“Oh my god. My baby girl’s engaged.” She squealed again, already forgetting to keep the excitement to a volume that didn’t case her daughter any pain. She rushed over and hugged Eric and then bent to hug Natasha which made her gasp again. “Oh god, sorry darling.”
It turned into a sort of hug fest after that with everyone hugging one another and Eric couldn’t contain his happiness. Everyone seemed to approve thankfully. It was only when Natasha yawned that he realised she’d had enough. It was time to hustle everyone out of the room so she could sleep.
He frowned when he looked down at her. “Baby you need to rest, I think it’s time we all left you to sleep.”
Fortunately Kathryn despite her excitement over their engagement agreed with him. “Yes baby girl, we’ll all get out of your hair now and you sleep. I’ll see you when you wake up.”“
“You’re not going home?” Natasha gave her mother a look of surprise.
“No, Eric’s invited me for dinner, so I’ll be here for a while yet.”
It was Eric’s turn to look surprised. He had? He knew full well he hadn’t invited Kathryn to stay for dinner but the look she gave him, dared him to defy her so he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t care anyway. He was happy to have her stay. He needed to make a good impression on his soon to be Mother in law after all.
Kathryn bent down to kiss her daughter. “I’ll leave you now sweetie. You sleep.” She ordered before bustling out of the room with Alice following her.
“I’ll leave you too baby so you can sleep.” He dropped a gentle kiss on her cheek. “I love you. See, I can say it.” He grinned at her.
She gave him a sleepy smile. “Stay with me until I fall asleep, please Eric.” She reached out to grab his hand.
Of course he couldn’t deny her although he was worried about hurting her. “Alright baby.” He climbed carefully onto the bed, moving slowly to minimise movement through the mattress that might hurt her.
Gently he wrapped an arm around her as he lay down behind her, his body tucked up against hers and his lips at her neck. In a soft soothing voice he began to tell her what she meant to him, how much he loved her and he didn’t stop until he felt her body relax and her breathing even out as she drifted off to sleep.
Once he was sure she was asleep he carefully crawled off the bed again and just stood for a while staring down at her as she slept. God she was so beautiful and she was his. Fuck, she was his. His face lit up in a huge smile. He knew he was probably grinning like some sort of idiot but he couldn’t help it. All the heartache and pain he’d experienced because he thought he’d never have her, that he’d eventually lose her had all been for nothing. She loved him as much as he loved her and she’d loved him for nearly as long as he’d loved her. Fuck but they’d wasted so much time, weeks because they were both too scared to admit their feelings to one another and in the end it was Natasha who’d demonstrated she had more balls than him.
He’d spent his whole life just wanting to feel loved, to have someone tell him they loved him. His mother had loved him in her own way he suspected but just not enough. He’d never been enough for her and she’d pushed her own child aside in her never ending quest to find a replacement husband after Eric’s father had finally killed himself while driving drunk.
The irony in all this was he’d waited all his life to have someone tell him that they loved him, to finally feel like he was worthy of someone’s love but on the other hand he’d gone out of his way to avoid love, choosing women that he knew weren’t suitable, women he knew would never love him for him, only what they could get from him and they were the kind of women that he would never have fallen in love with, cold, calculating, gold diggers, heartless fucking bitches basically. They had been there for one purpose and one purpose only to provide him with sex.
He had to shake his head at himself for the way his fucked up thinking had fucked up his life. The boy who became the man still wanting to feel loved but avoiding anyone who would love him and that he could love. “You were one fucked up motherfucker Rothman.” He whispered as he gazed down at Natasha’s sleeping form.
There was a part of him that realised that fate had determined his future. If he’d opened himself up to love earlier in his life, he probably would never have met Natasha or fallen in love with her and been fortunate enough to have earned her love.
He’d managed to live for all these years with his screwed up way of thinking until her. He’d known when she’d still worked for him that she was a potential danger to his self preservation and he’d managed to work with her and not allow himself to be affected for months but slowly and surely she’d wormed her way into his heart and he’d never fucking seen it coming until it was too late.
Maybe deep inside he had finally been ready for more and that’s why he’d asked her to come away with him for the week. He’d wanted her sexually of course but she was so different to any other woman he’d dated so why he’d suddenly decided to go after her was possibly because inside he had finally realised he wanted more than just numerous empty relationships. He’d been ready for more.
Well he had it. He had the only woman he’d ever loved and she was wearing his ring. He just hoped she knew that he’d meant what he’d said to her. Now she wore his ring, there was no backing out. He’d never let her go. She was his until he finally drew his last breath, until his heart stopped beating.
With one more touch of his lips to her cheek, he left the room and headed downstairs to spend time with Alice and Kathryn. He had a wedding to plan and he wanted to organise as much of it as he could himself. He wanted their wedding to be a symbol of their love for each other and he wanted to show just how much she meant to him by giving her things on the day that she’d told him about over the time he’d known her, things that had meaning to her. Of course it didn’t hurt to enlist a little help and that’s where Alice but in particular Kathryn were going to have to be recruited as his partners in crime.
