When I heard the baby cry I had forgotten what I thought and felt in that instant. Before me now was a tiny baby…that was practically flipping us off. Clearly she was not happy about having been born.
“Well, that’s one that’s not for the baby book,” Blake said.
“Aunt said my Mom said I did the same during her ultrasound,” I told him before looking at the doctor and giving an order, “Give me my baby!”
The baby was average length, weight, and had a set of lungs on her. It would be amazing if the entire hospital couldn’t hear those little lungs screaming away.
“Now, the next one should be easier,” I said. “Ladies usually say the first birth is the longest and hardest.” I looked to Blake, “Why are you grinning like that?”
“I think our mothers were right in that mothers always forget the labor process after the baby is born.”
Blake and I had decided to name her Elizabeth Rose after both of our grandmothers.
She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen and in my opinion that was not just motherly bias talking. She was the most beautiful baby.
Between the after school program opening and the birth of Elizabeth Rose my life felt complete and perfect.
I never would have thought that someone from my middle class background could find and marry such a wonderful man and have such a beautiful child. Yet, it happened and life was perfect.
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The Billionaire’s Secret Black Child
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The club was hot, and loud, and exactly what Melody needed. As she made her way over to the bar to get herself another drink a memory of her last conversation with her boss drifted through her mind, but it was easy enough to ignore. Once she had a glass of ice cold water in her hand she smiled. Maybe life wasn’t being far to her. That didn’t mean she couldn’t dance away the way she was feeling, and that was exactly what she was planning on doing, once her dry throat problem had been dealt with. She didn’t bother sipping. She wanted to be dancing. Instead she took down the whole glass in one long drink, before making her way back to where she’d been before. The music pounded through her and she let it take her. When she felt hands on her hips she didn’t stop. She moved with the stranger behind her.
After what felt like hours the stranger gently tugged her away from the dance floor. Melody needed another drink and when she turned she found herself staring into the eyes of a gorgeous man. He smiled at her. “Hi.”
Smiling back was easy. “Hi.” It was harder to stop her eyes from roaming, but she managed it. “Thanks for the dance.”
“You’re welcome. Can I get you a drink?”
“No, thanks. I’d prefer to get my own.”
“I promise I’m not going to do anything to it.”
“Words are easy.”
“True.” He took her hand. “At least let me pay for it.”
“Do I look like I can’t afford to pay for my own drink?” Melody kept her voice light, to show she was joking, and he laughed, which was a relief. “It’s really kind of you to offer, but I’m not here to spend time with other people.”
“Okay.” He shrugged. “If you want me to go…”
“Maybe we could dance again.” The words were out before she could stop them. She managed not to let her emotions show, keeping the smile where it was, because she didn’t want him to know she might have a little bit of a crush on him. “If you want to.”
“I’d like that.” His eyes twinkled. “Why are you here?”
“So I don’t have to think about things right now.”
He nodded. “If you need to talk then I’m sure we could find a quiet spot.”
“Talking is for another day. Tonight is for forgetting anything bad ever happened.” She squeezed his hand. “I do appreciate the offer.”
“I can help you to forget for tonight.” He surprised her by pulling her close and pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. “You don’t need to think about anything if you don’t want to.”
In the past Melody would have walked away. She’d never been all that interested in one night stands, no matter how enjoyable her friends said they were, but for him it was possible she might make an exception. Grinning, she raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to seduce me?”
***
The elevator was empty. He tugged Melody into it, and before she even realised what was happening the two of them were kissing. She didn’t even know which one of them had made the first move. It was entirely possible it was both of them at the same time, considering the way their bodies were melded together, which wouldn’t have been a bad thing. As he took a couple of steps backward she found herself pressed against the wall of the elevator. The coolness of it against her back was nicer than she expected it to be. Her body was still covered in sweat from dancing with him. When the door opened again they moved together. He had a key card in his hand, and they made their way down the hallway to find the room they were going to spend the night in.
Fortunately it didn’t take them long. They stepped into the room and that was it. Melody’s dress was on the other side of the room. His shirt joined it in no time at all, as their lips worked together. She’d never felt so needy before. With him all she wanted was for their bodies to be together. She tugged his trousers and boxers down, revealing a far larger erection than she expected. Once they were around his ankles she knelt in front of him and took his cock into her mouth. He moaned when she stroked her tongue around him, wanting to show him how much she wanted him, because she’d never wanted anyone more.
Making him cum like that was tempting. If it hadn’t been for him lifting her and carrying her over to the bed Melody probably would have done. He tugged her panties down, then off, tossing them towards her dress. At least that meant her clothes were together. He stroked her with a hand. “You’re so wet.”
Laughing, Melody shook her head. “You’re surprised by that.”
