Baby, I'm Yours (Life, Love and Babies)

by Chase, Samantha

  Nikki chewed on her bottom lip. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that,” she said honestly. “She’s been my sole responsibility for so long, I’m not sure I could just sit in here while she was upset.”

  “Fair enough,” he said softly. “Then promise that you’ll let me help.”

  “Okay.” With a nod of his head, Josh turned and walked toward the staircase without another word. Nikki knew that she should be relieved, but a part of her felt a stab of disappointment that he didn’t put up more of a fight about walking away from her.

  ****

  A soft voice whispered in her ear. It was deep and masculine and all Nikki wanted to do was curl into it. There was a gentle nudge and she shifted slightly under the sheets and turned toward it.

  “Nikki?”

  Wait, was that Josh’s voice? Was he in bed with her?

  “Nikki, honey, wake up. It’s Ellie.” Nikki sat bolt upright in the bed and missed knocking heads with Josh by a mere inch.

  “What? What is it? What’s wrong?” She frantically looked around the room hoping to see for herself what the problem was.

  Josh looked a little harried standing beside the bed shirtless and his hair all tousled. “I’ve tried everything, Nicole, but she only wants you.”

  Kicking off the blankets, Nikki jumped up from the bed, heedless of her skimpy attire and walked quickly across the hall. Josh stood back for a moment as a jolt of arousal hit him hard. Her long shapely legs were in full view and the silky garment she wore concealed little.

  “Daddy?” He heard Ellie’s pitiful wail coming from the across the hall and snapped out of his stupor. He entered her room to find Nikki holding her and rocking her. Kneeling down beside them, he stroked his daughter’s cheek. “What is it, princess?”

  “I don’t like this bed,” she pouted. “I wanna go home.”

  Josh looked at Nikki for some sign of what he should do. She gave him a shrug that indicated that she was at a loss as well. “Do you want to sleep with me in my room?” Nikki asked her daughter. Ellie shook her head.

  “What about me, El? Do you want to try and sleep in my bed?” he asked. Ellie looked at him for a moment and then nodded.

  “Can I?”

  “Absolutely,” he said with a smile. Problem solved! “Come on, princess; let’s let mommy get some sleep, and you and I will camp out in my room.” He lifted her from Nikki’s arms and felt the heat from Nikki’s body and the silk of the garment she was wearing. Forcing himself to look away, he stood and started toward his room.

  “Can mommy camp wif us, too?” Ellie asked, he eyes wide with excitement.

  “Oh, no, baby,” Nikki said instantly as she stood; shifting slightly to try and cover her next-to-nothing attire. “Mommy can’t camp with you tonight. You go with your daddy and get some sleep, okay?”

  Ellie’s bottom lip began to quiver and Nikki knew that this issue was far from over. It had all gone too smoothly and now they were going to have to deal with the consequences of an over-indulged child. “Pwease, mommy,” Ellie sniffled. “Pwease camp wif us.”

  Nikki looked at Josh, and he looked just as pitiful as Ellie. It was almost comical. She wasn’t sure who was pouting more. She supposed she could stay in there until Ellie fell asleep and then return to her own room. No harm done. Nothing could happen between her and Josh if Ellie were in the bed between them, right? “Okay,” she said begrudgingly. “But just until you fall asleep, okay?”

  Ellie nodded and Nikki followed them into Josh’s room. It was a very masculine environment, she noted to herself. Taupe walls crisply trimmed in white, solid navy bedding trimmed in tan on the king sized bed, and all dark wood furniture. Josh’s room. This is where he slept. It was both terrifying and exciting all at once to be standing there.

  Standing in the doorway, she watched as he got Ellie settled in the center of the bed. He had on a pair of black silk pajama pants, but his chest was bare. She swallowed hard and forced herself to fully enter the room. “Um…which side is mine?” she asked shyly. Josh’s expression was closed and his eyes barely met hers as he pointed to the side opposite of where he was standing. Self-consciously, Nikki slid between the sheets and faced Ellie. Josh did the same.

