by Mia Carson
“We need more workers. I’m not sure why you’re upset about it,” he muttered, letting his annoyance show. “There’s nothing wrong with hiring fresh blood, especially when I have a new project getting ready to start as soon as this game launch takes off.”
Belle tore a piece of pancake from her plate, and before he realized what she was doing, it hit him in the eye. He cursed, batting it away. “You rotten bastard! You really don’t get it.”
“Get what? That you’re hiding locked e-mails from Tom on your computer?” he growled and picked up the pancake she threw to toss right back at her.
Her mouth fell open, and her eyes narrowed to slits. “You’re spying on me now?”
“I had to do something to figure out why you were lying to me,” he muttered and chucked another piece of pancake at her.
“You’re one to talk! You didn’t even tell me you were going to hire another designer!”
“I need one! This next project is going to be insane,” he snapped. “You’ve seen the designs so you know!”
She jumped to her feet, hand filled with pancake. “Right, I should know and I do, which is why I have no idea why you’d hire a new designer when you have me, you idiot!” She chucked the pancake at him, furious. “You’re so damn dense I want to throttle you sometimes! Which is why, when I talked to Tom today, he offered me a job.”
Greyson brushed the pancakes off his shirt and blinked a few times before her words sank in. “He what?”
“He offered me a job as a graphic designer at his company,” she said firmly. “Said it was a shame, after seeing my designs, that you would have me taking care of the paper end of the job. So he said if you wanted this extension, I had to show up for an interview.”
“You said no, right?” he muttered. “Belle?”
“Why didn’t you ask me to work on the new project?” she shot back, exasperated. “You told me you’d let me work on the next one, that I was good enough to do it. Were you lying?”
Greyson was backed into a corner, and there was no way out of it. He hadn’t wanted to discuss Belle’s future at Greystone Games until the baby was born, and he hoped it would be easy to convince her of his plan. He didn’t want to tell her now, but the fiery look in her eyes said she wasn’t about to let it go.
“Will you please sit back down?” he asked, his eyes darting to her belly.
She gritted her teeth but sat down and crossed her arms over her chest. “There, I sat, now tell me.”
He nodded, running his hand over his beard, struggling to find the right words that wouldn’t set her off again. For good measure, he pulled the food out of her reach, ignoring her eye-rolling as he did so. “I assumed after the baby was born you wouldn’t be returning to work.”
Belle’s face was rigid. “And why wouldn’t I go back to work?”
“You were so worried about being a mom and being there for our son, I just assumed you would want to stay home with him. I was ready for you do that,” he said. “I’d actually prefer it.”
Belle was on her feet again in a second, glaring at him as her mouth moved, but no words came out. Her hands clenched at her sides, and he was glad he’d pulled the food out of reach. “You… you think I’m going to be a stay-at-home mom? Forever? You never thought to talk to me about it! You were just going to replace me at the office, is that it?”
“Not replace you, but eventually, yeah, I would hire another assistant,” he started, and Belle yelled in aggravation. “What? You keep talking about wanting to spend time with our son! What’s wrong with assuming you’d like to stay home?”
“You can’t control my life, you moron,” she snapped. “You just can’t! You have to talk to me about this shit first. My God, Greyson, I love you and I love our unborn son, but damn it, I don’t want to give up all my dreams for you. Watch you live out yours while I play the perfect housewife and mom.”
Greyson tried to picture Belle as a housewife, and he sighed, his shoulders sagging. “No, that’s not what I meant. I’m sorry. I just… I wanted you to be happy.”
“Being with you makes me happy,” she sighed. “Being a parent with you will keep me happy, and working with you, no matter what life throws at us, will keep me happy.” She walked around the table, and he took her hand, dragging her into his arms. He held her close, breathing in her cinnamon smell and loving the feel of their unborn son nestled safely between them. “I’m still mad at you.”
He smiled, and his arms tightened around her. “I still don’t know if I want to lose you to a project.”
She leaned back, and the fire in her eyes flared to life again. “Seriously? You’re going to do that to me?” Shaking her head, she pushed out of his arms and stormed off towards the bedroom.
“Where are you going? We’re not finished talking about this!”
“I am,” she called back. “I'm taking a damn bath, and that is not an invitation!”
Greyson stalked after her, bringing with him a plate of food so she would eat something. He walked through the doorway just as she turned on the hot water and poured bubbles into the bath. He leaned against the frame, set the plate on the bathroom counter, and watched as she tugged her shirt off angrily. When she turned, her fingers froze unfastening her bra.
“I said I’m done talking,” she insisted.
“You’re not going to tell me you’re not leaving me for Tom?”
“For the love of God, I’m not leaving you, just your company unless you let me prove I can do more than push papers to keep you happy,” she said, but he heard the worry in her voice, a tone he hadn’t heard from his Belle in a long time. He pushed off the frame, his heart pounding in his chest because he’d failed her somehow, failed to show her she was so much more to him than just his assistant, than just the woman who kept him in line at work. She was everything to him, and he’d failed to show her that after all this time.