CHAPTER 21
The next couple of months were busy with planning their wedding. Natasha hadn’t put up a fight about marrying him while she was pregnant fortunately because there was no way in hell he was waiting until after the twins were born to get her down the aisle.
Their babies were growing well and Natasha had a very definite swell to her stomach now. He’d been told off by her for lying about the doctor coming out to the house when she’d fallen down the stairs. It was during a check up when it became apparent the doctor had no idea what she was talking about that she’d realised he’d lied, although he preferred to refer to it as bending the truth. Eric explained that he’d lied for her sake and after being frowned at a few times, she’d forgiven him thankfully.
One morning when they were lying in bed after having just made love Eric started talking about what she wanted her wedding day to be like. He needed to know since he had insisted he wanted to do most of the planning to keep her stress levels down while she was pregnant and she seemed happy to let him have his way as if knowing how important to him this was.
“So are you going to want the big fairy tale wedding baby?” He asked as they lay together, his arms around her, gently caressing her stomach.
“You know once upon a time, I would have said yes, but not anymore Eric. I just want to marry you, it doesn’t need to be some big production number, I simply want to say ‘I do’ and spend the rest of my life with you as Mrs Rothman.” She said placing her hand over his.
He buried his lips into her neck. “I can’t wait to start calling you Mrs Rothman. You must have some ideas on what you want baby. Whatever you want you can have. This wedding can be as big or as small as you want it. Seeing you happy is all I care about.” It was too but he needed her to start giving him some suggestions on what she wanted, what she’d dreamed about as a little girl for her wedding day, anything so he could surprise her on the day with those dreams.
“Knowing you love me is all I need to
be happy. You know what I really want? I want just friends and family at our wedding but what I’d love more than anything is for us to marry here. I love this house, I think out on the terrace with the harbour behind us would be perfect. I guess it depends on who you want at our wedding. You probably have to include business associates, don’t you?”
“Not really baby but I would want Alex to come and Samantha. I don’t think you’ll mind if your replacement PA is there and Sam and her husband should be there. She helped choose the ring after all.” He traced his finger over the diamond on her finger.
“Of course they should be there Eric. Samantha in her own little way helped bring us together. I don’t have many people I want at our wedding. My Mother of course plus Maggie and Thomas, Alice has to be there. It’s almost embarrassing to admit but I don’t have any friends to invite. When I started working for you, my job absorbed so much of my time, I had no social life anymore not that I regret that and when I moved to the Central Coast, I kind of cut myself off to everyone except my Mum.”
Hearing her admit to not having any friends sent a wave of guilt through Eric. She was young, she should have friends but he’d selfishly kept her tied to him at work and denied her a social life. “God baby, so because of me, you had no life outside work? I was a selfish bastard I know. I kept you in the office for such long hours and more times than not too. I’m sorry.” He kissed her neck.
Natasha reached up to cup his cheek. “It’s not your fault Eric. I loved my job and I guess being an only child made me grow up happy with my own company. I’ve never really been a party girl or one for going to the clubs so don’t feel like it was your fault. I’m the one who chose to live the way I did, not because you kept me at the office all the time. I’m just kind of boring I guess.”
Eric knew she was joking but there was no way in hell she could ever be described as boring. She was gorgeous, sexy, funny, frustrating, argumentative, stubborn, sweet and hot as hell in bed. He loved her, she was everything he could ever desire in a woman and it didn’t sit right with him to hear her calling herself boring even if she was joking. “Baby, boring is one word I’d never use to describe you.”
“So when is this wedding of the century going to take place? Preferably before I get so big I’ll be able to roll down the aisle.” She joked.
Is today too soon? He thought to himself. “The sooner the better baby. I can’t wait to carry you over the threshold. Which of course leads to the next question. Where are we going to go for our honeymoon?”
Natasha started laughing. “You can’t carry me Eric. It will be like trying to carry a whale. I don’t want to be responsible for damaging your back. You need your back for other things.” She gave him a sly look.
Eric felt his cock stirring at her words. “Oh my back’s strong baby. Anyway, these days you’re the one who has to do all the work. These two.” He rubbed her swollen stomach. “They kind of get in the way now.”
She laughed. “True but then the doctor said I need to get gentle exercise. I wonder if making love would be considered gentle exercise?”
“The way you were riding me earlier baby, I’m not sure if that’s quite what the doctor had in mind when he said gentle exercise.” He teased.
His heart swelled at her burst of laughter. Fuck he loved to hear her laugh, the happiness on her face. Knowing that it was for him, that he could make her laugh and be happy made him feel so fucking good.
“I didn’t hear you complaining.” She turned her head to smirk at him.
“That’s because I couldn’t move baby. You had me pinned under you completely at your mercy.”
He watched as she pulled herself up until she was kneeling alongside of him. His eyes moved over her gorgeous naked body. She might be looking very pregnant now but she was still the sexiest woman he’d ever seen.
She poked her finger into his chest with a look of mock indignation in her eyes. “If you don’t watch it Mr, I’ll pin you down again and have my way with you.”
