“I know we need to make these treat bags, but can we talk first?” she asked, dreading his reaction to her pregnancy.
“We can talk anytime you want to, Ella. You never have to ask.”
“I lied earlier.”
“About what?” He watched her intently, his grip on her hand still tight and sure.
“Rory and I didn’t just go to the salon then the restaurant. We went to the Terran Station too.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Did you go back to talk to Tyril about the job?”
“No.” She licked her lips and took a shaky breath. “I went to the clinic.”
Valero let go of her hand only to lift her onto his lap, his hands reaching up to cup her face. “Are you all right? You’re not sick?”
“I’m fine. I’m just…”
“Just what? Whatever is, we’ll face it together.”
Tears misted her eyes. “I’m pregnant.”
His brow furrowed. “But you said you hadn’t been with anyone since Connor’s dad.”
“Only one man.”
His grip tightened on her. “I see. And will you tell him about the baby?”
“I just did.”
He gave her a blank look.
“Valero, what do you remember about last night?”
“I drank too much and went to bed. Although, for some reason I got undressed in my office.”
Her cheeks burned. “You didn’t undress for bed in your office. Your office was in disarray because we had sex in there last night. On your desk.”
He stared at her, then his gaze dropped to her belly. “So, you’re saying that…”
“You’re going to be a daddy. Vyrex did some test that will show a pregnancy within hours of conception.”
His grip tightened on her to the point of pain and then he pulled her into his arms, hugging her. “You have no idea how happy you’ve just made me.”
She pushed away from him, surprised to see tears in his eyes. “You’re happy? You’re not mad?”
He caressed her cheek. “I could never be mad that we’re having a baby together. I’m only sorry I don’t remember last night. But if you say it happened, then I believe you. I kept having flashes of us together, but I thought I’d dreamt the entire thing.”
“I wasn’t sure how you would react.”
He rubbed a hand across her belly. “Vyrex said everything was all right?”
“He gave me a vitamin cocktail and said to come back in a few weeks.”
“Maybe it was too soon for him to tell you anything else. How do you feel?”
Ella laughed. “I’m fine, Valero. It’s a little too soon for morning sickness or anything. Maybe this pregnancy won’t be as rough as my last one. With Connor, I was throwing up night and day for months. And I was always so tired.”
“Whatever you need, you only have to ask for it.” He kissed her softly. “Thank you for this wonderful gift, Ella.”
“You’re not going to push for a fast mating?” she asked.
“I’ve learned that badgering you about it isn’t the way to go. So, why don’t we do things a little differently? Instead of me asking you to be my wife, you let me know when you’re ready for that next step. Until then, we’ll just take things one day at a time.”
“What about Connor? I don’t know how to tell him. It’s just been the two of us and now I’m asking him to welcome two more people into our family. And he just got you… he isn’t going to want to share.”
“He may surprise you.”
Ella nodded. “We should put the goodie bags together. He was so excited about getting to take them to school tomorrow. We’ll have to find something awesome at the bakery in the morning.”
“Did you have anything planned for his birthday tomorrow?”
She shook her head.
“Then why don’t we throw a small party for him? My friend, Reyvor, has a house full of kids, and Avelyn and Thrace have Lily. I think Lily is just a little older than Connor. Same with Syl’s adopted son, Dexter.”
“I’m sure Connor would love to meet your friends and their children.”
“If you’ll give me a minute, I’ll go send out some messages and then come help with the goodie bags.”
Ella kissed him. “Take your time.”
While Valero went off to make her son’s dreams come true, because he’d never had a party before, she got to work on the little bags. It was going to be Connor’s best birthday ever, as long as the news of the baby didn’t wreck the entire day for him. Maybe she should tell him the day after?
She remembered being stressed during her pregnancy with Connor, but for different reasons. This time she didn’t have to worry about a place to live or food to eat. But now she had to worry that her precious boy would feel like he was being replaced. Maybe if he saw the kids tomorrow and how much fun siblings could be then maybe he would take the news better.
Ella sighed. Sometimes being a parent was the hardest job in the world.
Chapter Seven
Valero made some calls, starting with the owner of Puck’s Pizza Palace. The man grumbled about receiving calls after hours but after Valero explained the situation, the man was only too happy to help.
“The boy is turning six and he’s never had a birthday party before. I want to make sure it’s a special event for him,” Valero said.
“So, what exactly do you need from me?” the man asked.
“I need your largest party room and a few workers to assist with the children. I’ll provide the balloons and cake, and of course we’ll order drinks and pizza there. If possible, I’ll need a table set up for presents. There will possibly be nine children, maybe some infants, and of course all the parents. I plan to have food and drinks for both the children and adults.”
“I’ll see that it’s taken care of. Do you know when you’d like to start the party?”
“Three o’clock? School lets out at two so that would give everyone time to go home and change before the party, if they wanted to. And I’d say we need the room for at least two, maybe three hours.”
“I can take care of that. I’ll call some of my part-time workers and see if they’d like to help with the party. If you need anything else, please let me know,” the man said.
