by Amy Brent
“I haven’t forgotten about you and I never will.” Aaron told her, turning to walk away as she stared at him. She wanted to scream for him to come back and tell him that it was his baby…that she loved him. Holly just glanced around to see if anyone had noticed the small argument and continued to the room with her head down, assuming they hadn’t.
The dinner was at a pizza place this time, stripped down and casual. Holly sat with Lisa, Walter, Tanner and a few other people as she looked at Aaron across the room. His arm was slung around the black haired woman as he sipped a beer and he looked comfortable. She wondered bitterly what it would be like to have felt that out like this, knowing they would have been really affectionate had they been allowed to be. She forced her eyes away, biting into another gooey slice of pizza as she wallowed in her misery.
He’d walked away so easily. Did he not care that she was pregnant? Did he really do the math because even if she was protected, there was no way she could have ever slept with anyone else. She knew how special it had been with him and it hurt her that he didn’t understand that. “You okay?” Tanner asked her, bringing her back to reality as she blinked and nodded.
“Tired. Exciting night. Pizza.” Holly broke it down easily, feeling his arm around her shoulders. They left first as he walked her to her apartment, still in his arm. “Thanks, Tanner.”
“For what?” He asked as she slipped her arm around his waist.
“You’ve been great to me these past few months. It means a lot.” She paused at the light and rested her head against him.
“I like you, Holly. It’s been hard watching you go through this alone. I don’t know how he just left you.” Tanner’s voice was soft and sincere and she stared up at him.
“Like like?” Holly asked in shock as he nodded.
“I was going to ask you out before, but you told me that you were seeing someone. After that, you seemed to have stopped and you looked so wrecked over it. I wanted to give you time.” Tanner shook his head. “Then you told me about the baby.”
“What did that change?” Holly asked as he led her across the street by taking her hand.
“It made me want to take care of you and the baby. The father has never stepped up to the plate and you need someone, Holly.” Tanner told her and she felt tears in her eyes.
“Tanner, you’re so good.” She sniffled as he held on tight as she started to cry.
“I want to date you. I want to be there for you when the baby is born.” Tanner told her, making her cry harder as she stopped walking. Looking back over the past few months, she realized that he’d liked her for the entire time that she’d known him. It was so obvious but she’d been too obsessed with her affair with Aaron and she fell against him. Had she chosen the wrong guy?
Tanner got her to her apartment and helped her inside, setting her down on the couch before he got her some water. “I wasn’t dumped, Tanner. I ended things when I realized that I was pregnant.” Holly admitted as she stared down at the floor. “I was scared to tell him and I just told him that I wanted to end it.”
“Is he in your life?” Tanner asked, and she shrugged.
“I see him sometimes, yes. He knows about it now…someone told him. I don’t know what will happen.” Holly admitted, falling into silence for a moment. “I kind of wish it had been you now, but this is a big bag of luggage to take on.”
Her phone chimed and she blinked as tears filled her eyes. “Shit.”
“Take the call. I am here for you for whatever you need.” Tanner assured her, kissing her hair with a firm press of his lips before he stood up. She watched him leave painfully, knowing that he could offer her a good, steady life but it wouldn’t be one that she really wanted. The phone sounded again and she bit her lip as she looked to see that Aaron was calling her.
“Hi.” Her voice was breaking as she tried to answer calmly, crying harder.
“I need to see you. I couldn’t even focus at dinner tonight.” Aaron told her huskily, making her heart beat and her hormones kick in.
CHAPTER FIVE
“I…I want to see you too.” Her willpower was faltering, and she didn’t think she could lie about the baby anymore. It wasn’t in her and Tanner’s confession had only made Holly realize how much she loved Aaron. “I know that you’ve moved on, I do. I just want to talk.”
“Where are you?” His voice was demanding and she sat up straighter.
“My apartment. Lisa is staying with Walt tonight so I’m alone.” She told him the address and he ended the call abruptly after telling her that he’d be there soon. Holly went to wash her face with some cold water and freshen up, changing into a cotton dress that draped around her curves and dragged on the floor. She heard the knock at the door as she stared at herself helplessly in the mirror, not knowing what to do as she ran her hands through her hair.
Holly walked out barefoot to answer the door, watching him stride past her into the living room. “Hi.” She closed the door and walked over to the couch to sit down, absently stroking her stomach. “There’s so much I want to know, Holly. I’m so angry that you never told me.”
“I’m sorry.” She whispered, feeling every bit of his pain as she pinched her eyes closed. “I was scared that you’d quit your job and leave the sport. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“Hurt me?” Aaron asked, making her jump as he sat next to her. “How could this hurt me? I think I’m more pissed off that you hid it. Why? Isn’t it mine?”
“You know I was never with anyone else. You know how special you were to me.” She told him, looking over with flashing eyes. “I was protecting you. We both have good jobs, and I don’t want you to give up the game. You love it.”
“I love you more than any fucking game.” Aaron told her, making her choke for a moment. “I don’t have to leave the job. I can take care of you and…what is the baby?”
“A girl.” Holly admitted, feeling everything that she wanted to in that room with the monitor as tears filled his eyes. “I found out today. I didn’t want…I don’t know what I wanted.”
