Baby Be Mine

by Rosie Praks

  Your Mysterious Lady,

  * * *

  Tiara.

  “Tiara,” Max said once he finished reading the note. “Sorry, but you have to wait for another opportunity. Tonight, Mr. Silverton needs to donate sperm for someone in need.” Then he crunched up the note and shoved it into his jeans pocket and straightened his white pressed shirt and black bowtie that he borrowed from the boss of Torque, his friend’s father.

  Taking his plan into action, he strode as if he were one of the waiters toward the so-called Mr. Anton Silverton.

  “Sir,” Max said, bowing once he approached Hunter. Should he bow? He never waited before so he didn’t know.

  “That’s me,” Hunter said, swinging around to face the waiter. After a few pints of Speight’s, he was starting to feel fuzzy, but he maintained his alcohol toxicity well. But the waiter looked exceptionally young tonight.

  “I was told by a lady to give you this,” Max said, handing his own note to Hunter.

  “A lady?” Hunter perked up like a dying flower after it is watered. He unfolded the paper and started reading, a smile appearing on his face.

  Thank you, Lord. I thought you’d forgotten about me. It must be that mysterious woman from before.

  Hunter scrunched up the folded paper and shoved it into his pocket. When he remembered Max’s presence, he looked up again, wondering why the kid didn’t leave.

  At this point, Max was rubbing his fingers and thumb together, a gesture that indicated a tip would be nice. There was no way Max was going without a tip. He needed something as incentive for doing this for Clarice.

  “A tip?” Hunter asked with one quirk of an eyebrow. This kid sure reminded him of himself at that age, always asking for handouts from his dad.

  “You read my mind, sir.” Max smiled cheekily.

  He even speaks like me, Hunter mused.

  “Sure, sure,” Hunter said, handing him a twenty since he felt quite generous tonight.

  “If you don’t mind, sir,” Max spoke. “I was asked to escort you to her suite.”

  “Really?” Hunter asked in amazement. “She’s that eager?”

  “You could say that,” Max said, smiling, hiding his snarky smirk.

  “All right, then,” Hunter said, dusting himself off as he stood. “Never delay a lady if she requests you, I say. Lead the way, boy.”

  “This way, sir,” Max said, leading him out of the bar and into the hotel next door.

  “We’re going into Night Love Hotel?” Hunter asked in interest. All the surprises were really rallying him up, and he couldn’t wait to just jump at her when he got in. His nerves were like a bowstring now. He never acted like this before. This really surprised him.

  “So you work in the bar?” Hunter asked, trying to string together some sort of conversation, hoping to calm his nerves. “You sure look really young.”

  “I’m over eighteen,” Max lied, a little irritated.

  “You’re really small.” Hunter further prodded the already bruised boy.

  Max wanted to punch Hunter at that moment. He was very sensitive about his height. He was sure his growth spurt hadn’t been activated yet, but hopefully soon this bro wouldn’t dwarf him anymore.

  “All right, here we are,” Max said, stopping in front of a door. And to compensate for making him angry about his height, Max literally shoved Hunter into the room as his form of revenge. Poor Hunter was caught so unaware that he simply stumbled head first, unprepared into the darkness. Then Max closed the door behind him and locked it from the outside.

  “Job well done,” Max said, dusting his hands in victory. Then he texted his cousin. Hey, cuz. Cupid has brought you Anton. Get that sperm.

  Chapter 14

  Where is he? Clarice wondered about Max, standing alone on the balcony of the Night Love Hotel room, with only the moonlight to light the darkened room. Max had told her specifically to wait in his friend’s bedroom with the lights off for a few minutes while he and his Korean friends went to get some midnight snacks, promising her they would then all go to the Gondola together to view the beauty of Queenstown at night from the high mountain above.

  But why must she turn off the lights? He said she should take this time to view the immaculate beauty of the city during the dark. And it was true. Here on the sixth floor, the view of Queenstown was so enchanting it literally took her breath away.