Greyson took a step towards her, and Belle held up a hand to ward him off, her eyes glistening with tears of worry and anger all rolled into one. She’d never looked so vulnerable before, and all Greyson wanted to do was ease her worries and show her who she was to him. He took her hand gently in his and kissed the palm of it sweetly.
“You were never just someone who pushed papers for me, Belle,” he whispered, his voice strained with all the love he had for her pouring out all at once. “You put me in my place, pointed out my arrogance.” His other hand slid up her arm to her bra strap and slid it down. “You helped me find my passion when I was adrift.” He moved closer and kissed her bare shoulder, stepping to be behind her.
“Greyson.” She breathed his name, her hand tightening around his.
“You didn’t back down, even when I pushed too hard. You pushed me back.” His lips trailed to the crook of her neck then higher, finding her earlobe and sucking on it until she let out a quiet moan. “You reminded me what love was—true love.” He tugged down the other strap on her bra then moved to unhook it. “That fire in your eyes is the same fire you reignited in me, and I don’t want you to ever doubt yourself again, understand?”
She leaned against him but didn’t answer.
“Belle.” He turned her chin gently until her ice-blue eyes met his. “You mean more to me than I’ll ever be able to show you, and you certainly mean more to me than this damn company.”
“It’s your legacy,” she murmured quietly, but he shook his head and his hands moved to her belly.
“He’s my legacy. The family you’re creating with me, that’s what I want to be remembered for. I want to be known as the man who loved his wife with every fiber of his being, every day of his life,” he growled fiercely and kissed her.
Belle’s lips moved over his as her bra fell free, and his hands immediately moved to hold the swollen mounds, kneading them as his passion for her brewed furiously inside him, waiting to be released. The tub was filling up, and Greyson made quick work of the rest of her clothes, dragging her maternity jeans down her hips, kissing her belly as he w
ent, until she was bare before him. His lips lingered at her hips, circling her skin as her hands slid through his hair. When he cupped her ass, she stifled a laugh when their eyes met and a quiet understanding passed between them—a sensation Greyson would never be able to put into words, but it drew him in until he didn’t just see the love Belle felt for him, he saw their whole lives together, every moment they would share as a family. In one brief glimpse, he knew without a doubt that Belle and he were meant to be together.
No matter how many spats they had or how many times they pushed each other to the breaking point, what they shared was unique, theirs alone, and theirs forever.
She pulled him to his feet and lifted his shirt as high as she could before he smirked and finished taking it off. His lips slanted over hers while she fumbled with his jeans, freeing him from the confines of the fabric as her hand slipped down and gripped him firmly, but he wasn’t going to let her have all the fun just yet. Swallowing a groan, his fingers slipped between her smooth thighs, rubbing her wet lips, until her breathing was ragged and desperate against his mouth.
Greyson walked them carefully towards the rim of the tub, the bubbles at the edge and threatening to spill over. He laughed, glancing down at it, and Belle turned to see. “Oops,” she said, but he didn’t care. Taking her hand, he helped her step into the steaming water and turned the faucets off. She watched him as she sank below the bubbles, and Greyson raised a brow as he quickly kicked out of his jeans to join her.
As soon as he was in and sitting down, the water overflowed, splashing over the sides and drenching their clothes. They laughed together, and Greyson’s heart warmed as the sound echoed from her lips. She pushed through the mountain of bubbles between them, straddling his lap while her hands quickly found his erection. She ran them down the length of the hot flesh, and he groaned. It had been several days since he had been buried within her, and he missed the warmth of her body and the storm that enveloped them every time they came together.
Their mouths met in a burst of fiery passion, and his hand slipped below the water, seeking her swollen lips. He rolled her clit between his thumb and finger until her hands faltered on him, and he grinned. He pressed his palm against the whole of her, and her back arched, those beautiful breasts he could never get enough of in his face. The water helped keep her afloat while his mouth closed around one pert nipple, sucking on it hard and driving her to moan in his arms. His fingers continued to work, building the pressure within her so he could see it in her eyes when she glanced down at him. He kissed across her chest to her other breast, suckling hard, and when his fingers penetrated her, seeking her sweet spot, she lost her hold on him completely and gripped his shoulders hard.
Once he was free of her hold, his hands moved to her hips and he rubbed the length of himself against her until she shivered. “Greyson,” she whispered ragged. “God, I want you.”
The force of love and desire in her words echoed deep within the well of his very being and he pressed against her, seeking her warmth, seeking home. “I will always be here for you, Belle. I will always need you as much as the earth needs the rain. I will never stop wanting you,” he growled and slowly spread her lips with the crown of his hot, swollen erection.
Her belly made it more difficult than normal, but Greyson shifted his body lower in the water so she had room to ride him. She gasped and shifted to take him in, but he wanted this to last. Wanted it to be slow and perfect as he made love to her. Using all the control he had, he slid out of her inch by painful inch as pleasure shivered down his spine before he slowly drove into her again. With each lift of his hips, each shift of their bodies in the water spilling over the edge of the overfull tub, Belle squirmed to be closer even though her belly prevented it. Her eyes slid closed a little more. Greyson’s hand buried itself in her wet hair at the nape of her neck and drew her closer so he could kiss her. Then he released her so she could sit back and ride him. As they moved in the water, they set an easy rhythm just as they always could. With their unborn son cradled between them, warm and safe, Greyson felt if he opened his eyes and glanced around them, he’d be able to see their storm of love surrounding them, reach out and touch it as he touched Belle and felt her smooth skin against his hands, the perfection of her pregnant belly and the mounds of her breasts. His hands shifted to her back, tracing each node of her spine until he held her perfect ass in the palms of his hands.
