by Autumn, Kyle
He presses his forehead against mine. “We’re having a baby.”
I grin at him, but then I lean back and say, “Man. I didn’t think I’d have to quit my job so soon.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “I know what I said, but you know that it’s always your choice.”
Nodding, I tell him, “I know. But it’s for the best. If I have the opportunity to be at home with our child, I should really take it.”
“That’s the attitude,” he says, smiling.
“Thank you,” I say sincerely. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.”
“Oh, that’s not true.” He gestures a hand around the room. “You bought this house without me. Most of the things in this house were yours before we met. You’d be doing just fine if it weren’t for me.”
“You have a point.” I beam a smile at him. “But ‘just fine’ isn’t a life goal. I was tired of being ‘just fine.’ You make me happy. I’m happier with you in my life.”
“And I didn’t think I could find this kind of happy at all,” he replies. “You give me that kind of happy, and I’m so proud that you’re my wife.”
“And soon-to-be mother of your child,” I remind him, winking.
“You’re damn right,” he says in a low voice, his lips turned upward, just as my phone rings.
I slip out of his embrace to find my phone, and when I see that it’s Lyra, I hold a finger up to him. “Hey, Lyra,” I practically sing into the phone. “I have some news! But you can’t tell anyone yet.”
“Can I come over?” she says between sniffles.
“Oh, girl. Of course you can. What’s wrong?”
She rushes a breath out and cries a little. “I’ll tell you w-when I get there, o-okay?” she stutters.
“Sure, sweetie. I’ll see you soon.”
When she’s hung up, I do the same and look at Chaz, my eyebrows drawn together.
“You said you saw her, right?” I ask him. “Do you have any idea what’s wrong with her?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. We said hi, but then she rushed off.”
“Well, she’ll be here soon,” I tell him. Then I go back to him and enter his embrace.
“Do I have enough time before she gets here to make you come on my tongue?” he whispers in my ear.
A tingle of lust skitters down my spine. “I bet we do.”
He picks me up and carries me to our bedroom. “Of course we do.” Once he’s gently placed me on the bed, he tugs my shorts and my panties off. “You know,” he says as he kisses up my leg, “I’m so fucking thankful you delivered that package that day.” Kiss on my calf. “That Blake told me to go after the next woman I saw.” Kiss on my knee. “That you were that woman.” Kiss on my thigh. “That the company thought I was fucking everything up.”
“You just might have fucked everything up,” I tease, laughing a little.
Right before his tongue lands on my clit, he looks at me and says, “Mrs. Masters, we have no time for your jokes. I don’t have much time to make you scream my name, so if you’d—”
I wrap my legs around his neck and bring my clit to him because he won’t shut up. “Then shush and get to work, Mr. Masters.”
Which he does. Oh, does he ever.
With just enough time for me to thoroughly enjoy my orgasm in his arms before having to answer the door.
The End
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Chapter 1
Lyra
I can barely bring myself to knock on my best friend’s door. Shiree’s in there with her husband, and they probably just found out whether or not she’s having a baby. They’re probably celebrating the good news. Unless she’s not. Then they’re likely upset. And I don’t want to ruin either party. But I need my best friend right now. So I knock.
When Shiree answers the door, her hair is a mess. She has a glow about her, and I’m not sure if it’s a pregnancy glow or a just-fucked glow. I’d bet money, though, that it’s a combination of both, considering what I saw earlier and that her clothes aren’t straight on her body.
Well, good for her. At least one of us is getting some.
Actually, I take that back. If I hadn’t been getting some in the first place, I wouldn’t be on her doorstep right now. I wouldn’t be a hot fucking mess without a clue about where to go from here. I wouldn’t be pregnant.
“Hey,” she coos, relaxing her smile into a sympathy pout. Then she encircles me in her arms and holds me tight before pulling away. “Come in. You look like you could use a drink.”
“Yeah, about that…” I trail my words off as I follow her inside.
She spins around, her eyes wide as hell. “No!” She covers her mouth with her hand. Around it, she says, “Does that mean what I think it means?”
All I do is break down in tears though. Yes, it means exactly what she thinks it means. And, if she’s not sad right now, then we must both be in the same situation. I’d love to be happy for my friend, but she’s the one who has her shit together. Like I said, I’m a hot fucking mess right now.
Gently, she puts an arm around my shoulder and guides me to her couch. Chaz comes into the front room, sees that I’m cry, and then disappears. But he returns a few moments later with a box of tissues. Shiree takes one out of the box and hands it to me, which I use to dab my eyes and then blow my nose. Then she takes a few more and shoos Chaz off. He must understand that this is a girls-only pity party and takes off for the bedroom.
“If you need anything,” he says when he pauses before rounding the corner, “just let me know.”
Shiree thanks him, and then he goes.
