by Rye Hart
“Okay, so I can’t give you any advice. But it’s obvious you’re all twisted up about this. When was the last time you two spoke?”
“A week ago.”
“Well, look. I promised Audrey pizza and ice cream for dinner the last time I came to visit. Take the night off of thinking and come out with us.”
“Thanks,” I said flatly, disappointed that he couldn’t just tell me what to do.
“I can’t tell you to go for it. You hardly know the girl, and your life is what it is. I can tell you that I know you, and I know your tone of voice. I know how harshly you can talk sometimes. You might owe her a conversation just to apologize, depending on how worked up and tense you got on that phone call.”
Shit. I hadn’t even thought about that. “Fuck me,” I said.
“No, thanks. But now I want pizza, so let’s get Audrey from school and do an early dinner,” Hudson said.
Audrey ran into Hudson’s arms, and the three of us went out to dinner. Even with that distraction, I couldn't stop thinking about Heather and how she must’ve been feeling after our phone call. She hadn’t tried to call me, but I hadn’t tried to call either. The least I could’ve done was check up on her.
So after we all got back to the cabin, I left my daughter with Hudson and headed back into town.
I walked into the bakery and saw Heather whirling around back. I knew she was only minutes from closing the shop down, but I needed to see her. After Hudson mentioning an apology, I couldn’t shake the fact that I owed her at least that after the abrupt way I ended conversation.
When she turned around to see me, I didn’t get the reaction I expected.
“Andrew,” she said with a smile. “What are you doing here?”
She was smiling at me?
“Is Rebecca with you?” she asked.
“No. She’s, uh, with a friend of mine,” I said.
“Oh. Well, let me get a cinnamon roll for her so you can take it with you. Do you want one?”
Why was she being so friendly?
“I wanted to apologize,” I said.
Her body stopped in the doorway of her kitchen before she slowly turned around.
“The way I ended things, it wasn’t right. You were being honest with me, and I was coldhearted about it.”
“It’s fine. I mean, I get it,” Heather said. “So should I get those—”
“I’m leaving to go out of town for a few weeks,” I blurted out.
“Oh. Well, safe travels.”
Fuck, I was making a mess of this.
“I don’t want to leave things like this between us.”
I took a step toward the counter, and she eyed me carefully.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“Just some important family stuff has come up.”
I felt scatterbrained. Distracted. Out of control. And she looked so adorable with her apron and that dusting of flour against her nose.
I watched her cheeks flush with that beautiful pink color, and I took a chance. I stepped through the swinging barrier and headed for her, watching her for any sort of disapproval.
She looked confused but didn’t back away.
“Heather.”
Our bodies were close. Her head craned back to keep my eyes in view. I lifted my thumb and slid it down the bridge of her nose, dusting that flour off the tip. My fingertips slid across her skin, shaking as I watched her flush underneath my touch. I cradled her cheek in the palm of my hand, and she nuzzled into my touch.
Shit. I was teetering on an edge I’d never come back from.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“I understand,” Heather said. “Don’t worry. I do get it. I’m not upset.”
“I should never have—”
I felt her rise onto her tiptoes as her hands planted against my chest. Soft. Sweet. With a delicate touch and a hesitant curiosity. Her lips came closer to mine. Her eyes focused on my gaze. My arm slid around her waist, and I pulled her close to me, closing the distance between our hips. My cock jumped to life at the hint of her heat warming my thighs. My nose brushed against hers as our lips grew closer. Closer. Sinfully closer.
“I don’t want to leave things the way they are,” I said. “I can’t.”
“Then don’t,” she said with a whisper.
Our lips connected, and fireworks burst in my brain. I walked her backward, charging until her back knocked against the metal baking table in her kitchen. Her hands rushed to my hair, slid through my locks as my hands gripped her hips. Our tongues collided. White-hot fire rushed through my veins. I lapped at the roof of her mouth, groaning when she whimpered into me. I grabbed her hips and hoisted her up, sitting her on the edge of her table.
