She had candles lit and soft music playing, and he was enchanted when he stepped out into the night on the balcony with her. He took her hand and pulled her gently into his arms, swaying and dancing with her to the old jazz standards. He kissed her cheek, and then he kissed her lips, and not long after that, they were making love with one another in bed, all through the night, and when they were done, she gazed into his eyes and asked him to stay the night with her and sleep beside her.
He acquiesced. In the wee hours of the morning, he woke to find her mouth on his solid erection, and he nearly came down her throat before he was able to restrain himself and enter her body to make love with her. They fell asleep after that, and when they woke late in the morning he made love with her one more time, sweet and long and slow, and finally told her goodbye, kissing her mouth tenderly as he stood in the doorway.
“When will you be back?” she whispered, touching his lips with her fingers. She was struggling with containing her growing feelings for him.
He stared hard at her. “When do you want me back?” he asked, deeply intent on her.
She gazed at him up through her thick lashes. “As soon as you can come back.”
Pierce pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately, feeling the longing for her return before he let her go. “Then I’ll see you soon,” he answered quietly and turned, leaving her behind him.
Kate went to her classes and did her best to focus on them, but he dominated her thoughts. It was frustrating to her, and she resented the fact that she couldn’t stop thinking about him. She knew that she had no business thinking about him and that she shouldn’t be allowing herself to do it at all, but knowing it and doing it were two different things.
Olivia caught up with her after her last class, and the two of them went to a café near the campus to have coffee and catch up. Olivia was going on and on about her husband Jonathon and how sweet he was and much they both loved married life, but she caught Kate thinking distractedly and asked her what was on her mind.
“It’s Pierce,” she sighed.
Olivia frowned and peered at her. “I knew it. Alright. What’s going on?”
Kate buried her face in her hands for a moment and then looked over at her best friend. “Okay. So, I haven’t told anyone this, but… I’m pregnant.”
“Oh my god! Finally! That’s fantastic! Congratulations!!” Olivia was beaming with excitement for her friend until she saw that Kate was not even remotely as thrilled as she ought to have been. “What’s the matter? I thought this was what you wanted.”
“Well, it is, or it was, until Pierce and I started really hitting it off between the sheets. I know this sounds awful, but when he finds out I’m pregnant, we won’t be having sex anymore, and I just don’t want to give it up. I don’t want to lose what he and I have. I don’t mean just the sex, I mean all the hanging out and friendship and the amazing incredible sex, and… all of it. It’s going to be gone. I’ll be pregnant and he’ll be done. I don’t want it to end yet. I want to hold on to all of it and hold on to him for as long as I can.” She couldn’t hide the sadness in her.
“So he doesn’t know you’re pregnant. You’re lying to him right now so you can keep having sex with him.” Olivia shook her head and planted her hands on her hips. “Girl, you got it so bad. Let me ask you this. Just how long do you think you can keep this up before he finds out?”
“Two weeks. He’s going to find out in two weeks. That’s when the nurse that he hired to take care of me will come to the condo to do blood work on me, and when she does the blood work, she will find out that I am pregnant and she’ll tell him. I’ll act surprised.” Kate sighed heavily and shrugged her shoulders. “Until then, I’m going to live it up and enjoy the hell out of him.”
Olivia frowned again. “You better be careful. I don’t want you getting hurt. This sounds like the highway to heartbreak if you ask me.”
“I’ll be careful. It’s just two weeks. I won’t get caught and I won’t get hurt. I’m not in love with him, I just… I just don’t want what we have to end. That’s all.” Kate vowed to herself that what she said was true, and that she would be able to let it all go when the time came to do that.
Kate was delighted to get a phone call from Pierce asking her to come out to dinner with him. She wore one of her best dresses, and loved every minute of him taking her out to one of the fanciest restaurants in all of Manhattan.
When their dinner was over, he took her for a horse-drawn carriage ride through Central Park, and as they rode along, they held hands and shared some sweet kisses. He paid a bit extra and the carriage driver delivered them to the building where she lived on Fifth Avenue. They got out and he helped her to the sidewalk. When the driver pulled away with his horse, Pierce took her in his arms and kissed her softly, giving her a tender smile.
Together they went up to the condo and made love long and slow for most of the night before falling asleep in each other’s arms. When she woke up in the morning, she saw that he was staring at her. She blinked and gave him a smile. “What are you doing?”
“Watching you sleep and thinking. I like watching you sleep. It’s peaceful to me. It brings me peace. Also, I have been thinking that I’m going to tell my father about the surrogacy. Not about how we’re doing it, but just about the surrogacy. I think I’m going to tell him today.” He looked certain of it.
She sat up in bed with wide eyes, taking in a sharp breath. “I thought you weren’t going to tell him until it was official. Not until we knew that I was pregnant.” She felt a flash of fear race through her heart. She panicked for an instant that Pierce might already know that she was carrying his child.
