The Pairing

by Katie Ashley

  “You want to go?”

  Her heart warmed at the fact that he already knew what she was feeling. “Do you mind?”

  He shook his head. “Of course not. Can I go too or is this just a hen party thing for the women?”

  She laughed. “Yes, you can come.”

  Pesh glanced down at Noah. “He’s going to want to see his mother.”

  “Oh yes. I don’t think we could go without him.”

  As Pesh rose out of the chair, Noah stirred but didn’t wake up. “Get Aidan and Emma’s keys out of my pocket.”

  She nodded and reached into his pants. When she accidentally touched his penis through the fabric, he jumped. “Sorry about that,” she replied, as she pulled out the keys.

  “No problem,” he muttered through gritted teeth.

  They said a quick goodnight to Pesh’s parents and other relatives who remained. Then they headed out to the lobby. After giving the valet Aidan’s keys, they waited for the SUV to be brought around. When she caught her reflection in the glass doors of the hotel, she gasped.

  “What’s wrong?” Pesh inquired.

  “The jewelry! I can’t go loaded down with this expensive stuff to the hospital!” she cried. She snatched off the earrings and then started working on the necklace. “I’ll run go give it to your mother.”

  “If you insist,” Pesh replied.

  She kicked off her heels so she could run easier. The necklace and earrings weighed down her hands. She grabbed the first member of Pesh’s immediate family she saw, which unfortunately happened to be Dev. “Can you get these to your mother? I’ve got to get to the hospital.”

  His dark eyes widened as he took the jewelry from her. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. A cousin’s baby was just born. Don’t let anything happen to that, okay?”

  Dev chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll be unloading this pronto. The last thing I need is for my ass to be the one to lose the family jewels.” With a wink, he added, “They’d be taking my family jewels.”

  Megan laughed and then gave him a wave before running off. When she got back outside, Aidan and Emma’s SUV had just pulled around. Noah began to squirm in Pesh’s arms. “Guess where we’re going?” Pesh said, before he could start crying.

  “Mama?”

  Pesh smiled. “Yes, we’re taking you to your mama and daddy and new baby sister.”

  Noah’s face lit up at the prospect, and he happily let them buckle him into his car seat. Following her mother’s car, they made the drive in almost a caravan of relatives. When they got to the hospital, Pesh pulled up to let her out. “I’ll go park and bring him in.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you guys up there.”

  When she got up to the maternity floor, there was a quite a group waiting for her, including Emma’s best friend, Connor.

  “Did Casey not feel like coming tonight?” Megan asked, as she hugged him. Casey was just a few weeks shy of her own due date with a little girl.

  He chuckled. “Oh, she’s here all right. She’s just in labor herself. It seems like Caroline and Olivia are going to be true best friends by being born almost the same day.”

  Megan grinned. “That’s wonderful news.”

  Connor wrinkled his nose. “I think Casey will be appreciating it a little more when her epidural kicks in. She wasn’t too happy the last time I went back to see her.”

  “Oh yes, I remember that feeling well.”

  Megan’s phone dinged, and she quickly read the text. “Aidan says we can come back now,” she said to her aunts.

  The group made their way through the double doors and down the hall. When they reached Emma’s room, Angie knocked on the door. Within a few seconds, Aidan appeared. “Hey guys,” he said, with a beaming smile. “The nurse is actually checking on Em, but give me a second.” He disappeared back behind the door only to reappear within a few moments. This time he held a tiny bundle wrapped in a pink blanket. “Here she is. Miss Caroline Elizabeth Fitzgerald.”

  Collective oohs and aahs went up over the group as Aidan held Caroline out for them to see. She didn’t seem too interested or impressed by them. She yawned and closed her eyes. “She’s absolutely beautiful,” Megan said.

  “She’s something all right,” Aidan murmured.

  “There it is! I see a tear,” Becky teased.

  Aidan rolled his eyes at his sister. “Let me guess. You had some kind of bet going about whether I cried or not?”

  Liz patted his back. “Something like that.”

  Pesh appeared then. The moment Noah saw his father he kicked to get down. Once he got his feet on the floor, he ran to Aidan, wrapping his arms around Aidan’s leg. “Hey buddy. You want to meet your sister?”