Her fingers made quick work of my shirt. Unbuttoning the buttons with the dexterity I’d expect of a baker. She slid it off my shoulders as I worked off her apron, and soon our clothes were hitting the floor. Her body was even more incredible underneath her clothes. Her skin was soft and her curves were perfect places for me to rest my hands.
And oh, how she moaned for me.
I climbed up onto her table as my cock throbbed against her thigh. I nibbled her neck and kissed down her tits, reaching for the icing in my periphery. I slid my fingertip into it and traced icing designs all along her body. I circled her nipples with it and dipped some into her belly button. I coated her thighs and slid some along her sweet pussy lips. She squirmed underneath me. She gripped my hair. She shook with every stroke my fingers took against her body, so responsive to my touch.
Finally, I’d get to feel her. Finally, I’d get to taste her.
“Don’t stop,” she said with a whisper, the sweetest little phrase to fall from her pouty lips.
I rose up and dipped my finger into the icing one last time. I held it up to her lips and watched her suck my fingers back. My cock jumped. My veins pulsed. My mind swirled with all the fantasies I wanted to fulfill with her body. She slid her lips along my fingers, licking the icing off them with her warm tongue.
I crashed my lips against hers and fisted her hair before I followed the trail of sweetness I left behind.
My knees were coated in flour. It sprayed everywhere as she arched and dipped and swayed. I puckered my lips around her tits, licking the icing off them and watching her jump at the feel of my tongue. She moaned. Groaned. Begged for more as I slid my tongue down her body. I dipped it into her belly button and watched her smile. Her giggle fell against my ears as I continued. I traced the lines of her waist. Bit into the excess of her hips. Devoured the beauty of her thighs as the icing melted in my mouth.
Then, I looked at her dripping pussy.
I couldn't wait a second longer.
I planted my face into her lips and moaned at her taste. She arched into me, breathless as her hips rolled against my mouth. My tongue raked along her clit. My cheeks got coated in the stickiness of her body. My hands pinned her hips down, rendering her motionless as I slid my tongue up and down her slit. I pushed into her. Swallowed her down and memorized her scent. I imprinted my fingerprints on her skin as she ground against my lips, begging breathlessly for more. More. And even more still.
“It’s coming. It’s close. Don’t stop. Right there. Please, Andrew. Please.”
One day, I’d hear my own name drip from her lips. After I got back from this trip, I’d tell her everything.
I wanted that for her. For us. I didn’t want this to be the last time I had her.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Her back arched, and her pussy fluttered around my lips. I sucked her clit between my teeth and flicked the tip at lightning speed. Her thighs squeezed my cheeks. A puff of flour kicked up around us. I wiggled my face. Dug my tongue deeper. Licked every part of her pussy clean and felt her melt against my tongue. Her hands fisted my hair. Her nailed raked against my scalp.
Then her back hit the table, and I rushed up her body.
I couldn't wait a second longer. I had to be inside her. I leaned back and
felt her legs wrap around me as I slid my dick into her. She arched so pleasantly for me. Her hands rushed to her tits, and she tugged at her nipples. Such a beautiful sight, my cock entering her body. I grabbed her hips and pounded into her, leaving nothing to the imagination with my touch. My balls smacked her ass while her hands curled into my thighs, grabbing onto anything she could as things fell off her table.
Milk. Eggs. A bag of flour. A mixture of something that splattered all over the floor.
“Holy hell, Heather. So good. So beautiful. So fucking tight.”
“Andrew, don’t stop. Please, don’t stop. Do. Not. Stop.”
Her breathless voice. Her wonderful moans. It swirled around my head as the mess of wet flour coated our bodies. Sweat dripped down my skin as I fell against her, my hands falling beside her head. I rolled into her. I felt her hands grip my ass. I plunged deeper into her body, her walls massaging my cock as her eyes rolled into the back of her head.
“Do it,” I said. “Come for me.”
And like the wonderful woman she was, her body exploded.
