Steven

by Kirsten Osbourne

  She looked down at the little girl in her arms. “Yeah, but I thought it would make it easier for the sitter. I gave her a bath, too. She’s ready for bed other than another couple of diaper changes and her bottle.” She turned and handed Faith to him. “I’ll be right back.”

  She went into the rest room, not because she needed to, but because she thought it would be good for him to have a private moment with Faith. They were getting closer every day, and she loved that.

  When she came out of the bathroom, he was sitting on her bed playing with the baby who was lying on her back kicking her feet as she cooed up at him. She sat down beside him, her hand automatically reaching out to touch him and stroke his shoulder. For some reason, she couldn’t seem to keep her hands off of him. She’d tried, but her hands seemed to move of their own volition.

  He turned to kiss her hand and smiled at her. They sat together, playing with the baby for a few minutes. Finally, she asked, “Are shorts okay for the luau tonight, or should I be dressing up?” She’d brought a skirt and top, but she would definitely rather dress comfortably.

  “Oh, shorts are fine. Maybe we’ll go spend some time in the hot tub afterward.” He watched her when he suggested the hot tub, trying to gauge her reaction.

  Her eyes flew to his. “You didn’t tell me there was a hot tub.” She loved the idea of sinking into a hot tub with him, spending time just relaxing and getting to know him better. Of course, if they followed the pattern they’d followed for the past twenty four hours, as soon as they were alone, their clothes would fly off. She shrugged. That was one way of getting to know him better.

  “Don’t worry about wearing a suit under your shorts. You won’t need one,” he whispered against her lips.

  She blushed, but knew she’d probably take him up on that. There was no point in wearing a suit when he was just going to take it off her anyway. She opened her mouth under his, returning his kiss with all the fervor that had built up during the long afternoon. She was going to miss it just being the three of them on the island.

  By the time the babysitter arrived, Bailey had dressed for the evening. She wore white dress shorts and a light pink tank top. She felt like a nervous mother leaving her baby for the first time as she gave instructions to the sitter on Faith’s schedule. Finally, wearing a pair of jeans and a polo shirt, Steven smiled at the sitter and waved, pulling Bailey from the room. “They’ll be fine.”

  She sighed. “I’ve only ever left her when I was working. This doesn’t feel right.” She looked back over her shoulder toward the resort, wishing she could bring the baby, but knowing this was best for all involved.

  He laughed, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Let’s go hang out with the others and have some grown up fun for a change.” He couldn’t wait to see her face during the dancing and luau. The experience was so foreign to most Americans, and he knew his nanny from Hamlin would love it.

  She enjoyed their impromptu luau more than she’d thought possible. Both of the other men were wearing jeans, western shirts and cowboy hats. Justin seemed slightly out of place in his hat, but she wasn’t sure why.

  After the luau, Steven smiled and waved to the others, grabbing her hand and dragging her back to the main resort. He pulled her into a room she hadn’t discovered yet, and flipped on the light switch. The room was small, but contained a good sized circular hot tub. He strode toward her, throwing off one piece of clothing after another.

  She laughed, backing up, but toed off her sandals and unfastened her shorts. By the time he reached her, they were both completely nude and they reached for each other quickly. Their kiss was hot and passionate. He stepped down into the water and snagged her hand, pulling her in with him.

  Pushing her to the bench beside him, he kissed her wildly, her mouth opening for him and her tongue thrusting out to meet his. She was as ready for this as he was. Her hands went to his chest, running her fingers through the thick thatch of hair there.

  The hot water added to the heat burning her blood. She got onto her knees moving toward him, wanting to get as close as possible. Was it even possible to make love in a hot tub? She was sure she was about to find out. His hands molded her breasts, rubbing his thumbs across her nipples. Their mouths never left each other; each drinking greedily from the other.

  He put his hands at her waist and urged her onto his lap facing him, a knee on either side of his thighs. He helped lower her onto him, groaning with pleasure as he entered her slowly. She cried out surprised at how easily he entered and how good it felt. Finally he was buried to the hilt inside her, and she remained completely still for a moment, staring into his dark eyes.

  His hands at her hips urged her up and down and, moving awkwardly at first, she found her rhythm. It wasn’t long before she was burying her face in his neck and crying out with pleasure. He shouted when he found his fulfillment, holding her even closer against him.

  They stayed entangled for a while, before she lifted her head looking into his eyes. “I can’t believe we just did that in a hot tub.”

  He laughed, running his thumb along her lip. “I can’t believe we didn’t do this last night. Or at my house.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “You know I have a hot tub at home, right?”

  She blushed, belying the intimacy they still shared under the water. She moved off his lap and onto the seat beside him. “I think we need to get out of this water before we both shrivel up.”

  He nodded and they both grabbed robes from the back of the door, and picking up their clothes, moved back out into the main area of the resort. She didn’t feel comfortable seeing the babysitter this way, so she went to his suite and showered, putting on the clothes she’d worn for the luau. Looking into the mirror, she saw her face was still flushed and her eyes were happier than she’d ever seen them.