  “No more messing around, young lady,” Nikki said to her daughter. It is time to go to sleep.” As if on cue, Ellie yawned widely and closed her eyes, sleep claiming her almost immediately, leaving her completely unaware of the tension simmering between her parents.

  They laid there silently for several long minutes, staring intently at one another over their child, making sure that Ellie was asleep. Nikki made an attempt to get out of the bed, but Ellie noticed and began to whimper. Turning furious at being at her daughter’s mercy, Nikki couldn’t remember Ellie being quite so manipulative. Knowing that she was stuck in this situation for the remainder of the night, she rolled over and gave both father and daughter her back and attempted to go back to sleep.

  Chapter Five

  The warmth was blissful; the bed was the most comfortable she had ever slept in. The hand stroking her back was comforting. Wait. The hand stroking her back? Nikki raised her head and realized that she was curled up against Joshua and in his arms. With his eyes still closed, Josh asked if she was all right. “Where’s Ellie?” she asked quietly but frantically.

  “She’s back in her bed. You didn’t mention her kicking habit,” he said sleepily.

  “When did that happen?”

  “About fifteen minutes after I put her in this bed. She sure is a fickle little thing.” He yawned and used his free hand to gently nudge Nikki’s head back down to the crook of his neck and shoulder. She fought against it slightly in her attempt to stay upright.

  “Why didn’t you wake me so I could go back to my room?”

  “There was enough noise going on here to wake the dead. I couldn’t believe that you didn’t even budge,” he said, fully awake and more than a little annoyed that she wanted to argue with him. “I figured that you were exhausted and just needed to sleep, so I let you.” They sat facing each other in the darkness. Nikki turned and looked at the clock on his night stand. Two a.m.

  “I should go back to my room,” she said as she began to move from beneath the blankets.

  “Don’t go.” His words were quiet, but had an edge to them. Nikki sat deadly still. “Please.”

  She didn’t really want to go back to her room because it felt too good being here with Josh. Her only dilemma was figuring out how to agree with him without losing her dignity. The decision was made for her when Josh lay back down and reached out and gently guided her back to their previous sleeping position.

  “Go to sleep, Nicole,” he whispered and kissed the top of her head. Without a word, Nikki snuggled closer to him, their legs tangling comfortably together, her hand held securely against his bare chest.

  She wanted to savor the moment; to simply lay there and enjoy the feel of him, of them, so intimately entwined, but she was so tired. It had been a long day, and with all of the broken sleep she’d had so far, it wasn’t long before exhaustion claimed her and her eyes were too heavy to keep open. With a sigh of contentment, she closed her eyes and let herself fall back to sleep.

  ****

  The first rays of sun were beginning to streak in through the blinds on Josh’s windows. He was slowly waking up and basking in the feel of the woman pressed against him. Looking down at her face, so relaxed and still bathed in sleep, he studied her features. Her skin was so soft and her lips were slightly parted, and Josh could feel her breath on his chest. With a pull too strong to resist, he gently touched her cheek, reveling in the softness of it. He then let his fingers trail down to her near-bare shoulder. The thin strap of her nightgown had slid off and was hanging down her arm.

  Feeling daring, he allowed his hand to slide beneath the blankets to where she was securely snuggled against him. His hand felt its way down her rib cage and lingered on her bare hip. Bare? Thank goodness he had no idea about that when she firs
t got into the bed with him or he never would have slept.

  Nikki snuggled closer to him and purred in her sleep at the feel of his strong hand caressing her. When his hand drifted around to cup her bottom, her eyes flashed open and Josh instantly felt her stiffen in his arms.

  “Shh…don’t think,” he whispered as he gently rolled her onto her back and stretched out beside her. “Just let me touch you.”

  With a brain too fogged with sleep, she was putty in his hands. His lips found hers and he softly kissed her as his hand continued to stroke up and down her thigh. Nikki wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close; a small needy sound emanating from her throat. She arched her body into his, reveling in his touch. This is what she wanted last night, last week…hell, she had been wanting this since she’d met him three years earlier.

