Dirty Secret Baby

by Alycia Taylor

  She looked down at my hand and then back up at me. “Yeah?”

  “I want us to be a family.” The moment the words were out of my mouth, I knew they were the right ones.

  Her eyes widened. She seemed surprised. “You do?”

  “I do. I . . . I want this. More than I realized. I think Bobby is the most incredible boy in the world. And yeah, I’m sad that I missed out on his life, but I know that you only did what you thought was right. I also know that you did the best that you could. I don’t want to miss out on any more time with him either. But this is not just about Bobby. This is also about you. Hell, Savannah, I have never felt this way about anyone before. I didn’t know I wanted to be a family man until you came back into my life. I’m not sure how you feel, but . . .”

  “I feel the same,” she said and smiled at me.

  I grinned at her. “Will you move into my room so we can give this a try?”

  “I’d love that.”

  “Want to test out the room now just to see if you like it?” I said and grinned at her.

  She giggled. “Yeah, I definitely need to take a look at that bed . . .”

  I leaned in and kissed her. Her lips were soft, and when I kissed her, I tasted the sweet champagne on her tongue. I felt myself immediately become aroused. I had been wanting to do this with her again since the time in the shower. I took her hand and led her to my bedroom.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Savannah

  Bobby could not stop talking about Stacy. His little mind was still coming to terms with the fact that there was this new baby in his life. All he wanted was for Stacy to come home so that he could play with her. I kept having to remind him that she was too young to play but that didn’t seem to deter him at all.

  “Bobby, she’s so little. For a while, she’s not going to do anything. She’s just going to sleep all day.”

  He thought about that for a while and then nodded. “Then I can read to her,” he decided.

  I laughed. “You sure can. I think she’ll love that.”

  “Can we go see her now?”

  “She’s still in the hospital, my darling.”

  Just then the doorbell rang, and Pop appeared at the door.

  “Pop, is something the matter?”

  He shook his head. “Not at all. I was on my way to the hospital to see Candice, and I wanted to see if Bobby wanted to come with me.”

  Bobby squealed. “YES!”

  I laughed. “You’ve made his day. That would be great. Are you sure you don’t mind though? We’re heading off to work soon, and we were going to take him with us for the day.”

  “Of course I don’t mind. Bobby can spend the day with me. I’ll pop around to the shop a bit later with him.”

  “Sounds good. Okay, Bobby, go and get your stuff.”

  When Bobby was gone, Axel and I finished our coffees and decided to spend a bit of time moving my things from the basement to the bedroom. We were still a bit early for work, and we wanted to make the move official. We hadn’t really told Bobby yet about what we had decided, but we knew that he would be excited to see me out of the basement. We had to make a few trips. I didn’t have much stuff, but there was no easy way to move my things out other than by going up and down the stairs.

  “Okay, we’re going to be late. I’m just going to take a quick shower, and then we can go. I’ll leave the last of the things for later.”

  “I’ll do it while you shower, it’s not much,” Axel said.

  I rushed to get into the shower. I didn’t want to be late to work, and we were already pushing it with time. I took a quick shower, wrapped a towel around myself, and headed out to get changed. I almost walked to the basement and then giggled when I realized all my clothes were in Axel’s bedroom. I walked in and found him unpacking some of my things.

  “Thanks, Axel. That’s a huge help,” I said.

  “My pleasure,” he said and turned around. The moment he saw me standing in a towel, he grinned at me. “I hope you’re going to greet me like that every day.”

  I laughed. “Is this an appropriate dress for work?” I said and twirled around in my towel.

  “Oh yes. I definitely think you should go like that. Okay, bend over like you’re about to pick up some files off the floor.”

  I bent over and chuckled.

  “Oh hell, Savannah, you’re sexy. You know that?”

  I didn’t think I’d ever be called sexy again in my life. I turned to look at him and grinned.

  “No, I don’t know that. But I sure as hell like to hear you say it.”

  “I’ll say it again,” he said as he walked towards me. “You’re sexy.”

  He tugged at the towel until it fell off and I watched as it floated to the ground. I was now standing completely naked in front of him while he was fully dressed. I told him that it wasn’t fair, but he didn’t answer me. Instead, he picked me up and placed me on the bed. Before I had a chance to say anything, his mouth was on mine, and then it was trailing down the rest of my body. Sucking, kissing, licking, tasting. I groaned at the feel of his tongue on my naked body. I wanted him to take his clothes off, but no matter how many times I tried to say something to him, he wouldn’t stop.

  “Relax, Savannah. For once, I want this to be about you,” he said.

  I thought about arguing, but the feel of his tongue on me was too good. So I lay back down and closed my eyes. I hadn’t experienced something like this in a very long time. The men I’d been with over the years hadn’t been the most compassionate lovers. Nobody had ever taken the time to focus on me, and the feeling was overwhelming. I knew then that Axel had feelings for me. He didn’t just want to make things work because of Bobby. I relaxed my body and focused on the way he made me feel. I responded to him better than I had with anyone before. I reached my arms back, opened my legs and gave in to the sensation of his tongue urging my body toward ecstasy. Once I came, I lay there, trying to catch my breath. He lay next to me fully clothed. When I opened my eyes again, I turned to look at him and saw that he was watching me.

