Fallen For A Biker_BWWM Romance

by Erica A. Davis

  She couldn’t leave the office soon enough. The doctor gave her the number of a top-notch and discreet OB. Danielle could barely pay attention to where she was going as she headed back to the office. There was too much on her mind. A baby. She kept finding her hand floating to her belly. Mentally, she scolded herself. If she kept doing that, sooner or later someone would notice. Then the questions would start.

  Danielle shook her head. She couldn’t think about that. She didn’t want to think about anything. Her control was slipping through her fingers. Normally, she’d be heading to the office, but she made a detour. The only person who could calm her down when she got like this was her mother. Duke usually helped too, but she didn’t think seeing his face at the moment was going to calm her down much.

  “What’s wrong? I saw it this morning, you were crying,” her mom said before she’d even stepped through her door.

  At her words, Danielle did start crying. She tried to keep the words straight as the story bubbled out of her lips, but it didn’t seem to matter. Her mom understood her anyway. The woman wrapped an arm around her, ran a hand over her back as she let her cry. When Danielle had regained herself, she took a tissue that her mom extended to her and dabbed at her eyes.

  “What am I going to do? I made one dumb little mistake..”

  “It’s what you want, isn’t it?”

  “Well, kind of,” she said taking out her mirror to check her makeup. “I just don’t want to be jobless because of it.”

  “When are you going to tell him?”

  “Is never an acceptable answer?”

  “Danielle…”

  She sighed. “Fine. I’ll tell him today.”

  Her mom gave her another tight hug. “You’ll be fine. Now, go to work, tell Duke, keep breathing. You’re strong.”

  “Thanks, mom.”

  Her mom was right. She had things to do at her job that couldn’t wait for her to fall apart. Then, she would tell Duke and somehow they’d have to keep it all a secret. She thought about the press with their ever present cameras and swallowed thickly. Was it even possible? She’d have to try.

  “Where have you been?” Jordan called as soon as she stepped through the door. “I had to push back two meetings. Oh, and Samantha is on my butt again to tell you that lunch is tomorrow and you need to bring the new contracts. Here are your messages,” he said handing her a stack of papers.

  Danielle sighed. “Thanks Jordan.”

  She settled herself into her work. Reviewing contracts always calmed her down. The jargon, the specific wording, it was exact, it was sharp, and it was the thing she knew, the thing that was predictable. That made her happy. For a while she could pretend that the world didn’t exist. Only the work in front of her. There was a knock on the door. She sighed.

  “Not now Jordan, I’m about to make a really important call. Take a message,” she called.

  The door swung open anyway. Danielle looked up, about to scold Jordan for not listening, when Duke stepped through the door. He looked handsome in his dark blue jeans and black t-shirt that held a picture of one of his favorite charities. Danielle swallowed hard, her heart rate picking up as he smiled at her, shut the door and sat across from her in a big, black chair.

  “What are you doing here?” She asked. “I thought you had practice.”

  “Nope. I have today off to rest up, then we’re back at it tomorrow. Besides,” he said, the look on his face betraying his nervousness, “I missed you. I wanted to know if lunch was an option today.”

  “I’m really swamped today,” she started.

  “It’s just lunch. Come on. I’ve given you plenty of space, haven’t I?”

  Danielle laughed at that. “Yes, you’ve been very mature.”

  “So, I get a treat now, right?”

  She shook her head. His eyes were round when she looked up. Puppy eyes. Rolling her eyes, she nodded.

  “Fine, fine. Lunch.”

  “I’ll pick you up.”

  Danielle used the rest of her morning to catch up on her work. The clock kept ticking faster and faster it seemed, rushing the time forward. When noon rolled around, her anxiety was high, but she was talking herself through it, trying to calm her nerves. She gathered up her bag before she met Duke down in the parking structure so they could avoid all of the press. Duke opened her door for her, helped her into his huge pickup before they pulled off in search of food.

  “I could kill for a burger, what about you?” He asked.

