by Mia Caldwell
I’d picked the spot where the ceremony would take place, a clearing near a centuries-old oak tree whose leaves were just turning vibrant red and rust colors. Andrew had wanted us to marry in one of the ballrooms or staterooms inside his mansion, but I convinced him of the beauty of an outdoor ceremony. And I was glad I had. With the sun shining and a light breeze blowing, it felt like Mother Nature had given our union her blessing too.
I caught my father’s eyes, and while he smiled, I could still tell he was a little uncomfortable. He’d only met Andrew for the first time two days earlier when he drove into town from his home in upstate New York. Over an awkward lunch, Andrew and I broke the news I was pregnant. My father was shocked at first, but Andrew and I convinced him that we loved each other and weren’t marrying solely because I was pregnant.
However, neither one of us told my father about the arrangement that brought Andrew and me together in the first place. There didn’t seem to be any point to do so because that contract was a thing of the past. Andrew ordered his attorneys to destroy all copies of it a week ago, saying, “We don’t need it anymore. Saying ‘I do’ will be binding enough for the both of us, don’t you think?”
I agreed, although I gladly signed the prenuptial contract the Rutledge Electronics board of directors insisted upon. In the event Andrew and I divorced, I waived all rights to any of his shares of Rutledge Electronics stock, some kind of legal necessity to satisfy the shareholders. But it didn’t matter because Andrew added a clause that left me very well provided for if we ever split up. It made the three million dollars he originally agreed to pay me look like a pittance.
But I wasn’t marrying Andrew for his money, something I hoped his parents believed. Andrew had introduced me to each of them over the course of the last couple of weeks. Even though I’d met them at different times, I came away with the same impression of both his parents ─ nice people, but distant.
At first, I thought they might have a problem with my being African-American and their future grandchild being interracial. But when I brought it up with Andrew, he’d just snorted and shook his head.
“That’s just how my parents are, cold and detached. They’d act the same way whether I told them I was marrying the whitest blueblood on the planet or a purple woman with three heads. My parents have been emotionally constipated all my life. Now can you see why it took me so long to say ‘I love you?’ I got absolutely no guidance from my parents on how to share my emotions.”
But now ─ at least in these first moments of Andrew and me facing everyone as husband and wife ─ his parents seemed as happy and joyful as everyone else. As the wedding planner and Colleen shepherded the guests back towards the main house for the reception, Andrew said, “Ryanna and I will join you shortly. There’s a bit of paperwork we need to take care of first.”
“Huh? What paperwork?” I asked, but Andrew didn’t answer me, instead leading me towards a small guesthouse not too far away from our wedding spot.
He’d barely shut the door before he took me in his arms and began kissing me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave in to the wonderful sensations his touch always aroused in me. And I felt extra tingly since this was our first serious kiss as husband and wife.
When we finally broke apart, I looked up at Andrew and said, “There was no paperwork, was there?”
“Nope. I made up an excuse because I knew I wouldn’t last another minute without being able to hold you like this.”
I slid my hand down between his legs and felt the growing bulge there. “Feels like you have something else in mind besides just ‘holding’ me.”
He flashed me a sly smile. “Think we got time for a quickie before anyone misses us?”
“Somehow, I think they already suspect what the two of us are up to.” I unzipped the side panel of my off-white silk and lace dress I’d bought earlier in the week and shimmied out of it. Andrew gave me a curious look as I stood before him in only my strapless bra and panties.
“We can’t do a quickie in my wedding dress,” I told him. “It will get wrinkled and then everyone will know we kept them waiting because we were too busy doing it to join them.”
“I thought you said everyone already knew.”
“No, I said everyone probably already suspected. Suspecting and knowing are two entirely different things.”
“Well, if they already suspect, we can take our time then.” Andrew unhooked my bra, and my increasingly swollen breasts sprang free. He pulled me closer, carefully caressing them as he ground his erection into my already moist mound.
I unzipped the pants of his charcoal gray suite and pulled them down along with his boxers. His erect cock jutted out and I stroked the length of it, enjoying the way it swelled underneath my touch.
Andrew took a step back to slide my panties down my legs, doing so more rapidly than his usual lingering pace. “We are kinda on the clock here,” he said in response to my unasked question.
I giggled, loving the way we could tell what the other was thinking without saying a word. Andrew drew me close again and lifted me as if I weighed next to nothing. I wrapped my legs around his waist just as he spun around so that I was pressed against the door.
In an instant, he thrust his giant cock between my hot, wet pussy folds and into my waiting, throbbing hole. His breath was hot against my ear and neck as we rocked together frantically, faster than we ever had before. It was as if we were afraid the wedding guests would burst in at any minute and catch us in the act.
Even though it wasn’t the usual lingering, sensual style of lovemaking I’d grown accustomed to with Andrew, our fast-and-furious pace left me just as excited and heated as ever. I clenched my legs around his waist as he plunged his dick up into me, reaching the deepest part of me. My bud pounded and my heart raced to the point where it felt like I might pass out.