  Squatting down, Aidan held Caroline to where Noah could get a good look at her. “Mama’s tummy baby?” he questioned.

  Aidan laughed. “Yeah, this is your baby sister, Caroline.”

  Noah eyed his sister with a slight frown, as if he was trying to figure her out. Megan could only imagine what was going on in his head at the moment. He’d spent the last sixteen months being the center of his parents’ world, and now there was someone else to share the attention.

  When Caroline scrunched up her face and whimpered, Noah patted her arm. “No cwy, baby.”

  “Aw, he’s going to be a good big brother,” Angie remarked.

  Aidan chuckled. “Yeah, he’ll be fine until Caroline needs Emma. Then he’s going to be ready to sell her to the gypsies.”

  A nurse exited Emma’s room. “You can go in now.” As she gazed around the crowd, she shook her head. “Well, some of you can go in.”

  Rising up off the floor, Aidan took Noah’s hand. “Come on, buddy. Mama wants to see you.”

  Noah didn’t bother waiting on Aidan. He barreled through the door. “Mama! Mama!” he cried.

  Megan smiled as she watched him climb up on Emma’s bed. “There’s my baby boy!” Emma cried hoarsely, smothering both his cheeks in kisses. He snuggled up to Emma’s side.

  “Come on, Meggie. You and Pesh come in first,” Aidan suggested.

  Megan didn’t argue with him. Instead, she took Pesh’s hand and followed Aidan inside. Emma glanced up and shook her head. “I’m so sorry for ruining your engagement party.”

  “You didn’t ruin our night,” Pesh reassured her.

  “That’s right. We kept right on partying—it didn’t bother us at all,” Megan teased.

  Emma laughed. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  Megan smiled and jerked her chin over at Aidan, who sat in the rocker with Caroline. “Congratulations on a beautiful baby girl.”

  “Thank you,” Emma replied, as a beaming smile lit up her face.

  “Are you feeling okay?” Pesh asked.

  Emma nodded. “It was a little easier this time and a lot quicker.” She turned to Aidan. “And this time I didn’t have to worry that Aidan might not make it.”

  Aidan chuckled. “No, you just kept screaming at me to drive faster because you were not going to deliver Caroline on the side of the interstate.”

  Emma’s cheeks flushed. “I guess I was a little panicked.”

  Pesh took Megan’s hand and squeezed it. “We better go and let the others have a turn,” he said.

  “Do you want us to take Noah back with us?”

  Considering he was plastered to his mother’s side, Megan wasn’t really looking forward to trying to take him. Emma gazed down at her son with love burning in her eyes. “No, I think he can stay here with us a little longer. I might get Connor to take him home. I know he’ll be here until Casey delivers.”

  “Are you sure you won’t need your rest?” Megan asked.

  “Oh, I’ll pawn him off to Aidan and make sure I get plenty of sleep until Miss Caroline needs me,” Emma replied, with a sly smile.

  Aidan didn’t argue with her. He looked perfectly content to lose sleep if it meant being surrounded by his wife and children. After exchanging a few hugs and kisses, she and Pesh headed out i
nto the hallway and let the next group in.

  As they walked down the hall hand in hand, Pesh turned to her and smiled. “You know, I never thought I would see the day I would be envious of Aidan again.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He heaved a sigh. “Seeing him with his children makes me envious. One day I hope that’s you with my child in your arms.”

  “Oh,” she murmured.

  Whether or not they would have children together had never really been discussed. It was almost a given that they would, so it didn’t seem necessary to iron out when and how many. She wanted nothing more than to give Pesh a baby of his own. He was truly the father Mason had never had.

  “Give me a year,” she said softly.

  His brows furrowed in confusion. “What?”

  “I’d like one year for us to be together as a married couple before we try to have children.”

  “That only makes me an even older father,” he protested.

  “You’ll be fine. You’re awfully spry for your old age.”

  He laughed. “I just don’t want to be on a walker at his or her high school graduation.”

  She smacked his arm playfully. “One year is not going to make that much a difference.”

  “Fine. You win. We’ll wait one year.”

