by Amy Brent
“Did you know you have skin the color of mocha? And your eyes remind me of whisky.” He told her, as he looked down at her, “I totally am not hitting on you. However, you are beautiful. Thank you for your help.”
Shareena didn’t know whether to laugh or feel embarrassed. The man was clearly still intoxicated, despite his night spent in the grass.
“So, is anyone missing you?” She asked him quietly, changing the subject.
“No, I work for Navy intelligence. I’m an investigator. I’m on vacation right now. I spent a few years as a regular navy guy. I also spent some time as a navy seal, but I found my interest was investigations and undercover work. I’m also talking too much, so tell me what a beautiful woman like yourself is doing out here.” Charlie asked her, and wondered how to get her number without coming off like a creep.
“I’m a photographer. I was out here trying to get some work done. Actually, hold on, don’t move, the lighting is perfect.” She told him, and then stood back and took a few pictures of him with the sun high in the sky with him looking bewildered as she snapped a few pictures. “Perfect!”
“If you say so,” Charlie muttered.
“I have a consent form in my ca. I will just need a signature to use and sell these photos, if you don’t mind?” Shareena asked him and smiled in his direction, her teeth flashing between her lips.
“Only if you agree to go on a date with me,” Charlie told her and raised a brow as they reached his car.
She hesitated slightly. She barely knew him, but it was clear he was a bit of a trouble maker despite being navy intelligence with a background that she admitted had her fascinated. She’d never gone out with a military man before, of any sort. Normally she dated bankers, and intellectual types. This man had brute strength and reminded her of Hercules. Maybe a change of the type of man would be a good thing. She could at least use a little fun.
Handing him a release form and a pen, she nodded. “Deal, but I get to pick when and where.”
“As long as it’s within the next week, or I get to decide,” he told her as he filled out the paper and handed it back to her. “Can I use your phone now?”
“Sure, or I could give you a ride?” Shareena offered before she could stop herself. For some reason, she felt the urge to help him. Something about him had her drawn to him. Despite his size and his obvious military training, she wasn’t scared of him. His bad boy nature seemed to extend to acts of stupid, rather than scary.
“I’d offer to pay for your gas, but I’m missing my wallet.” He gave her a quirky grin and she laughed.
“I think I can afford the gas to help you out, as long as you pay for dinner.” She told him and got into her car, and started it. When he slid into the seat next to her, his blue eyes twinkled.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less. A gentleman always pays for a pretty lady’s meal,” he told her and winked.
“Somehow, you don’t strike me as much of a gentleman,” Shareena told him, then started to back out of the park’s parking lot to take him where he needed to go.
Chapter 2
Shareena hadn’t intended to get overly involved in her wayward navy man, but the dinner date went so well and she had such a good time, she found herself agreeing to another outing. A picnic.
“You love nature so much, a picnic is the perfect place for us to have our next date,” he told her and cupped her cheek outside of the restaurant. He didn’t do more than kiss her cheek, which left her stomach in flutters. She had taken him for a more aggressive type of man, yet he was holding back with her.
She wasn’t sure if she was flattered, or slightly offended. Amused either way, she smiled at him. And agreed to a time and date.
“I will see you then Charlie,” blowing him a kiss as she walked away from him and back to her car. She could feel his eyes on her back and knew he was watching her. When she got home, she fed her cat. She smiled at Frosty, her white kitty with blue eyes, and told him all about her date with Charlie.
The cat paused when eating to look up and tilt its head, as if he understood what she was saying, before going back to eating his food. Shareena stopped to pet him for a moment, then went about her business.
They’d be meeting again in three days. It was his next day off, and he wanted to take her back to the park where they’d met. He had joked about re-meeting under better circumstances there, and where she could get the pictures she’d missed since she’d stopped to help him.