I reached the heights of bliss very quickly ─ like Andrew said, we were on the clock ─ and fell over the cliff into ecstasy just as fast. With a final pulsation from my bud, a hot, sticky wetness flooded my pussy. The sensation was only enhanced when Andrew climaxed, shooting spurt after spurt of cum into me. We both groaned as we sank to the floor, with Andrew still holding me tightly.
I’d barely caught my breath before a fit of giggles overtook me. “Our first time doing it as husband and wife and it was quick and dirty!”
Andrew chuckled with me. “We’ll do it our usual way where we take our time and enjoy each other, I promise.”
“But I enjoyed this! I’m not complaining. Sometimes it’s good to switch things up a little. Just because we’re married now doesn’t mean we have to be boring.”
“We’ll never be boring.” He raised my hand up to his lips and kissed it. “I love you, Ryanna, and I swear you’ll never be bored with me.”
“I know.” I lifted up my head to kiss him on his full lips. “And I’ll do my best to make sure you’re never bored with me either.”
“Will never happen,” he said. “But we probably need to get dressed and hurry to the reception before our guests get bored and leave.”
I giggled again, but did as Andrew said. As much I would have loved to stay there in the guesthouse in his warm embrace, we had a reception to attend. Besides, we would have tonight, tomorrow, and the rest of our lives to be together. I couldn’t wait to see what the future held.
CHAPTER FIVE
The rest of my pregnancy passed fairly uneventfully. The only minor hiccup came when the public relations department of Rutledge Electronics released a brief statement about its CEO, Andrew Rutledge, marrying his girlfriend, chemical engineer Ryanna Owens. Natalie used the opportunity to bash me on Facebook and Instagram, saying how I’d been “bought” and the marriage was a “sham.”
She’d had to resort to that after none of the other newspapers and tabloids would give her the time of day. But with Andrew’s acquisition of the microsystems company getting the board of directors’ approval, the media paid more attention to the increased
power and prominence of Rutledge Electronics than to the lurid rumors Natalie tried to spread.
I didn’t let Natalie’s attempts to disturb my happy new life bother me. However, I had a bone to pick with Andrew about the press release. “How can your PR people call me a chemical engineer when I haven’t worked as one outside of some college internships?”
“You studied and trained to be a chemical engineer, didn’t you? You even got hired as one. It wasn’t your fault the company didn’t have its act together and couldn’t follow through on the job offer until it was too late.”
NKL Laboratories finally got back to me, seven months after they’d suspended their offer of employment. Just for kicks, I responded to the recruiter’s invitation to meet him at his office. His face paled as soon as he saw my swollen belly.
“Um, uh, well, I’d called you in to inform you there’s a position available in one of our chemical engineering departments. But, um, I guess you won’t want to start work now.”
I could have made a stink about discrimination against pregnant women and employment rights. Instead, I shook my head and said, “I appreciate the consideration, but I have to withdraw my application. I’m sure you understand.”
The recruiter looked visibly relieved as we shook hands and I left his office. While the baby and Andrew were my main priorities now, I still wanted to pursue a career outside the home. I brought it up to Andrew one night. “Maybe when the baby’s older, I might go back to graduate school. I love science and want to continue my studies, maybe even fulfill my dream of working as a chemical engineer. Of course, this is when the baby is older and doesn’t need me as much.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Andrew had said and I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. “You were a bright, independent career focused woman when we met. I wouldn’t expect that part of you to change just because we’re having a baby, nor would I want it to. It will probably take some effort to re-prioritize things, but I will help and support you in any way I can.”
“I know, and that’s why I love you.”
Andrew’s support also extended to massaging my belly and giving me back rubs, which I appreciated more and more as the pregnancy progressed. The bigger my stomach got, the more my back hurt. Although I enjoyed being pregnant, especially with all the attention Andrew lavished on me, I looked forward to giving birth and leaving the aches and discomfort of my changing body behind.
While I’d planned a natural birth, the baby had other ideas. It turned into the breech position a couple of weeks before the due date and hadn’t shifted back by my fortieth week check-in, so the doctor scheduled me for a C-section.
“I’m sure the surgery will go fine. Our obstetrician is one of the best in the state. This may not be such bad thing,” Andrew said as we checked into the hospital.
“You’re just saying that because a C-section means my pussy stays tight,” I told him, covering my fears with crankiness.
As if he sensed I was masking my anxiety, Andrew kissed me and stroked my hair. “I love you. You and the baby will be fine.”
And he was right. At 9:17 that night, Andrew Gerald Rutledge, Jr. came into the world weighing seven pounds and eight ounces. He let out his first cry, filling me with a happiness and contentment I’d never known up until that point. Being secure in Andrew’s love was one thing, but hearing your newborn for the first time took my joy to a whole new level.
Andrew looked as if he’d been struck by the same sense of wonder as the doctor allowed him to cut the umbilical cord. The nurses wiped the blood and other fluids off of our son before wrapping him in a blanket and handing him back to me. Andrew leaned over as we both started into his tiny, wrinkly, perfect face.