  As the elevator doors dinged open, they stepped inside. Gazing down at her, Pesh said, “I couldn’t have picked a more amazing mother for my future children.”

  “Yeah, I gotta agree that you did good, Nadeen. Real good,” she teased.

  He cupped her face in his hands and gave her a lingering kiss that silenced anymore of her comebacks. When he pulled away, she smiled at him. “Keep kissing me like that, and I might decide to wait even longer for a baby. You’ll make me want you, your lips, and your dick all to myself for as long as possible.”

  “And here I thought my kisses might get you in the mood for baby-making,” Pesh mused.

  Megan laughed. “Either way, it’s a win-win situation. So bring it on, Nadeen. Bring. It. On.”

  Although her stomach screamed in protest to drop her fork, Megan couldn’t resist popping in the last bite of delicious crepe into her mouth. As she chewed, she closed her eyes at the delicious combination of chocolate and strawberries danced along her taste buds. “Good?” a voice asked from across the table.

  Her eyelids popped open to take in Pesh, her new husband of three days. He wore an amused smile as he held his cappuccino cup in midair. “Orgasmically good,” she replied.

  He chuckled. “I’m glad you’re enjoying them.”

  “I’m going to gain ten pounds while we’re here,” she replied. As she dabbed her mouth with her napkin, she sighed with absolute contentment. Gazing around the tiny Parisian café, she fought the urge to pinch herself. Was she actually in Paris on her honeymoon? When Pesh had asked her where she wanted to go, there was only one place. Although it was somewhat clichéd for a honeymoon destination, she had always wanted to see the city. And because she was marrying a man who loved to spoil her, Pesh had booked them for a week’s stay at the Hotel Plaza Athenee. Not only had he chosen the hotel for its gorgeous views of the Eiffel Tower, but it was also where Carrie Bradshaw stayed when she was in Paris. It seems Pesh completely understood Megan’s love for Sex and the City.

  Their first day in the city had been spent in their hotel room. A combination of jetlag and lust had kept them naked and in bed, stopping only for room service and showers. Today they had pried themselves away from the room to go sightseeing.

  “Are you ready to go back to the hotel?” Pesh asked.

  “Maybe.” With a teasing grin, she asked, “Are you tired and want to rest?”

  Desire pooled in Pesh’s dark eyes. “No, I don’t want to rest. I want you to model what you bought this afternoon.”

  Her gaze left his to go down to the pink and black bag at her feet. Part of their sightseeing had turned into shopping, in which she bought some very racy lingerie. Although she was enjoying her day out in the city, she was also itching to put on the outfit and get back in bed with Pesh. “Then let’s go,” she said.

  Pesh certainly didn’t need any more convincing. Digging in his pocket, he took out his wallet and threw a wad of euros on the table. Then he popped out of seat like a jack-in-the-box. She had to snatch up her purse and bag to keep up with him before he sprinted out the door and into the sunshine.

  As she passed the colorful flowers in bloom outside the café, they transported her back to her wedding. It had been a perfect, cloudless day when she stood with Pesh in the rose garden at her Papa’s house. To her, he had never looked more handsome than in his black tux that fit his built frame like a second skin.

  Since she was the master of party planning, Megan had enlisted Emma’s help in getting the quickie wedding done. Even with newborn Caroline to tend to, Emma had gone above and beyond any expectations Megan had. Tears had stung her eyes when she first caught sight of the garden as she, on her father’s arm, made her way from the house to the ceremony.

  White chairs draped with blue silk bunting lined the garden in rows while a tent had been erected to the side of the makeshift altar. Next to the chairs, votive candles lit the way up the aisle that was adorned in multicolored rose petals. Emma, Casey, and two of her best friends from childhood stood at the altar in their cornflower blue bridesmaid dresses. Pesh, along with his brothers and Aidan, wore blue vests with their tuxes. A string quartet struck up the bridal march to herald her arrival.

  She would never, ever forget the feeling of walking up the aisle to Pesh. His loving gaze took her in, and she felt like the princess she had always wanted to be on her wedding day. Her dress was almost like what a Disney Princess might wear—a long train, a full ball gown, a bodice encrusted with pearls and sequins, and then a glittering tiara holding her veil in place.