She wondered what it would be like to kiss him, he had such soft, pink lips. He was hard in all the places that mattered, she’d describe him as stocky. He was solid, and looked like he could hold his own if he ever got in a fight. She liked his body type. She wasn’t exactly a tiny girl, but next to him, he made her feel downright feminine. His hands were huge compared to her. It made her wonder what else about him was huge. Smiling to herself, she fell asleep that night with images of them making love in the sunshine on a picnic blanket.
When the time came for him to pick her up a few days later for the picnic, Shareena took extra care primping in front of her mirror. She knew that he probably didn’t care nearly as much as she did, but she plucked and massaged until her face shined and there wasn’t a single stray hair out of place anywhere.
She picked a summer dress with a light over-coat in case it got cold and strappy sandals she could walk in. Normally she was a jeans and a t-shirt kind of girl, but for Charlie she felt the urge to dress up. The dress hugged her curves like it was glued on, her abundant cleavage left nothing to the imagination as it was impossible to hide in most shirts in general. Might as well show it off.
He opened the door for her, and she smiled at him. She had her backpack with her, which had her first aid kit, portable camera equipment, wallet, cellphone, and keys. She never went anywhere without it, even on a picnic date. You never know when you’d need something, or want to stop to take a picture.
They drove to the field where she’d first met him, he spread out a blue and white blanket and got a picnic basket out of the trunk. Setting it down in the middle, he sat down and pulled out two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine.
“This okay?” Charlie asked her and she nodded at him.
Sitting down next to him on the blanket, she could feel the sun shining down on her back as he unpacked the basket. He had meats and cheeses, breads and butter, and the red wine. He had dark chocolate candies for dessert. Most of it was snack style foods, and she appreciated the variety.
Eating quietly, they talked about their jobs and their families. He was an only child, and he admitted that when his parents died, they’d left him an inheritance. She didn’t ask him if he was rich, or how much. But the impression he gave her when he clammed up when talking about money, he was pretty well off.
It made him more attractive that despite the money, he still chose to work. She told him so too. He laughed then leaned over and wiped off some chocolate off her lips. Their eyes met and he leaned forward and kissed her. Shareena kissed him back, closing her eyelids, she let her mouth and lips do the feeling.
Charlie was gentle at first, then grew more demanding as his tongue teased her lips for entrance. She parted her mouth and their tongues met in an erotic melding that had her moaning softly into his mouth. She reached out and wrapped an arm around his neck. When his hand came and rested on her thigh, she shivered but didn’t push him away. Instead she deepened the kiss.
This was completely out of character for her, yet with him, she wanted to be wild, do something dangerous and daring. He was like nature. Unpredictable, exciting, and beautiful to watch. She wanted to see him in action. Running her hands through his hair, she touched the side of his neck and shoulder softly. He brought his hand up and cupped one of her large breasts through her dress gently. Squeezing, he stroked the lobe with care as her nipples puckered against the fabric. It was aching to be released and touched.
She moaned softly as he worked her out of her sundress. He took his time and she cou
ld feel the sun touch each inch of her skin as he slowly pulled it down exposing her. His lips were against her skin, leaving soft kisses until her breasts were exposed. He sucked one large tender nipple into his mouth and lapped at it until it puckered into a rock hard nub. He switched to the other side after a few moments and paid equal attention to the other side as he slid the dress down further until it hit her hips.
Charlie slipped the dress down her long legs and set it on the blanket next to them. Reaching between her legs, he touched her with his fingers through the fabric of her panties. Stroking her, he massaged her until the fabric was wet with her arousal before pushing them aside and touched her skin with his fingers. He worked a finger inside of her warm hole and used his thumb on her clit. He leaned up over her and lowered her body to the blanket as kissed her. His fingers never stopped moving inside and against her flesh.
Shareena moaned, opening her legs wider and met his tongue with hers as he kissed her. He stroked her until her hips were grinding against his hands, his tongue and lips working their magic against her own as she moaned into his mouth.