“I know I said that I was going to wait until we knew that you were pregnant, but I just have a good feeling about this. I feel like it’s the right time. He should know. After all, he’ll be a grandfather when it’s all said and done.” He beamed at the idea.
She looked doubtfully at him. “Well, he’s your dad. You know him best. If you think it’s a good idea, then go ahead and tell him and hope that nothing goes wrong between when you tell him and when we get pregnant.”
Pierce’s eyes sparkled. “I bet it happens soon.” He leaned over and kissed her mouth softly, reaching his hand to her belly. “I just bet there’s a little one in there before we know it.” He looked blissful at the idea, and for a second, just one second, she wanted to tell him. She wanted to be honest and tell him that his brand-new child was just beneath his hand and her skin, tucked safely away in the depths of her belly, where its father had put it. Then the rush of fear at losing him swept over her and she changed her mind.
“I bet you’re right, Pierce. I bet it happens really soon.” She smiled wistfully at him, knowing full well that it was going to happen just as soon as the nurse walked into the condo and took her blood. They would be pregnant then for sure.
She pulled him close to her again then, wrapping her legs around him and spellbinding him with her kiss as she drew his length into her body and began to ride him. He forgot about his father and the baby and everything but her as he pushed himself as far into her as he could and tasted the incredible sweetness of her lips against his, and felt the comfort and fire of her skin on his.
Pierce drove out to the Hamptons for dinner that night, knowing all of his family would be there, and it would enable him to tell them all at once. He walked into the Carrington family mansion; the biggest home on the east end of the island, by a lot, and headed to the dining room.
His siblings were there, along with his father, who had just walked into the room. Carter was a tall thin muscular man, and Pierce was a younger, slightly taller, much stronger version of him. It often pleased Pierce to think that when he was older he would so closely resemble what his father looked like as an old man.
“Pierce my boy! How are you today?” Carter asked with a smile as he looked over at his eldest son.
Pierce strode up to him purposefully and drew in a great breath. “Th
ere’s something that we need to talk about,” he began, not sure how to tell his family what he wanted to tell them.
“I’m ready to listen,” Carter replied, looking at his son seriously.
Pierce’s siblings all looked at him questioningly as well. “What is it?” Camilla asked, voicing what they were all wondering.
“Did the stock market crash again, brother dear?” Ryder asked flippantly as Lucas shot him a dark look.
Pierce spoke clearly and evenly. “I’ve hired a woman to be a surrogate mother for me so that I can become a father. I expect positive pregnancy results any time now. I thought that all of you should know.”
The room was so silent that one could have heard a pin drop, but the moment following that eternal silence was filled with questions and gasps of shock.
“What are you thinking?” Lucas asked incredulously. “You aren’t married, no wife, no mother for the kid. How are you going to take care of a baby? You’re too busy working all the time.”
Pierce was surprised that it was Lucas who was the first to berate him for his decision. He was expecting it from Ryder. Ryder stared at him and then began to nod.
“Good, brother. Very good. You need someone in your life; someone not us that you can care for. I think this is a bold move and I’m glad that you’re doing it. It’s going to be a great addition to this family.” Ryder hugged him and Camilla followed her twin to hug Pierce immediately as well.
“What are you talking about, Luke? You know I’ll be an auntie, and there’s nothing in the world that I wouldn’t do for any baby that any of us have. Congratulations, brother. I agree with Ryder. You’ve definitely earned this.”
They all looked at Carter then. Carter was staring at his son without expression at first, but then he began to smile, and the smile grew into a grin. “Congratulations, son. I understand completely. You want someone to leave your inheritance to… your legacy. You know exactly how I feel now. That’s something that comes of being a responsible father. I have long held a hope that you would one day soon have children of your own and that time is coming. I am proud of you for finding a way to make it happen, even though it might be seen by some as unconventional. You are and always have been a man ahead of your time; cutting edge, and in the lead on the curve. Well done. Please keep us updated on how it’s going. I must say, I’m thrilled at the prospect of becoming a grandfather. At this point in my life, nothing would make me happier.”
Lucas sighed and went to him, reaching for his hand and taking it in his grasp with a firm hold. “I am happy for you brother. I’m sorry I doubted you at first. Congratulations.” Pierce knew that his father and his siblings were absolutely genuine in their support of him, and it meant the world to him.
“Thank you all, it really does mean everything to me, and I’m so grateful for your support and loyalty. I hope to be a father soon, and I hope to be a good father.” He felt the grin start around his own face and then it was Lucas who called out to the staff, “Champagne! We need to celebrate! Champagne to ring in the new little one we will have in this family!”
Moments later they were pouring Cristal and toasting each other and Pierce. He felt blessed to be in the family that he was in. He only wished sorely that he had brought Kate with him and that she was part of the celebration, because she was the one who would bring it all to life, literally.