“I can’t believe that I’m having a daughter. Holly, I’ll be here for her as a dad but I want to be here for you too.” Aaron promised her, as she started to cry again.
“I love my job.” Holly told him, her shoulders shaking. “I love the team and I love caring for them. I was going to tell you that this was another man’s baby and just forget about you.” She tilted her head up to look at him. “You have someone now.”
“I ended it tonight. It never felt right but after seeing you, I just couldn’t be with her anymore.” Aaron told her, making her heart stop for a moment. “Marcy was a nice woman and my family really liked her but I didn’t feel it. I have always wanted to be with you.”
“You ended it for me?” Holly asked him and she felt him tuck her hair behind her ear.
“No, I needed it for me and I ended it for her. She deserves someone that really cares about her.” Aaron told her as she nodded. “I thought that you were with Walt. I was so pissed off and jealous and then I hear he’s with Lisa. You really know how to fuck with a man’s head, Holly.”
“I didn’t mean to.” She looked at him with a long stare, revealing her current state of desire. “I was trying to do what I thought was the right thing. I was jealous too when I saw the pictures of you with her. I tormented myself most of the night thinking about it and feeling fat and insecure.”
“Hardly.” Aaron looked down her body with a hungry gaze. “I knew that you looked different and even more beautiful than ever, but I didn’t suspect this. You were on the pill, weren’t you?”
“There was a bad batch prescribed. There are probably a lot of pregnant women out there right now.” Holly smiled and shook her head.
“Tell me how the pregnancy has been for you. I want to know everything.” Aaron told her, sitting back as she described all of the odd feelings that came along with it, showing him pictures on her phone that Lisa had taken along the way. She also went into
the kitchen to get the sonogram pictures from the kitchen to show him, cutting one off for him. “Look at that.” His voice was filled with wonder and she smiled with tears in her eyes.
“I wanted you here for all of this.” Aaron looked up at her and met her eyes. “I have an appointment every month until the due date is closer. Then it will be more often.”
“When is she due?” Aaron asked, resting his hand on her stomach as the other one clutched the picture.
“April. They keep changing the date with every sonogram so I am just leaving it up to her.” Holly replied, shrugging as she sat down beside him. “Want to see her room?”
She took him into the small den and he looked around with a half-smile. “It’s nice but small. Are you planning on moving?”
Holly blushed as she heard the words and he closed his eyes. “Shit. I think I know the only place that you’ll be moving.”
“Do you want me to someday?” Holly whispered, staring into his face as he nodded slowly.
Aaron stepped closer to her, lifting his hands to cup her face. “More than anything.” Holly sucked in her breath as he kissed her softly, closing her eyes as she memorized the feeling. She’d missed him so much though she was scared to hold on too tight, frightened that he would disappear. “I love you so much.”
“I love you.” Holly told him, finally slipping her arms around his neck. “I never want to live without you again.”
“You won’t have to.” Aaron told her, kissing her between sentences. “Will you be my girlfriend, Holly? I always fought it before but now I know what it’s like to be without you.” He kissed her again. “I’ll talk to the league. I’ll figure this out.”
“Aaron…I don’t care about my job. I’ll quit if I have to. I can work somewhere else. It doesn’t matter…I just want to be with you.”
He kissed her harder this time as she clung to him, giving back all of the passion that he feeding to her as he slipped his arms down her body and tugged her closer. “I want you, Holly. I want to see you.”
“Bed.” Holly told him, feeling him grab her ass and tell her to wrap her legs around him. Aaron carried all of them as she protested, telling him that she was too heavy.
“I’ll never put you down again.” Aaron promised her as he kissed her and pressed her back onto the bed. Holly shuddered as he lifted the dress from her body, taking her in with a lascivious gaze and tossing it to the floor. “Fuck, you’re beautiful.” He ran his hands over her stomach gently, leaning down to kiss her skin as she felt another tear slide down her cheek.
Pregnancy made her cry too much.
Aaron looked up, asking her if she was okay. Holly nodded and he parted her legs, moving down to kiss her thighs as she cried out. “Does pregnancy make you as horny as I’ve heard in the past?”
“Worse.” Holly admitted, biting her lip as his mouth found her and sucked her between his teeth. “Ohhhhhhh.”
“So sweet. So wet.” Aaron panted as he sucked and licked her in alternating moves, making her come fast and hard. “Oh, baby.” He drank it in as she closed her eyes, sobbing happily as she whispered his name.
Aaron made love to her after making sure it wouldn’t hurt her, making her laugh as she told him they could do that until the baby was born unless anything arose. He pressed her back, looking down as he entered her slowly where their bodies joined. “Oh, Aaron. I’ve missed this. I’ve obsessed about this.” Holly told him between moans. He took her harder, unable to hold back as he pushed her legs back and drove his cock inside of her until she was screaming his name. Aaron followed soon after with a guttural cry of his own, dropping down to kiss her forehead as she trembled beneath him.
“I think there’s going to be a lot more babies in our future.” He promised her, kissing her lips.
“Let’s see how this one goes first. Let’s do everything we can to catch up on each other before we’re parents.”