I had to stop. I had to bite down on my lip to keep from painting her core with my cum. Her walls fluttered and held me in a grip I’d never felt before. My face dropped to her neck. She ran her hands down my back. Her nails felt like heaven, and her pussy felt like the sweetest heaven I’d ever been dropped into. She relaxed against the table, shaking. Her jaw trembled. Whimpers fell from her lips.
I pulled her into me and sat up, feeling her curves drape over my skin.
I grasped her ass and rolled her body into mine. My legs spread out, knocking the rest of the utensils off the table. Flour coated the entire kitchen as her arms wrapped around my neck. She kissed me. Nibbled me. Lapped her tongue against my ear. I thrust my hips up into her. I wrapped my hands around her as she found her strength. Her thighs gripped me, her pussy massaged me, and her sweet, hot breath condensed in the crook of my neck.
“Andrew. I missed you. I missed you so much.”
I closed my eyes, reveling in her words as I kissed her shoulders. Her neck. Her cheeks. Her ear.
I felt myself rising to the top. Her pussy was too much, and her body called to me in ways I couldn't deny any longer. I’d come back to her. I’d come back for her. I’d come back with a new life I could lead. She bucked against me, bounced on my lap and coated me with her scent. Her juices dripped onto my lap. The sounds of wet skin slapping wet skin filled her kitchen. I captured her lips. I fell back on the table. The cloud of flour I kicked up surrounded us, blocking the rest of the world out as I gazed into her beautiful brown eyes.
“Heather. Fucking… shit. It’s… Heather, I-”
I slammed into her one last time before my cock took over. My balls drew tightly to my body as my arms pulled her as close as I could get her. She wrapped around me. Squeezed me. Burrowed into me as I came deep in her pussy. I emptied my seed into her as she fell apart, convulsing and shivering while her pussy vibrated around me. She gasped in my ear. Moaned my name and fueled the fire in my gut.
She’d say my name, my real name. Soon.
Sweat poured down my brow as she collapsed against me. I held her close as the flour wall settled, and nothing but our panting for breath filled the kitchen. I closed my eyes. I took in everything about her. The feel of her. The smell of her. The taste of her.
It would have to get me by for the next few weeks, but at least there was hope. With everything I loved at stake right now, I’d take any type of hope I could get.
CHAPTER 12
HEATHER
FOUR WEEKS LATER
Even though Andrew was out of town, he kept in touch when he could. I hoped he was having a good time with his family, but I couldn't get him off my mind. He’d been gone almost a month, and I missed him more and more with each passing day. I enjoyed talking with him. I enjoyed the pictures he was sending me, the videos of Rebecca and how happy she was to talk to me.
It gave me hope that things might work out with us when he got back into town.
I didn’t know where things would lead, but I was grateful to have him. Nikki seemed on board as well, constantly teasing me about how she was right. But for the past two days, I hadn’t been feeling well. I kept getting headaches at work, and I was struggling to work with some of the recipes I used regularly in my bakery.
So, I decided to shut down and make an appointment with my doctor.
I figured it would be something easy to solve. I had to sleep off the flu or take some sinus medication or get an antibiotic for some sort of infection I’d picked up somewhere, but when the doctor came in with a smile on his face, I was confused.
Until he uttered those two words.
“You’re pregnant.”
My mind went blank. My heart stopped. The doctor started talking, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. He handed me a bag with stuff inside of it. A bottle of pills. Pamphlets. Phone numbers for something. He slid a sheet of paper in there that was highlighted, and I pulled that back out. I was pregnant?
Pregnancy: Positive. There it was on that paper in plain English.
I was pregnant.
“Do you have an obstetrician?” the doctor asked.
His question ripped me from my trance, and my mind jumped into overdrive. My last period. Oh my gosh. I was a week and a half late. I had to call Andrew. I needed to tell him what was going on.
“No,” I said. “I have to go.”
I slid off the doctor’s table and rushed out the door. I fumbled with my phone and opened up a text message I had from Andrew. He was back in town. Shit. Fuck. Okay. He was back in town. That was good. This was definitely not a phone conversation. This was a face to face conversation.
