him. She had been proud of herself when her friends commented about his looks and the fact that black men tend to satisfy immensely, but Wayne had the size but lacked the finesse and the ability to satisfy her.
“It takes time,” he said carelessly. “It will happen eventually.”
“Daddy expects grandchildren.” There was a hint of warning in her voice.
“I know quite well what your daddy expects and he will get it eventually,” he said coldly as he got to his feet and made to leave the room.
She ran after him and caught him by the arm. “I am sorry, baby, please forgive me.”
He looked down at her, carelessly admiring her blonde beauty. “You are forgiven. Why don’t you take off your clothes and wait for me on the bed? I will be there in a little bit.”
“Gladly,” she said coquettishly and went to do his bidding.
He stared after her for a moment and then went into the very elegant kitchen to pour himself some whiskey.
*****
He asked the housekeeper to stay whenever he was not in town so that she would not be alone in case the baby came earlier than expected. It was the fourth of July right after she had attended a function at his mother’s place that she started feeling the pains. He had come back for a few days but had gone to Europe telling her that he will be back in time for the birth of the baby. He had had his lawyers draw up papers saying that the baby would have his name.
The pains started in the early hours of the morning of the fifth of July. At first Yanique thought it was the baby moving around inside her womb but after several minutes she realized that she was in labor! She stifled the moan and reached for her phone to call her mother first and then Doctor Whittingham.
“Honey, I am coming over,” her mother told her immediately.
“It is going to take you awhile to get to where I am, Yanique. Can you get someone to take you to the nearest hospital?” Doctor Whittingham asked her.
“My mother is coming.” She hung up and tried her husband but his phone went straight to voicemail. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost nine p.m. so that meant it was three a.m. in France. Where the hell was he? Another sharp shaft of pain hit her and she doubled over, clutching at the sheets. She waited until it had passed before she got off the bed and went to take a shower. It was ten minutes apart because she had been timing it. She had probably another few hours before it became unbearable. She finished showering and was in the middle of securing her bag when it hit again. This time she could not stop the cry from leaving her which had the housekeeper rushing to her bedroom.
“Miss Yanique, you are in labor!” the sprite middle aged African American woman by the name of Lillie exclaimed. “Have you called Mr. Brandon?”
“I am not getting him. My mother is on her way to take me to the hospital.” She breathed in deeply and then reached for her phone and called Leanne.
“I am in labor and I am not getting through to Brandon,” she said as soon as the girl answered. “Could you keep trying him, please?” She told the girl which hospital she would be going to.
“I will meet you there.”
*****
The labor was long and wearisome. Even though her mother and Leanne were there with her she found herself looking for her husband. Leanne had been trying him constantly and had left several messages at the front desk for him.
Yasmin was born the early hours of July 6th weighing six pounds and four ounces with thick dark curls and dark brown eyes. Yanique stared at her daughter anxiously praying that she did not look like Wayne and she didn’t. “She is beautiful,” Leanne commented. “May I?” she asked stretching forth her hands for the baby. Yanique passed her over a little reluctantly. It was almost five a.m. and still no word from Brandon.
“Hey there, princess! This is your aunty Leanne and you are going to be so spoiled,” she whispered. Yanique felt tears in her eyes at the easy acceptance of her baby who was not even blood and wondered if her husband was going to feel the same way! Suddenly her phone rang and she saw that it was him. She passed the phone to Leanne and took her baby. “I don’t want to talk to him right now,” she said as she prepared to feed her daughter.
Leanne nodded and went out of the room to answer the phone.
“Brandon, where were you?”
“My battery died and I did not know. Where is she?”
“She is feeding your daughter and does not want to talk to you now.”
“Christ!” he muttered. “She had to go through all that without me being there and I promised her I would be.” He paused. “How is she?”
“She is a trooper and the baby is quite a beauty. Looks like her mother.”
“It does not matter to me what she looks like,” he said impatiently.
“Doesn’t it?”
“No,” he bit out. “I just wanted them to be safe and I wanted to be there.”
“You are going to have to do a hell of a job to convince her about that, darling.”
“I am on my way home.”
*****
He was bombarded as soon as he reached the hospital by people from the press. Without breaking his stride he marched in going first to the nursery where baby Yasmin was sleeping and then to the room where his wife was also taking a nap. The flight had taken six hours and during that time while he was chafing impatiently he had had time to think. Leanne was right. He had prayed that the baby looked
like her and not him because he was not sure he would have been able to deal with it but now it did not matter because he had fallen in love with them both. He was going to have to convince her that he meant every word. He sat in a chair next to the bed. His mother and hers had already gone home and his sister had gone back to work. Her room was filled with cards and flowers and balloons, huge pink ones. The publishing house had thrown her a baby shower a month ago and he could see that there were cards from them and also the ‘wives.’ She was wearing a soft blue cotton nightgown with buttons at the front. Her thick black hair was combed back from her face and secured by some sort of blue elastic band. She must have felt his presence because she opened her dark brown eyes just then. For a moment he saw the joy leap into her eyes before she steeled her expression.
“Hi,” he whispered, touching her cheek. She pulled away from him and propped herself up on the pillows. “I am sorry.”
“It does not matter,” she told him trying to be cool.
“It does to me and I know it matters to you. My phone battery was dead and I did not realize it. I assure you it will never happen again.”
“You promised-” She broke off as the tears came and she could not stop it.
Biting off an oath he abandoned the chair and climbed onto the bed next to her pulling her into his arms. She resisted at first and then curling her hands into his shirt she cried until the tears no longer came. She did not move even after she was spent and he held her not saying anything at first. “Please forgive me.”
She nodded and closed her eyes breathing in his expensive cologne and holding on to his solidness. She needed him so much and even though she had been mad and confused, she had come to rely on him in a way that was frightening! She wondered if she was hanging onto him because of the fact that her dad had left her or it was due to what she had started to feel about him!