Eventually, when her juices had coated his hands and her thighs, he settled himself between her legs, and kissing down her neck to her chest. With the sunshine warming their skin, he pulled his pants down. He rubbed himself against her thigh, and when she reached up behind him to grab his butt cheeks, he positioned himself against her opening after moving his hand out of the way. He thrust deep inside of her, in one hard movement of his hips.
Rocking her body with his own, he bent his head down and sucked one of her nipples into his mouth as his cock filled her, one stroke after another. She wrapped one of her long legs around his hips to pull him deeper inside of her, and let her head fall back against the blanket. The sun shone on her face, warming her skin. It was erotic, and the slight breeze in the air and smell of the grass and flowers made the situation just feel right to her.
Shareena wasn’t normally the type of woman to jump into bed with a man on a second date, but it felt right. He felt right, and he was pushing on just the right spot. A moment later, she let out a loud howl as her orgasm curled her toes and made her entire body shake from the knees up. Quivering, she could feel her body clench tight around him, and she dug her nails into his back and held on to him as the stars exploded behind her eyes. By the time she could breathe and had stopped shaking, he’d had his own climax, and was breathing hard, looking down into her face with a lopsided grin.
He rolled over and lay next to her on the blanket. Taking his hand in hers, the two of them just relaxed under the sunshine for a while together. Eventually, his stomach growled, and he sat up.
“I think I’m ready to eat.” He told her, “actual food this time.”
Shareena laughed, and nodded at him. She put her clothes back on, and it never occurred to her that they were careless under the sunshine, on the blanket, in a field full of daisies. Had she realized what they’d done, instead of getting caught up in the moment, she wouldn’t have ended up in the situation that was coming next.
Chapter 3
Shareena had been so tired and sick feeling the last few days. She missed Charlie, but he’d been on an assignment for the Navy department that he worked for as a detective. They’d had some money go missing from a weapons funds he was investing and he tended to be overly focused when he was working on a case. She knew how that could be. When she was working on her photography, she could get lost for hours and forget to come up for air.
Right now, she was hugging the toilet, and wondering if she’d picked up a flu. She had just done a high school senior photo project that had paid fairly well, and allowed her to do her art because it paid the bills. Maybe one of the teenagers had gotten her sick. Putting her head against the cold glass, she decided to call her doctor and go in. She had the urge to text Charlie, but decided not to bother him over something silly like a flu or stomach bug. But she did miss him, and wished he was here to hold her hand.
When he wasn’t busy working on cases, they texted and talked non-stop. She had learned a lot about his history, including that he had a reputation as a bit of a playboy. She supposed she wasn’t his normal type either. She was chocolate skinned, busty, leggy, and had curves in places that no diet would fix. According to his mates that she’d met when he’d taken her to play pool a couple weeks ago, he was more into petite blondes with too much makeup and a penchant for going braless.
She wasn’t sure if she was offended that she was so different from his normal type, or that maybe something between the two of them was different. That he found her different, and that it meant they would have something more lasting, or special. He seemed to really like her. He didn’t seem to notice other women when he was with her. He didn’t have the wandering eye of a playboy, even if he had been one prior to meeting her.
Shareena had told herself after hearing about his way with women, that maybe she was different. Maybe it’s why he actually brought her around his friends, and their relationship was slowly progressing over time.
They rarely talked about family, or money, or financial stuff. She could tell it was a sore spot with him, so she avoided it. There was no reason it had to be brought up right now. She wasn’t in a hurry to get settled down or married, those things could come in the future when the time was right.
Right now, her time with Charlie was fun. He seemed to be enjoying her and she was enjoying herself with him.
Except the puking. Shareena groaned and grabbed the glass of water she’d set on her bathroom sink and swirled it around her mouth, hoping to get the disgusting taste out of her mouth so she could call her doctor.
Forcing herself to her feet, the room spun a little bit and she wobbled to the bedroom to find her cell. Calling her doctor, she explained the situation and the nurse told her to come in right now and they’d fit her in.
