by Amy Brent
“Sure,” I said. “I’d love to meet her.”
“Excellent,” Henry said, slapping his hands together like the deal was done.
Claudette picked up the phone on the corner of the desk. “Hello dear, please escort the young lady in waiting room B down to our office. Yes. Yes, there is a gentleman here who would like to meet her. They might be a great fit for the surrogacy program.” Claudette hung up the phone and gave me that expensive smile of hers. “They will be here shortly, Mr. Garrison.”
“Ethan is fine,” I said.
“Ethan,” she nodded politely.
We sat in comfortable silence for less than a minute before someone knocked gently on the door. Henry called for them to come in. A young blond girl with thick-framed glasses and a face full of freckles opened the door and stepped inside. She waved in a beautiful young woman with shiny, dark brown hair, brilliant green eyes, and fair skin. I admired the curve of her hips and her slender waist before I met her stare.
Recognition washed over me and left me momentarily speechless as the blond receptionist left and closed the door behind her.
“Ethan?” the young woman said, sounding as shocked as I felt.
“Devon,” I said as I got to my feet in an effort to appear like a gentleman. “What are you doing here?” I wanted to slap myself for asking the question. I knew why she was here as well as she knew why I was. This was awkward.
“I need money for school,” Devon said. “My tuition is pretty expensive. It’s been a long time. Heather still talks about you all the time.”
“Yeah, it has been a while,” I said. “I’ve been busy.”
“I’ve heard.”
“Can we keep this between us? That we ran into each other like this, I mean,” Devon asked. I noticed the way she was fidgeting with a loose thread on the pocket of her jeans.
“Of course,” I said.
Claudette cleared her throat, and Devon and I both turned to look at the owners behind their elaborate marble desk. “So, you two know one another? Will this still be a good match for you?”
“Yes,” I said quickly.
“No,” Devon said at the exact same time.
We looked at each other.
“Do you mind if Devon and I have a moment to talk alone?” I asked.
“Of course,” Claudette said, getting to her feet. Henry remained in his seat. “Henry,” she whispered, slapping his shoulder gently. “Come on. We will give our clients some privacy.”
“Oh, yes, yes of course,” Henry said, springing to his feet beside Claudette who, I was surprised to see, was a good foot taller than him. They both exited the room and closed the door behind them.
Devon and I stood in tense silence for a moment before I finally gathered the nerve to speak. “I know this isn’t what you expected. It’s definitely not what I expected, either. I don’t see why this is any reason for us not to proceed. I need a child. You need money. We can both give each other the things we seek without having to do this with a stranger.”
“I don’t know,” Devon said. “It feels … strange. Heather wouldn’t like it.”
“It’s not up to Heather,” I said flatly. “And besides, she never has to know.”
“How would I keep that from her? Pregnancy has a tendency to be kind of obvious after a certain point,” she said dryly. I remembered that dark humor of hers and smiled to myself.
“I’m sure we could figure it out. Come on, Dev,” I said, catching myself calling her by her old nickname that Heather still used whenever she talked about her. “We both need this. I don’t want to keep waiting. And you can’t afford to. How long are you willing to put off school for?”
She pursed her lips and looked at her feet. “I’m not willing to put it off at all.”
“So, in that case, why not go for it? You’ll be financially set after this, Dev. It will be worth it.”
She sighed and looked at the ceiling. “All right. All right. Let’s do it. But promise me this stays between us. Heather won’t find out.”
“I swear,” I agreed with a serious nod.
“Okay, good,” Devon muttered. Then her cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of pink, and I couldn’t help but notice how cute she looked. “I’m actually on my fertile week right now.”
“Huh?” I said,
“You know. For getting pregnant. My chances this week are higher than the rest of the month.”
Just then, the office door opened, and Claudette and Henry came back in. We all took our seats around the marble desk, and Claudette spoke first. “So, are we all on the same page? Would you both like to proceed with the surrogacy pairing?”
Devon and I looked at each other.
“Yes,” she said.
I nodded my agreement.
“Very good. Congratulations, you two. I think you’ll be a perfect pairing,” Claudette said. Then, she withdrew paperwork from the top drawer of her desk, and we all went through the somewhat tedious process of signing all the appropriate documents.
When it was all done, Devon would be one million dollars richer. I wrote them the check for my portion of one and a half million dollars. Five hundred thousand went to One Billion Fantasies. They wrote Devon a check to cover her tuition and agreed to pay her the remainder of five hundred thousand once she was pregnant. Then she would receive the final half million when the baby was born. Devon kept a straight face the whole time, but I noticed the shaking in her hands.
Her whole world was about to change.
So was mine.
When the meeting was done, Devon and I returned to the waiting room. I turned to her and found her staring up at me with those big green eyes I had completely forgotten she had. “Would you want to come by my place for dinner tonight?” I asked her.
Her cheeks flushed again, but she nodded. “Sure,” she said softly.
“You remember where it is?”
“It’s hard to forget,” she said, a small smile dimpling her cheeks.
I chuckled. “Fair point. I’ll see you around seven?”
“Sounds good,” she said.
