When we got inside, I set the keys down on the hallway table and turned around just in time for Bailey to kiss me. “Have I mentioned that I missed you?” she asked, leaning in to me.
I laughed. “I missed you too,” I told her, holding her close. “But come on, how was your meeting? Are you free of the casino business once and for all?”
Bailey sighed, tilting her head up towards mine. “Can we not talk about that just yet? I just want to relax.” Her look turned sly. “And maybe show you how much I missed you.”
I tried not to feel worried at that. From the sound of things, she wasn’t out of the casino business after all. Did that mean more visits to Nevada? At best, it meant that she was still stretched thin between her work at Brooks Mountain and the work that she was doing for her brother’s company.
I felt an irrational flare of frustration at Ian for letting things happen this way. But of course, if Ian had had his way, he never would have had to call in his sister for help in the first place. I knew that. Still, I had it in my head that I should chat with him. Tell him how much Bailey was taking upon herself at the moment. Surely as her protective older brother, he could find some way to get Bailey to scale back the work that she was doing for the casino so that she would have more time for herself and for her own business.
But then again, Ian had to know just how things were going at the moment. He had been out here to visit the resort not too long ago, and now he had seen Bailey in Nevada just this weekend. He knew the kind of stress that she was under.
Before I could puzzle over that any longer, though, Bailey was tugging me imperiously down into another kiss. I pulled her close, kissing her with everything I had, hoping she could tell just how much I missed her, how happy I was to have her back. The kiss whispered a promise of the night to come. I knew that she was stressed out with all of her work stuff, and I could tell that she was feeling under the weather. I was going to pamper her, treat her like the wonderful woman that she was.
I thought back to the conversation that I had had before with Ethan. And my resolution. I pulled back, just far enough to speak the words against Bailey’s lips. “I love you.”
It seemed kind of anticlimactic now that I had said it. There were no flashing lights, the world didn’t end, nothing really changed. Except then Bailey smiled softly at me, her eyes warming, and that was all the response that I needed. “I love you too,” she whispered back.
She leaned into me for a moment, just pressing her body against mine. But having her there close to me, I was powerless to hold back. I kissed her again, and then a third time, even more fervently. She moaned as I nipped at her lower lip, her fingers coming up underneath my shirt to trace across my bare skin.
“I have some news for you,” Bailey announced as we broke apart for air. I nearly groaned. So now she wanted to talk about her meeting?
I kissed her again and again. There was a part of me, I realized, that wasn’t sure that I wanted to know the news. If she was going to have to go back to Nevada, even if it was just for a couple weekend trips like the one that she had just come back from, would I be okay with that? I mean, I would have to be. I couldn’t lose Bailey over something like that.
But what if it wasn’t just weekend trips? What if they wanted her back there for good? That wasn’t anything that I was ready to hear right now. I didn’t want to think about all of the logistics of our future just now. I wanted to revel in the fact that I had finally managed to tell her that I loved her.
This wasn’t the way I had anticipated the night going, anyway. I had cooked dinner for us already, and I had expected that we would sit down and chat, that eventually I would tell her that I loved her. That maybe we would curl up in front of the fire and trade steamy kisses on the couch before finally moving towards the stairs.
But right now, I realized that I wasn’t ready to hear about her trip, and I couldn’t seem to keep my hands off of her anyway. She didn’t seem to mind, though.
So I kept kissing her, and she forgot about her news at least for now. Bailey giggled as I led her towards the stairs. “All right, we’ll talk later,” she joked.
“Deal,” I murmured, kissing the shell of her ear.
68
Bailey
I could tell that Adam was nervous when I told him that I had some news. And I supposed he had a right to be. I had shown up at the airport looking a mess, no doubt, talking about how terrible my flight had been, then I’d told him that I didn’t want to talk about my trip, making him more nervous that something had gone wrong with it, and now I couldn’t seem to blurt out the news that I had.
I really wanted to tell him that I was pregnant. But I also just felt totally tongue-tied as I tried to think of how to tell him. What would his reaction be? Would he be excited or regretful? And what about the job offer? I still had to give an answer to Ian, Pat, and the board of directors. I wanted to talk things over with Adam first. But could I handle telling him about the baby and the job offer at the same time? It was all just too much to handle.
So it was kind of nice to let him just kiss my worries away. Especially since he had finally told me that he loved me. I didn’t want to taint that declaration of love with anything else. I knew how difficult it had already been for him to get to that point, and I didn’t want to heap anything else on him right now.
I let him keep kissing me, my passion spiraling higher with each successive brush of his lips against mine, and I let him walk me towards the stairs. We would talk later. With Ethan out of the house, we had all night.
Of course, there were plenty of other things that I wanted to do tonight, rather than talk. But maybe we could do a little bit of both. I just had to play my cards right. I grinned into the kiss, and I could feel Adam grinning right back at me.
I couldn’t help but feel giddy, perched on the precipice of an incredible future together with this man whom I loved so much. I might not know exactly what that future would hold just yet, but I had the feeling that we were one step closer to it, whatever it was.
