Blind, driving need hit us both and I rode him in a frenzy. Like I couldn't get enough, even with him inside me, even with his hands all over my body. He held me as I bucked and writhed. His body fed me, giving and giving until I knew we were both ready to explode. His balls were huge and tight against me. I felt the first rhythmic spasm hit him and by the time his come was filling me up, I was lost in a pounding climax of my own. He was the single solid point in my universe, holding me as shuddering waves released me and I was helpless in his arms. It seemed he was all that kept me real and whole. Like without him, I might have floated off in the warm waves of the sea… drifted up to the stars…
"Libby, darling…" I opened my eyes to his face. He was a dark outline against the sky. He kissed me, softly, deeply. And he held me as the water bathed us both, pushing and pulling us. Swaying us gently. Then he gathered me into his arms and carried me. All the way into the house.
He dried me and wrapped me in a plush, velvety towel. Then he tucked me into bed and climbed in beside me. My head on his chest, his arms wrapped around me, the last thing I heard was his voice. Deep and gentle, he whispered.
"Goodnight little one. Sweet dreams."
I woke early, with Jack on his stomach, still sleeping beside me. His hair was rumpled, his arm over my belly protectively. I could hear the dull and constant sound of the ocean just outside. It felt like a dream, waking up here. In bed with my husband… the distant cries of the seagulls…
I rolled onto my side and Jack rolled with me. I snuggled my back into his chest and felt his erection warm against the inside of my thighs. I didn't regret a thing. And I knew it had been inevitable anyway. There was no way in hell we could have spent a month here alone together without giving in…
Sex with Jack had been like nothing I'd ever experienced in my life. Was it being pregnant that made it so fucking hot, so deeply satisfying? Or was it whatever was happening between the two of us?
The attraction had been instant and powerful, right from the start. And the fact that Jack was the hottest man I'd ever laid eyes on hadn't hurt. The contract was just a business deal, but it also meant living with him… And now sleeping with him…
He was the kind of guy any woman would fall for. And yesterday he'd put a ring on my finger and made his wedding vows. We were on our honeymoon and, fake marriage be damned, we'd consummated those vows. And it wasn't like we had to worry about possible consequences…
There were worse things in life than nine months with an incredible guy pampering me, treating me like a queen, letting me be a part of his family, even if it was only temporary. I'd signed on for all this and I was still sure I was doing the right thing. And if we got to have mind-blowingly incredible sex too… well, what was the problem? People fucked each other all the time with far worse intentions every day. Jack and I liked and respected each other. There wasn't anything wrong, for two consenting adults to be together. And yet something inside me was going off like a warning in the distance. Close enough to hear… far away enough to ignore…
His hand roamed my belly, cupping it easily. The other found my breast and he moaned, his erection growing steadily, pushing its way between my thighs. There was nothing but to rock back against him. He was kissing my neck, the curve between my shoulder blades. "Libby, darling girl…" The blunt head of his thick cock found my sweet spot. It was slick and waiting. He pushed in, slowly at first. Then steadily inch by long, delicious inch until he was buried and I was gasping. "Fucking… sweet… darling… girl…," his breath was hot in my ear as he stroked me in long, luxurious strokes.
"Relax and give in to it," he said in a voice that melted any doubts I might have had left. "And let me take care of you…" His slow, smooth movements were as hypnotic as his voice.
"This is going to last a long, long time."
25
Jack
I keep my promises.
Hours later, when we were spent, sated… we headed back out to the beach with lobster rolls and a bottle of limeade. The chef had it ready and waiting even before we were showered and dressed.
The basket swung in one hand while I held Libby's in the other. She was wearing a bikini that begged me to untie its strings. Her curves had always been lush, but I swore they were becoming even more so. I couldn't seem to get enough…
"Here… you'll burn if you're not careful." I said, after we'd finished our lunch and she stretched out in the sand. "Lotion?"
"Mmm, please…" She rolled over onto her front and the curves of her round ass beckoned. She reached up behind her back and untied the strings that held her top. She wasn't making this easy…
I spread the tanning lotion over her back and legs, letting my fingertips slip under the elastic of her bottoms. She was so warm, so smooth. The hours making love to her had done nothing to satiate me. Her skin was like a drug, her body an addiction that got stronger with every touch. Then she rolled over onto her back and pushed the tiny triangles of her top away. She smiled at me expectantly.
I dripped lotion onto her beautiful breasts and watched it run in thick, slow rivulets, all the while keeping her gaze locked onto mine. When she took my hands and put them on her body, sliding them over her slippery skin, her eyes were sparkling… teasing. I rubbed the cream into her breasts until her nipples were tight and she was moaning.
I was more than up to the challenge…
We spent the afternoon walking the perimeter of the island, hand in hand. Pristine white sand along with exotic birds and plants… white clouds over sapphire water…
"I didn't really believe you, when you described all this," Libby said, looking out over the water as the sky started to dip toward the horizon. "I can't imagine there's a more beautiful place anywhere in the world."
