by London Hale
There was no doubt in her words, no weakness in her body language. Confident Kate was back, telling me how she felt and meaning every syllable of it.
“I feel like there’s a but coming after that statement, and not the kind I like to bite on.”
The look she shot me could only be described as angry Kitten, claws and all. “But I’m scared. I’m scared about what us being together means for my life…for my career. I know I shouldn’t care what other people think, but I have to—it comes with the territory of a public position. Especially one relying on those same people to vote for me to keep my job. And as much as I love you, my career means the world to me. I can’t give it up—I won’t give it up. Not even for you.”
I stalked across the room, looming over Kate as she stood. “I don’t remember asking you to give up anything.”
Kate shook her head, looking up at me with those blue eyes that seared my soul. “I know you like to pretend our age difference isn’t there, but it is. It is, and that means I lived through a whole lot of heartbreak before you came along. I’ve already been here—I’ve been in relationships before where men pretended my job didn’t matter, but it always ended the same way. They bailed when they realized I made twice as much as they did. When the hours added up and they started feeling neglected. When they realized I didn’t need them in my life to feel fulfilled.”
Aw, hell. That was what this was all about? Kate had blown something out of proportion, which was probably my fault. Still, this issue wasn’t as dire as I’d thought. This was completely fixable.
“You think your job intimidates me?” I grabbed her by the ass, hauling her body up mine and heading for the bedroom. Fuck this fighting while clothed bullshit. If we were going to be getting to some make-up sex soon—and I was pretty sure we would be—I wanted us prepared for it. “You think I can’t handle you being the mayor? The fact that you’re a powerful woman is a fucking turn-on, Kitten. I’m not asking you to give up anything, not any part of your life as Mayor Kate Briscoe. I just want you to find a little room to let me be in it.”
I tossed her onto the bed, crawling over her and pinning her in place. I needed to feel her, to experience that connection between us again. I needed to stoke the fire that always seemed to burn when we were together.
“I do want you in it.” Kate spread her legs, giving me room to lie between them as she ran her fingers down one side of my face. “I just…I’ve worked on this mall deal for three years, Riley. Three years. Nearly my entire term as mayor. And it all comes down to two weeks from now. If the council doesn’t approve the rezoning, I fail.”
I tugged her skirt up higher and moved her panties to the side, slipping my finger along her slit to tease her. She responded with a low moan, then worked her hands between us to push down my sweat pants. This was going to be quick and hot, I could already tell. But we weren’t quite done talking. She still needed to know I had her back. Her front, her ass, her pussy…I had every part of her.
No fucking way was she failing on my watch.
“And you think I’m going to fuck things up for you? You think I can’t understand the business you’re in and help you?” I nudged two fingers inside her, rocking my hips against her thigh to get a little pressure on my cock. “I told you I’d be patient, and I was. But one, I won’t let someone disrespect you. And two, we love each other. You deserve to be treated better than some random hookup, and I deserve not to have to live as your dirty little secret.”
Kate grabbed my ass, groaning as I pushed my fingers in deep. “I know that. I want that. But Colin got antsy when he figured us out. He’s spending almost a billion dollars on this project. Why did you have to say anything to him? Why couldn’t you just let it go?”
I yanked her little shirt down, thankful she’d taken off her suit jacket at some point. Fuck, her nipples were delicious. I had to bite on them a little, just enough to get her rocking against my hand. To get her slick and ready for my cock. “I would’ve helped you any way I could, but I’m not going to let other people disrespect you just to keep our love hidden. That’s not my way, baby.”
She groaned, arching her back and rubbing her clit against the side of my thumb. Greedy girl. “If this is gonna work, you have to trust that I can handle myself.”
“Oh, baby. I know you can handle yourself. I’ve heard you do just that a few times over the last year.”
Kate laughed and smacked my shoulder. “I’m being serious, Riley. I haven’t gotten where I am by being soft.” She punctuated the word soft with a solid grab of my very not-soft cock. The little tease. “You need to trust me to take care of my own shit.”