He’d been doing everything he could to convince her the two of them should have sex while they were on the dance floor, without using any words at all. In the end she had to give in. She wanted to give in. She looked up into his eyes and he smiled. Slowly he slipped himself inside her, and a sound of enjoyment left her throat before she had a chance to stop it, because it had been a very long time. His smile grew as he thrust deep into her, his thumb stroking her clit. That was unusual. Feeling that… it changed everything. All she could do was run her hands down his back as he showed her how good sex could be. Her climax hit her far faster than she was expecting, and his happened at the same time. As the waves of it hit her, over and over, she throbbed slightly. It had been far too long since someone else had made her cum.
Her mind was almost entirely good. He kissed her gently, and then picked her up, taking her into the bathroom where the shower was.
***
Leaving a hotel in the same dress she’d gone into it in was something Melody hoped she would never do again. She felt like everyone was looking at it. They all knew what she’d done. Her body definitely knew what she’d done. Between her legs felt almost raw, after all the sex she’d had, and she didn’t quite know how to deal with that. It was easier not to. At least she’d woken up before he had, which gave her a chance to escape without having to answer any difficult questions. Once she was out she felt a little more anonymous. That was a relief. Slowly, without letting herself think too much about the choices she’d made, she walked towards home, where she’d be able to spend some time in her bed before working out what her next step was going to be.
Work was the most important thing. Being told there wasn’t any space for her at the job she loved was the last thing Melody had expected, but it had happened and all she could do was accept that. Finding another job should be easy enough. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t had offers throughout the entire time she was working at Pearson and West. People wanted her to work for them, because they knew she was one of the best, which was why she was con
fused as to why she’d been told she didn’t have a job any longer. The only thing she could think was that it had something to do with the client she’d turned down… as though they actually wanted her to do something stupid like that. Sighing, she nibbled her bottom lip, and focused on not thinking about the position she’d lost. After she’d slept for a bit she could go through her emails. If she was lucky there would be something there she could use to change her future.
Going out clubbing wouldn’t have been a mistake if it hadn’t been for the guy she’d met. That… she shook her head. A one night stand. It was never going to happen again, no matter how good it had been at the time, because she felt like she’d used him to make herself feel better. Melody was unhappy with herself for doing something like that. Of course it was likely he knew going in that there would be nothing more than the one nigh of sex, but that didn’t change her. She wasn’t the sort of person who used people for a moment of gratification, and that was exactly what she felt like she’d done, no matter what he felt about it all. Maybe he was glad they’d spent the night together. Maybe he’d been ever more glad to find she was already gone and he didn’t have to deal with the difficult next morning conversation. How was she supposed to know? It wasn’t as though she’d even stopped to ask his name.
***
“You did what?” Elizabeth laughed. “How did it go?”
Melody shrugged. “As well as it was supposed to, I guess.” She sighed as she sipped her coffee. “I’m kinda angry with myself for doing it. That’s not who I am, Beth. I’ve never had a one night stand before.”
“Sweetie, I think you can cut yourself a little slack. Yesterday was a hard day for you and it isn’t unusual for people to make different decisions when their lives change unexpectedly.”
“I didn’t even ask his name.”
“Did he ask yours?”
“No.”
“Then don’t feel guilty. Obviously the two of you weren’t sharing names, and that’s okay. You didn’t have to.”
“Okay.” Melody shook her head. “Why do I feel so bad about this?”
“You are who you are.” Elizabeth reached out to take Melody’s hand. “I’m not surprised you’re dealing with these emotions after what happened. Having a one night stand isn’t normal for you, but that doesn’t mean you should feel so disappointed in yourself for doing it. You’re on the pill, right?”
Melody nodded. “Technically I should have nothing to worry about.”
“There is nothing to worry about. You’re not going to be one of those people who has their contraception fail on them.”
“Please don’t say things like that. I feel like you’ve just jinxed it.”
“What would you do if you were pregnant?”
“Cry. I don’t want to have a baby right now. I’ve just started at a new company, and having a baby… it would screw everything up.” Melody made a face at Elizabeth. “It’s not going to happen. It was one night, I’m on the pill, and the chances of me being pregnant are so small that I don’t need to think about this. Why did you bring it up?”
“You have to think about every possibility, Mel, and being pregnant is one of them. Are you going to tell him?”
“I don’t even know his name. How would I go about finding someone like that?”
“Go back to the club.”
“I’ve never seen him there before and I have been there more than enough times to know if he was a regular.” Going clubbing was Melody’s way of letting off steam. She loved dancing more than anything, and if she hadn’t gone into law she was certain she would have become a dancer. “I’m not going to need to find him.” She sipped her coffee. “Life isn’t going to be that unfair to me. I’ve already had to deal with finding a new job when I wasn’t expecting to. The last thing it’s going to do is add a baby into the mix, especially when it’s a baby I’d be having with someone I don’t know.”