"Oh, there are," I replied. "Paris, St Lucia, Greece… I'd love to show them to you one day…"
She was quiet for a while as we walked. "Is this a mistake?" she asked quietly, still looking out over the water. "The contract says I walk away, once the baby's born… This," she waved a hand out across the ocean, "and this…," she rested a hand on my chest, "isn't going to make that any easier when the time comes."
We continued to walk in silence until we reached the house. It was casual elegance, with rooms that provided shelter and privacy without any sense of containment. Many of the windows had only sheer gauze curtains. We'd shared the master suite last night. And our pretend honeymoon had gotten very fucking real. The idea that things could change now made my chest tight. The fucking contract was supposed to be keeping this from getting complicated.
"You want a family, Jack," she continued. "And you already have a great one. But I don't want or need that for myself." Her hand was still in mine and it tightened.
"Don't want," I asked gently. "Or never allowed yourself to imagine…?"
She let go and turned her face toward the water. "We're different people, Jack. And we want different things in our lives. It's why you chose me in the first place, and why I signed the agreement…
It's why we're here and how you're going to get what you want." She turned back to me, her voice a little calmer. "And I will too. As for all the rest… Well, we're healthy, consenting adults. Here in paradise…" She smiled a little. "And I've got baby hormones to blame. What's your excuse?"
I laughed out loud and took her hand again. She was right, as usual. "Maybe not so different from yours," I shook my head. "I wanted to put my baby inside you the right way from the first time we met." I pulled her along beside me, letting the waves lap up against our bare feet. "A man's drive to father a child is no less powerful than a woman's need to carry one. It's just easier to forget that…"
She laughed too, and suddenly things seemed easier between us. "The agreement will keep us on track," she said softly. Confidently. "And now we've gotten our primal urges out of our systems…," she glanced at me from under her lashes, "maybe for the rest of the trip we should just stay focused on the baby…?"
"And stick to the con
tract…," I said. I lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. I rolled her emerald back and forth with my thumb, keeping her hand and holding her gaze. I knew she was right. That we could both have what we wanted, if we stayed on track…
"I think you're the strongest woman I've ever met, Libby. And certainly the wisest."
Also the most beautiful, inside and out, I thought to myself.
We looked out over the water in silence, watching darkening clouds building in the distance. It seemed like we would be fine… We were both very much on the same page. She was strong. She was wise. And I admired her more than any woman I'd ever know. She had focus and integrity. I couldn't have made a better choice than her.
We headed back to the house as the storm rolled in. And we went to our separate rooms. Fuck no, it wasn't easy. But when the time inevitably came to say goodbye to the woman I was falling in love with, well… maybe it would make things easier then.
26
Libby
I showered quickly and climbed into bed. For the first time since we'd arrived, I was aware of how alone we were on the island. Soft rumbles of thunder in the distance made my room seem even lonelier.
Jack was a good man. A finer man than I'd ever met in my life. It would have been so easy for him to exploit my all too obvious feelings for him. Not to mention the situation. This place was made for romance. For real couples… with real feelings…
There wasn't any point in denying it any longer. More and more, I'd been allowing myself to imagine what it would be like… A real marriage. A real family… But I didn't have the genetics for any of that. And Jack had made it clear he wanted only a baby. He was right. The last thing either of us needed were complications.
I let my hands explore my belly. "You're going to be the luckiest little girl," I whispered. "You have a daddy who loves you more than anything… He'll keep you so safe, and he'll make sure you're never sad or lonely…" I rolled onto my side and a tear ran down, soaking the pillow case. I imagined her sweet, innocent face. "And one day, he'll fall in love with a beautiful lady and she'll become your mother. She'll be kind and loving… the best mom in the whole world, Little Speck, because your daddy picked her.
And she'll never, never leave you…"
"What… oh… god!" I sat bolt upright in darkness as the deafening crash hit. Then the room flashed blindingly white with the next one. I climbed out of bed, struggling to close the enormous glass windows. Rain poured in sheets onto the wooden floors. I was drenched in seconds.
"Libby!" The lightning flashed again and I saw him in the doorway. Then I felt him wrap me in something dry and soft, and he pushed me behind him. "Get back from the windows."
I watched from the bed as he closed the shutters and, one by one, fastened the windows. The wind continued to blow, rattling them in their frames. By the time he was done, he was as wet as I was.
"You're all right?" he asked, coming over to me. "I heard you cry out… I thought maybe it was the baby…"
"I'm fine," I said, taking my damp towel and stroking his streaming hair. "We're fine. The thunder woke me, is all. I couldn't get the windows closed."
He headed for the bathroom and came back with dry towels and a pair of thick cotton robes. Another crash of thunder hit, the same instant as the flash. I jumped, clutching at the robe.
He stroked my hair and face, drying me off as well as he could. Then he toweled my legs one at a time. I could feel his thick fingertips grazing my sensitive flesh. He smiled as I jumped again.
"Thunderstorms have frightened me since I was little," I said, shrugging into the robe he held open for me. "It's the noise, I think. The way it sounds when it's so close… like the whole world is being torn to pieces. Like when it's all over, nothing's ever going to be the same."