At her words his cock hardened and he saw her eyes drop to the sheet as it rose in front of them. He grinned to himself. She wanted to tease him about having her way with him again? She’d better be able to deliver because he sure as hell could and she’d have to know that too now with the very obvious tenting of the sheet.
She grinned at him before snatching the sheet away and his cock bobbed as it strained up between them. “Hmm, seems you can talk the talk.” When she lowered her head towards his erection Eric tensed before his breath hissed out between his teeth when her tongue circled the head of his cock. Oh fuck what was she going to do to him? A blow job? Shit, he’d be up for that, fuck he’d be up for anything she intended doing to him.
When she pulled away from him, his eyes shifted to her face. Fuck, so no blow job then. She kneeled next to him smiling. “Now lets see if you can walk the walk.” Before carefully straddling his hips, her wet pussy poised above his eagerly straining cock.
Slowly she lowered herself and Eric groaned softly as he felt her wet warmth coming down around him and watched his shaft disappearing inside her. She sat down on him, not moving, her eyes meeting his. They smiled at each other, just enjoying the closeness and connection of their bodies.
Eric reached out and ran his hands over her swollen stomach, his palms smoothing over her taut skin. Her stomach felt hard and he marvelled at the thought that their babies were in there, growing, kept safe within her womb. He continued up until he got to her breasts, cupping them, noticing that they felt bigger and heavier than normal as they prepared for the day when their babies would be suckling on them. He frowned at the thought. Her breasts were his and he was going to have to share them in a few months time.
He rolled her nipples between his thumb and fingers until they hardened under his touch, feeling her inner muscles contract around him as he tugged on the hard peaks. She dropped her hands to his stomach and began to raise and lower herself on him, taking him in deeper until he was pressing against her cervix.
She began to move faster rotating her hips and grinding down hard on him and Eric could feel his control slipping. He wanted to make her come before he did but with her bouncing up and down on him, watching her passion increasing, feeling her muscles squeezing hard around his cock, he knew he wasn’t going to last much longer.
He slipped a couple of fingers between them and began to rub her clit, moving faster and faster as it swelled under his touch. Natasha started to moan and her movements as she rode him became more wild and abandoned until finally she threw her head back and with a long keening cry she climaxed, grinding down hard on him as she rode out her orgasm. Eric watched her coming apart. She was so beautiful, sexy and seeing her come like that was the hottest fucking thing. God he loved her so much.
Her muscles clenched around him and he couldn’t hold back any longer and with a deep groan he exploded, bucking up as he pumped his release deep inside her. Natasha sagged over him but because of her stomach she couldn’t lie down on him as she once did so he wrapped his arms around her and rolled onto his side bringing her down onto hers, his arms around her, his cock still buried deep inside her pussy which pulsated around him squeezing the last of his seed from him.
Once their breathing had settled Eric murmured. “We never finished working out the wedding details.”
He felt her smile against his shoulder. “Well if you weren’t so damned sexy I wouldn’t keep wanting to take advantage of you.”
Eric felt his chest tighten the way it always did when she said something like that to him. She knew just what to say to make him feel loved and fuck it, she made him feel like he was a fucking stud too. He grinned. “You can take advantage of me anytime you want to baby.”
“You are so easy.” She teased.
“You’d better believe it baby, but only for you. I’ll only ever be easy for you.” He traced her lips with his tongue. “I love you baby.
You’re my life, nothing else matters besides you and these two.” He ran his hand over her stomach. It was true too. His life was complete now with the woman he loved more than life itself and their unborn babies that he no longer feared but looked forward to seeing for the first time.
Life was so good right now but Eric couldn’t wait to make Natasha his wife. For someone who never thought he’d get married he had to laugh at himself at how desperate he was to tie the knot but then he knew he had the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He loved her, she loved him and she accepted him the way he was even though he was kind of fucked up.
* * *
They set the date for their wedding for October 19th. Eric still insisted on organising it and although he could tell Natasha was worried about what he might end up choosing to do for the day, she didn’t argue with him.
He wasn’t a complete fool, he knew he’d need help so he hired a wedding planner. The woman, Francine was very good at her job and came highly recommended. For some reason Natasha didn’t seem to like her and would get a set, sullen look on her face around the well groomed woman.
While he was busy with Francine after work Natasha spent her days bridal shopping with her mother. He knew it wasn’t going well and Natasha was getting more and more worked up about being able to find a dress she liked. She seemed convinced that she was too big and frumpy to make anything look good and he constantly tried to reassure her that she was beautiful and she’d look stunning in a hessian bag but that didn’t seem to help matters much.
The only thing he’d asked of her was to wear a traditional white dress despite her arguing that it was going to be pretty obvious she wasn’t a virgin anymore. He didn’t care, he just wanted to do all the typical wedding traditions as a part of him thought it would give their marriage a positive start if they followed tradition.
One morning as they were both in the ensuite, him getting ready for work and her preparing for a day of shopping for a wedding dress, he watched her in the mirror as she angled herself to study her rapidly growing stomach.
Taming Eric Page 46