“I’ll pay when we get there. I’ll be ordering wristbands for all of the children old enough to play.”
“Thank you, Mr. Valero, for thinking of Puck’s Pizza Palace for your son’s birthday.”
He hung up and then he called all his friends and made sure they were available tomorrow afternoon. When they asked what to get Connor for his birthday, he told them what little he knew of the boy, and hoped that Connor would get an awesome haul. He still hadn’t done any shopping and hoped there would be time between taking treats to the school and picking Connor up.
He went back to the living room and found Ella cross-legged in the floor with all the party favors around her and a stack of sacks in front of her. He smiled a little as he joined her, taking a spot next to her. She had everything organized into piles so he took one thing from each pile and a small handful of candy before tying off the bag and starting another one. With the two of them working on it, it didn’t take long to fill all twenty bags. They put them in a small box to carry to school in the morning.
He’d never realized how much work it was to have a small person living with you. Not that he didn’t love having Connor around, but he had to wonder how hectic things would be once there were two children in the house. He was beyond excited to find out they were having a baby, but he hoped it wouldn’t be too hard on Ella. She’d done a remarkable job raising Connor and he knew she’d be just as wonderful with their baby. Would she have a boy or girl?
“You’re probably worn out after all that.” Valero took her hand and pulled her into his lap. “Why don’t I make you a nice hot bath and you can relax?”
“If I’m pregnant, I need to take warm baths, not hot. And that sounds really nice. I was so worried about how you would
react that I talked Rory out of the massage tonight. We didn’t skip it because it was so late. I just didn’t think I’d be able to relax.”
“I’m sorry you were so stressed. I really am thrilled about the baby though. Is it too soon to set up a nursery?”
She leaned into him. “Maybe just a little. But if you’re so excited that you want to get started on it, I won’t stop you. It’s probably going to be a while before we can find out what we’re having. It’s been a while so I don’t remember exactly when we can find out. Maybe four months?”
“We could do neutral colors,” Valero suggested.
“Like mint green?”
“I like mint green. It’s a cheerful color for a baby’s room. And then when we find out what we’re having, we can add accents in blue or pink.”
“You’re painting that room this weekend, aren’t you?”
“Probably.”
She snuggled into him a little more. “If I take a bath, will you get in with me? The tub is pretty big. I think we’d both fit.”
“If we don’t, I’ll sit beside the tub and keep you company.”
Valero helped her stand then took her hand and led her back to the master suite. “Would it be presumptuous of me to ask you to move your things in here?”
“You want to share a room with me?” she asked.
“We’re having a baby together, and we’re living together. Even if you don’t want to marry me right now, I’d like to hold you at night and wake up with you in my arms every morning.”
“I can do that,” she said softly.
While she gathered her things, he started the water in the tub, making sure it wasn’t too hot. Then he added some bubbles to the water, thinking she’d like them. When she returned, she’d stripped out of her clothes and he admired the view for a moment. Her curves were perfect, but he couldn’t wait to see her grow with their child. There were faint lines on her abdomen that he’d learned were called stretch marks, and she would doubtless get more with the second pregnancy, but they didn’t detract from her beauty.
Valero helped her into the tub before stripping out of his clothes. He eased into the water behind her, drawing her back against his chest. When the water had filled close to the top, he used his foot to turn off the knobs. Ella gave a contented sigh and he wondered if she noticed his hard cock trapped between them. Not that he had any intention of acting on it. She’d had a stressful day, and while he’d heard sex was a good stress reliever, he wasn’t going to push for it.
Ella rubbed her foot up and down his leg, making his need for her grow. When she turned, placing a knee on either side of his thighs, his eyebrows went up. The gentlemanly thing to do would have been to stop her. He wasn’t feeling very much like a gentleman though. Valero leaned back in the tub and gave her full access to his body, letting her do whatever she pleased.
Her soft hand curled around his cock and stroked him several times, drawing a groan from him. She licked her bottom lip before tugging it between her teeth as her hand added a little twist.
“Fuck! You’re going to make me come in your hand.” His fingers gripped the sides of the tub.
“You said you don’t remember much of last night. I thought maybe I could give you something to remember.” She smiled a little. “Unless you’d prefer I finish this way?”
He growled a little. “Get that sexy ass up here. Or do you want me to carry you to the bed?”
“We’d get the bed wet.”
She reached behind her to drain a little of the water out, then placed her hands on his shoulders as she inched her way up his body. When his cock brushed against her pussy, he thought he’d die from both pleasure and pain at the same time. He’d never wanted anything so much in his life. It sucked that he’d already been inside of her and only remembered bits and pieces of it. Hopefully, their child never asked how they were conceived, because that was a conversation he’d just as soon avoid.
Ella sank slowly, taking him inside of her. He ground his teeth together as he fought for control, fighting the urge to thrust upward and fill her completely. Once he was all the way inside of her, he let Ella set the pace. As much as he wanted to grab her hips and thrust into her until both of them were mindless with pleasure, he was going to let her run the show this time. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally hurt her.