Then we both parted and went separate ways.
My mind raced as I rode the elevator down. Devon Mansfield. She was as beautiful as I remembered despite there being something different about her. She was all grown up. She was a woman, not the teenager I remembered. Her body was fuller now in a good way. It had been difficult keeping my eyes on hers throughout our conversations.
A little trickle of excitement went through me at the idea of her in my apartment that night.
Chapter Six
Devon
Ethan’s penthouse was the definition of extravagance. It was elegant yet simple, with dark furniture in shades of gray and black. The walls were also a glossy black that was so shiny, it almost looked like there was a thin layer of water over them. Outside, all around his living room, dining room, and kitchen was a great wraparound balcony speckled with lounge furniture, sculptures, and trees strung with twinkling white lights that reflection in the floor to ceiling windows. Beneath one of those trees was a hot tub.
“Your home is beautiful,” I said as Ethan pulled some plates down from his cupboard.
“Thank you,” Ethan said. “Took a long time to get it to look like this, so it had better be. Want a glass of wine? Might be the last one you can have for a while.”
“Just one?” I teased.
Jokes had always come easily to us when we used to see each other years ago. We were never around one another unless Heather was there because she was the one we were both there to see. But Ethan and I had always gotten along and playful banter had always been the foundation of our almost-friendship.
“You can have as many as you like,” he said, reaching for a bottle he had probably just opened and pouring it into two crystal wine glasses. He held his up in a toast, and I followed suit. “Here’s to making another human.”
“And paying for school,” I said as we gently tapped our glasses together.
&
nbsp; “And having someone to inherit my fortune.”
We both took a mouthful of wine. It was earthy but fruity, and I felt the warmth of it all the way down my throat and into my belly. It was, without a doubt, the best wine I had ever tasted. As Ethan filled the two plates on the counter with salmon, risotto, beets, and broccoli, I took another sip. Then he took the plates, and I followed him to the dining room table.
We were surrounded by windows as we sat and ate. I couldn’t get over how beautiful his home was. It felt a little empty to me, though. He lived here all alone. I lived alone as well but in a fraction of the amount of space.
I found myself thinking he should get a dog as we chatted through dinner. The food was delicious, and Ethan’s company was pleasant and yet a little awkward. I told myself that awkward was all right. We were both about to try to make a baby together after not seeing one another for probably three years. If it was comfortable, I would have questions.
I had always liked him. In fact, as a younger girl, I had fancied him. He was strikingly handsome with near-black hair and eyes. He had always been fit, and I could tell there were muscles lurking beneath his navy-blue dress shirt.
When my plate was empty, Ethan cleared the table. He returned with the wine and topped up both our glasses. Then he took up his seat again, leaned back against the back of his chair, and sipped his wine like a refined gentleman. I couldn’t deny that the way his body was lazily draped across the chair was turning me on. He was hotter than I remembered.
“So, what are you studying at NYU?” Ethan asked, his dark gaze locked on mine.
“I’m going for my MBA,” I said, taking a rather big gulp of wine. The way he was looking at me was making me a little nervous. He had never looked at me like that, like he knew what was happening to me between my legs.
“Wow,” he said, sounding impressed. “You’ve always been a go-getter, Devon. I like that about you. I imagine you’re working as well. Back in the day, you were always juggling several things at once.”
“Well, funny story actually,” I said, giggling without meaning to. “I quit my job yesterday afternoon.”
Ethan smiled curiously. “But you didn’t know you were going to, you know, land the whole surrogacy thing. That seems like a risk the Devon I know wouldn’t take.”
“Yeah, it’s not. But my boss was a total bitch, and I wasn’t going to be able to afford the tuition regardless of whether I kept working for her. It wasn’t worth the headache she was. And in the end, it all worked out,” I said. “It really worked out. In nine months, I’ll have just shy of a million dollars in my bank account. That’s … that’s fucking insane.”
Ethan chuckled and leaned forward to refill my wine glass again. I wasn’t going to object. The wine was easing my mind and lessening the tension in the room. It was also making Ethan look even more attractive.
“I know people say money can’t buy you happiness,” Ethan said, “but mine sure has bought me a lot of things and experiences that made me so happy, I was shooting sunshine out of my ass.”
I giggled and covered my mouth.
Ethan grinned. My heart skipped a beat. “You still have the same laugh.”
“So do you.”
“And the same bright eyes that used to distract me whenever you were around,” he said, his voice lower than before.
I swallowed. The air between us seemed to crackle with electricity. I knew everything was about to change. I knew I was about to see and feel more of Ethan Garrison than I ever dreamed possible.
And I had most definitely dreamed it more than once.
Ethan stood. I watched him, unable to move from my seat as he walked around the corner of the table to stand in front of me. He offered me his hand. After staring at it like a fool for a minute, I took it, and he drew me up.
I stood before him looking up into his dark eyes that nearly matched his glossy black floors. The lights from the trees on the balcony sparkled in their depths as he stared at me.
I had never felt so nervous before. My stomach was a tight knot of nerves competing for attention with the heat between my legs.