I tripped my way up the stairs, Adam steadying me with every step, holding me close, his hands promising to never let me go.
In the bedroom, he stripped me down, his heated gaze roving over my body. His lips trailed across my skin, touching every inch as he laid me bare. He stripped down as well, as an afterthought, while I spread myself out on the bed, my eyes never leaving his.
Adam crawled on top of me, his lips still making their way across my body. He must have kissed every square inch of my skin, each tender touch driving me a little more wild with desire.
Impatient, I pushed at his shoulder until he flipped us around, and I gave him barely a second of warning before I was sliding down his length. I groaned at the perfect feeling of him sheathed inside of me, my hips shifting helplessly as I tried to concentrate on my breathing for a moment.
Adam grinned up at me, looking just as turned on as I felt. His fingers caught my hips and helped me to find the rhythm, while his own body undulated as he thrust upwards each time I lowered myself down onto him. I could feel him deep inside of me, so deeply that it was a wonder he even fit.
Especially with his seed already growing inside of me. A little baby, a boy or a girl. Adam didn’t know about that yet, but there was still something about this that felt more intimate than any love-making I’d ever had in the past.
Adam smoothed his hands down my back, holding me close as he sped up his thrusts, until I was gasping for air, shaking apart at the seams. I cried out his name as he suddenly slowed, the drag of his cock inside of me making me suddenly aware of every inch of his length and girth.
My whole body spasmed as I came, but he kept going, these slow thrusts that built and built upon one another until I felt like my whole body was just one raw nerve of pleasure.
The next time I came, it was at the same time as Adam. While he groaned and slammed into me one final time, I collapsed forwards, his cock nudging at the taut nerves inside of me as the ang
le changed. I gasped and clung to him, my whole body clenching and releasing, my vision swimming in darkness and I tried to get air back into my lungs.
Even though Adam looked just as fucked-out and barely cognizant as I felt, he gently lay me back on the bed, slowly kissing his way across my body again. I couldn’t really move, and his kisses didn’t make my insides quiver nearly as strongly as they had before, but I hummed appreciatively and reached out to tangle my fingers in his as Adam lay back on the bed.
My stomach growled while we lay there basking in the afterglow, and I winced. I hadn’t really eaten all day. Just some snacks. I knew that that wasn’t healthy for the baby, but I just couldn’t seem to keep anything down. I had read everything I could find online about morning sickness cures, but I hadn’t had a chance to try any of them out just yet.
To be honest, I was hoping that I would only have to deal with the nausea for a little while and then it would go away. But I was worried that I was going to feel like this for the whole pregnancy. Could I handle that?
I glanced over at Adam. With him by my side, I knew that I could handle anything. There was no question about it. And at the end of it, we would have a child. All the nausea in the world, even if it kept up for the entire nine months, would be worth it.
“I made dinner, you know,” Adam said, rolling over to face me. “I could bring a tray up here and we could eat in bed, if you don’t feel like moving.”
I winced and took stock of my body. I was still feeling a little off, and even though I knew that I had to eat something, I also wasn’t sure that I was really up to eating a whole meal. But if Adam had cooked for me, then I needed to explain to him why.
Slowly, I sat up. “Remember how I said before that I have some news?”
Adam sat up as well, looking wary. “Yeah?” he asked. He frowned. “You’re not headed right back to Nevada tonight, are you?”
I blinked in surprise and then shook my head. “No, definitely not,” I told him. I couldn’t think of any clever way to tell him, so finally, I just took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I think I’m pregnant.”
Adam stared at me for a moment, shock written on his face. “Pregnant?” he asked faintly. “You think, or you know?”
I frowned, not sure what difference it really made. “My period was late, but I’ve been working so hard that I didn’t even really think about it. Then, while I was in Nevada, I woke up super queasy and put two and two together. And I did one of those home pregnancy tests. I know they’re not always super reliable, but well, I’m pretty sure. I’ve already scheduled a visit to my gynecologist for Thursday morning. I wanted it to be sooner, but it’s kind of last minute.”
The words were out of me in a rush, and Adam looked floored. Slowly, he pulled me into his arms, and I sighed as I rested my head against his chest. “Oh Bailey,” he said, and I was pretty sure that was joy in his voice.
Sure enough, when I pulled back to peer up at him, he looked over the moon. “You’re not mad?” I asked, though, just to be sure.
“How the hell could I be mad to know that the woman I love is pregnant with my baby?” Adam asked. “Unless you’re trying to tell me that it isn’t mine?” His eyes crinkled at the corners as he joked, and I exhaled a breathy laugh.
“Oh no, you are fully responsible for this,” I said. Then, I frowned. “Well, maybe not fully.”
Adam laughed as well, pulling me back into his arms as though he never wanted to let me go. “I’ve always wanted Ethan to have a younger brother or sister,” he mused. “Beth and I talked about that a lot. But we just weren’t ready at first, and then she got sick.” He was silent for a moment. “Are you mad?” he finally asked tentatively.