“Well, that was—”
“Can we meet for lunch?” I asked.
“Heather, what's wrong?” Andrew asked.
“I saw your text. You’re back in town. We need to meet for lunch. Can you?” I asked.
“Talk to me.”
“No. Not this time. Not over the phone. Please, meet me for lunch, Andrew.”
“Okay. Okay. That’s fine. Where do you want to meet?”
“There’s a sub shop next to my bakery. Can you meet me there?” I asked.
“I’m heading out the door now. Heather, you’re worrying me.”
“Just come on,” I said.
I hung up the phone and flagged down a taxi. Fuck me, I really needed to get a car. I threw some money at him and told him where to go and then jumped out of the car to head straight into the sub shop. I sat down in a booth at the back, put the bag on the table, and then slid the piece of paper out the doctor had highlighted for me.
I didn’t look up from it until Andrew slid into the booth.
“Where’s Rebecca?” I asked.
“I was able to drop her off for a half-day at school,” he said. “She wasn’t the happiest about it, but the urgency in your voice made me hesitant to bring her.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—I …”
“What’s that?” he asked. “Did you go to the doctor?”
I couldn't speak. Instead, I slid the piece of paper over to him. He picked it up, holding it in his fingers as his eyes flickered across the highlighted words.
Then, his eyes widened.
“You’re pregnant?” he asked.
“I, um, I mean, I hadn’t been feeling well the past couple of days. I figured it was the flu or something, so I booked an appointment and the doctor came back with this.”
His eyes fell back to the sheet of paper before a huge smile crept across his cheeks.
“Heather, you’re pregnant,” he said.
“I know,” I said.
“Do you need anything? Wait a second, how much was that appointment? That’s my bill to foot. Are you feeling sick right now? Because we can leave and go get you something for it.”
I reached out and took his hands in mine to settle his questions. They were sweet, but I wasn’t concerned about that. I knew A
ndrew would take care of me. I knew he was that kind of man, but that wasn’t where my worry lied.
“We canceled our agreement,” I said.
“That doesn’t matter. You’re carrying my child. This due date on the paper, it lines up with when—”
“I know,” I said. “But the reason we canceled in the first place …”
His eyes met mine, and I watched him nod.
“I’m okay,” I said. “I’ve got a bottle of prenatal vitamins in that bag along with a lot of information to read over. I’ve got a headache, but that’s been normal for a couple of days now. I’m struggling with some recipes in the shop, but nothing I can’t handle. That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“You’re worried about us,” he said.
“I am. The status of our relationship is shaky, at best.”
“I wasn’t under that impression when I left.”
“We didn’t really … discuss things,” I said with a grin.
He chuckled as his hands encompassed mine. It felt good to be back within reaching distance of him.
“It’s good to see you,” I said.
“It’s good to see you, too, and I don’t want you worrying about all this relationship stuff. It’ll work out, okay? I’m here, and I’m not leaving your side. Whatever you need, it’ll be covered. Agency or not. I’ll be there for every appointment, and if you ever need something, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Okay,” I said. “I believe you.”
“Good,” he said as he bent down to kiss my hands. “That’s good. That’s a good start.”
“So how was your trip to see your family?”
His face grew somber, and it made me worried.
“Let’s focus on something happier,” he said. “Like this. Like you. Like us. Like this child.”
“You don’t want to talk about it?” I asked.
“Not right now, no.”
“Well, whatever happened, whenever you do want to talk about it? I’m here, okay? It works both ways.”
“Thank you, Heather. I appreciate it.”
I didn’t like the look in his eyes. The way his demeanor changed almost instantaneously, but I didn’t want to push the topic any further. I wanted to relish in the happiness that seemed to be radiating off him. It was a relief that this would be treated like it would have been through the agency, but I was also glad we were done with that place. I wanted to get to know him. To be with him. To smile with him and laugh with him without an agency constantly breathing down our necks.