  “I’m going to go let the babysitter go home,” she whispered, stepping on her toes to kiss his cheek. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She didn’t want to sleep in her room, but she didn’t want him to think she was taking it for granted she would sleep in his bed every night.

  He grabbed her hand before she could move away from him. “We’ll use the intercom again. You’re sleeping in my bed where you belong.” It wasn’t a question, but she found, for once, she didn’t mind his orders. She was going to sleep where she wanted to sleep….with him.

  She nodded quickly, running from the room to go talk to the babysitter and thank her for sitting with Faith. The baby was sound asleep when she entered the room, making soft little sounds in her sleep. Bailey was thrilled to see her. She’d felt uneasy about leaving her, but she was fine. Tomorrow would be easier, she knew. The first time was always the hardest.

  “Did she give you any trouble?” Bailey looked around the room and found it spotless.

  “Oh no. She was an angel.” The sitter was a middle-aged woman who was obviously very experienced with babies.

  “Thank you so much for watching her for me this evening.” Bailey was truly thankful she’d had time to spend with other adults for a change. She loved Faith, but sometimes being around only a baby as many hours a day as she was, made her slightly stir-crazy.

  She saw the babysitter out and went back into Steven’s suite as he’d demanded. She needed to have a talk with him about his high-handed ways, but she was usually too busy obeying him to protest too much.

  He flipped the switch that would allow them to hear Faith, but not let her hear them, and they fell into bed together. Both were too tired for more than cuddling and holding one another, but she found it even more intimate than making love had been.

  Faith only woke her once during the night, so she was feeling refreshed for the whale watching excursion with the other women in the morning. Sarah looked extremely tired, and when Bailey asked if she’d slept okay, she’d simply looked at her with a slightly dazed expression and nodded. She wondered if there were more to it, but if Sarah wanted to talk about it, she would.

  Lunch with the men went quick
ly. “How did the meeting go?” Sarah asked as soon as they got back. She looked as if she still felt slightly guilty that she hadn’t been present for it.

  Justin nodded to her. “They liked my ideas. We’ll work on implementing them as soon as we get back.”

  Bailey wondered what the new ideas were, but since she knew it was about sports, she decided not to ask in case her eyes started to glaze over again. She didn’t want Steven to think she thought his work was boring, even though she did.

  The spa had been set up in the main resort off in some rooms Bailey had yet to see. They’d set up a massage room, a room for the body scrubs, a nail station, and a facial station. The three women would rotate between the stations, and at the end, they’d each have their pedicures and manicures together, so they could talk.

  Bailey had her massage first, and after realizing the woman doing the massage didn’t speak English, sank down to enjoy the experience. She thought she’d have to talk to someone throughout, so it was much more relaxing than she’d expected. They used hot stones for the massage, and she was amazed at how wonderful the stones made her feel. She’d imagined them just placing the stones on her back, but instead the stones were actually used to massage her.

  She passed the other women, all of them dressed in white robes, as she went into the facial station. Never having done any of this before, Baily found the whole experience intriguing. She had to lie on her back while the woman smeared different things all over her face and chest, and then they were washed off. She was amazed at just how good it had her feeling.

  The body scrub was nice, and she was glad she’d had the massage first. It was hard to get used to people having their hands all over her body this way.

  Finally, she went into the room with the other two, and they all sat in chairs. Their feet were dipped in hot paraffin wax. They chatted about the men, the whales they’d seen, the men, their other treatments, the men, the beach day they wanted, the men, and everything else that came to mind.

  By the time they were finished, Bailey was thrilled at how her skin glowed. Her nails were a pale shade of pink she thought would go nicely with most of her clothes. She was thrilled she’d had a day to get to know the other two women, and they talked about meeting up for lunch when they were back in the states. She was thrilled to have made friends with two women who were so special.

  Chapter Eight

  When it was time to leave the island, and return to the real world, it was all Bailey could do not to cry. Their idyllic time on the island had shown her just how much she was in love with Steven. How was she going to be able to go back to being just his nanny? That’s what she needed to do, though. It wouldn’t be right for her to continue working for him and sleeping with him as well.

  They said goodbye to the other two couples in Bora Bora. Bailey hugged her new friends tightly and they made plans to meet for lunch in a couple of weeks.

  Once they were back on the plane, and Faith was buckled in, she broached the topic she had been trying to avoid with Steven. “We have to go back to how things were.” She hated saying the words, and fought to keep the tears down, but she couldn’t live with him as his mistress. It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t something she could do and feel good about herself.

  “What do you mean?” He was obviously clueless about what she was saying.

  “I can’t continue to work with you and sleep with you.” She looked down at her hands as she said the words, hoping he wouldn’t press her on the topic.

