by Katie Dowe
He watched as she licked the spoon slowly and felt his skin tingling. “And you are probably going to be losing six more in a few minutes.”
She stared at him. “You are kidding.”
He took her hand and placed it over his rising penis. “What do you think?”
“Oh my!” she murmured. She used a finger to dip into ice cream and before he knew what she was doing she put it on the tip of his erection.
“What-” He broke off with a groan as she used her tongue to lick the ice cream off the tip of him before closing her mouth over his penis. Steven felt his body stiffen as she moved her mouth up and down his member, her fingers massaging his testicles and sending shafts of outrageous passion coursing through his entire body. “Alicia.” His voice was hoarse and his heart was hammering inside his chest!
“Hey.” He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up and over him. “Are you trying to kill me?” he muttered.
“Far from it.” She reached between them and guided him inside her. “I never heard of anyone dying from pleasure, do you?” she whispered as she bent her head to his.
“I just might,” he whispered back as he took her mouth with his.
She swallowed his groan as she started riding him and for the next half hour they were too busy to say anything else!
******
His lips on her nipples woke her up the next morning. They had not gone to sleep until the early hours of Sunday morning and she had slept sprawled on his chest, exhausted and sated.
She moaned and opened her eyes reluctantly, the desire licking through her body before she was even awake.
“Wake up, sleepyhead,” he whispered as he looked down at her.
“Don’t stop,” she said, her body arching towards his.
“I made breakfast.” He ran his thumb over the bud and watched it pucker. “Oatmeal with blueberries and I also made coffee.”
“I do not have those things in my kitchen.” She raised up and ran her hands over his chest loving the feel of his muscled chest.
“I ordered.” He bent and took her lips with his. She wrapped her hands around his neck. He released her reluctantly. “It’s getting cold.”
“I have a microwave and besides.” She glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost ten. “It’s too early on a Sunday morning.” She pulled him on top of her. “I need energy,” she whispered as she moved beneath him.
“I aim to please.”
******
“We need some sort of rules or plan.” He glanced over at her as he maneuvered the car through the Sunday afternoon traffic. He had not left her apartment but had called his driver and had him deliver some clothes to him. He had told her that they were going for a drive in the country and would have dinner at a delightful place he knew in the hills.
“What for?” She tugged the ribbon she had wrapped her hair into and secured it tighter.
“We need to be able to see each other even twice per week no matter what we have going on.” He pulled the car to a stop beneath a pine cone tree and turned the engine off. “I think we are actually in a relationship, Alicia, and I would like to actually see the woman I am seeing.”
Alicia pressed the lever and the seat went back. She stretched her booted feet forward to ease the cramps. “I totally agree.” She put her hands behind her head and looked up at him. “You need a shave.”
“I will pick something up when we are going back to your apartment,” he murmured.
“When do you suggest? Fridays and Saturdays or Sundays?”
“Why not mix it up a little bit?” She played with his green sweater absently. It somehow felt good to actually be with a man like him. She was enjoying the moments they were spending together. “I spend time with you at my place and eventually I will spend time with you at yours.”
“I want you to meet my mother.” He used his fingers to flick the tendrils of hair from her cheek.
“Isn’t it too soon?”
“No,” he told her firmly. “We are actually in a relationship, like it or not.”
“I am not disagreeing with you.” She eased up and pulled the sweater over her head.
“What are you doing?” he asked, looking around.
“I always wanted to do it beneath a pine cone tree,” she told him with a grin as she climbed on top of him.
“People might see us,” he groaned as she bit down on his bottom lip.
“I doubt that.” She nibbled at him until he had no choice but to give in!
*****
Dinner was delightful! He knew the owner personally and she was so pleased to see him that she brought out the entire kitchen! The roast beef with the garlic and onion sauce was so delicious that Alicia had to ask for seconds. He watched her indulgently as she ate and talked with her mouth full to Sonia who sat with them and spoke about her start up as a restaurant owner.
“How long have you been in business?” she asked the buxom woman.
“Ten years,” she said proudly.
“That’s quite an accomplishment considering that most restaurants fail within their first year. I am not surprised though, this meal is delicious! Do you do any advertising at all?”
“No.” The woman shook her head. “This is a country restaurant with regulars all year round and I would like to keep it that way.”
“Good idea.” She looked around the rustic charm of the place and saw the people enjoying their meals while talking and laughing. “I love it here.”
“So does Mr. Steven,” Sonia said with a beam as she looked at him. “He is always stopping by with his clients.”
“So in fact he is your advertising person,” Alicia said with a laugh.
“He is.” She beamed. “I will leave you two to finish. I am sending out a lovely pecan pie that I made myself.”
“Thanks, Sonia,” Steven told her as she left.
“I don’t think I can eat anything more but I have to try the pie,” she said with a groan as she leaned back in the chair.
“We can always take it home with us,” he murmured. He leaned forward. “You can’t help yourself, can you?”
“What?”