  “Thank you for doing that,” I said.

  He grinned. “I wanted to.”

  “I still hate that you’re in your clothes and I’m not. I could put mine on, but I think the fairest thing to do here would be for you to take yours off and climb back on top of me.”

  “Really?”

  “Oh yeah,” I said and surprised myself by feeling aroused at the thought of it.

  Axel got up and took his clothes off, and I lay back and watched him. It was a very good sight. I’d always liked Axel’s body. He was tall, and slim, and the years had been kind to him. It was clear that he was not afraid of hard work by the leanness of his body. He had tattoos decorating his skin, some dark, some bright, all intricate and interesting. I wanted to take the time and run my finger over each line. I wanted to know the story behind each and every one. He moved over me, and I opened my legs. I moaned as he entered me, and my body wanted him more than ever before as I relished his fullness inside me. How was this possible? My appetite for Axel knew no bounds.

  “I like double orgasms to start my day,” I said as we lay entwined together. “A strong cup of coffee and a double orgasm will be my new routine.”

  He chuckled. “Oh yeah? I think I could get used to that. This is nice. I like being here with you. I think I’m going to enjoy having you as a roommate.”

  “Yeah, this is nice,” I said and closed my eyes. But I opened them quickly when I suddenly realized that we were supposed to be at work. “Axel! We’re so late for work. Come on, we better go. Hey, what’s so funny?” I said when I saw him laughing at me.

  “Why are you so worried about being late?” he asked.

  “Because it’s work. I have to be there.”

  “Or what?”

  “Or . . . I don’t know. I’ll get in trouble.”

  “By who? You do realize that I’m the boss.”

  I laughed. “Uh, yeah, that’s true. But that doesn
’t mean I shouldn’t be at work.”

  “What if I demand that you stay in bed with me a bit longer? As your boss, I am telling you that you cannot get up for at least another half an hour.”

  I smiled. “Well, you are my boss, after all. There’s simply nothing I can do but follow orders.”

  “I’m so glad I hired you. You might even get a raise,” he said.

  I snuggled in closer and sighed with happiness. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel the need for anything more in life. I was happy. This was where I wanted to be.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Axel

  We were almost two hours late for work that morning, but I didn’t care. It was worth it for what had happened, and I’d be happy to be two hours late for work every morning if it meant waking up like that. Savannah had done something to me. She’d changed me. I hadn’t felt that way about anyone in a very long time. I thought back to the number of girls I’d slept with in the past. I’d always enjoyed sleeping with them. I’d always enjoyed taking their clothes off and laying them down on my bed. And then, afterward, when I was lying in bed with them, I’d want them to go. Sometimes, I’d tell them. Other times, I’d offer to take them home myself. I was never trying to be mean, but I also didn’t want them to think that I wanted anything more from them. I always wanted to make it clear that I wasn’t looking for a relationship.

  There were times, too, when either I was too drunk or too tired, and I’d fall asleep with them before I got the chance to ask them to leave. I’d wake up and look at them next to me and wonder why I never felt happy. I never felt the need to make them breakfast or spend the day with them. Every single time I’d wish that they weren’t in my bed. I used to hate myself for the way I felt. I used to wonder why I was so different from everyone else. People used to ask me when I was going to finally settle down with someone but I could never imagine spending more than one day with a woman. And then, Savannah came along. And everything changed.

  When we got to work, Spike raised his eyebrows. If I was late or Savannah was late, it wouldn’t have garnered a reaction. But because we’d arrived late together I could see the cogs in his brain turning. He gave me a knowing look but didn’t say anything.

  “So, what are you working on today?” I asked him.

  “Well,” he said. “Between answering the phone and working on the bikes, I’ve been pretty busy.”

  I chuckled. “Sorry about that. Really? The phones have been going?”

  He shook his head. “Nah, just kidding. It’s actually been quiet. I’m working on Gary’s bike. He’s coming in later today.”

  Gary was one of the racers that we were also good friends with. Since opening our shop, he had never gone anyway else, and he was always telling everyone to bring their bikes to us. Because of that, we always gave his bike the best possible treatment. No wonder Spike was working so hard. I looked at what he had done and grinned.

  “You’re good at this, you know.”

  “Oh, I know,” Spike said and laughed. “I complain sometimes, but to be honest, I couldn’t ask for a better job.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. Even if I didn’t own this place, I would still be doing the same thing.”

  “But it’s nice to own it. It means you can come into work whenever you feel like it,” he teased.

  I shot him an amused look. “You’re a tack in my backside, you know that? Anyway, I wasn’t that late. And I had important business to attend to.”

  “Ha! I’m sure. So, what’s it like being an uncle?”

  “Not bad actually. I’m just glad that nothing went wrong with Candice. Dominic had us worried at one stage. But thankfully everything went fine. Pop has taken Bobby over to see them this morning. Bobby is so excited.”

  “He’s a cute boy. I thought I didn’t like kids, but I think he’s changing my mind.”