“Thank you, Ryanna,” he whispered as he used his finger to trace the outline of the edge of the blanket near our son’s head. “You’ve given me everything I ever wanted.”
“And you’ve done the same for me.” I lifted up my chin and he lowered his mouth on to mine to kiss me. With Andrew Jr. finally here, life felt complete and I couldn’t have been happier.
THE END
EPILOGUE
“Bam! Bam! Bam!”
I watched with a mixture of delight and exasperation as my son, Andrew Jr., or AJ as his father and I called him, pounded his peas with his fists instead of eating them. AJ had his own way of doing things, something that became more evident when he entered the ‘terrible twos’ a month ago. I insisted to my husband, Andrew, that AJ got the stubborn, willful streak from him. However, Andrew was just as adamant that AJ got it from me.
Truth was, AJ had a mixture of both of our best qualities, and a few of our not-so-good ones. He got Andrew’s clear green eyes and square jaw while he inherited my nose and curly dark hair. However, AJ most resembled his father when he smiled, a smile that would probably break more than a few hearts one day. Andrew’s smile was one of the things I loved most about him and I was glad to see he’d passed that feature on to our son.
Would our other children also get Andrew’s smile? I rubbed my hand over my stomach and smiled, curious about the new life growing within. I’d taken a pregnancy test yesterday, but got confirmation from the doctor that I was finally pregnant with our second child.
Andrew and I had been trying for over a year to have another baby, even since AJ turned one. But just like the frustration we’d experienced when trying to conceive AJ, my body wouldn’t cooperate with what my heart so desperately wanted.
“Ryanna, you just need to relax.” Andrew had said many times over the last few months. So many, in fact, I felt like bopping him upside the head if he repeated it one more time.
He must have sensed how close to physical violence I was because he didn’t say anything else as I consulted fertility specialists and tried every home remedy I could find on the internet. Yet conferring with experts and eating tons of asparagus (a woman on a fertility message board swore she’d conceived triplets by consuming it four times a week) brought me no closer to having a second child. Until now.
“Bam!” AJ looked up at me with a triumphant grin, having demolished the last of his peas.
“You’re supposed to eat your food, not crush it,” I said, trying to maintain the strictest tone I could manage. But from the way AJ’s eyes twinkled at me, he could probably tell his antics amused me as much as they did him.
“Mama!” He waved his sticky, food covered hands at me and I grabbed a handi-wipe to clean them. I reveled in the sound of my name, Mama, something I would never grow tired of hearing.
After cleaning him up, I lifted AJ from his chair and hugged him to me, inhaling his fresh baby scent. “Mama loves you so, so much. You know that?”
AJ responded by hugging me as hard as his little arms could manage. I twined my index finger around one of his soft curls and asked, “Bath time?”
“No! No! No!” As if he hadn’t made himself clear enough, AJ began to wriggle and kick. “No bath! No bath!”
“You tell her, son.” Andrew’s deep voice rang out over the nursery.
Both AJ and I looked up in happy surprise at the entrance of his father. AJ squealed and leaned forward, holding out his arms. I rose to my feet and handed AJ over, wishing I had my phone to take a picture of the most important men in my life embracing. Of course, I already had a million pictures of Andrew and AJ doing just that, but each time felt special and unique. It’s like I still couldn’t believe I’d married the love of my life and had this incredible child.
I gave Andrew and AJ their moment of bonding before asking, “What are you doing home so early? I thought you were meeting with some of the board members for dinner.”
“I moved a few things around to meet with them earlier so I could come home sooner. I’ve been late every night this week and wanted to make it here in time at least once to see my favorite little guy before his bedtime.”
Rutledge Electronics had grown by leaps and bounds in the last couple of years. The acquisition of the microsystems company
which was supposed to give Andrew more security and allow him to spend more time at home ended up having the opposite effect. The demands on Andrew’s time increased because the board of directors as well as shareholders wanted him to pursue even more acquisitions that would increase the wealth and power of the company.
It would have been easy to resent Andrew’s being gone so much, but I didn’t. The first year of motherhood consumed me to the point where I almost didn’t notice his absence. I’d gotten obsessed with being the best mother I could be. This included reading every parenting book I could get my hands on and logging on to every first-time parent message board I could find. I didn’t notice I’d begun neglecting my marriage until Andrew pointed it out one night after I’d shrugged off his caress to continue reading Parenting magazine on my iPad.
“You know it’s been a week since the last time we made love?” he asked as he punched the pillow on his side of the bed.
“No way, you’re exaggerating.” I racked my brain to remember the last time we’d had sex, but couldn’t come up with an exact date.
“Actually, it’s been eleven days. Not that I’m counting or anything. I only said a week because it sounded less pathetic.”
The edge in his voice put me on the defensive. “It’s not my fault you aren’t home more often. Of course our sex life will suffer if you choose to work so much.”
“Well, I’m here now, but you’d rather pay attention to whatever is on that stupid tablet than to me.”
I raised my voice to match his. “That’s because I’m reading up on how to be a good mother. It’s important I do so since it’s looking more and more like I’ll be a single mother in all but name only.”