by Bella Grant
I waited patiently for her to return home. I had dinner with my children, just the three of us. They asked when Laurel was coming home, and I couldn’t rightly respond but assured them she would be home soon. I’d stopped calling her phone after she hadn’t responded the last three times.
They showered and I put them to bed, and still no Laurel. I grew livid with every minute that ticked by. Even if I wanted to go to bed, I couldn’t. I was upset with her, but also upset with me. For caring about what she did. If she wanted to screw around, that was up to her. Our contract stipulated she could.
But it hurt. I found myself reaching for a bottle of vodka.
Chapter 25
Laurel
I closed the front door quietly behind me and reactivated the alarm. At this hour of the night I didn’t expect anyone to be up. I’d driven like hell to get there, not sure how Jarrod would react if I stayed out all night. I could have called and informed him I was sleeping at my mom’s house, but I didn’t want to be alone during the night either.
Pregnant. I had taken all day to soak in the information. I’d asked my doctor how it was possible since Jarrod had had a vasectomy. He had done an ultrasound to get the timing of the pregnancy, and there was no doubt. I was carrying Jarrod’s baby. I was happy about the pregnancy. Having been with the girls, I knew I had the ability to love and care for a child of my own.
But Jarrod… he didn’t want a child. Wasn’t that why a man would go to the extreme and have a vasectomy? I couldn’t tell him I was pregnant. I hoped he would have the capacity to love our child as he was able to love his two daughters. He never thought he would be this involved, but he was.
All day, I’d gone through deep thoughts. I had needed the time to think and had driven home to be in a familiar, quiet place where I could wonder undisturbed. At times, the solution seemed easy—tell Jarrod. He deserved to know and not later when he would eventually find out even if I didn’t tell him. Maybe the baby would bring us closer together and convince him to stay with me after our contract was up. Then that solution became complicated when I thought about what his reaction would be. What if he wanted me to get an abortion or accused me of trying to get more out of him than what I was already being paid?
The time on the grandfather clock in the hall showed some minutes after ten. I would have returned earlier but had fallen asleep at my mom’s. I climbed the stairs and held my breath as I pushed the door open to the master bedroom. Jarrod wasn’t inside and I frowned. Had he taken my absence as an opportunity to go out? Maybe to go see Pearl? Another reason I wouldn’t tell him about the baby yet. I had no clear understanding of what was between Pearl and him. Before I decided to venture into a sexual relationship or more with him, I needed to know if he and Pearl were having an affair. A purely sexual relationship with him and no feelings I could tolerate, but not when he had the same with another woman.
“You’re finally home.”
I spun around at Jarrod’s voice to find him standing behind me, just inside the room. I hadn’t even heard him enter the bedroom. He wore a pair of sweats and a T-shirt.
“Jarrod!” I cried in surprise. “You startled me.”
“Only people with things to hide startle so easily,” he responded, sauntering into the room but looking like a cat on the prowl and I was the prey. His words jabbed at my secret, but he couldn’t know. “You’re back late,” he commented.
“I fell asleep,” I replied, shrugging. “I didn’t expect to. I probably should have just slept there but—what’s wrong?” I broke off what I was saying to address the energy coming from him. “Your face looks red. I hope you weren’t waiting up for me.”
“Well, I do tend to worry about the welfare of my wife,” he said between clenched teeth.
“Are you upset with me?” I asked in surprise.
His face darkened a deeper shade of red before he blew up. “Of course I’m upset with you. Do you see what time is it? The girls asked me if you were coming home, and I didn’t know how to respond. I told them yes, but I wasn’t sure.”
“I told you where I was,” I reminded him. He was so close to me I could feel his angry breath on my face.
“You mean that cockamamie story you told me?” he blurted out. “I don’t believe you. Were you with someone else?”
“What?” I knew it was dumb of me not to have a decent response to his question, but I was too surprised.