  Queenstown was a little town in Central Otago of the South Island of New Zealand. The town lay embraced by many majestic mountains, shrouded with forests from all sides, most of it pine trees. Then nestling right in the middle of their arms was their very own exotic jewel, Lake Wakatipu, a fresh, crystal clear lake where one could see the freshwater fish swimming around, if one were to look close enough.

  These forests hid their most prized jewel, their lake, as if waiting and teasing for the world to find it. And the world did find their precious jewel, as hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world flocked to this little town each year, just to feast their eyes on their exotic lake and the serene beauty that seemed to enchant the eyes, be it in summer when the flowers all bloomed to their full beauty like a maiden ready for her lover to come and pluck her, winter when the whole town transformed into a winter wonderland, including the peaks of the mountains with a casting of white icing sugar, spring when the buds of plants called out to the bees to collect their nectar, or autumn with the golden-yellow leaves carpeting the entire floor, making the whole town look like the land of gold glitter in the autumn sun.

  Their prime season, though, would be winter when the snowflakes were still fresh atop the peaks of the many mountains that entertained the tourists with their many extreme sports like skiing on these, buggy jumping, and skydiving.

  The strong wind sent a little chill up her spine, but she didn’t want to go back inside the room yet. This town was too enchanting to let go. She wanted to marvel over it a bit longer.

  Perching herself on the edge of the railing, she saw the many tourists milling around Torque, the high-class nightclub next door. They reminded her of tiny ants waiting in line to deposit the food they found during their search.

  In the faint distance, she could hear the disco music floating up to her level and the sounds of people laughing. They seemed to have so much fun, unlike her with her uncooked soup of dilemmas, what with being thirty and wanting a baby, but more specifically, wanting Anton’s sperm.

  Someday she knew she would have her baby… and that sperm. Yes, she made it her mission when she got back to Auckland to get that sperm. Maybe ask for him to sell it to her. She had enough funds. If that didn’t work out, she could always go back to the fertility clinic and ask for a consultation again. So there. She didn’t have to be down. Like Max said: Always be positive. This was Queenstown after all, the land of freedom, of inspiration, and of revitalization. She was alive, she was breathing, and that’s all that mattered. Anything else could be dealt with tomorrow. Tonight, no more baby thoughts. Tonight they would be going to the Gondola.

  Yes, the Gondola. She couldn’t wait to see the full town from above. She had been up there once, but it was during the day. So to view the sight at night would be a different story. She’d been told by others that the small tourist town of Queenstown looked like little wee fireflies lighting up at night, creating a spectacular view due to the nightlife. Yes, she was happy once more as she breathed in the fresh pine scent around her. She loved it. She loved this scent. She loved her life.

  Clarice felt a little yawn escape her lips and lit up her cell phone to check the time, wondering why Max was taking so long. If he didn’t come in another minute, she would phone him. That was when she realized she’d missed three calls from Anton.

  What could Anton want with her at this time of night? The calls were lodged at about seven p.m. There was another text message from Anton as well. She opened the message and read: Can I see you tonight?

  Dear heaven, Anton wanted to see her. She checked the time on her phone again.
It was now past eleven p.m. Should she call him back to apologize at this hour? He would be asleep by now; if not, then he might be out sightseeing, like she would if Max were to turn up of course.

  Clarice’s subconscious mind heard a tiny crack of a door opening, followed by muttering under breath inside the room, but her thoughts were so consumed with Anton and the text that she simply missed it. Then her phone buzzed again indicating there was another message. This time it was from Max. That rascal, she thought. Where had he been? Then she read the message: Hey, cuz. Cupid has brought you Anton. Get that sperm.

  “Max?” she whispered, when she felt strong arms embrace her from behind, enveloping her within a muscular body, and a soft whisper that almost made her knees go weak. “My mysterious goddess. Were you waiting for me?”

  Golly God, what the hell is wrong with that waiter kid? Hunter thought as he stumbled head first into the room, only to mumble more curses under his breath when he realized the room was completely shrouded in darkness.