“Are you ready to do this?” Ethan breathed.
“Yes,” I whispered.
His hand was suddenly on my cheek. He ran his thumb along my jaw and drew his hand back behind my neck. He cupped my head and pulled me to him, using his thumb to angle my face upward to meet him as he bowed his head to me.
His lips grazed mine gently at first. It was the softest touch, and it reminded me of silk. He held back, our lips still just softly touching, until I trembled in his grasp. Then, he sealed his lips to mine, stripping the breath from my lungs, and I became lost in him.
His rock hard body was so close to mine. I leaned into him, and his hands wandered down my back until he had a grip on my ass. He held me like that, still kissing me with unbridled fierceness, until he couldn’t stand the gap of space between us.
He pulled me to him and crushed me against him. My breasts were squished against his chest. It felt good. He was powerful and used his body to effortlessly maneuver me where he wanted. I didn’t mind. I liked that he was the kind of man who would take the lead.
Then, I noticed his cock growing harder and harder by the second. The length of him grew and rested on my hip. I was so hungry for him. I wanted him inside me and all over me. I needed it.
His hands moved over my hips until he was undoing my fly. Then, when he had succeeded, he took the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head. Our lips parted for the briefest second as the shirt passed between us, and then he was coming back for more.
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as he worked my jeans down over my hips and thighs. I helped him by kicking my pants off the rest of the way. He pulled away from me once more, this time to unbutton his shirt. I watched, fascinated, as he revealed a stomach rippling with muscles. Deep grooves in his hips made a perfect arrow down to his crotch. Dark hair swirled around his belly button and disappeared beneath the waistband of his jeans, which he was undoing as I watched.
Soon, he was completely naked. I had never seen a man who looked like him before. I felt like I was looking at something I didn’t deserve. I soaked in the sight of him. His broad chest and shoulders, his chiseled arms and sharp jaw, his cock, huge and pointing up to the ceiling between us.
I swallowed.
He moved in on me again. This time, he scooped me up in his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he walked with me clinging to him to his bedroom. His dick was too hard to ignore as it rested against my pussy on the other side of my panties. The feeling of him right there was absolutely maddening.
He kissed me again until we made it to his bed. He lowered me to the mattress and then put a hand on both my shoulders. He pushed me down until I was lying on my back. Curious and unwilling to look away from his nakedness, I propped myself up on my elbows and watched as he hooked his thumbs in my thong and pulled it off.
His gaze fell on my pussy. I watched a primal sort of hunger pass over his face before he dropped to his knees at the edge of the bed.
Startled, I closed my knees. He looked up at me, confusion written in the furrow of his brow. “Is something the matter?” he asked.
“No,” I said shakily, “but you don’t have to … I’ve never … this is just to make a baby, right? You don’t have to do that. We can just—”
He slid his fingers of his right hand between my knees. “Devon, please. I’m not going to just bend you over and fill you with sperm. I think we both deserve a little more fun than that. Don’t you?”
I wanted to say yes. But, as I stared at his fingers peeking between my knees I found that I was at a complete loss for words. I was about to feel Ethan Garrison’s tongue between my legs.
He eased my knees apart with the kind of tenderness that assured me he would not proceed if I wanted him to stop. When my legs were apart, he traced light lines down the inside of my thighs with the very tips of his fingers until my skin erupted in
gooseflesh. I caught him smiling to himself.
The smile vanished when he leaned in and his tongue flicked out to taste me.
For a paralyzing moment, all I could do was stare at the top of his dark head. I wanted to run my fingers through his hair. I wanted to show him how good it felt when he ran his tongue over my clit.
His tongue darted inside me. I gasped, startled, until he did it again, and then I melted into the mattress and let go of the little voice inside my head that was telling me not to give in to the pleasure.
I crumpled. I reached down and curled my fingers into a fist in his hair as a little moan escaped me. His tongue licked up and down the length of me, over and in my slit, and then around my clit. Then he suckled, pulling my clit into his mouth. The pressure was exquisite. I moaned breathlessly, released his hair, and tightened both fists in his sheets.
He held my clit between his lips and flicked me with his tongue. Right when I thought I wouldn’t be able to stand it any longer, he slid a finger inside me.
I cried out, unable to contain the sound as pleasure ripped through me. This orgasm was wild and untamable. I felt myself come. Ethan released my clit but kept his finger inside me. He kept fucking me with his finger as I rode out my orgasm.
Then he pulled his finger out and stood. His cock rested above my pussy as he leaned over to grab a condom from the drawer of his nightstand.
“I don’t think we’ll need that,’ he murmured, throwing it away.
I was still on my back gasping for breath and trying to recover when he took hold of his dick and pushed it inside me.
I was shocked that I was able to take all of him. The foreplay had helped. I was so wet and so ready to be filled. I watched him as his eyes closed as he eased into my pussy. He fucked me like that, his hips thrusting slowly, until my pussy tightened around his cock again. Then he pushed my legs back and climbed up on the bed on his knees. He put his hands under my thighs to push my legs back even farther. Then he leaned into me, his cock going in deeper than before.