EPILOGUE
Eight months later, Aaron looked back from seat of his box seats to see his Holly snuggling their daughter. Lola Rose Neller was born three months after they got back together in March with a scary time spent in the hospital growing into her premature body. They’d gone out every night once he spoke to the league about their relationship, with Holly taking their recommendation to work for a prominent doctor’s office where she wouldn’t be working so hard or traveling so much. Both Aaron and Holly agreed that this was the best choice, leaving him as the owner of his favorite hockey team.
Looking at his fiancée with their daughter, he knew that he had the best of everything.
THE END
STEPBROTHER ALPHA’S BABY
Chapter one
I thought that I had it all and my dad was always that big shot that had me rolling in luxury. I had nothing but the best. I didn’t even know that there was anything to worry about until it was too late. I lived thinking that money grew on trees. Any time that I asked for something, it would be given to me freely without reservation or hesitation. Growing up, I was forced into culture and religious beliefs by my dearly departed mother.
I also had a naughty and rebellious side of my father that was most likely the cause of my father going prematurely gray. Thankfully, it didn’t make him look old. It made him look sophisticated and worldly.
You’re welcome dad.
“Jessica, I want you to come down here and apologize to your brother.” I heard my father’s voice and I knew that I was in a bit of trouble. It wasn’t anything that I couldn’t get out by batting my eyelashes or feigning innocence. It would work on my father, but my stepmother Allison was another story altogether. She never let me get away with anything. The days of having my father wrapped around my little finger had vanished a year ago.
My father was a bit of a playboy and he used his good looks and charming personality to bed down several different playmates. Thankfully, his bedroom was on the other side of this large estate and I could barely hear anything. The most that I got were mumbles and girlish glee, but it was what happened a year ago that changed everything.
We had the most amazing collection of cars and they started to dwindle, as my father started to sell them off to keep the roof over our head. He claimed that it was only a precautionary measure, but I knew that being a real estate mogul didn’t help matters. The bottom had dropped out and he was one of the few that had stuck it out to the bitter end. We downsized everything, but our home was a heritage that was passed down by his father and his father before that.
I knew that there was only so much that I could do and ignoring my father was not going to be seen in the best light. My father the consummate player had fallen for a well to do socialite. Allison was born with this silver spoon in her mouth. Her family came from old money revolving around a media empire. Why she wanted to get sidled with an instant family was beyond me. It must have been love. It was the only thing that would explain her need to drop into our lives.
She didn’t come alone and her main bit of baggage was her twenty year old son. Anthony was one of those guys that thought the world owed him something.
I was sitting on my bed in the Lotus position with the flecks of moonlight coming through the window. It was pretty damn cool to be this flexible and big boned.
I could see the bathroom and the illumination of the light underneath. I remember lying here many nights hearing him in there showering and wondering what he would look like completely naked.
“Jessica…Sarah, get down here and you are trying my patience. If you don’t want to lose television privileges and your phone, you will make an appearance whether you like it or not.” Using my middle name with my first meant that he was serious. One thing that I couldn’t do without was my phone and I pretty much had my whole life inside that thing. I even had some risqué photos of my stepbrother. I’d caught him on a couple occasions with his shirt off and was able to subtly take a few quick snapshots for my fantasy life. A six pack and muscles busting out all over the place fueled many nights alone in th
e room.
“OKAY…OKAY…I’m just finishing up some homework. Give me about 5 minutes and I’ll be happy to come down and face the music.” He had always considered my homework to be the one thing that I could not slack off on. He expected nothing but the best. I had an IQ that was the equivalent of Einstein himself. I didn’t have the social skills and only one real friend of the gothic persuasion. Helena was a Greek transplant to the school and we had become fast friends, despite the fact that she wore dark makeup and clothing that made her look like she was in mourning 24 hours a day.
I looked out the window and I saw his black jeep. Anthony was quite the ladies’ man and his idea of making a commitment was paying for dinner and expecting something in return. I didn’t think much of him when he first got here, but I did notice that I had those butterflies whenever he was around. I was constantly looking in his direction and biting my bottom lip with the anticipation of seeing him without his clothes on one day. He had the football player body and the gym in the basement was now getting used too. It was pretty much a second thought, but then he came along and brought with him those muscles that probably could easily carry me all over the house.
I stood at my mirror looking at my body and knowing that calisthenics and Yoga had made me the vivacious woman that I see looking back at me. My lips were adorned with the slightest bit of makeup. It was just enough to enhance my already natural beauty. I was at the perfect height at 5’8 and was carrying 160 pounds in all the right places. I had the kind of ass every woman was jealous of with more junk in the trunk. A modest pair of C cup breasts rounded off my figure. I had been told by several boyfriends that I had the most amazing green eyes that they had ever seen in their lives.
I was getting ready for bed and was wearing nothing, but a pair of very sheer panties and a white man’s shirt. It made me feel like I was closer to my father by wearing his stuff. It seemed a little silly and maybe a little creepy to some, but this was something that was between me and my father. There was nothing unsavory about our relationship. I wouldn’t consider wearing his shirt to be that strange.