  I laughed. “You and me both, man. So, what’s happening in your life? When are you going to settle down?”

  He groaned and looked at me. “I cannot actually believe you just asked me that question.”

  “Well, I’m getting you back for all the years you asked me.”

  “Touché. Hmm, well, to be honest, I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately.”

  “Seriously?” I asked and looked up. Spike and I were good friends but were not really ones to get into our personal lives with one another. We’d just never had that sort of friendship. I wondered if Savannah and Bobby coming along had shifted the dynamics for us.

  “Yeah,” he said. He didn't look at me when he spoke. He continued to work on the bike, and I decided to do the same. It was easier to talk when you weren’t looking at someone in the eye. “I’ve been dating Keri now for two years. And just recently I’ve started to realize that I don’t want to be with anyone else. I thought about what it would be like to date another woman, and I just couldn’t do it. I like being with Keri.”

  “She’s a cool girl,” I said. I meant it too. Keri was a very sweet girl. She was small, with owlish glasses and a quick wit. I’d liked her from the moment I saw her even though she was unlike the girls he usually dated. There was something different about her and from the moment I saw the two of them together I had a feeling that she was the one for him. This was the first time I was hearing him admit to it too.

  “She’s an amazing girl,” he said.

  “So, you thinking of popping the question?”

  “I am. I just need to figure out how to do it.”

  “I’m happy for you. She’s great, Spike. I couldn’t ask for a better girl for one of my oldest friends.”

  “Thanks, man,” he said. “Wow, what’s happening to us? You have a son. I am going to hopefully have a fiancée. This is not like us.”

  I laughed. “I know what you mean. Looks like we’re growing up.”

  We changed the topic to something a bit more lighthearted and made constant jokes to combat the serious conversation of before. It was a good morning. When Savannah came in to tell us that it was lunch time, I was surprised at how quick the morning had gone.

  “I’m going out to get something. Can I bring you anything?”

  “I’m fine,” Spike said. “I actually bought some food in with me today.”

  “Yeah, I’d love something,” I said as I realized suddenly how hungry I was. “Anything. A sandwich or something is fine. Whatever you’re getting.”

  “Great, won’t be long,” she said and smiled at me.

  I liked having her around. I was still smiling at her retreating back when I saw Spike looking at me. I quickly looked away so that he didn’t see how embarrassed I was. We had enjoyed a very personal conversation that morning, but I wasn’t sure how ready I was to talk about Savannah just yet. I was still trying to figure things out myself. The two of us were doing well, but we had a long way to go. Things were very new between us.

  An hour later and I wondered when Savannah was going to be back. She said she wouldn’t be long, but perhaps she’d been distracted. She told me that sometimes she popped into bookstores and found herself losing time. I pictured her now, her head buried in a book, and smiled at the thought. Another half an hour passed and she still hadn’t come in, so I went to the office to see if perhaps she had just forgotten to bring me my lunch, but the office was empty. I frowned. That was unlike her. I stayed in the office a little longer, peeking my head out every now and again to see if she was coming back. It made me feel uneasy to think that something was wrong.

  When she came back, she looked flustered and smiled guiltily at me sitting in her office.

  “I’m sorry I’m late,” she said as she walked in. “I didn’t realize the time.”

  “That’s okay,” I said. “It’s not like you do this often. Uh, is everything okay?” I asked her.

  “Everything is fine,” she said curtly, but I could clearly see that something had upset her. She sat down and avoided my gaze.

  “Uh, Savannah, did you get us food?” I asked.


  She groaned. “Ah, no, I completely forgot. I’m so sorry.”

  I frowned at her. “You forgot the food? But isn’t that why you went out in the first place? I thought that’s what you were going out for. You even asked me what I wanted and told me that you wouldn’t be gone out for long.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said without answering the question.

  “I don’t mind that you forgot the food, but what’s going on? Where did you go?”

  “I just went out,” she said. “I’m very sorry about the food. I know you’ve been waiting. I really forgot about it.”

  I couldn’t figure out what was going on. This was unlike Savannah. She reminded me a bit of how she had been with me when she’d first arrived. A little cagey, a little unsure about herself. But lately, she’d opened up to me, so I couldn’t figure out why she was acting this way. I sighed.

  “Where did you go?” I asked again. I needed to know.

  “I . . . I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know where you went? That doesn’t even make sense. Savannah, what’s going on? Why are you being so weird? You can tell me, you know.”

  “I just lost track of time. That’s all. I’m really sorry about the food. Do you want me to go out and get something for you?”

  I shook my head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll go out myself. You don’t have to do a damn thing.”

  She called my name, but I ignored her. I went out to a nearby café and ordered a sandwich and a cup of coffee. I ate and drank without really thinking about the food. I had lost my appetite, but I was eating just for sake of it. When I got back to the office, I walked straight past her and went to work on the bikes. I didn’t say anything to Spike either. It had been such a good morning, but Savannah had ruined it all by proving to me that she didn’t trust me at all. I didn’t like that I had opened myself up to her and that she was shutting me out. When we got home, I looked at her.