“Don’t worry. I promise, in three months, this will all be over and you’ll be thinking of having another.” If this was meant to cheer me up, it didn’t work.
“No way.” My body cringes and I ward off evil with a hand signal taught to me by my great uncle Ned.
“Well… these things happen… Take me, for example…” Her sly tone makes me stop and suddenly, I understand.
“Wait. What? You and CJ? Number two? Shut the front door!” Grabbing Skye, I jump up and dance around the room. “When are you due?”
“November… Thanksgiving.”
“Oh no. Not that. No holiday babies but before or after is fine.”
We laugh and plan together for a while until I wipe my eyes and sigh. “Oh my God. I miss you so much. I mean I love all the greenery here but I think I let Gray convince me to move too soon. I really miss my old apartment.”
“So, what’s stopping you? Come to Brooklyn, there’s a meeting tonight.” She makes it sound so easy but there’s diapers, spare clothes, wipes, toys, and God knows what else to pack.
However, she convinces me and after I hang up and put Skye down, I call Slate. “Hi. Did she get home okay?”
“Yup.” Slate’s ex-military and always tight-lipped but usually not so much with me.
His terse tone is extreme, even for him, so I tread lightly. “Did she say anything? Is she taking Gray to court? Going to call the police?”
“No.”
“Oh shit. Don’t tell me. She said I fired her for no reason at all.”
The silence that follows is a pretty good indication he thinks I’m off my rocker. I picture his angled face and how his thick brows crease under his military cut. Why the hell hadn’t I thought to record the conversation?
The young woman caught me off guard, that’s why. I’d just woken up. I swear she did it on purpose.
“Listen, please don’t tell Gray.”
“No promises, Isabella. I can’t get in the middle of whatever’s going on between you and my boss.”
He deftly changes the subject, tone brighter. “So, how’s my little rapid-fire?”
I glance at the baby, totally unaware of all the bullshit going on around her and try to match his casual, low-key tone. “C’mon now. She only puked a tiny bit and that was over a month ago.”
“She stained my favorite jacket.”
“I don’t believe black, stains.”
“Probably right. So, why did you call? Do you need me to take you somewhere?”
“Oh my God, yes. I almost forgot.” I put my phone on speaker and try to shave my legs. Maybe I’ll wear a dress tonight.
“I was wondering, can you install the car seat in the limo and bring me and Skye to Bushwick tonight? None of the girls have met her.”
He chuckles softly. “What kind of godfather do you think I am?”
“My fifteen uncles still give me shit that you got the honor.”
“Nonsense. It makes perfect sense. This way you didn’t play favorites. What time do you want me out front?”
“The meeting starts at eight so, I guess around six fifteen?” I smile at the thought of seeing my friends but at the same time, get edgy about leaving the house.
“Slate, I hate to ask but are you still looking for Xavier? Have you found anything?”
In the call’s background, tires screech, car horns honk, then all is quiet. “We got our best men on it. We’ll get him.”
“I take it that’s a no?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Okay. See you soon. Thanks.”
I put the phone down, lift Skye into her playpen, and finish shaving with the bathroom door open. However, alone with only my thoughts, memories of Xavier invade my mind. When I was hired at Patten Securities, I had no idea he was such a nut job. He seemed perfectly normal until Grayson’s father, the owner, got cancer. Suspicious of missing funds, the elder Patten called his estranged son to take over the company.
I smile as I recall the day I met my husband. I mistook him for a Human Resource representative and gave him a piece of my mind, angry about my performance review. He was pretty cavalier until I threatened to take him to court for the way his dad’s company treated women.
From the first moment we met, the heat between us was so electric the air vibrated. Within days we screwed ourselves foolish. Within weeks, I was pregnant.
I don’t regret that part, not for an instant. I love being a mom.
“What a good girl,” I shout out of the shower at Skye.
She’s still dancing so I quickly suds my hair and rinse. To keep the shampoo out of my eyes, I glance down at my toes, the tips a little numb from when I had frostbite. Visions of a night alone on Bear Mountain cause me to shiver despite the hot water washing over my body.