“I asked you a simple question.” His hands came down on my shoulders and pulled me closer to him so our bodies were touching. “Is that the reason you don’t want to do this with me? Because you’re seeing someone else?”
I couldn’t respond because his mouth clamped down on mine like a vise. Heat seared through my body, causing me to gasp. His tongue took advantage of the situation and drove wildly between my lips. I leaned into him, kissing him back. Maybe we could make this work after all. He could come to love me if he desired me so much as he demonstrated with this kiss.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I fingered the hair at the nape of his neck, my body arching into him. He grabbed my butt and hoisted me in the air. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he strode towards the bed where we fell with him on top of me.
“Jarrod,” I gasped when he trailed kisses along my jawline. He tugged my earlobe between his teeth, nipping gently.
“Do you want me, Laurel?” he demanded. “Tell me you want me thrusting inside your body.”
“Oh, God, yes.” I groaned at the way his words spread desire through my veins. I loosened my legs from around his waist and grabbed his butt the way he had done mine, pushing down at the same time I raised my hips. His crotch hit my center, producing a groan from him. Oh, God, how had I lain beside him every night and turned this down? I wanted him so much I felt ready to burst into flames, and not the kind of flame to fear. The kind a Phoenix readily burst into for assurance that it would be reborn, even more beautiful.
Jarrod kissed down my neck and sat up to grasp the edge of my blouse. I got to my knees before him and allowed him to help me undress. My heart beat so hard in anticipation, the blood running through my veins, sizzling for his touch. With a haste which matched my own, he snagged my blouse over my head, and my bra soon followed. I grabbed his shirt and helped him out of it as well. Before I could reach for the waistband of his sweats, he pushed me onto the bed.
He was losing control again, his eyes cloudy. When he turned into this man who craved me, I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist him. He flipped me to my tummy and worked my skirt from my body. I helped by raising my hips. He tugged down my legs both the skirt and underwear in one movement, leaving me naked beneath his hot gaze.
“You’re so beautiful,” he mumbled, and I rose on all fours, knowing the position was provocative as I watched him shuck his sweatpants. He wasn’t wearing underwear beneath. His long, thick cock jutted between his legs, and I moaned softly, remembering how good he had felt inside me on the beach in Jamaica.
Jarrod ran his arms up my thighs, grasping my butt and spreading the cheeks, squeezing hard. He didn’t stop but continued running his hands up my back and pressing down until I lowered my torso to the bed, my ass stuck up in the air. He ran his hands beneath my body, grasping my breasts, fingering the nipples before retreating. He spanned my flat tummy and continued to my thighs. His touch electrified every surface of my skin.
I gasped and growled deep in my chest when he pushed my legs wider apart and two of his fingers trailed over the wetness of my mound. He found the clit with his thumb and rubbed in tight circular motions, pressing down.
“Oooh, Jarrod,” I moaned, pressing my chest deeper into the mattress, crushing my breasts. I closed my eyes, crying out when his mouth found the entrance of my womanhood and he sucked. He kissed the soft flesh, his lips making smacking sounds as he licked. I rolled my hips back, rotating slowly on his face pressed between my legs.
“Jarrod!” I cried out in protest when he removed his lips from between my legs with one last
kiss.
“I want to feel you when you come for me,” he growled, climbing onto the bed behind me. “I want to feel your contractions gripping my dick buried in you, Laurel.”
“Yes, God, I want it too.”
“You sure you want it?” he asked, rubbing the thick head through the folds of my pussy, teasing me.
I pushed my hips back in frustration, seeking his throbbing shaft. “Yes! Yes! I want it! Please, Jarrod,” I begged shamelessly for him to ride me.
“Then take it,” he said as he thrust hard into my body in one stroke. I grabbed the pillow above my head and brought it to my face, burying it into the softness. I didn’t want to wake the kids, as loud as I was groaning and screaming from his deep penetrations.