  Danielle nodded. “That actually sounds amazing. Drive through?”

  They sat in his car, the warm summer sun heating up her skin as one of her arms hung out of the window. In the other hand, she held a burger. It was the best thing she’d ever eaten, she thought with a sigh. It was heaven. Duke was gazing at her, one eyebrow cocked.

  “What’s going on with you?”

  “What do you mean?” She asked as she took another huge bite.

  “I’ve never seen you enjoy your food so openly.”

  Danielle chuckled nervously. She sat the burger down before draining her shake. When she was done, she wiped her mouth with a napkin. The old nervousness had been washed away when they’d gotten their food, but now it was back in full force. She knew she had to tell him. At least here, they had some semi-privacy.

  “I have to tell you something,” she said, playing with her fingers.

  “Okay,” Duke said waiting. When she didn’t respond, “Tell me, Danielle.”

  “I know it’s not what we were expecting, but maybe we should have thought of that before we did...what we did. I just..I-”

  “Spit it out, woman!” Duke said with a grin.

  “I’m pregnant!”

  Duke stared at her for several long minutes, the expression on his face never changing. Danielle gazed up at her nervously, her eyes examining his face for any signs that he was still in there and not in shock. Exasperated, she snapped her fingers in front of his face. He shook his head quickly before a grin spread on his lips.

  “I can’t believe it. Pregnant.”

  “You’re happy about this?”

  “I offered to donate, remember,” he said simply. “And if it's going to be with anyone, I’d much rather it be with you.”

  Danielle felt some of the anxiety melt away. The truth was in his eyes. She smiled back at him as he reached over, took her hand.

  “I’m worried,” she said. It had been a long time since she’d been able to share an emotion so openly. “I’m scared, actually.”

  “I am too but we can do it.”

  “You have that much faith in us?”

  “More.”

  Danielle couldn’t help but grin a little up at him. Those words meant so, so much. There was a pause as she took another bite of her burger. The stress was lifted off of her shoulders. Really, Danielle couldn’t even remember why she’d been so nervous. Duke had been rather adamant about donating to her, in a way, their situation had only saved her a few thousand dollars.

  “How far along are you?”

  “Not too far,” Danielle said between bites. “Maybe a few weeks….I just can’t believe this is happening. I mean with my sister it was shocking, but now I’m getting my own little baby too!” A sly grin spread across Danielle’s lips. “Yvie’s going to be so angry! Ha, I can’t wait to see her face.”

  “Why would she be angry?”

  “Oh, she’s going to say something about me stealing her thunder. Upstaging her. Yvie is a fucking drama queen. But she’ll get over it.” Danielle was much happier now that she had some food in her stomach.

  “It’s good seeing you laugh,” Duke remarked casually, “You’ve looked really down the past few weeks. I was getting worried you were about to quit on me.”

  Danielle smiled, “If I quit on you, who would be there to whip your ass into shape?” The man smiled back at her. The sunlight on his face making his eyes seem to sparkle in delight. “Come on,” Dani
elle said around a bite of burger, “Let’s head back before anyone starts to miss us.”

  “Seriously, though,” Duke continued, “I just was worried, all the baby business is sure to eat at a person. And I...” he sighed, clenching his fingers around the steering wheel. “I know you don’t mind doing all of this alone. Just know that I’m here for you.”

  “You’ve said that,” she smiled back at him. “And I believe you. It’s just...I know things are going to get more and more difficult from this point. Soon we won’t be able to hide it. And my calves are going to swell.” Suddenly a huge wave of emotion spread through her body, seizing her by the heart and bringing forth a wave of tears. “I’m going to get fat!” She sniffed through tears, “Clients won’t want to work with me. All these hormones are making me moody.”

  Duke soothed her gently with a hand on the back, his lips pulled into a comforting grin. “You’ll be alright. Don’t stress. Pregnant women are beautiful and your clients will be fine with the whole thing. Remember this isn’t about them, it’s about us and our baby.”