I rocked into her hand, unable to hold still when her fingers felt so good on me. “Fine. But you need to trust that I can take care of your shit, too. You may not need me to, but I’m still going to be there, ready to take things off your plate when I see you overloaded. You also need to tell me exactly what’s going on with you before I lose control and fuck you through the mattress. Goddamn, you have to stop jacking me off if you don’t want me to come right now, Kitten.”
She stopped, but she gave me that look—the one that said she needed to make sure I understood. The look of a woman saying something important. So I pulled my hand from her pussy and stared down at her, ready for whatever was coming. Completely focused on her mouth.
“Tell me, Kate.”
“I’m scared,” she murmured, clinging to my arms and pulling me closer to her. “Men have never dealt well with my job, and I don’t want it to be the same with you. I’ve never had this much to lose.”
“Baby, the mall deal will go through. I’m sure of it.”
She shook her head, lowering her voice as she said, “I’m not talking about the deal, Riley. I’m talking about you.”
Everything inside me seemed to melt at once. My girl, my intelligent, capable woman, was afraid of losing me just as I’d been afraid of losing her. That totally made sense. It also made my heart want to do some fucking jumping jacks.
“Oh, Kitten, you’re not losing me.” I rolled us over, pulling her onto my chest as I settled on my back. “I’ve been over here plotting my way out of you breaking up with me, so no. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You say that now, but other men—”
I yanked her down, refusing to let her say another word about other men. Those dicks were in the past. Kate’s present, her future, was with me. And I’d make damn sure to keep it that way.
“If they can’t handle a woman in charge, they’re not men. Period.” I grabbed her hips, rocking her sloppy, wet pussy all over my cock. “Now get up here and ride me, Ms. Mayor. I want to watch your tits bounce. We can figure out how to deal with Colin and the council after I’ve made you come two or six times.”
“So bossy.”
I reached for a condom from the nightstand with one hand and grabbed the back of her neck with the other, pulling her down for a deep kiss even as I placed the foil packet in her hand. “You like me that way.”
“No,” she said, giving me a true smile. “I love you that way.”
You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Riley, stop it.” Kate pulled me into an exam room, giving me that look she sometimes did. The one that said I was super close to the line between protective and ridiculous. I bet if another woman were about to get up close and personal with my junk, she wouldn’t think it so ridiculous.
She pushed me into a chair and closed the weird curtain that only blocked the door.
“This doesn’t make any sense, though. Kitten, I want you to have the best doctor.” I tried to sound calm, to stay serious and concerned, but my baby was stripping right there in front of me.
Her moves weren’t specifically sexy—more utilitarian, really—but that didn’t matter. Naked Kate was my favorite Kate, and she knew it. She’d worn a pretty, pink lace bra that made her tits irresistible, especially when she paired it with the expression she threw my way. That little glint in her eye was
a tease meant just for me.
“You’d better quit looking at me that way, or I’m going to bend you over the exam table.”
She hooked her thumbs in her panties—also pink, though not lacy—and dropped them to the floor. Fully fucking naked, and we were alone for at least another few minutes. I bet I could get a little taste if he—
“Is that before or after Dr. Caleb Goodman finishes his exam?”
Fuck. That took care of my erection. Slightly. “You’re an evil woman.” I made a point to adjust myself over my pants, staring right at her. If the flush of her chest was any indication, she got the message.
“Behave, Riley.” As if I needed scolding.
“How can I when you’re this beautiful? It’s impossible.” I definitely earned that flush. Good, because I wasn’t done with the whole doctor thing yet. “But seriously, baby. How can this guy be the best on the island? Shouldn’t a doctor with the same equipment as the patient be the best?”
She rolled her eyes and pulled one of those paper sheet things around her, covering her nakedness. Not even close to good enough when there was about to be another man in this room, but I was pretty sure she wasn’t budging on this whole thing.