Thanking her, Shareena hung up. She brushed her teeth and threw on some clean clothes. She knew she really needed a shower, but couldn’t bring herself to do it at this point in time. Grabbing a bowl, she went to drive to the doctor and didn’t want to risk throwing up in her car.
When she got there about twenty minutes later, she signed in and was still clutching the bowl to her chest. She had dry heaved a couple of times, but it appeared that she’d cleared most of her system out by now, and it was just the motions without the big mess at this point.
The nurse got her into a room right away, took her vitals, including her temperature. When the nurse saw that she didn’t have a fever, she looked slightly puzzled. She then gave Shareena a reassuring smile and told her the doctor would be right in as soon as she was done with the patient she was currently talking too.
Sitting on the bed, holding the bowl in her lap, Shareena closed her eyes and waited. When the door opened, she nearly fell off the bed, not realizing she’d started to fall asleep.
“Well, I’d ask you how you are doing, but since you’re here because of a tummy bug, is it a safe bet to guess you’re feeling like crap?” Her doctor asked her and gave her a gentle smile. The woman was an older lady with gray hair, who had a belief in mixing modern medicine with holistic approaches and whole body wellness. It suited Shareena’s desire to trust nature, while still giving her access to medicine when she needed it and know that it was actually warranted. Her doctor didn’t prescribe unless she absolutely had too.
“I’ve had better days Miranda, I’m hoping you can tell me what’s wrong, fix me up, or at least make me feel better while I suffer?” Shareena told her, then felt the dry heaves coming on and buried her face in her bowl for a few moments.
“How long have you been feeling this way?” Miranda asked her, rubbing her chin looking at Shareena.
“A couple of days, but this is the first time it’s been bad like this.” Sighing in relief when the sensations stopped, she closed her eyes for a moment.
“I want a urine sample; do you think you can pee for me, then we can talk?” Her doctor asked her and Shareena r
ealized she did have to go, so she nodded.
Digging a cup out of the cabinet above the sink the doctor handed it her, gave her instructions on how to use it, and where to leave it in the bathroom.
“I need to see another patient, but it should be quick. I’ll come back in about twenty minutes after we’ve had time to test your urine for a couple of things.” Miranda patted her on the arm as she walked past her. “You’re going to be fine, even if you feel like crap right now.”
Shareena nodded, and clutched the little plastic cup to her chest. She went to the bathroom and followed the doctors’ orders, peeing in the cup. She went back to the room and sat on the bed, waiting. It was almost an hour later when the doctor came back again.
“Sorry, that took a little longer than I expected. But we have the results from your urine.” Miranda shut the door, talking as she walked into the room.
“And?”
“You are pregnant. I need to do a blood test to confirm, but I’m guessing based on your vitals, that’s all that’s wrong with you at this point. Once we do a blood test to confirm and figure out your levels, I’ll know when to order an ultrasound, unless you know exactly when you conceived.” The doctor was making some notes on the computer and glanced up to look at Shareena. “When was your last period?”
“I don’t remember?” Shareena said, making it sound more like a question then a real answer. “How is this even possible… we always used protection except…. Oh my god.”
“I’m guessing you just remembered something?” Miranda said quietly.
“We weren’t careful once. It was just once though.” Shareena closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I mean, I know it can happen, but…. I can’t even…”
“Well, let’s get you in for an ultrasound, and then I can refer you to a midwife or doctor of your choice, and you can discuss your options.” Miranda said in a very non-judgmental way. Writing a couple of prescriptions on her medical pad, she ripped them off and handed them to Shareena. “This is for the ultrasound, take it across the hall to radiology, and have them schedule you. Here’s the proof of pregnancy to get you into a doctor or midwife, and this is for labs, which is next to the ultrasound office. Good luck Shareena. If you need anything, just let me know, okay?”