“Shit, Laurel,” he grunted, digging his fingers into my hips, where he clutched me tightly against him to receive each thrust. I matched his rhythm, slamming my ass back against him each time he slid back into my passage. He splayed his hands over my flat tummy, soon to be swollen with his child—unbeknownst to him—and brought my torso up so we were both kneeling on the bed, my back pressed into his chest.
“Do you love the way my cock fits into you?” he murmured, licking the shell of my ear.
“Yes, oh yes.”
I felt so secure in his arms. I grabbed my breasts, squeezing and playing with my nipples while he ran his hand between my legs. He found my nub and rubbed as he thrust against my buttocks. I was so wet, my pussy squished, enabling his cock to slide deeper inside my slit. I leaned into him, closing my eyes and gasping from the myriad of sensations playing through my body, his rod stroking inside me, his finger on my clit, my fingers rolling my nipples, and his lips sucking on my neck.
I heard his sharp intake of breath and knew he was near the edge. I squeezed down hard, clenching my inner muscles, which triggered off my climax. “Jar—” I choked on his name from the climax ripping through my body. It started in my clit and exploded deeper into my womb, fanning out through my body, down to the tips of my toes.
“Oh, fuck, Laurel,” he shouted, pressing my body hard against his as he thrust a final time into my body. A shudder ran through his body and extended to my own. We were both breathing hard when we resurfaced from the orgasm.
“Jarrod,” I said his name, my heart light enough for me to want to confess my love for him.
The abruptness with which he withdrew from my body made me wince and gasp. He rose to his feet, and I glanced up at him in surprise. The words of love stuck in my throat. He didn’t look happy. He was visibly upset about something.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, bewildered.
“Look, I didn’t mean for this to happen,” he snorted. “Again. Of course, it doesn’t change anything. You can still be with whomever you want to be with, just as our contract stipulated.”
My face paled and I stiffened. It had to be Pearl. He had to be adamant that we not get into anything serious because of her. If he cared so much about her, why hadn’t he married her?
“Jarrod, can we just talk?” I implored him. “Please.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” he denied, walking to the bathroom. “I thought I wanted to know, but I really don’t. You can do anything you want in this marriage, just as I can do anything I want.”
“What did you think you wanted to know?”
The bathroom door closed on my words. How rude of him to ignore me while I was speaking to him! What right did he have to get upset at me when he was the one who had kissed me? He had barged into the room and pulled me against him, and if that made him feel guilty, then he should be mad at himself and not me.
Just as pissed as he was now, I tugged on a robe from the closet and slammed out of the bedroom to use the other bathroom down the hall. I was relieved he’d reminded me I meant nothing to him before I blurted out how I felt about him, like the fool I was. A pregnant fool.
Chapter 26
Jarrod
“What?” I asked rudely at the knock on my office door. I was stewing and had been all week, and my employees changed direction when they saw me coming. If only they knew my bark was worse than my bite and that my foul mood was because of my shambles of a marriage. I needed more from Laurel, and thinking she had been with another man drove me mad.
“Well, you don’t have to snap,” Pearl remarked, advancing into the room and closing the door behind her. She sashayed over to my desk with a file and dropped it in front of me. She took one look at me and frowned. “Why are you wearing a week’s worth of stubble?”
I passed my hand over my chin. “It’s only five days,” I corrected. “Thanks for the file.” I reached for the file she had brought and flipped it open so vigorously, I ripped the first page.
“Why are you so cranky?” she asked, hitching one butt cheek inappropriately on my desk. “I thought you’d be happy you’re married.”
I scowled at her. “I’m not in the mood for your games, Pearl.”
“Now that’s strange coming from you,” she remarked, her tone bitter. “You’ve been playing games with me, Jarrod.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know it,” she stated, rolling her eyes and reaching for the top button of her blouse.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded as she started unbuttoning her top.
“What I should have done a long time ago. If I had, then maybe you wouldn’t have married that bitch.”