“Dr. Goodman is the best Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist in the state, and he just happens to live on the island. We should consider ourselves lucky.”
“I need to run for the school board,” I said, not at all happy even though I’d been right—she wasn’t budging. “Need to get some girls into those STEM classes and stuff. Start ’em in science young so they become the experts on all things…woman.”
Kate just laughed. “You’re ridiculous. Adorable, but ridiculous.”
I wasn’t going to argue with her, especially not when she was looking up at me the way she was. I couldn’t resist those soft, sweet smiles of hers. I tugged her closer, running my thumb over the ring on her finger. The one I’d put there just the week before in front of a handful of friends and family. The one that said she was mine.
“Not ridiculous, just lucky as sin and so fucking grateful.”
“I am, too, you know,” she whispered, holding the side of my face. “Lucky and grateful.”
I let that statement lie, even though I could’ve argued for days about how I was the lucky one. She was my heart, my soul—the one woman who could calm the storm in my mind and draw me back to my hometown. She was it for me, and I’d do everything I could to make sure I earned her heart.
When she was ready, I helped Kate onto the exam table. She probably could’ve done it herself, but why would I let her? She was in a fragile state, something she’d deny in a heartbeat if I tried to point that out. But seriously, the woman was carrying my baby. A baby neither of us had planned on or tried for. A fucking miracle considering Kate had been on birth control and we’d used condoms that whole first month together. My boys were unstoppable…a statement I could never say to Kate without getting The Look.
The door opened just as someone knocked twice, and a man’s voice asked, “Everyone ready for me?”
“No,” I whispered into Kate’s ear, making her giggle.
“Yes, of course.” Kate grabbed my hand as the curtain blocking the door opened wide and a tall man with glasses walked in. What was this…Doogie Howser? He looked younger than me. “How are you, Dr. Goodman?”
The so-called doctor typed a few things into the tablet he held before smiling at Kate. “I’m good, but the question of the hour is how are you, Madam Mayor? Adjusting to this new adventure okay?”
I huffed a laugh, and Kate hit my arm. “I’m fine. Adjusting to the idea of…a baby.”
Her smile nearly knocked me out, and I simply had to lean down to kiss her forehead. Yeah, she was adjusting. It’d been a rough couple of weeks after she’d found out she was pregnant. I wouldn’t ever forget the look of abject panic on her face when she’d come racing into the firehouse to tell me. She hadn’t been able to hold back her words, had stumbled over half-formed sentences and rambled on about all the things that could go wrong before she finally looked right at me and blurted out, “I’m pregnant.”
Thankfully, only Big John had been in the truck bay when she’d said that. Otherwise, the whole fucking island would know. We weren’t ready for that. John had told me to take my girl home, that he’d get someone to cover for me. A fact I still owed him for. Kate and I’d hunkered down at her place for two days, going back and forth about what this meant and how things would change.
All the while, I’d waited for her to wrap her head around the fact that we’d made a baby so we could celebrate the shit out of that. My Kitten needed to process stuff, though. She needed to get her bearings. It took time. Thank fuck I was a patient man.
“Why don’t you lie back and put your feet in the stirrups, Kate?” Dr. Goodman typed a little more in his tablet before setting it on the counter behind him and taking far too long to wash his hands. Finally, he took the seat next to Kate’s bed. The one with the computer set up in front of it. “Your blood work all looks great. We’re just going to do an internal ultrasound to better estimate the age of the fetus. I’m sure you’re aware, but with your age—”
“Yeah.” My girl sounded pissed as fuck. “I know. I’m too old to have a baby.”
“Not at all.” Goodman smiled as he placed something that looked like Bob Barker’s microphone from The Price is Right between Kate’s spread knees. What the fuck was that? “You’re perfectly healthy and obviously able to have a baby. We just like to keep a closer eye on things when our mothers are a bit more experienced at life.”