When I saw him at the drug store earlier, I thought he would have known what I was doing there. It was the same thing he was doing there, after all. We ran right into each other in that aisle, and I was worried that he’d tell my best friend before I could. So I passed the pregnancy tests, what I really needed, and browsed other stuff until he was gone. Then I bought one I’d seen in the stack he’d dropped all over the floor, tested as soon as I went home, and cried. And cried all the way here after Shiree had said I could come over.
Now that I’m here, I can’t stop. Because she’s the one person I should be excited about telling. But admitting who the father is just not gonna happen.
“Shh,” she coos as she rubs my back. “A baby is great thing. It’s gonna be okay.”
She can say that because she has a husband. She won’t have to do this alone. Unfortunately, that’s what I’m likely facing. Single motherhood. The man involved is no longer involved, and I have no desire to tell him about this baby. In no way would he make a good father, and in no way is he someone I want around my baby. So I’m going to keep my mouth shut. Even when it comes to my best friend.
I finally calm my breathing and slow my heart. Constant stress and worry can’t be good for the baby. So I need to calm down. I take one last deep breath and release it. All of the air, all of the stress, all of the worry. On Shiree’s couch, I feel a small sense of peace. Like everything will, in fact, be okay. It might not be, but I’ll never know if I don’t move the fuck on.
“Thank you,” I say, wiping my nose.
“Any time. You know that.” She gives me a smile and one last back rub.
I pull my sweatshirt sleeves down my arms. “It’s just…a mess,” I tell her, slumping my shoulders.
“Chaz
and I are here for whatever you need. But…” She catches my gaze and stares at me while asking, “What about the father? I didn’t even know you’re seeing someone, and it’s not like you to not tell me.”
“I know. And I’m not. Seeing anyone, I mean. Not anymore. And I don’t think I ever really was. It was just…” I can’t admit it out loud.
“Sex?” she finishes for me.
I nod. “But I thought…” Then a lump forms in my throat, so I can’t speak.
“You thought it was more?”
Again, I nod. Vigorously. Because I really did. I know that it was just sex when it started. But I thought it had turned into something different. Something special. Which sounds ridiculous now that I think about it. He is never going to settle down—not when he’s having too much fun fucking any woman he so chooses.
I really thought I’d felt something between us. Even though we rarely talked when we were together and, when we did, I wasn’t exactly myself. So much was left unspoken. Yet it was all there. I could see it in his eyes—his gorgeous, blue eyes. Hear it in his voice—his rough, deep voice. Feel it in my core when he came inside me that one single, solitary fucking time. There was definitely something there. And, for a while there, I hoped he was just too scared to admit it. That he’d come back when he’d missed me enough. But I haven’t seen him for six weeks, and I wasn’t exactly the angel he thought I was, so I don’t think that’s happening
At this point, I wish I’d never met him.
“It’s okay,” Shiree says to comfort me. “You remember everything I went through with Chaz. You were there for me, and you were there to see it get better. So I know that it will for you too.”
I’m not so sure, but I nod anyway.
“Do you know how far along you are?” she asks.
Now, I shake my head. “Maybe three months?” I say in the form of a question.
Her eyes twinkle. “Oh my goodness. We’re going to have babies at the same time!” She brings her hands up to her face to hide her grin, but I appreciate her enthusiasm. “Sorry. I’m just excited!”
“Congratulations,” I halfheartedly tell her. I mean it, and I know she knows, but we both know I’m not in the mood to fake it with her right now.
“Thanks, but this isn’t about me right now. This is about you.” She gives me another hug. “Want to stay here tonight? The guest bedroom is free. Won’t be for long, so you might want to take advantage.” She winks when she leans back.
I open my mouth to respond, but she keeps going.
“Or we could have a slumber party! I can bring some blankets out here or I can tell Chaz to take a hike for the night and we can sleep in our room.” Her smile is too big and sweet to say no to.
“I probably shouldn’t drive home at this point,” I tell her. “It was hard enough through the tears on the way here.” I laugh a little, but it’s so true.
Her smile drops. In fact, her whole body does, including the rest of her face. “It can’t be that bad, can it?”
“Oh, you have no idea how bad.” I roll my eyes. Mostly at myself.
“I don’t believe that for a second,” she says.
I give her a side-eye glare, one eyebrow raised. “Did aliens invade your body? Who are you and what have you done with my more pessimistic best friend?”
“Psh.” She waves a dismissive hand. “I wasn’t that bad.”
“You totally were! If I remember correctly, I had to convince you that Chaz actually did like you and wasn’t just telling you what you needed to hear to get you to that party,” I remind her.
“Ya know…” She can’t hold her smirk back. “Whatever. I’m happier now. And much more optimistic that things will be great. For both of us.”
I raise the other eyebrow.
“Because we have each other!” she exclaims.
“We had each other before you met Chaz,” I deadpan.
She throws her arms in the air. “Don’t spin this around, lady.” Then she stands up, grinning. “I’m gonna go tell Chaz that he has to go for the night. And I’m gonna call Patti and Zo. I’ll be right back.”
When he comes out to the front room three minutes later with a packed bag, I apologize. But he won’t hear anything about it.