“You were talking business with her.”
She looked at him soberly. “I did not realize I was doing it. Does that bother you?”
He shrugged. “That’s who you are. I run a huge company, but I turn it off when I get home or when I am out having fun. Can you?”
“I don’t think about the company when we are having sex,” she ventured.
“Good to know,” he said with a slight smile.
She leaned forward and kissed him slowly. “I am not thinking about it now. Can you guess what I am thinking?”
“I have an idea,” he said hoarsely. “We are taking the pie to go.”
Chapter 7
“I am sorry, Steven. I know we promised that we would find the time, but it is crazy around here! We are promoting our new flavor for Christmas and the sponsors are having all sorts of functions that I have to be a part of.”
“Alicia, I have not seen you in two weeks!” His tone was frustrated and she could not blame him.
“I know, honey.” She looked up as her assistant signaled to her that she had a call on the line. “Look, how about we meet up later? Today is Thursday and there is this restaurant I have been meaning to try out. It’s Melinda’s and it’s a sushi restaurant uptown. Say around eight?”
“I have a feeling that I am going to have to make appointment just to see you.”
“Don’t blame me for everything. You were the one who took off last week,” she reminded him.
“After you told me that you would not be available. I need to see you, Alicia.”
“Okay, fine. I need to see you too.”
“Well, act like it,” he told her abruptly before hanging up the phone.
Alicia grimaced at the dial tone in her ear.
“Lover boy getting antsy?” Allen asked as he came in and handed her a file.
“Don�
�t start,” Alicia warned.
“I am not butting in,” he said, holding up his hands. “But just to say you need to make time for your social life.”
“That’s butting in,” she told him darkly as she picked up the receiver and punched the button. “Lauren, hi, very good to hear from you.” She shooed Allen out with her hand and waited until he had closed the door behind him.
*******
“You are in a nasty mood,” Marjorie commented as she put the folders in front of him. “I thought everything was okay in romance land.”
“She is too busy,” he said grimly as he pulled the folders to him and opened them, reading swiftly. “I need a meeting with Martin.”
“He went out to lunch with a client.”
“As soon as he is back, have him come and see me.”
“I am going to risk being shut down or fired, but I am going to say it. Honey, ever since you have met Alicia, you are like a bear with a sore head. Are you sure she is the woman for you?” Marjorie asked as she took a seat in front of his desk.
He looked over at her, his blue eyes unreadable. “I am in love with her.”
“Yes, but does she feel the same?”
“I have no clue.” He laughed shortly. “Trust me to fall in love with a woman who is as unattainable as the sun.”
“Steven, nothing is wrong with her being busy. It keeps her out of trouble and I never get the whole double standard thing. Women are said to be hard as brass if they are career driven and for men it is ambition. Women have been doing it for centuries: juggling marriage, children, and career, and they have been doing excellent jobs. You have to meet her halfway and understand what she is facing. You run a billion dollar company, but you have a lot of people who work for you and people you trust to place the responsibilities on. She does not have that. She answers to bosses.”
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “You are right. I hate that she has to work so hard and all I want to do is buy out the company and demand that she quit or fire her.”
“And she would hate you for that.”
“I know.” He steepled his hands together. “I just want to be with her.”
******
The signs were there, but she was just too busy to see them. She usually made a mark on her calendar and most of all she was usually regular if nothing else! It was when she was at the restaurant that night and the sushi had been served to them that she felt the queasiness in her stomach. Even then she did not suspect. She had been late in getting to the restaurant and had seen the trying look on his handsome face as she hurried in.
“Sorry.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the mouth distractedly before taking her seat. “The sales department had some concerns. How are you?” She opened her napkin and looked at him, admiring the expertly cut dark blue jacket and the way it fit his lean body. His ash blonde hair was brushed back from his face and he looked as if he had just stepped from a gentleman’s magazine while she was sure tendrils of her hair were falling all over her face.
“I have been better.” His tone was a little cool as he nodded to the waiter. “I ordered for you.”
“What’s with the attitude?” She took up the glass of water and drank from it. She had not eaten since a hurried sandwich at about eleven and now that she thought about it, she had only had coffee for breakfast and maybe an apple.
“I was sitting here for half an hour, Alicia. I am also a busy man, but I made it my point of duty to be here on time.”
“And you have a say on your own time,” she reminded him heatedly. “You are the boss and I am not.”
“I get it. Your job comes first,” he told her stiffly.
“Steven,” she sighed. “I am sorry. We have not seen each other in two weeks, are we really going to spend the time fighting?”
“I cannot help it, Alicia!” he gritted. “I have to beg to see you and when I do get a little of your time, I am left wondering when am I going to see you again! We have not been out on a real date and I told you I wanted you to meet my mother and that has not happened yet.”
The waiter came by just then and she waited until he had left to respond. “I am trying-” One sniff of the raw fish had her stomach churning.
“What is it?” he asked her with a slight frown.