“See, Kate,” I said, leaning over her. “You’re not too old to be a mom. You’re just more experienced at life.”
“I will rip your dick off if you ever say that to me again.”
I cocked a grin and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “But then you’d be back to silicone and batteries, baby. We both know that’s not enough for you anymore.”
Kate tried to throw me a wicked sort of glare, but her lips twitched as if she were fighting a smile. “Cut it out, Riley.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Okay,” the doctor said, moving his arm around to where it disappeared under Kate’s gown. He had his hand on her pussy. On my pussy. That was all I could think about. At least until he started pointing a little red light toward the television at the end of the bed. “This is the placenta, and this is all amniotic fluid. Everything looks good, nice proportions.” He clicked a few buttons, and the picture zoomed in on a white blob. “And this is your baby.”
I stared as he froze the picture and used something to take measurements. Nothing he said mattered anymore. That was my baby. Our baby. When Kate had said she was pregnant, I’d believed her, but this…this was real. This was… My fucking baby was on that screen. Even if it did just look like a tiny white…blob.
A thumping sort of buzzing suddenly filled the room, and I tore my eyes away from my baby to check on the doctor. He focused on the screen, his arm still between Kate’s legs.
“There we go,” he said, grinning at Kate and me. “That’s your baby’s heartbeat.”
Kate’s hand squeezed mine, and when I looked down, she was staring at the screen with the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen. We locked gazes as the sound of our baby’s life filled the room, as it beat so fucking fast. How could it beat so fast?
“It’s quick,” Kate whispered, echoing my thoughts. The tone of her voice, the happiness and relief I heard there, was too much.
“It’s beautiful.” I leaned down to kiss her, my heart about to burst. “You’re beautiful.”
The sound continued for several minutes as the doctor babbled on about size and measurements, but I didn’t care. I had everything I ever could have wanted and more than I’d ever dreamed of having right there in my arms. He was no longer a concern.
“And that’s about it,” Dr. Goodman said eventually. The sound of my future cut off without warning, and he removed his hand from between Kate’s
legs.
The doctor stood and tossed his gloves in the trash before heading to the sink to wash his hands. “Everything looks great. You’re in excellent health, and the baby is progressing just as it should. Take your vitamins, drink your water, and try not to work yourself to death. You’re still going to be a little tired and likely sick to your stomach at times. Carry snacks with you, or the front desk has sour and ginger candies that may help. Do you have any questions for me?”
Kate glanced my way, turning back to the doc once I shook my head. I’d already read that What to Expect When You’re Expecting book and about six others I’d found at the local bookstore. I had a good understanding of the basics.
“No, I think we’re good,” she said.
“Great. Then I’ll let you two get back to your day.” He typed a few things into his tablet as he headed for the door. “I want you back in one month, Kate. I need to take extra good care of the mayor’s baby.”
With that, he was gone, and I was staring down at my entire world. “The mayor’s baby.”
“I heard.” Her smile fell, and she had that look on her face like she thought I wasn’t going to like what she had to say. “Riley, are you sure about this? I mean, it’s so—”
I kissed her hard and deep, stopping her words. We’d been around this merry-go-round a hundred times since she came bursting into the firehouse looking like she’d seen a ghost and babbling about babies and being selfish and…
Well, a bunch of bullshit, really.
“I’ve got this,” I whispered, going back for a few more soft kisses before holding her face in my hands and resting my forehead against hers. “Remember when I promised you that your career would be safe with me? I meant it. We’re having a baby, and once we do, you’re going to do whatever you want. Right now, that’s go back to work and run again in the next election. That’s fine by me.”
She grabbed my wrists, her eyes looking suspiciously watery. “I don’t know if I can handle letting strangers watch our baby.”
Oof. Yeah, that wasn’t happening. “Kitten, we were both raised here. We know just about every fucking person on this island. They wouldn’t be strangers.”