“Pearl!” I admonished sharply, pushing my chair back and away from her. “I don’t know what has gotten into you lately, but you need to button up and go.”
“You don’t want me, Jarrod?” she simpered, ignoring my advice and unhooking the clasp at the front of her bra. Pushing the flaps aside, she cupped her small breasts and squeezed them. I jumped up from my seat and backed away from her.
“Pearl, I’m telling you one last time to fix your clothes and go back to your office!” I exclaimed, inflecting a note of authority in my voice that I rarely assumed with my employees.
She slid from my desk but made no effort to fix her clothes. She turned to me, her breasts naked, the tight tips winking at me. All I could do was compare them with Laurel’s, and they were lacking.
“You were leading me on,” she stated heatedly. “I thought you wanted me, loved me.”
My eyes widened in shock. “I never led you on!” I denied hotly. “There has never been anything between us but work, and you need to understand that. I have a wife.”
“Who makes you miserable,” she shot back and advanced on me as I stepped back. “You would do better with me. You know this is true. That little bit of trash is nothing compared to me. We are compatible, Jarrod. You should have married me. Not her!”
Mother of all that was holy! She was crazy as hell. I’d never done anything for her to believe I had romantic inclinations towards her.
“I’m sorry you got this wrong,” I apologized softly because I could see how this situation might be embarrassing for her. “But I don’t see you that way. You’re a fine woman, but all I am interested in is your ability to help me run this place.”
Her face changed to a bright shade of red, and she yanked the sides of her bra together to clasp the latch in front. With frantic movements, she punched the buttons through their holes.
“You don’t have to worry,” she said stiffly. “I won’t bother you again.”
She stalked from the office, slamming the door so hard, it was a wonder it didn’t fall off its hinges. I plunged my fingers through my hair and slumped in my chair. What the hell was happening with the women around me? Was I about to lose both my wife and my executive assistant? I didn’t want to lose either, but I was giving Pearl one last chance. If she messed up again, getting personal instead of sticking to the business at hand, I’d have no choice but to fire her.
If only Laurel could be as easily dealt with. Again, the sex between us was memorable. My mind wandered throughout the days while I sweated, trying to control the urge to check
up on her to see if she was going out behind my back. I shouldn’t be upset since this pretense of a marriage was my idea in the first place, but I couldn’t help wanting her. For real. Still, I couldn’t put that to her when I wasn’t sure if what I felt for her was love.
Instead of bringing us closer since we’d had sex, she was stoic towards me and barely responsive. She kept up the act in front of the girls, but as soon as their backs were turned, her face would fall. She no longer looked radiant with happiness. Her eyes reflected sadness, and it was my fault. I wished to God we’d never had sex the first time, but now that I’d sampled her flesh twice, I wanted her to be a part of my dietary supplement.
The week went by without another mishap from Pearl, and I was relieved because she was a strong woman and I would have guessed her ego to be hurt. She wasn’t the type of person to give up easily, but she backed down. She was cordial and professional, staying out of sight unless we had no choice but to communicate. Things were almost back to normal. I didn’t speak of the incident, especially since everyone made mistakes. I wasn’t going to condemn her for what she had done.
The following week, I came down for breakfast Wednesday morning a little cranky. I’d lain in bed for hours with a hard-on, wanting to reach for my wife but didn’t dare with the cold shoulder she gave me these days.
“Good morning.” I greeted everyone a bit gruffly and took the seat at the head of the table.
“Good morning, Daddy,” the girls chorused.
“Morning,” Laurel responded with a peculiar look I couldn’t read. She had the newspaper in hand and kept glancing nervously from it to me.
Mrs. Philpott, who usually had great timing, appeared with my breakfast. The kids were finished eating but playing around with what was left on their plate. As if they sensed the distance between Laurel and me, they were less enthused around us.
“Girls, can you get your books and start revising before I give you that test?” Laurel instructed them.