  “Nicole,” he sighed as his mouth left hers and trailed down her throat on its hot pursuit of her breasts. “I’ve dreamed of waking up with you in my arms. Of feeling your body close to mine.” His breath was ragged as he carefully moved the ivory silk aside to get to where he wanted.

  Her back bowed off the bed at the contact. “Josh, please…” She needed him desperately; was tired of pretending that she didn’t.

  Hooking a hand under her thigh, he lifted her leg slightly and positioned himself against her. She cried out at the feel of his arousal covered in silk. “Nikki, I…I…”

  “Mommy, can we have breakfast now?” Talk about a bucket of ice water being dumped on you. Frantically, both of them turned at the sound of their daughter’s voice. “I’m hungry, mommy. Do you think grandma will make pancakes?”

  Josh rolled off of Nikki and shielded her near nakedness so that she could fix herself before facing Ellie. “I bet if you told grandma that you wanted pancakes,” Josh said lightly, “then she would make them for you.” Ellie beamed at his words. “Tell you what, princess,” he added, “Why don’t you go back into your room and let me get dressed and we’ll find grandma together. Okay?”

  “Okay, daddy,” she said as she walked toward the bed and kissed him. “Be fast!” she called over her shoulder as she skipped out of the room and closed the door.

  Josh fell back down onto the pillows and turned his head to look at Nicole who had remained painfully quiet. He rolled onto his side and faced her completely. “You okay?”

  It took her a full minute for her voice to work. “I cannot believe that just happened,” she said shakily.

  He chuckled softly and planted a feather light kiss on her forehead. “It’s not a big deal, Nicole. All kids walk in on their parents at some point. She didn’t see anything.”

  She sprang into and upright position. “Excuse me if I don’t take it as lightly as you do.” Kicking off the blankets, she came to stand next to the bed, her entire body trembling with anger. “In most cases the parents are at least married and at home in their own bed!” Furiously, she looked around for her robe and then remembered that she hadn’t been wearing it when she joined him in his room last night. With a growl low in her throat, she stalked toward the door.

  Josh jumped up from the bed and threw his body against the bedroom door to block her from leaving. “Wait a minute,” he said calmly. “Just what is it exactly that you’re so upset about here?” Nikki arched a brow at him in disbelief over his question. “Well, it seems to me that you have quite a few issues.” Slyly, he maneuvered her until it was her back against the door and he had her bracketed in his arms. “Are you upset because our daughter saw us kissing?” Before she could answer, he went on with other theories. “Or are you upset that we were interrupted when we were about to make love?” His words were a mere whisper against her ear and his hot breath made her shiver.

  “Josh,” she said weakly.

  “Or is there a possibility that you’re upset because we’re not…”

  “I have to get dressed,” she said quickly as she pulled out of his embrace. “I don’t want to talk about this. Ellie’s waiting to eat and it’s already past her breakfast time.” This time he didn’t stop her when she reached around and opened the door. “I’ll meet you downstairs,” she mumbled without looking him in the face.

  Once she was safely ensconced in her room with the door closed, Nikki sagged to the floor. What had she done? She had almost given in and made love to him right here in his parents’ home! Was she that depraved that she couldn’t wait until they were someplace more appropriate and with a little more privacy?

  Slowly rising to her feet, she walked into the en suite and flipped on the shower. Stripping off that damn piece of silk that she had slept in and tossing it out into the bedroom as if it burned her, Nikki stepped under the steaming spray. She didn’t take the time to luxuriate in the posh surroundings; the sole purpose was to get clean in both body and mind so that she could join everyone downstairs as quickly as possible and do her best to act as if nothing had just happened between her and Josh.

  Once dressed in the change of clothes she had originally brought with her for the ride home yesterday, she checked her reflection in the mirror and cursed the fact that she didn’t have any of her makeup with her. Doing her best to make the bed and straighten up the room, she took a steadying breath and exited the room.