As she rode him, slowly at first then faster, he couldn’t hold back any longer. He reached for her, gripping her hips as he met her stroke for stroke. Her nails bit into his skin as she orgasmed, her pussy clenching around him as if she were trying to milk every drop from his balls. He thrust a few more times until he found his release, coming with a shout. Ella squeezed him with her knees, as if she were afraid he’d make her move. If he could figure out how to get them out of the tub and into bed with separating their bodies, he’d just stay buried inside of her until morning.
“Think you’ll remember this time?” she asked with a cheeky smile.
“Oh, I’ll remember.” He kissed her hungrily. “And if you aren’t too tired, I’ll make sure we both have something else to remember before morning.”
“Only if we make it to the bed next time. So far we’ve christened the living room, your desk, and the bathroom. A bed would be awesome.”
“As you wish.” He winked at her. “Now, let’s get cleaned up, dried off, and then we’ll see what I can do about round two.”
He liked this playful side of Ella and he hoped he got to see more of it. Maybe finding out she was pregnant wasn’t such a bad thing, despite her fears. He’d just have to show her how great a family they made, and hope that she decided he was worth taking a chance on.
* * *
Ella parked the van at the front of the school and she and Valero walked in with Connor, carrying the box of goodie bags and several containers of dinosaur cupcakes. Valero had insisted they leave a little early to stop by the bakery first thing. They’d found one open not far from the house and now they were armed with thirty cupcakes and a box of chocolate chip cookies in case someone didn’t want a cupcake.
“Good morning,” the school secretary said with a smile. “It looks like we have a birthday boy today.”
Connor nodded with a wide grin. “I’m six today.”
“Well, let’s get Mom and Dad signed in and then you can show them the way to your classroom.”
Connor looked so happy, Ella thought he might burst. She wasn’t sure if it was the comment about Valero being his dad or because she was treating him like a big boy. Once they were signed in and had visitor passes stuck to their shirts, they followed Connor to his class. His teacher welcomed them warmly.
“Connor’s talked about his birthday all week, but I wasn’t sure if you were bringing anything,” Mrs. Coleman said.
“I should have sent a note, shouldn’t I? I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to just spring this on you.” Ella worried at her bottom lip. “We can come back if it’s not convenient.”
The teacher waved away her concern. “I do ask that you leave the treats here until our snack time. I’ll have an aide during that hour so we can handle everything, unless you’d just really like to be here.”
Valero leaned in and whispered. “We need to do some birthday shopping today. But if you could take some pictures?”
The teacher nodded. “Of course. I have a digital camera and a printer here in the room so I’ll take a few and print them off for you. I’ll send them home in his daily folder. It was nice meeting both of you.”
They hugged Connor and went back to the front office to check out, then Valero took them out for coffee and a bit of strategic planning. More likely he was killing time until the stores opened. Not much was open at eight o’clock in the morning. She’d let him drive the van and he parked it across from the door to the coffee shop. Inside, as they stood in line, his hand stayed at her waist, giving her a sense of comfort. They placed their order and claimed a table by the window.
“Are you allowed to drink coffee with the baby
?” he asked.
“I won’t have more than one cup, and I got a small. I didn’t think to ask Vyrex what I was and wasn’t allowed to have.”
“I’ll try to call him tomorrow and see if there are any foods or drinks you should avoid. I think today we’ll be a little too busy for that.” Valero smiled. “I think Connor is going to be pleasantly surprised with his party later. I only hope he likes it.”
“He’s going to love it.” She reached out and took his hand. “Thank you for setting up something for him. He’s always wanted a party, but we’ve never been able to afford it.”
“Maybe next year we can invite his class.”
She nodded. “He’d love that. For now, I think the cupcakes and treat bags are enough. I’ve never seen him that excited before.”
“When the toy store opens, we’ll go pick out some presents for him.”
“Presents, plural?” she asked, an eyebrow raised. “Valero, he’s only ever had one present at birthdays or Christmases.”
His jaw firmed. “We may not be married, but as far I’m concerned he’s my son and he’s getting more than one present.”
Her throat tightened at his words. “You really see him that way?”
“Of course I do, Ella. I know you don’t want to be more than a girlfriend right now. That is the human term, yes?”
She nodded.
“But the two of you, soon to be three, are my family. Connor is just as much my son as that baby will be my son or daughter. And while we may not have an official mating or marriage, as far as I’m concerned, I’m off the market. You’re it for me.”
She’d known that Valero wanted her as his mate, but she’d never understood… it had just seemed like empty words, a status and nothing more. It had felt more like he’d gone window shopping and picked her out. She’d never realized that in his heart he’d already claimed them. Ella stood and sank onto his lap, curling her arm around his shoulders. He looked surprised, but held her close.
“I never knew… I mean, you said you wanted us to be yours, but until now I didn’t really get it. If you still want me as your mate, then I’m ready.”
Ella and the Alien Gamer (Intergalactic Brides 10) Page 9