The sounds of water become the stream in the woods. I’m wandering around lost, blinded by the inky blackness of the night. No stars, no moon, just the snow falling and the shouts of dangerous men.
Then, there was Grayson in an ambulance. He’d found me and saved me.
The scene fades away into the bathroom steam while I scrub my scalp. Slowly, I rub my hands over my breasts, between the two lips of my clit, and dream of Gray.
Before Skye, we were all over each other every day. Now, I miss him like crazy. I know he wanted me tucked safely in the burbs but the long commute means he’s gone for hours, leaving me alone in this gothic, suburban castle.
Immediately, the too-familiar guilt comes back.
Izzy, anyone would be thrilled to be married to a g’zillionaire and live in a ten-bedroom house with his beautiful baby.
So, why am I crying?
Dammit.
With a towel wrapped around my head, I lift my fussy angel out of her playpen and put her into the swing where she kicks her feet in time to the music.
It’s impossible to stay sad when she’s like this so I sing along, “He’s Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh. Cuddly little…”
When she babbles along, I picture her someday winning American Idol. What am I thinking? She won’t need contests. Her daddy will buy her a recording studio.
After I slip into a yellow sundress, I wrangle her into a clean outfit, and wait outside in the late afternoon sun.
We’re both asleep under the canopy of our bench swing, when Slate peeks around the corner and says, “You guys ready?”
“Shush.” A finger to my lips, I stand with the baby in my arms while he grabs the diaper bag.
Twenty, perfectly arranged paverstones take me down to the driveway where the limo is idling.
When Slate opens the back door, I do a double take and grin. “Gray?”
“Hey. How’s my girls?” Warm, loving eyes shine down on our sleeping baby then lift to mine.
Even though I want to be mad because of the nanny debacle, I’m so damn happy to see him my eyes water. Together, we place Skye into her car seat, facing into the cushion. Meanwhile, Slate runs up front and sits. The door hardly makes a sound when it shuts tight.
I check once more she’s okay and scoot on the seat next to Gray. Even if the baby lifts her lids she may go back to sleep and nap for a good, long while.
Quiet as can be, I whisper, “I thought you said you had to go back to LA.”
“I cancelled. I was concerned about you.” Those gray eyes penetrate into the depth of my soul, stirring a want that will never be quenched, not even with a lifetime of fucking.
His hands cup my cheeks as Slate backs out of the driveway. “I wanted to talk about the nanny thing.”
“Oh.” All the wind gets knocked out of my sails. I thought for sure he wanted to get a hotel room, have hot sex, and show me how much he craves my body.
Like it was before.
Chapter 2
Grayson Patten
I tell my hardening cock, down boy. She’s so damn beautiful with my baby in her arms. Every paternal instinct in my body kicks into high gear, including the one that says protect, even against me.
Especially against me.
This is my lovely wife. I have a family. I have responsibilities. I can’t just jump her like I used to.
Thank God, Izzy has no such reservations as she kisses me with those plump lips which I’ve missed so much. No one ever explained. Once you have a baby, it’s damned hard to get alone-time. I don’t know what I was thinking but it wasn’t this. Actually, neither Izzy or I thought much about it at all.
She missed a few white pills, and bam, instant baby. I was never happier until she went off the deep end. She still thinks Xavier is out there, messing with our heads. To be honest, it does sound like something he might do but there’s absolutely no sign of him. He’s been out of our lives for more than a year. It’s much more likely, after two attempts on her life, Isabella has some kind of PTSD. That, and lack of sleep would cause anyone to lose it.
However, right now, I don’t want to waste another moment in thought because the baby is asleep and I want to fuck my friggin’ wife.
When the window between the back seat and front starts to raise, Slate chuckles. He knows I got the hots for Isabella.
Who wouldn’t?
She’s so curvalicious since she had my child. Her breasts are softer, her ass is rounder. I even love her tummy which I refuse to let her call fat. To me, she’s just right. If anything, she was too thin when I met her.