“Excuse me. I have to go to the ladies’ room.” She pushed back her chair and made it to the bathroom on time where she brought up the little she had in her stomach!
She stumbled from the stall and went to the basin. Her reflection horrified her! Her eyes were wide and slightly red and she looked drained. Tendrils of hair were clinging to her wet cheeks. She splashed cold water over her face and tried to do something with her hair. She sighed as she realized that she was going to have to tell Steven she had to go home. She felt drained.
He got to his feet as soon as she came back into the room, his expression concerned. “Are you okay?”
“Not really,” she said with a shaky laugh. “I hardly had anything to eat for the entire day and I have a feeling it is having an effect on me.”
“What did you have for lunch?” He signaled the waiter.
“A sandwich.” She looked at him and shook her head. “Please don’t start. I am already suffering enough.”
“Could you bag this up for us?” he asked politely as soon as the man came over.
“Of course, sir.”
They left a few minutes later with him driving behind her. He took the keys from her and opened the door. “Go into the bedroom. I will make you some tea.”
“Do you know how?”
“I will learn,” he told her a little grimly.
With a shrug, Alicia went into the bedroom and took her clothes off. He came back just as she was coming out of the bathroom after taking a quick shower. “I figured you would want something to eat as well.” He placed the tray on the table and Alicia saw the light toast and the cup of tea.
“Aren’t you joining me?” she asked him as she climbed onto the bed.
“I am not very hungry. I am going to get some wine while you eat.” He placed the tray onto her lap and then left the room.
Alicia made a wry face at his departing back. He was pissed at her and she could not blame him!
*****
Steven poured some more wine into the glass and felt his anger dissipating after the third glass. He had wanted to light into her about not eating because of the damned job, but he had seen the weariness on her exquisite face. He realized that even though she had been obviously weary she had made the effort to come to dinner with him. He sighed wearily. Marjorie was right. He was going to have to meet her halfway and try and understand that she was committed to her job. He was in love with her and she had been that way when he met her and he was going to have to accept that! He drained the glass and went to put it into the sink. When he went back into the room, she was fast asleep with her hands curled underneath her cheek. He stopped at the foot of the bed and stared down at her. She looked so innocent, hardly like the woman who had the power to turn him inside out! He took off his clothes, leaving his underwear on, and climbed into bed with her. She stirred and opened her eyes as he pulled her into his arms. “Steven?” she murmured.
“Shh. Go back to sleep,” he whispered, placing a kiss on her forehead. She did just that, wrapping her hands around him.
*********
The queasiness persisted throughout the next day until Saturday morning after she was brushing her teeth, the smell of the toothpaste caused her to retch!
She rinsed out her mouth and stared at herself in the mirror. Then, shaking her head, she ran to look at the calendar in her bedroom. She stared at it in shock! The last time she had circled a date was in August! Nothing was circled for September and now it was the end of October and still nothing. She had not had her period in two months and that combined with the way she had been feeling could only mean one thing!
She picked up her phone and dialed Donna’s number. “I thought you had dropped off the
planet-”
“I think I am pregnant,” she said abruptly.
There was a moment of silence and then her friend responded. “I am calling Elaine and we are coming over. I will bring some soup.”
Alicia hung up the phone and plopped down on the bed. She was going to have to tell Steven. She was pregnant! Forty-one years old and pregnant! She laughed suddenly and put her hand over her stomach. She was having a baby! She flew off the bed and went to take a shower, slipping on a thin blue dress, and brushing her hair until it shone before twisting it into a ponytail. After that, she went into the kitchen to make herself some tea. Lucy, her housekeeper, had come on Thursday so the place was spotless. She was going to have to tell Steven but later!
*******
Steven stretched his slightly sore muscles and reached for a towel. He had decided to hit the gym before heading over to the club to take in the card game. He had left Alicia’s apartment yesterday morning without them making plans to see each other. He had also decided that he was going to allow her to make the next move. He was always the one reaching out and asking her if they could meet. He was starting to look desperate! He rubbed the moisture off his face and reached for the bottle of water. She had not called him and let him know how she was feeling and he had not called her either. He was hoping she would call him sometime today. Even if he had to forego going to the club. He really needed to be with her!
******
“We also brought non-alcoholic wine.” Elaine lifted the bottle for her to see. “And Donna and I stopped at the supermarket and bought their delicious chicken soup. We were in such a hurry we did not have time to make our own.” She stared at her friend. “You look calm and serene.”
“You expect me to be screaming my head off?” Alicia asked her with a grin as she went to get the bowls and placed them onto the counter.
“We expect you to look depressed.” Donna reached for the wine glasses. “We hesitated about the wine. Honey, are you okay?”
“I am.”
“You are pregnant. And that means maternity leave, bloating, nausea, feeling lousy at work, having to empty your bladder every few seconds, and that’s just the pregnancy part. Oh, and I forgot about stretch marks marring your perfect body,” Elaine said soberly. “Then when the baby comes the constant crying-”