“I’m scared,” I admitted frankly. “I feel like I’m not really ready. I did a bunch of research today about, you know, things to expect when you’re pregnant, and there’s so much that I didn’t know about. But I think we can do this. Together.”
“We can,” Adam promised me. “I’ll be right here by your side, every step of the way.” He was quiet for a moment and then tilted my chin up so that I was looking at him. His eyes had never been more serious. “I love you.”
I grinned at him, leaning up to kiss him gently. Heat stirred in my belly again, even though I would have thought that we had fucked all of that out already. But no, I could never get enough of this man. And now, it sounded like he really was ready to commit to a future with me. “I love you too.”
Maybe I should have told him about the job in Europe as well, but we could figure out the rest later. I just wanted to be happy about the baby. I had been excited when I found out that I was pregnant, but I had been nervous as well. I hadn’t known what Adam’s reaction to the news would be. Now that I knew that he was on board, I felt like I could finally start to enjoy the idea of being a mom to a child of my own.
I grinned at him, and he grinned right back. Right then, it felt like my whole life was complete.
69
Adam
Bailey stirred against me on Monday morning, scrunching up her face as she yawned and then smiling sweetly at me. “Good morning,” she said, sounding like there was nowhere in the world that she would rather be.
I nuzzled her jawline. “Good morning, Mama-to-be,” I told her, and she giggled.
“You really are happy that I’m pregnant?” she asked, and I could hear just how worried she was.
I understood that, to a certain extent. I was worried as well. There was a lot of work that went into having a kid. I knew there would be plenty of sleepless nights, and plenty of tough days along the road ahead of us. But at the same time, it meant something to me, knowing that she would be there by my side through all of this. And at the end of it, we would share something truly wonderful; the miracle of that little baby’s firsts.
I kissed her to show her just how happy I was to learn that she was pregnant. Of all of the news that she could have told me the previous evening, this was really the best of what I could ever have hoped for. I was already looking forward to debating names with her, to building a cradle for our little one, to massaging Bailey’s feet at the end of long days, to going to the store half a dozen times for various things that she was craving, only to find her craving something else by the time I made it home.
Bailey leaned around past me suddenly, though, wincing when she saw how late it was. “I didn’t mean to sleep in so late,” she said. She yawned. “I don’t know if it’s the pregnancy or the way that I’ve been working lately, but I just feel so tired all the time.”
“Probably the pregnancy,” I told her, shrugging. “And the, what, three orgasms last night probably took something out of you as well.”
Bailey grinned, blushing a little. “More than three,” she admitted, and I mentally gave myself a pat on the back. I hadn’t been able to keep my hands off her the night before, but I hadn’t realized I had gotten her quite that good. She deserved it, though. I hoped she knew that.
But Bailey still looked faintly worried. “Don’t you have to go pick Ethan up at some point?” she asked. “It’s almost noon.”
“I called in a favor,” I admitted. “I slipped out of bed a little while ago.”
“Oh,” Bailey said, frowning in puzzlement. “Is Ethan going to stay at his friend’s house for a little while longer?”
“I wouldn’t do that to Jake’s parents, after they hosted ten kids at their house for the whole night,” I said, shaking my head. “Actually, I called my Dad and, uh, said that you had just gotten home last night. He didn’t need any more explanation.”
Bailey shook her head. “You didn’t have to do that,” she said.
“Dad loves spending time with Ethan,” I said. “And he heads into town for groceries on Monday mornings anyway, so it’s no big deal. Besides, I wanted to be here when you woke up.”
“Well, I appreciate that,” Bailey said finally, smiling at me. “I guess we should get dressed, though, before they get back.”
“P
robably,” I sighed. I propped myself up on my elbows and watched as she pulled on her leggings from the previous day. But instead of the long sweater that she’d been wearing when she arrived, she grabbed one of my flannels out of the closet, fixing me with a look of challenge while she did up the buttons.
I laughed. “I am never going to stop you from looking sexy in my clothes,” I promised her.
We headed down into the kitchen, and I couldn’t get over how comfortable it was, having her there in my life. I had never expected to have anything quite like this again. I didn’t know how I had gotten so lucky.
“Hey,” I said, catching her hand as she went to sit down at the table. I gave her a long, drawn-out kiss, and I could feel her smile against my lips.
“Gross,” Ethan said as he walked into the kitchen with Dad just behind him.
Bailey and I sprang apart, and I could feel myself blushing. As if we were a couple of teenagers who had just been caught necking, rather than two fully-grown adults sharing a sweet morning kiss. I cleared my throat.
“Breakfast?” I asked everyone. I glanced at Bailey, remembering how she had confessed to feeling pretty nauseous the previous day. There was a bit more color in her face today, but I didn’t want her to overdo it. She had to eat, though. “Pancakes?” I asked her, figuring that they were probably basic enough that she might be able to keep them down. And they’d be filling as well.
“Sounds great,” Bailey said, while Ethan nodded emphatically.
“Dad, you’re welcome to stick around,” I added.
One Shot At Love: A Billionaire Single Father Romance Page 39