  It was amazing how his words worked like a balm for her harried mind. For weeks, Danielle had been beating herself up about her decision to go and raise the baby alone. After all, a baby was her dream, and while being a single mother wasn't exactly in her ten year plan, Danielle was sure she could go it alone. But with Duke beside her, open, even wanting to raise their baby together, it gave Danielle a much needed boost.

  “We can do this.” Duke held her hand against his chest, his fingers felt warm, and Danielle couldn’t help but lean her head against his shoulder. Everything felt as if it were falling into place.

  Chapter 5

  To his credit, Duke was a very patient man. He gave Danielle the support she needed while enduring the worst of her mood swings. More than anything, the sudden bursts of anger or sadness seemed to amuse him. At the office, whenever he was there, Duke was sure to pop in, even if it was just for a second, to make sure that she didn’t need anything.

  Danielle’s body was just starting to show, and every morning she would survey the growing bump in the mirror. Looking at her body, knowing that she was carrying a child was more than surreal. Whatever magical thing was happening to her made her skin glow and set her face alight. On the outside, she took to pregnancy well, but on the inside...the effects were cringe worthy.

  Her feet hurt so badly that she had to put away her favorite heels halfway through the day and settle them into more sensible shoes. Mornings were spent getting a close-up inspection of her toilet bowl. And she just felt bloated, though everyone that cared to remark insisted that she looked fantastic.

  Danielle couldn't remember Yvette’s surrogate having this many issues. That woman wore pregnancy like a model wore Gucci. She’d been prancing around in stilettos, showing off her perfect pregnant body until just a few weeks ago. Even now that Shari had grown a sizable tummy, the woman still strutted like she was on a catwalk. Yvette and Shari were best buddies now, going shopping, doing dinners and parties with all the best people. In the past few weeks alone, the pair had been featured on three different magazine covers.

  If she was honest with herself, losing her looks was very high on her worry chart. Not that she was vain, but knowing that she’d be spending a great deal of time in front of scrutinizing cameras wasn’t putting her mind at ease. So, Danielle made sure to keep her regular workout routine, and tried not to give in to too many of her cravings. Her doctor had assured her that working out wasn’t going to cause any harm to the baby, so long as she didn’t try anything that her body wasn’t already used to.

  “Jordan,” Danielle called angrily from her office, holding aloft three pieces of paper for her assistant to take. It was only midday, but Danielle felt as if she were on the 11th of a 12 hour shift. Her muscles ached under her skin, and the lack of caffeine in her system was making her more irritable than usual. “Make digital copies of these and email them to the players agents.” She sat back in her chair, “And when you’re done can you get me another decaf?” She looked forlornly at her mug, “Next time I decide to get pregnant, can you please remind me that coffee is a very important staple of my diet…”

  “Hey, you look fab, boss.” Jordan said as he took the papers. “You’ve got another doctor's appointment in a few days, would you like a reminder on the day before, or the morning of.”

  “Both? People say pregnancy brain isn’t a real thing, but how else would you explain me locking myself out of my car twice in one week?” Danielle sighed, “Anything else for me?”

  “Yeah,” Jordan sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk, “We need to figure out a timeline for you letting the guys upstairs know about the baby. You need to put in for time off, leave, all that good stuff. Then I was thinking you’d want to start interviewing nannies soon, better late than never, right?” A folder that had been tucked securely underneath his arm was placed on her desk. “I did some research, you know, just to see what we have to work with, and found a few candidates. A lot of candidates actually, I thought you’d want to interview them yourself.”

  “Nannies…” The word sounded foreign on her tongue. Danielle had always wanted a family, but she never thought to figure out what she’d do when she actually got one. Even with a husband at home, Danielle had always assumed that she’d work her way through motherhood. “We can start interviewing after this first trimester, but thank you for getting some people picked out, it’ll make things much easier later.”