  Hunter fumbled around to find the light switch on the wall, and that was when he saw her, the mysterious woman who had asked him to come to this room. She was like a mystical goddess of the night, out on the balcony, viewing the late-night city below.

  Shrouded in the beam of the moonlight, her slender silhouette was displayed for his eyes to feast upon. By golly, but she was so beautiful, so beautiful and so petite standing there looking so serene it literally took his breath away. But did she shrink in size? She looked awfully short compared to when she was at the bar. But then again, she was sitting on the barstool, so that must account for his lack of judgment. Then again, he didn’t remember her being this beautiful at the bar either. Maybe he did drink too much.

  Hunter stalked closer, lured by the exotic scene, a mixture of fresh pine scent and orange blossoms, his footsteps absorbed by the soft carpet. She was so beautiful that he didn’t even realize he was holding his breath until his arms were wrapped around her.

  “My mysterious goddess. Were you waiting for me?” he whispered softly into her ears.

  Dear heaven, it was Anton. Anton was here. Anton was standing right here in the same room as she was. She just couldn’t believe it. So Max had planned everything behind her back? And then there was Anton. Was he a willing participant in Max’s plan too, because he had texted her that he wanted to see her tonight? Those two men, they were planning things behind her back all along.

  Did Anton like her? Was that why he’d agreed to this charade with Max? But why was Anton hugging her from behind. He’d even called her goddess. Oh, it’s all that little rascal’s fault. She had to teach her dear cousin a lesson in messing with people’s lives. For now though she needed to get out of this predicament. But the more she struggled within his arms, the tighter he held her.

  “Is my little goddess pretending to struggle to heighten our mood?” Hunter asked when he felt his mysterious goddess struggle within his arms, his voice slurring a bit, altering the resonance of his speech.

  Why is Anton being like this? Clarice thought. No, she didn’t want to sleep with Anton just for the sake of getting his sperm. She was planning for him to donate via artificial insemination, not through live sex. She simply couldn’t imagine herself sleeping with anyone if not for love.

  Hunter’s pupils were a black whirlpool beneath the moonlight, heated with nothing but desire for her. God, she looked so beautiful. He couldn’t help himself, but pinned her to the wall, imprisoning her within his arms and kissing her hungrily.

  Clarice could feel those lips crushing onto hers, tasting her, pulling her into a trance then sucking out her entire soul. Her knees felt weak and her heart felt like it was about to explode.

  This kiss, it felt so familiar. Suddenly, an image of that Casanova kissing her on that fateful night of her date with Darcy popped into her head. Those lips, the way he moved around her, felt so similar it scared her. Wanting to erase that image from her mind, she clung to Hunter’s neck tighter, draping her body closer and sealing her lips once more to him, allowing him to indulge in his carnal pleasures.

  Where was this intense desire coming from? Hunter never acted like a crazed animal before. He was always the one in control of their game, the one who was always leading, but for this particular goddess, his mysterious goddess, he was at a loss. And it wasn’t just his behavior that was affected. It was also his body’s responses to her. She was so beautiful and enchanting that he found it hard to take each breath.

  Finally, he pulled away, watching her under the thin light of the moon. Her long, dark hair played with the night breeze, some even flirting with his face, as if to caress his cheeks, wanting to know how he would react to its teasing.

  It was very hard to distinguish her features in the darkness, but with the low beam of moonlight providing just a thin sheath of light, he was able to see her delicate swan neck and succulent pouty lips he had just ravished. He so wanted to see his mysterious goddess again. The image of the blonde in the bar somehow didn’t do justice to this beauty of a goddess in his arms right now. Suddenly, standing before him in his mind’s eye he could see Clarice, the avocado, staring at him with her large midnight eyes molten with desire, mirroring his.

  No! No! No! His heart thumped faster, as if in a desperate race to cross the finish line. It couldn’t be. His mysterious goddess was most definitely, definitely not the avocado. She was the blond woman from the nightclub. It was her. She had planned and coerced him to come here so they could play their game together. It was just his mind conjuring up images of that avocado because she had been the constant subject that had plagued his mind since the last time they met.