I make sure she follows my gaze to my erection and when I pull her over my lap, quickly mute her tiny squeal with kisses. My hands slip up her thighs, all the way to her butt, which I squeeze while she presses into my chest with a moan.
“If you wake Skye, I swear, you will pay.” I whisper into her ear and nip on her earlobe.
Thank God she’s not one of those women who cares about makeup and hair because I’ve wrapped her long blond locks around my fist so I can hold her head to mine, mouth right where I want it. Like when we first met, urgency strikes, three damn weeks since we last made love.
My aching balls are blue.
Tilting her head so our noses don’t bump, my tongue teases along her teeth. She opens, I thrust, she sucks, and I groan. With a tiny giggle she kisses up my neck to my ear where her warm breath blows.
“Shush.” Her tongue slides in, all sexy-like. “Fuck me.”
Ah shit, her dirty-talk drives me wild but the baby, even facing the back seat, makes me uncomfortable. This is the perfect chance to test out my newest project, The Baby Helmet.
“Hold that thought.”
With Isabella back on the seat, I reach into my briefcase. Then, I snap soft kid leather under Skye’s chin. She now resembles mini Amelia Earhart, ready to fly across the baby ocean.
Izzy’s eyebrows raise. “What in the world is that?”
I’m pretty damn proud of my newest invention. “It has built-in noise-cancelling headphones and goggles. It will keep our little sleepless munchkin from being so overstimulated.”
And, give Mom and Dad some much needed privacy.
“Very clever, Mr. Patten.”
“Now, where were we?”
“Oh, I remember.” She slips off the cushion facing me, kneels on the floor, and races to unfasten my zipper. My tucked in cock lets go, her sweet mouth takes me fully, and I hold my breath. When her tongue plays along my length, a groan comes from deep within my chest.
With a wicked look, she wraps her fist around my base and takes me in, fully.
Oh man, my eyes roll to the back of my head, my fingers twist in her hair, and I almost spend my full account. Sweet Jehovah, her tongue is clever. It slides under the tip of my swollen head, around the top, and dips into my hole.
I let her play as long as I can endure but this needs to stop or it’ll end too soon and I’ve waited too long. Gently, I tug her hair to get her mouth back to mine and long legs straddle over my lap. Our tongues tangle in a kind of duel until I get control and thrust. When she sucks hard, I translate using our unspoken language.
Hard and fast.
I reach between us and her undies are wet, real wet, as she rides my finger. My other hand finds the waistband of her granny-panties, I pull them off, and smile. Maybe some men would be turned off by the old-fashioned underwear but she saves the black lacy ones for our alone-time. Because I surprised her, this is what I get.
The Neanderthal within me roars.
She’s not the type who’d fool around but still… a man has to wonder when his wife, who used to be all over him, is less than enthusiastic about sex.
That’s certainly not the case this evening.
My eager wife places my tip to her slick core, teasing me, waiting for me to enter.
Wide blue eyes with dark centers stare into mine. Dammit. I’m undone. My fucking heart beats not only with desire but something so deep and primal, it scares the shit out of me. If I lost her, my life would be unbearable. I’ve never felt so damn attached to anyone or anything. I couldn’t go on living without her.
My hands shake as I hold onto her waist, slowly pull her over me, and savor each fucking inch until we’re connected at our base.
With her eyes closed, her mouth forms a little oh, and her back arches, breasts at my mouth. Greedily, I suck until her nipples pebble under the fabric. Needing her naked, I pull off her cotton dress, unlatch her bra, and sigh at the lovely sight.
Truly I am blessed.
Two globes of perfect flesh with pointed nipples reach toward my mouth while she squirms in little circles in my lap. My cock swells inside her, moving, pressing, wanting.
I suckle and taste of her milk. The first time it happened, it was weird but now I crave how a switch inside her flips on, she shivers, and they leak.
I lap and suckle, savoring the ecstasy that breaks out on her face.