  “No problem. One more thing,” he added as he got to his feet. “Duke schedule a late night meeting with you to go over some press stuff, is that still on the books, or should I call him to get another date?”

  That perked her up immediately, a visit from Duke meant foot and back rubs galore! And she’d be lying if she said her feet didn’t need a little TLC.

  “Nah, keep him on,” Danielle replied as her lips quirked upward. “I can get all of this done in time.” The excitement in her voice must have been obvious, because as he left, Jordan sent his boss a knowing look.

  “You’ve got some early morning meetings tomorrow,” he said with a smirk. “I wouldn’t stay up too late.”

  “Have a good day. Jordan.”

  “You too, Danielle.”

  When she was alone, Danielle took a breath to steady herself. The thought of Duke in her office was starting to make her knees quake. One thing was true about pregnant women, all those hormones could really get a girl going. And this sudden need for Duke, that had sprung up without any warning, had Danielle much more than hot and bothered. She reached under her desk to fumble inside her purse before retrieving a tube of red lipstick. It was her favorite color, one that looked great after hours and hours of wear. If she was going to be seducing someone, Danielle was going to do it with her very best tools.

  Duke had been a gentleman lately. A bit too polite to her. He hadn’t touched her, hadn’t tried to initiate anything more than a kiss or a cuddle. Honestly, there were sometimes when Danielle thought she’d go mad if she didn’t have him. With the Super Bowl coming up soon, the team's practices were really getting amped up. Duke’s body had changed just enough to give way to harder bands of muscles. His body was more sculpted now, his skin tanned to a rich caramel.

  It was maddening watching him walk through the office and not be able to lay a single finger on him. She wanted to grip onto those broad shoulders and never let go.

  ‘Get it together girl.’ Danielle told herself sternly as she reluctantly pulled herself from her daydream. ‘You’ll see him later.’

  That sobering thought got her through the last couple of hours of work. At 6:32, there was a knock on the door. Danielle hurriedly cleared her desk of papers and files, before letting out a shaky “Come in.”

  Duke seemed to live in sweatpants. The dark blue bottoms looked well-worn and comfortable, they were slung low on his hips, and as he bent to put his bag on the floor, Danielle spotted a line from
the ‘V’ that lead to her most favorite place.

  “Hey,” he said, catching her eyes with a smile, “How was your day?”

  “Same old. Paperwork, meetings and phone calls.” Danielle watched as he lowered himself into the chair, “What about you?”

  He shrugged, “Just workouts, thought I’d come say hello before the game on Wednesday. You two feeling okay?”

  Aww, he was checking up on her and the baby. Danielle felt her heart swell, immediately followed by a much less romantic reaction further south. “We are fine. I have another doctors appointment next week if you want to come with.”

  Duke looked at her from the other side of the desk, “Are you sure you’re okay? You look a little sweaty…”

  “It’s just hot,” Danielle said quickly, “I can’t find a temperature I’m comfortable at. If I turn the heat down it’s too cold, any warmer than this and I’m melting.”

  “You should head home soon, don’t tax yourself.”

  The woman laughed at that, leaning over to place a hand on Duke’s, “I’m not a doll. I know when I should rest. All this work has to be done before I get giant, you know?”

  “Dani, we’ve talked about this, you’re not going to get fat.”

  “Not that, silly. I just know I won't be able to move around so easily in a few months, I want to get all this time sensitive stuff done. Everything else I can work on from home for a bit.” She went on, “My mother's threatened to move in if I don’t take it easy in a month or two, so you have nothing to worry about.”

  “I just want to make sure you’re doing okay,” said Duke gently. “Do you need anything?”

  Just then, Danielle’s mouth went completely dry as the lust she’d been fending off since the morning came back full force. Part of her worried that he wouldn’t want her, the other part was too preoccupied to care about any consequences. So, instead of answering him, she moved across the desk to capture his lips in a searing kiss “I want you,” Danielle breathed when they part. Her words breathy and desperate, “Do you want me?”