All through the celebration with his family that night, his mind kept straying to her, and when the meal was done and everyone had gone their own ways and bidden him good luck and good night, he went out behind the massive house to the ocean that washed into the sandy beach for quite a distance along their property.
He kicked off his shoes where the grass met the sand and he strode with his hands in his pants pockets, thinking deeply about everything that was happening. He realized that he was thinking of Kate far too much, much more than he should have been, and he realized that he wanted her more than he should. As he walked along the sandy shore, he thought hard about just what it was that he wanted and what he most wanted was a child. She was at best a considerable distraction, and one that was shifting his focus from the child he was trying to bring into the world.
With a heavy heart, he realized that he needed to stay away from her. As soon as the pregnancy was confirmed, he would have to distance himself from her. She would carry the child, he would become a father, and she would go on her way. She would be the most incredible affair that he had ever had, but he would let her go at the end so that he could hold on to his child wholly and completely.
He left his father’s house late that night and drove back into the city. He had intended to talk with her about it, but the closer he got to the condo and to her, the more he thought that he still had a little time with her, between that moment and whenever she became pregnant, he could have her all he wanted her, which was more than he could believe, and it would be a sweet gift; a momentary window in time when he would have and hold more passion than he had ever known.
By the time he got to the door of the condo, all he wanted was her in his arms for the whole night. He went in and found her sleeping in bed. He pulled his clothes off and slipped into bed beside her, pressing himself up against her, and somewhere in her dreams and sleep, she must have realized that he was there. She snuggled up to him as well, turning and nuzzling up against his chest and kissing him once in her sleep. He held her for a long while, his thoughts in turmoil, before sleep finally took him.
Chapter8
In the days between Pierce’s dinner with his family and the visit at the condo from the nurse, both Pierce and Kate spent as much time as they could together, though neither one of them let on to the other just what they were doing and why.
For the entire duration of that time, neither one of them said anything about the possible baby or a pregnancy. They both just simply enjoyed the other, going out for meals and walks in the park, dancing and museums, cooking together and watching movies, holding hands and making love nearly everywhere.
It was like a surreal dream to them both, and though it was a great deal of time together, both of them only wanted more of it; wanted it to continue. The day of the nurse’s visit to the condo came, and Pierce was standing in the bathroom shaving, when he happened to reach into the cabinet beneath the sink and saw that stack of packaged pregnancy tests that Kate had been using regularly to home test for positive results. He stood back up and looked in the mirror and thought about the nurse coming to do the blood draw that day, and he realized that he didn’t want to know if she was pregnant. He realized that if the nurse took a draw that was positive, he and Kate would no longer be having sex and all the intimacy between them would be gone. There would be no reason or purpose for it, other than pleasure.
The thought of never touching her again was tough for him to consider. It was as jolting to him as a lightning bolt. He swallowed hard at the realization and tried to push it from his mind, but it stayed there all through the morning as they cooked breakfast together and neither one of them said a word about it.
The nurse came late in the morning and both of them smiled politely, but neither of them said much about it. The nurse did the blood draw and told them that she would call them later with the results.
Pierce left the condo for meetings that he had and business that he needed to tend to, and Kate went to school. She tried to focus on her studies, but she knew full well what result the tests would have, and what the consequence of those results would be, and as much as she had tried to avoid it, her heart hurt. She had trouble focusing in class. All she could think of was Pierce.
It was surprising to her that he didn’t already know. Her body was going through substantial changes even though she was newly pregnant, and as her almost constant lover, she would have guessed that he would have noticed those subtle changes, but either he hadn’t noticed them or he had noticed them and had decided not to say anything.
It was only a few hours later when the nurse called her, and though she al
ready knew what the results were, she knew she had to play it off as a surprise. The nurse was giddy with excitement for her and Pierce, calling with glee to tell them that the pregnancy had taken. She told Kate that she should go in right away for her first baby appointment and more testing and blood work. Kate thanked her and tried to sound as happy as she could. She did not bother to call Pierce because she knew that the nurse would do that.
The nurse did do that. Calling Pierce was second on her list, and when Pierce answered the call, he already had a feeling that he knew what she was going to say, and he was right. Mixed emotions rushed through him. He felt elated and excited over the happy news that he was going to be a father, and simultaneously he felt that his heart might not have ever hurt so much over the acknowledgment that he and Kate were no longer to be lovers. Their work was done, and the reward for it was on the way.
He bought three dozen long stemmed red roses and had them delivered at the same time that he went to go see her. She was waiting for him when he got there, and from the look on his face and the roses, she knew that he had been told. She looked up at him and gave him a slight smile.
The Billionaire's Secret Surrogate (MANHATTAN BACHELORS Book 4) Page 11