That look is for me.
I thrust up, she pushes down and it’s like the first time we fucked only better because now I know her so well. Holding her hips, we begin our ascent, slowly at first, then faster.
Sweat pours off our bodies, the windows steam and I want… No, she must cum with me. Hell, I fucking love fucking my wife.
My thumb to her clit, she rides me like a bronco, enjoying every second. She tenses, her breath hitches, and my lower back readies for release.
Suddenly, her core clutches, she screams, and cums around my cock. I fucking lose it and blast into her as I reach my own high. We ride those sweet moments forever until she collapses onto my chest and her heart beats in tandem with mine.
After a moment, I breathe into her ear and whisper, “Holy fuck, Izzy. You feel so damn good.”
She glances up, nibbles my chin, and grins from ear to ear. “Not so bad, yourself, Mr. Stud-CEO… But look at me. I’m supposed to meet my friends in a few minutes. What is everyone going to say?”
“That you are a happily married woman, totally sated by your husband who fucks you every chance he can get.”
I don’t want to separate, not yet, but we’ve already pressed our luck. Skye faces into the backseat cushion with the helmet on. Still, I’d rather be dressed when she wakes.
Lifting Izzy off my lap, I reach across her body. There’s a towel and some seltzer in the built-in bar. I twist off the top, the liquid sizzles, and I drop to my knees to clean my cum from her inner thighs. Inhaling her musky scent makes me hard again but no time for that.
This is the perfect time to broach the subject I’ve been avoiding.
I hadn’t expected the uninhibited limo sex but it certainly won’t hurt my cause. “Hun, about the nannies.” Bracing, I wait for the shit storm.
Her eyes go wide and mouth drops into a frown. “Oh shit. Don’t tell me. You really did hit on them?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, no. Admit you made the whole thing up. Listen, if you didn’t want a nanny, you should’ve just said so.”
“Whaaa?” She jumps to the other seat, rocks the baby, and eyes me like I’m to blame but hers is the voice that gets loud. “Shush, honey. Daddy’s got a screw loose.”
“She can’t hear you.”
“I know. That was aimed at you.” She wrinkles her nose and I wait for her to stick out her tongue because when she does, I’ll suck it until she stops this foolishness.
Instead, she points a finger at me. “I never said I didn’t want a nanny. The first one was perfect.”
“Honey, her sister had a stroke.”
“I know, but, she’s the only one who didn’t complain you hit on her.” She slips her dress on over her head.
“Dammit. Of course, I didn’t hit on her. I didn’t hit on any of them.” My temper snaps as I zip up my fly and she slides into her panties.
“Oh really?”
“You think I’m like my father? A fucking cheater?” I finally reach my breaking point and shoot her the glare that causes company presidents to piss themselves and COO’s to fall to pieces.
The look doesn’t affect Isabella in the least. “Nooo… I’m trying to rationalize why three, perfectly normal nannies would leave after getting settled and why they all said the same thing.”
“Well, I have an idea.”
“What’s that?”
With a pinch to her chin, I lean in, checking for any signs of duplicity. “You made the whole damn thing up.”
Her nostrils flare when she snorts and sapphire eyes flame with more anger than the day we first met. “I don’t make shit up, Grayson Patten, you do.”
I know she’s referring to how I lied that day. I claimed to be the new human resource representative, not wanting to admit I was the owner’s son. In my defense, I had a good reason. She threatened to take my father’s company to court over the way he treated his women employees.
“I haven’t lied to you since then, Izzy. I swear. You need to chill. You’re not rational.”
“Fuck you.”
Outside, Slate has exited the thruway into Queens. Blocks of warehouses, followed by a huge cemetery indicate I’ve only got a few minutes to confess more before we arrive. “I called your therapist today.”
“Oh my God, you can’t do that. She’s not supposed to talk to you unless I say so.”
“For crying out loud, we didn’t talk about what you share in private. She only said new mothers can experience bouts of serious depression.”
The CEO's Redemption Page 2