“A happy wife is a happy life,” he tells me, giving me a big hug. Once he lets me go, he kisses Shiree and heads out the door.
“Where’s he going at this time of night?” I ask when he’s gone.
“I told him that, as long as it wasn’t a woman’s house, I didn’t care.” She laughs lightly but continues. “Just kidding. He’s going to Blake’s house—”
I flinched when she said his name, and she must have noticed, because she stopped talking. Oh shit.
“No.” She shakes her head. Then she gasps, her eyes flashing wide again. “No!” Her hands go back to her face to cover her mouth for a second. Then she sputters around, fumbling for words, until she spits out, “Blake?” in a harsh whisper.
I let a breath out in a huff. “I told you it was bad.”
“How in the hell?” she asks, her hands on her hips.
I roll my eyes again. This time, though, it’s mostly at her. “You want the long version or the short one?” I ask, preparing myself to launch into how I got myself into this mess.
“I just want the story,” she says, making a hurry-up motion with her hands. “And I can’t wait for the girls to get here, so you should probably start now.”
“Which is fine,” I admit timidly. “They won’t want to hear this story twice.”
She gasps, her hand flying to her chest. “You told them before you told me?”
I put my hands up in surrender. “I was scared! And you were busy being just married! Don’t make this about you right now,” I tell her. Which makes me a laugh.
“Fine.” She pouts, but it breaks with a light giggle too. “Start from the beginning.”
“All right. Well, it all started the day of your wedding…”
***
Blake
***Three months ago***
I’m about to sit down at my desk at the office when my door flies open. I have no appointments scheduled, and I’m not looking to ruin the I-had-amazing-sex-last-night haze I’m currently enjoying. So whoever this is can fuck right off.
I assume it’s Chaz or a disgruntled employee—not that we have many of those. Chaz may have been on the train to Fuck Around Village in his personal life, but he runs Launchpad Systems like a tight ship. Which is why I have such a hard time believing this engagement party bullshit from the board. But it’s tonight, and Chaz seems pretty set, so whatever. If it means he gets to keep the company, then we’ll go with it.
Yet I’m completely taken aback by the angelic creature who’s barging into my office. She doesn’t work here. Because, let’s be clear, if she did, I’d already know and I’d already have fucked her. Chaz dips his pen in a lot of ink—or at least he used to—but not the company’s. That’s my specialty. No one’s tried to sue us yet, and I attribute that to my skills. Smooth-talking skills, bedroom skills, what have you.
Somehow, though, I don’t think any of those skills will help with this stunning woman. Her brown, chin-length hair squares up perfectly with her jaw. Her gorgeous, blue eyes blaze with a fiery heat she’s aiming right at me. And her cute nose… I don’t think she’d like it if I told her how cute her nose is, but I’m not known for doing things people like. Unless we’re in the bedroom.
“You!” She points a stern finger at me. “You need to mind your own fucking business. You hear me? Keep your nose out of shit you don’t need to have your nose in! Got it?”
Ooh. She’s feisty. I like.
I raise my hands in surrender and smirk at her. “Got it. Except I don’t know what you’re referring to.”
“My best friend happens to be Shiree James, and…”
Oh, she’s still talking, but now that I know what she’s here about, I’m mesmerized by her mouth. And all the things I’m picturing it c
apable of doing to me. If she’s this feisty with her clothes on, she must be spitfire when they’re off. As I think that, my gaze drifts down her body. Her perfect, tight little body in a…NatEx uniform. Oh yeah. Shiree. She must work with her in addition to being her friend.
“Are you even listening to a word I’m saying? My eyes are up here,” she spits out, which rips my gaze away from her cleavage.
“I see that,” I tell her, putting my fingertips on my desk, “but if you leave the window open, a guy’s gonna look inside.”
Her jaw falls open. “That is absolutely disgusting.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “You are totally the jerk I assumed you were before I got here.”
“That begs the question, then.” I lean forward. “Why are you here?”
“To tell you that you had no business telling Shiree to stay away from Chaz. They’re both adults who can do as they please.”
“They are. That’s very true. And perhaps I shouldn’t have gotten involved. But, when my own best friend’s livelihood is at stake, that’s what I do. I get involved to help protect him. I mean”—I cross my arms over my chest—“isn’t that exactly what you’re doing right now?”
She scoffs and gives me an indignant look.
“But hey. You know who else are both adults who can do as they please?” I cock an eyebrow, an action that has been known to charm many women right out of their clothes.
But she reacts much, much differently. “Ugh! As if!” she exclaims like it’s 1995 and Clueless just came out.
Yes, I know the movie. I don’t care what it says about me.
Unlike the characters in the movie, however, I’m no virgin. And I doubt this woman is, either. So, what’s wrong with a little give and take here?
I step around my desk and slowly approach her. Once I’m within a foot of her and she hasn’t moved, I stop. Not only hasn’t she moved, but her breathing has gone shallow and there’s a slight hint of pink on her cheeks.