  The entire world seemed to evaporate when Pesh took her hand in his. He was her only focus. She barely heard the words the priest spoke or the lyrics of the song that Emma sang. She just stared at her soon-to-be husband—the man who made her believe in romance and true love.

  She was so lost in thoughts of her wedding day that she accidentally mowed into a woman. “Excuse me,” she apologized.

  The woman scowled at her while cursing at Megan in French. Well, Megan imagined it was cursing since she didn’t speak French.

  “Where is that head of yours?” Pesh asked, with a smile.

  “Thinking of our wedding day,” she replied.

  His smile grew broader at her response, and in the middle of a crowded street, he stopped to kiss her. While it was somewhat chaste and full of more love than lust, it did hold a promise of what was to come later on. He ended it far sooner than she would like. “Let’s hurry,” he replied.

  She giggled before breaking into a slight run towards the hotel. He followed her example. By the time they pushed through the revolving doors into the lobby, they were both breathless. Like two mischievous kids, they raced to the elevators. Once inside, they wrapped their arms around each other and kissed passionately until the door dinged open. They pulled apart long enough to get down the hall and into their suite.

  When the door closed behind them, Pesh pulled her to him, bestowing a lingering kiss on her lips. As he ravaged her mouth, his tongue darted inside to tease along hers. When she felt his evident desire poking into her stomach, she broke the kiss. At his groan, she shook her head. “Not yet. I have to get dressed.”

  “Next time,” he muttered.

  Pushing out of his arms, she grinned up at him. “I’ll be back in just a second. You get ready.”

  “Oh, I’ll be ready. That’s a promise.”

  She laughed and then practically skipped into the bathroom. Once she closed and locked the door, she sat the bag down and dug inside. After she decided what to wear, she laid them out on the counter, and then started taking off her clothes.

  When she was naked, she reached for the lingerie. The tight bodice was solid black with p
ink ribbons that wove through making intricate designs. It pushed her breasts up and over the cups, making her appear to have far more cleavage than she was blessed with. The black and pink panties were lace and practically see through. On her legs, she slid black silk stockings that had pink bows at the tops of her thighs. As she fluffed out her hair, she couldn’t help gazing in the mirror. She looked quite the sexpot, which she hoped pleased Pesh. Well, she knew it would please Pesh. The man was ravenous for her, something for which she was very thankful. Not quite the polite gentleman she had expected when she first met him, that was for sure.

  Megan opened the bathroom door. Across the room, Pesh stood gazing out the window, stripped down to his boxer shorts. When she cleared her throat, he jerked his head to stare at her. Slowly, she walked out of the bathroom. Her eyes stayed on him. A shiver rippled through her as he tracked her every move. When she finally stood before him, it took less than a second for him to pounce on her. His hands grabbed her by the waist, jerking her flush against him. His mouth bore down on hers in a frantic kiss as he ground his cock between her legs.

  Breathless, she pulled away to gaze up at him. “Does this mean you like the lingerie?”

  “Oh hell yes, I do. I think we’re going to have to go back and get you some more.”

  She laughed. “More shopping? You won’t hear me say no to that.”

  Bending over, Pesh brought his arm under her knees and then lifted her up. She felt so light in his arms as he walked her over to the bed and gently deposited her on the mattress. As he loomed over her, her heartbeat sped up in anticipation the sensual delicacies she was about to experience.

  Tugging on the straps of the bodice, he bared her breasts. His mouth hovered over her nipple, breathing warm air onto the cool tip. It puckered under his attention before his tongue darted out and flicked it. “Mmm,” she murmured, her fingers tightening in his hair. Making slow circles around her nipple, Pesh continued his teasing assault. Arching her back, she gripped the strands of his hair tighter, willing him to take her nipple in his whole mouth. Finally, he obliged her, sucking the hardened peak into his mouth. While he gave oral attention to one breast, his hand palmed and stroked the other. As the heat and moisture built in her core, Megan began sawing her legs back and forth. The friction eased her a little, but she wanted Pesh’s fingers, tongue, and dick there more than anything.