He increased the rhythm, holding her steady as he thrust within her, adjusting to find the perfect spot to make her scream his name, to make her melt in his arms in the way that set him on fire with passion. He stroked within her, feeling her muscles tense and tighten around him.
Belle moaned, and the moan quickly became a cry against his lips, but he didn’t let her pull back as her face contorted with pleasure. Greyson moved faster, his last little bit of control disappearing as she stiffened and went limp in his arms. His cry joined hers as they held each other in the steamy water of the bathroom, their bodies quivering with the intensity of the orgasm racing over their skin and through their souls. After parting with a last shiver, his hands cupped her face, and he kissed her until the last wave passed and his vision cleared.
“You are my love, Belle Hall,” he whispered against her lips. “Don’t ever doubt for a second that I need you every damn day in my life.”
“I won’t,” she promised and settled against his chest.
He wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug, never wanting to let her go. They stayed like that for a long time, not talking, just holding one another as the bubbles slowly popped and disappeared around them.
Chapter 3
Belle glared into the depths of her decaf coffee, then down at her protruding belly, and frowned. “Soon, very soon I can go back to actual coffee,” she whispered with a smile.
“Too soon,” Greyson said from across the kitchen.
Belle lifted her gaze. He was eyeing her belly with a strained look in his eyes and maybe even a little panic. She sighed and tapped her fingers on the rim of her mug. “You’ll be fine.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about,” he said quietly.
“We’ll be fine,” she assured him for the fiftieth time. “Dr. Higgins said there’s nothing to worry about right now. Everything looks good. All we have to do now is wait, so stop worrying about me and worry about you and Tim fixing that bug on time.”
She dragged her laptop closer and opened it, turning it on, and settled back. Brent had been back in California for a while, though he tried to visit once a month, courtesy of Greyson. They were going to talk today and go through some papers and articles friends of their mom had sent over. A stack of yearbooks loomed at the edge of the table, and Belle rose to grab them when Greyson rushed over and did it for her.
“You’re not lugging these things around. They weigh a goddamn ton,” he muttered. “Have you even opened them yet?”
They’d been delivered on Monday. Belle had set them on the kitchen table and had not looked at them since. It was Saturday, and her hands still shook when she reached for the first one. “This was her senior year,” she told him quietly.
Greyson slipped it off the others and laid it before her as she logged into Skype to video chat with Brent. He flipped through pages of the yearbook and scooted the book closer, pointing to a picture. “Penelope Tinson,” he said. “You look just like her.”
Belle breathed in deep to steady herself and let her eyes fall on the picture to which Greyson pointed. A young woman of eighteen stared back at her from an aged photo, smiling brightly with ice-blue eyes filled with passion and a zest for life. Belle’s fingers traced the picture, and she smiled sadly, wishing more than anything she’d had a chance to meet this woman who had died alone, leaving her children to what she hoped would be a good life. Belle looked at Greyson as he whistled and walked away, resting her free hand on her belly. She hoped her mom could see that after the rough times in her life, she turned out alright, that everything had.
&
nbsp; “Hey, Belle,” Brent said from the laptop, and Belle pulled herself away from the photo.
“Brent,” she said and grinned. “You look wonderful this morning.”
He frowned. “Late night at the gallery.”
“Oh, that’s right—your show! How was it?” she asked excitedly. “Greyson already bid on several of your paintings, by the way.”
Greyson picked up his coffee mug and walked over to the kitchen table. “Morning, Brent.”
“Greyson, I appreciate your patronage, as always,” Brent said with a nod and smile.
“Always happy to help family. Tell Ashley that I say hi and that I miss her lasagna,” Greyson said, and Belle smacked his arm. “What? I’m not saying anything about your inability to make one.”
Ashley was Brent’s girlfriend and had visited the last couple of times with Brent. She was younger than him, right around Belle’s age, and they got on wonderfully together. And she was an excellent cook, something Greyson continued to tease her about.
“I’ll let her know,” Brent said with a laugh.
Greyson kissed the top of Belle’s head. “You two have fun. I’m going to conference call the office. Tim should be there by now, and hopefully Davis and Billy.”
“You dragged them all to the office on a Saturday? Why aren’t you going?”
He shrugged. “I’m sure I’ll wind up there, don’t worry,” he said as he walked down the hall to his office. When the door clicked closed, Belle puffed out her cheeks and blew her hair out of her face.
“That’s a pleasant look,” Brent said. “Troubles?”
“No… well, maybe. We had a little spat a few days ago.”
“Over what?”
Belle tapped her fingers on her mug. “It’s nothing, really.”
“Belle, I’m your older brother, remember? Do I have to come over there and talk some sense into Greyson?” he asked with a stern eye.