  She could hear the voices coming from the kitchen and it sounded like everyone was already up. She walked into the room almost undetected until Ellie called out to her. Then the other five sets of eyes turned to face her with a rush of good mornings and offers of coffee. Smiling politely, she accepted a mug from David and made to step around Josh in an attempt to get to the dining room table.

  In the blink of an eye, he was seated closely beside her. “Did you have a nice shower?” he asked softly, leaning in so that only she could hear him. She nodded in response, unable to meet his gaze. “Ellie chose her own clothes; I hope that’s okay.” He motioned to where Ellie was standing and Nikki couldn’t help but smile. Her daughter was perched on a step-stool watching intently as her grandmother poured pancake batter onto the griddle.

  “That’s fine.” She slowly sipped her coffee and focused her attention on the floral arrangement in the center of the table. They looked too perfect to be real; maybe they were silk. Or maybe…

  “Look, Nicole,” he began, taking one of her hands in his, “I’m sorry if I upset you this morning. That wasn’t my intention.” Brushing a kiss on her knuckles, he continued. “I got carried away, and I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have let that happen here. I promise it won’t happen again.”

  Nikki finally looked up at him, her eyes full of dismay. Not happen again? Wait. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear! And it certainly wasn’t what she had tried to explain to him earlier. She was just about to clarify when he spoke again.

  “I don’t know what it is about you that makes me lose control.” His voice was husky right next to her ear. “Ever since the first time I laid eyes on you.” He paused. “But I swear to you that I can control myself.”

  She turned her head slightly and their lips almost touched. Nikki was ready to lean in when the entire family started walking into the room from the kitchen with platters of food and drinks. They broke apart quickly and Josh rose to help with the set up. Before Nikki could join in, Denise sat down on the other side of her; a knowing smile on her face.

  “So,” she said coyly, “did you sleep well last night?” She combed a hand through her short blonde hair and smiled, shifting in her seat to face Nikki.

  “You are the devil, you know that right?”

  Denise’s smile only grew.

  “Oh, and by the way,” Nikki leaned in so that only the two of them could hear, “thanks for lending me something to sleep in. What was that thing? A hankie?”

  Denise burst out laughing and everyone turned to look at the two of them. Nikki couldn’t help it, she was laughing just as hard right there with her. Activity resumed around them and once they had regained a little self-control, Denise quietly replied, “I was just trying to give you a little nudge.”
>
  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Sighing dramatically, she said, “Look, it’s obvious to everyone around you that you and Josh are crazy about one another. I know that things are a little awkward right now, but I was just trying to get the ball in motion, that’s all. I had a feeling if left to your own devices, Ellie would be in high school before you’d make a move.” She poured herself a glass of orange juice and then leaned in close. “So? Did it work?”

  Nikki was just about to answer when someone’s cell phone rang. “It’s mine,” Josh announced as he answered the phone and walked out of the room.

  The rest of the family sat down around the table, and Ellie talked non-stop bout how she had helped make the food and how grandma was going to teach her how to bake cookies on her next visit. It made Nikki happy to know that Ellie was going to have another set of grandparents who loved her and wanted to be a part of her life.

  Conversation flowed and she soon found herself wondering what was taking Josh so long to return to the table. Halfway through the meal, he was finally seated beside her. “Everything okay?” his father asked.

  “There’s a problem on a job site that I have to tend to.” Without looking at Nikki, he turned to David. “Would you be able to drive Nicole and Ellie home?”

  “Sure,” David replied, chancing a look in Nikki’s direction and taking in her brief look of disappointment.

  Cutting into his stack of pancakes, Josh laughed when Ellie went on to fill him in on the part of the conversation he had missed. He complimented her cooking skills, and she smiled brightly for him. He hated to have to cut his time with her short. The whole day had been ahead of them, and Josh had really been looking forward to it – even though a large portion of it would be spent on the road. Unfortunately, logistically it was impossible to be the one to take them home. It was a three hour drive east back to Nicole’s and from there it was another two hours south to get to the job site. By having David take them home, he could make the drive in a little under three and a half hours and be where he needed to be.