“The other option you have is abortion. It might be the most sensible thing to do.”
“It probably would be, but could I do that without talking to the father first? I know I don’t have to. I just don’t know if I could make that sort of decision without getting him involved.”
***
Elizabeth had jinxed Melody. Three mornings in a row she’d woken up and needed to throw up at the scent of the coffee brewing in the kitchen. As there was no other reason for that to happen she knew she didn’t have any other option - a pregnancy test would tell her what she needed to know. When that was done… she shook her head. Finding the nameless man wasn’t going to be an easy job. Starting at the club probably was the best option. He might be there, if she was really lucky. Sighing, she waited for the thing to tell her if she was pregnant or not, because she really didn’t want to be. Maybe she had a really weird form of stomach flu.
Then her hope faded. Melody’s test was positive. She was pregnant with some man she didn’t know, and she never thought something like that could happen to her. Of course that meant she was an idiot. Her idiocy had led to her pregnancy, because she never should have relied on one form of contraception, especially when she was fucking someone she’d never met before. Feeling far more uncertain about her future than she had done before she wrapped the test in tissue paper and put it in her bag. The time would come when she’d have to prove her pregnancy to someone and that meant using her positive test.
As she walked through reception one of the women had a magazine in her hand. Melody didn’t normally pay much attention to them, but there was something about the guy on the cover that made her think she knew him. Doing her best to seem as natural as possible she made her way over to the woman in question. “Hey.” Melody smiled when she looked up. “This is probably going to seem weird, but I was hoping you’d be willing to show me the cover of your magazine, just for a moment.”
Smiling back, the woman nodded. “I don’t have a problem with that.” She closed the magazine, but kept her finger in place. “This is Leo Cipriani. He’s a playboy, well known for hopping into people’s beds.”
Melody’s heart dropped, but she managed to hold onto her smile. Fortunately that was one of the things she was good at. “He looks a lot like a guy I used to go to school with.” She shook. “I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
“No problem.”
The woman turned back to whatever it was she’d been reading as Melody went back to her office. Having the name made it easy for her to search for the guy in question and what she learnt about him made her believe the best choice she could make was to have an abortion. She couldn’t have a baby with someone like him. He’d probably be willing to pay child support, after she had a paternity test, but she’d be a single mother, which really wasn’t going to work.
***
Like it always was the club was loud, hot, and exactly the place Melody wanted to be. When she was dancing she didn’t have to think about the choices she had to make in the future. A pair of hands rested on her hips the same way they had done when she first met Leo and she turned. As her eyes met with his she shook her head. “You are not the person I wanted to see right now.”
“You’re the person I wanted to see.” He smiled at her. “I hoped I’d be able to find you here. You left without saying a word, and I was worried about you.”
Melody laughed. “Like I’m any different to the other women you fuck.” She shook her head. “I was lucky enough to find out all about you.”
“That isn’t who I am. People think that of me, because I’m not exactly great at relationships, but you really shouldn’t believe everything you read.” He brushed a hand through his hair. “Can we talk?”
“I think it would be better if we didn’t right now. I’m here because I don’t want to be around people, and you are included in that this time.”
“Can I at least get your number? I don’t want to lose you again.”
“Please don’t try to pretend you have any interest in me as a person, Leo. Why would you? You have no idea who I am
.”
“After looking into you I think I do have some idea, Melody.” He studied her, and Melody tried to hide her emotions. She didn’t know how well it was working. A part of her wanted to burst into tears, because that was what she did ever since she’d found out she truly was pregnant, while the rest of her wanted to walk away from him. Knowing she needed to talk to him about his baby didn’t make it any easier. “I did think about turning up at your work, if I didn’t find you here. I haven’t been able to think of anyone else since the night we spent together.”
“Do you really expect me to believe that? I’m sure you have plenty of women who’d jump at the chance of being in your bed.”
“Yeah, I do, and that’s part of the reason I’m not interested. I don’t want to be with someone who wants to be with Leo Cipriani. I want to be with someone who wants me.”
“I don’t know you.”
“Yet.”
“I don’t want to get to know you.” She realised her hand had found it’s way onto her stomach, which was happening far too regularly. For a second she couldn’t help thinking about what their baby might look like. The skin would be between the two of them, so probably a caramel colour, and if they ended up having Leo’s bright green eyes they’d be a heart breaker… just like their father. “I’m sorry, Leo.”
He glanced down at her hand. “Is there something you need to tell me?”
***
Even the smell of coffee still made Melody feel sick, so she bought a hot chocolate, in the hope the scent of the chocolate would mask the coffee. “I was going to contact you.” She brushed a hand through her hair. “I promise I wasn’t going to make any decision without you being involved.”
The Alpha Billionaire's Unexpected Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Pregnancy Romance Page 102