His outline nodded, but I couldn't see his face. "What was it like, when you were a little girl, Libby? I know you grew up in foster homes…"
Something in me tightened at the question. I was quiet as he dried my feet, and then he took one in his hand, working the tiny muscles and bones gently with his fingers. "Do you know anything about your real parents… or if there was ever any other family out there?" His voice was so gentle and his hands kept moving…
"I never knew who my father was. And only that my mother gave me up when I was only a few months old." I sighed. "She cared enough to name me… and to give me this," I held up the gold locket and a tiny flash of light sparked off its surface. "There must not have been anyone else. No one who wanted to keep me…"
"Did you ever try to find out?" he asked gently, taking my other foot and kneading it slowly. "Did you ever want to know more?"
I was quiet again, thinking about what he'd asked me. I'd never liked talking about it, and I wasn't sure why I was now. It surprised me how natural it felt. "I never tried," I admitted. "It was enough to know she didn't want to raise me. Or that she felt that she couldn't… I had some foster parents who were good people. It just never lasted for very long."
"And you grew up stronger than most… more independent. More driven."
I smiled at the tone in his voice. "More talented too," I added lightly. "I like my life, Jack. I'm not complaining. And I like who I turned out to be."
"I do, too."
There was a bright flash of lightening and I braced for the thunder. I'd seen something on his face in that second… a look… a feeling… Something I couldn't place. But it was gone with the light and I felt him let go of my foot.
He dried himself in the darkness. I could see the outline of his body as he let his wet pajama bottoms drop. The thick chest and arms tapering to the delicious ropes of muscle that led downward from his hips… The artist in me itched to touch him, to run my fingers over him, to learn him by touch alone. He was like a sculpture… only flesh. Perfect. Beautiful. Real.
He slipped into his robe and tied it at the waist. Then he settled onto the bed, leaning back against the heavily carved headboard.
"Here," he said, reaching out for me. He took my hands and drew me up next to him. "Right here," he patted his chest and I slid in close. He wrapped one hand around me and pulled my head to his chest with the other. He left it there, stroking my hair until I relaxed against him. The storm outside was still raging, but my body calmed against his, and I listened to the slow and steady beat of his heart. He had no more questions, and I, no more answers. He just held me close until it was over and the storm had passed on by.
The last thought I had before I fell into a sound and dreamless sleep beside him, was that I'd never in my life felt so safe.
27
Jack
"I've got a surprise for you today." I smiled down at her as she rubbed her eyes. "It's something I thought you'd enjoy, since we're going to be here for a while…"
She uncurled from my chest and I shifted, allowing the blankets to conceal my rock-hard desire. So fucking help me, I'd been awake the better part of the night. Still, it felt so damned good just to hold her. I was determined not to make things harder for us both. But there was no arguing with the demands of my body. All I could do was keep that to myself.
"Come with me, I want to show you something," I said, taking her hand and pulling her along with me down the hall. At first she grumbled, still sleepy. But by the time we'd reached the top of the staircase, she was fully awake… and curious. "Where are we going? Is this an attic…?"
I opened the door to a tiny room, windows on every side. It was an observation tower that looked out over the water in every direction. Light flooded in. Shelves contained all her supplies. The sculpture she'd begun at the lake house sat on a table in the very center.
"Oh, my god, Jack… You brought everything here?" She ran her hands over everything, as if to make sure it was real. "I can't believe you did this for me…"
"I know your art is what makes you happy, sweetheart." I came up beside her, my shoulder against hers. "I didn't want to keep you from what you love."
As badly as I wanted to take her in my
arms and kiss her, I held back. I could feel the pull in her too, like magnetism. It was just as well for her to have something to pour her passion into. I just wished to hell it could be me…
"There's something else," I said, taking her hand and leading her back toward the stairs. "The clay can wait, but I'm afraid the other surprise won't."
"Well, I'm hoping it's pancakes," she said, following me down to the kitchen. "I'm starving, and I can hardly wait to get my hands on that sculpture again and…"
She was cut off by excited barks, a furiously wagging tail and the clatter of toenails on tile. Seven pounds of curly brown fur and soulful eyes flew toward us and Libby bent down to greet her. "Oh, sweetheart…! Oh my god, Jack… where did he… Is this the surprise?" She already had the puppy in her arms and was being covered in kisses. "Where did you come from? You sweet little baby…"
"Not a he," I said, smiling as the puppy squirmed. "A little girl for you. One of the house staff had one left in the litter. She's a mutt…" I reached out to caress a silky ear. "You don't have to keep her, but I thought you might like to meet…"
Libby looked at me and smiled a smile that melted straight through my heart. Her eyes were bright with moisture, sparkling…
"Look at her, Jack," she crooned. The puppy's ears perked at her voice. "How could I not want her? Can I keep her… can we take her back with us when we leave and keep her?"
I put my arms around her. "Of course, sweetheart. She's all yours, if you want her."
But Libby wasn't listening to me anymore. She was already down on the floor with the puppy, stroking her wiggly little belly. "Who's a beautiful baby girl?" She looked up at me. "Does she have a name?"
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