  Hunter gave himself a mental shake to dispel the image of the avocado. He wanted to fill all his memories with this mysterious goddess. He didn’t want to think about someone else. Then he felt this sudden overpowering need to caress her cheek, to prove to himself that she was the real thing, that his mysterious goddess was going to be all his for tonight.

  “This isn’t how I want it.” Clarice struggled to maintain her speech after that intoxicating kiss, but it was very difficult, as Hunter’s hug was crushing her. And then it hit her. His scent. “You’ve been drinking.”

  “Yes, I have.” Hunter spoke with so much passion while one of his hands moved to caress that soft, supple cheek that shone so beautifully in the moonlight. “I thought you didn’t want me, so I drank a bit too much,” he confessed. Then like a moth to a flame, so attracted to that swanlike neck of hers, he parted a few strands of her hair that cascaded to her neck and sealed his lips onto that pulsating beat, making his goddess suck in her breath. She was so alluring, so captivating that he was going insane.

  “Do you want me too?” Clarice heard Hunter ask, his lips so close they nipped at the tip of her ear, one of her most sensitive spots. She could feel the pounding of her heart. Thump, thump, thump. She had to control herself.

  So Anton wanted her. Why didn’t he say so in the beginning? Was this her opportunity to ask him about his sperm? It was now or never.

  “But I do want you… well, your sp—” Clarice was about to confess when Hunter cut her sentence short by capturing her plump lips and indulging in his hunger for her once again, drinking in her sweet nectar to sate his sweet craving. She was intoxicating, all that sweetness, like a flower dripping with syrup, and he was the bee.

  “That’s all I need to hear,” Hunter whispered huskily near her ear. And then he carried his mysterious goddess like a bride to the bed. He promised himself he would make it a night neither could ever forget.

  Chapter 15

  “I’m sorry for surprising you before.” Hunter apologized while trailing small kisses down Clarice’s neck as he laid her on the bedspread. “That damned waiter. He shoved me in here. If only I knew you were waiting for me, I would have come right away.”

  Clarice kept her eyes closed, feeling this overwhelming sensation inside her body that she couldn’t describe as each touch of Hunter’s lips teas
ed the skin of her neck. But before she could work out what it was, she felt his body shift. She opened her eyes and saw he was already on the floor, about to turn on the light switch.

  “No, don’t!” Clarice shouted, jumping off the bed and winding her arms around his body, preventing him from reaching his destination.

  “But my goddess, it’s dark in here.” Hunter smiled, loving the feel of his mysterious goddess wrapping her arms around him. “You sure you don’t want me to turn on the light?”

  “No!” Clarice gasped in panic, plastering her cheek against his back, her heart thumping wildly. She wouldn’t know what to do if Anton saw her now. What would he call her? An easy woman? One who lured men into bed for the sake of sperm? No, she couldn’t have that. This transaction, this thing that was happening between them tonight must be kept anonymous, a secret, until she was sure Anton liked her.

  Hunter turned and embraced his woman, holding her close. God, she was intoxicating, strange but so damn adorable that it was driving him insane. No woman had ever filtered into his thoughts before he took his pleasure. This woman was different. He respected her wishes.

  “Okay, we won’t turn on the light. We’ll just do it in the dark. That way it’ll be more exciting.”

  Hunter saw his goddess nod her head. God, and now she had to be alluring too? There was no ending to this woman’s gifts.

  “Please do me a favor?” Clarice spoke softly, interrupting Hunter’s thoughts.

  Never in a million years could she ever have imagined herself doing this, but here she was, going against her morals, all for one single sperm. She tried to pull herself together, but it was just too much. The need to be consumed was so overpowering that she lost all ability to think rationally. But wasn’t this what she wanted? It was only for one night. At least she would know what it was like to feel love. Plus, she’d get her sperm from Anton too. Killing two birds with one stone, wasn’t that the philosophy she abided by?