  “Why?” His eyes were harsh as he asked the single-worded question. There was anger on his face. He’d obviously expected their relationship to stay the way it had been, and he wasn’t happy she was insisting on a change.

  “It’s not right for us to sleep together in the same house where Faith is growing up. If she weren’t involved, maybe I could do it, but she is. And it would hurt a lot if Connie found out we’d been sleeping together. Don’t ask me why, because I’m not sure I understand it myself, but I couldn’t bear for her to know.” She looked down at her hands as she spoke the words. The real reason wasn’t one she could discuss with him. She fell more in love with him every time they made love. How could she possibly go on living with him, and making love with him every night, without it hurting so much she couldn’t go on?

  He shrugged. “If that’s what you want.” He turned away from her and opened his laptop, making it clear he would work on the way home. From the look on his face she deduced that her decision to return their relationship to what it had been before the island didn’t matter to him in the least.

  She turned away from him then, because she couldn’t stifle the single tear on her cheek. He didn’t care enough to even fight for them. She picked up one of the books she’d brought for the trip and never had time to crack. If he wasn’t going to talk to her on the way home, she had plenty of time to get through a couple of them.

  Once they were home, they fell into an easy routine. She learned his schedule and avoided him wherever possible. He didn’t seek her out. Obviously she was nothing more to him than a vacation fling. She’d always be grateful for their time on the island, though. They’d made enough memories to last a life time. And they’d have to last that long, because she knew she’d never love anyone else the way she loved him.

  At times, she would become angry with herself for entering into a physical relationship with a man who obviously didn’t care for her, but then she’d remind herself of the memories she had to carry through her entire life with her. She’d done the right thing, no matter how wrong it sometimes felt.

  He went with her to the doctor with Faith when she got her shots, and asked for the paternity test to be done. Bailey wondered how he’d react if he found out Faith wasn’t his, but she didn’t worry about it too much. Angela had assured her Steven was her baby’s father.

  They had a pleasant lunch out, during which they talked about the baby and nothing else. Every other subject seemed to be suddenly taboo between them by mutual consent. Once they were back at the house, Steven went back to avoiding her and she went back to avoiding him.

  When she walked up the stairs away from him after the doctor’s appointment carrying the baby he knew wasn’t his, he wondered again what he’d done to make her not want to be around him any longer. He’d planned on coming back from the island and buying the biggest diamond ring he could find. He’d never expected her to break it off on the plane. He’d wanted to marry her, and provide a proper home for the baby. He shook his head sadly. If she lived with him long enough, maybe he could find a way to mend whatever he’d torn apart.

  *****

  Bailey had been in his employ for almost three months when she realized she’d not had a period since she moved in. She’d always been extremely regular and sat down looking at a calendar to make sure she wasn’t imagining things.

  She went to the kitchen, her face white with shock, and asked Connie if she would mind watching Faith while she went to the store.

  Connie took one look at Bailey’s face and immediately agreed. She hugged Bailey and told her if she needed to talk, she was there for her. Bailey smiled and thanked her. She put Faith in her saucer in the dining room, and left the house. She drove the Cadillac to the nearest drug store. Connie had been right. Steven had her car towed off almost as soon as the Cadillac was on his property.

  She bought a simple pregnancy test. The test said it could be taken any time of day, and the results would clearly state “pregnant” or “not pregnant”. She didn’t think she could handle anything more complicated than that right now.

  As soon as she got home, she flew up the stairs and went into the bathroom adjoining her bedroom. As she sat down, she prayed, “Please God. Don’t let me be pregnant. I know what I did was wrong, but I love him so much. Don’t let our lives be ruined this way.”

  She waited the requisite three minutes the test took, pacing back and forth in her bedroom. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she checked the results. Her face fell. �
��Pregnant.”

  Rubbing her face with her hands, she sat down on her bed for a few minutes thinking about what she needed to do. Steven and Faith had become so close in the last few months, but she knew they’d have been even closer if Steven had been a part of her life from the beginning. She couldn’t do what her sister had done and keep the knowledge of his child from him. She just couldn’t.

  She was in a slight daze as she walked down the steps. She went straight to Steven’s office and raised her hand to knock on the door. The door was slightly open and opened more at her knock, so she simply walked in. She went to his desk to sit and wait for him to come back. He was working from home, she knew, and would be back any minute.

  As she sat, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the words “Paternity Test Results”. She hadn’t meant to see the words, but once she did, she picked up the paper and read it. Her face turned white. Steven wasn’t Faith’s father. He was paying her to take care of a child who wasn’t even his. And he knew it! Why hadn’t he said anything? He could have kicked them both out at any time.

  She was staring at the paper in shock when he walked into the room. “Did you need something?” he asked curtly, taking the paper from her hand and laying it on his desk. He had never meant for her to see that paper.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” She was sitting in his office to tell him she was pregnant, and her sister had lied about him being the father of her baby. How could she tell him now? The look on her face showed her shock.