“Arrangement?” I finished for her, once I realized where she was leading with that question. “If she and I had the same arrangement as with you? No. I knew her for a while, we dated. We were married.”
“Were,” she repeated.
I gave her a hard look that told her not to prod too deeply. “Were,” I said firmly.
She nodded and looked down as she took another bite. She chewed thoughtfully, and I was watching her the entire time as she deliberated her next question.
“About the contract, then. If everything goes well and I conceive, what happens once I give birth to the child? If, say… I want to keep seeing him or her? I wouldn’t try to take them with me; I doubt I’d be able to look after a child alone. But if I thought about it?”
I frowned at her question, wondering if she was trying to imply that she felt that way. That didn’t quite sit well with me. I’d viewed our contract as ending rather quickly once she had the baby.
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” I said with stiff formality, even more than I’d already displayed so far. “Once you have the child, you will be signing over legal rights to me. The contract beforehand comes in as a safeguard. You can't renege on the deal afterward, unless you want to get dragged through a court case.”
She frowned and paused with her fork halfway to her mouth. Slowly, she lowered it to her plate, her expression serious as she looked at me.
“Are you telling me… I won’t even be allowed to see my child?”
“You shouldn’t get things wrong,” I corrected her. “The child will be mine. Your work as a surrogate is to help me carry him or her, but after that, you get to live your life, and I go back to mine. It is be the best thing to do for the both of us.”
After all, it wouldn’t do to get her attached to the child when she would have to leave them anyway. And in the same vein, neither I nor Edward would have to get attached to her, knowing she would be going off to pursue her dreams.
“I get that we have a contract, but do I have to cut off complete contact?” she asked, looking visibly upset as the frown grew deeper on her face, and she fisted her hands on the table. “I mean… after the birth, I’m going to need some time off to recover. Then I’ll be going off to school, and there would be breaks. I could come back, maybe babysit—”
“There would be no need,” I cut her off. “I have people that can do that sort of thing for me, and I’ll be around at home a lot in place of you for the baby. You will be allowed to see the baby, of course. You just won’t be able to hold them. It would be for the best.”
Lexi didn’t see things my way, because she jumped up, looking all indignant.
“What do you mean, it would be for the best?” she complained. “No one would have to know the child was mine—”
“I’m not budging on this, Lexi.”
She seemed to freeze at the use of her name and just stood there blinking at me for a few minutes. Then, she moved away from the table, and I went to stand when I noticed her stumble. But she shot me a hard look that had me going still in my chair.
“Please excuse me,” she said quietly, averting her eyes. “I lost my appetite.”
I watched her leave; my lips pressed tightly together.
Was what I was doing so wrong?
Lexi, you still seem to think it’s as simple as a contract, but once you see this child, hold them. Would you want to give them up? Because I wouldn’t either.
Chapter 13 - Ryan
After Lexi left me alone at the dining table, I lost my appetite as well. So, after a while of trying to get myself to eat, I finally gave up. Several minutes later, when the maids came in to take the food away, I watched in annoyance, because I didn’t like food leaving the table.
“Make sure that doesn’t go to waste,” I reminded them as they cleared the table.
“Of course, sir,” one of them answered.
I gave an approving nod, then left the table to head to my bedroom for some privacy. They knew exactly how I liked things done around the house. In fact, most of the hired help on the grounds had been on the job for more than two years, and I could call them family, but for the fact that I didn’t see them as constantly, though they were always there.
That thought gave me an idea, though. Grace, one of the longest-serving maids, had been here since I first got the place, and she’d been so great I never let her go. She never asked to be let go, either, so things worked out for everyone.
This wasn’t a problem I could take to just anyone, after all. I couldn’t ask my friends, and I sure as fuck couldn’t ask my family. My friend already knew about the contract, and even he had a problem with it. Even if it were Grace, I wouldn’t give her the full details, but because I’d brought this strange young woman into the house and gave a bunch of instructions about how she was to be treated, she would have guessed. Grace was a smart woman, after all. I also knew that she wouldn’t push for information unless I approached her first.
“Fuck,” I muttered to myself, frowning. “I sent her off with Edward…”
It had been the best move for my son, but now that I thought about it, she would have been good company for Lexi to have around, because I sure as fuck failed at that. As far as I knew, Lexi hadn't gotten friendly with any of the other maids since Grace left, so she pretty much spent all day by herself.
That was something I’d overlooked, something I would have to rectify as soon as possible.
But first, I had to speak to Grace.
I moved to the seating area of my bedroom and sat down on one of the chairs, pulling my phone out of my pocket. Grace had an emergency phone with her that I’d insisted on her having whenever she was off the grounds, and I would need to call her for something. It was separate from the phone she used with friends and family so she would always know who was calling because my number was the only one saved to that phone. She was number three on my speed dial, and I tapped on the button, then put the phone to my ear. She picked it up on the third ring.
“Hello, Ryan,” she said with her usual gentle, almost motherly tone. It always calmed me down when she talked to me like that, as if, when I lost Kora, she’d suddenly become a mother to both me and my son. It didn’t calm me down at that moment, though. “You only call when there’s an emergency, but I have Edward with me here. Is there something I can do for you?”
I took a deep breath, ready to ask, only to pause.
What exactly was I going to ask?
I hadn't completely thought that through. Crap! But then, after a moment, I figured a cutout version of the truth should be fine.
“It’s about the house guest,” I admitted. “She, uh…”
“You made her mad,” she guessed.
I winced. “Not… I mean, I’m not sure she’s mad, she just got up and walked away in the middle of dinner. I don’t know how to interpret it.”
“And you called me for advice,” she guessed again. “Like a teenage boy, wanting to know what went wrong with wooing his first crush.”
“I would appreciate it if you didn’t word it that way, Grace,” I complained.
She wasn’t a crush, after all, and Lexi and I hardly had that kind of a relationship. I was pretty sure Grace would scold me, though, for being so cold as to term it all a business contract.
“So,” she prompted. “What exactly did you say to her to get her so mad?”
“Um,” I floundered, frowning as I waved my free hand around as if that would bring an idea to me. “We were… talking about something. Something important. It’s to do with the agreement we have for her staying here, and I thought we were on the same page. But I just realized today that we’re not, and I guess I’m not quite sure how to get her to understand my point.”
I was pretty confident that that was all that was needed. After all, she knew the details already. Even if she hadn’t read the contract, down to the fine print, I had told her, and what I didn’t, she could have guessed. She was acting as a surrogate in exchange for
enough cash to get her through college, which necessitated her leaving after the agreement was over. So when she’d mentioned the possibility of sticking around, it had worried me, for several reasons that I’d listed out to her already, but that seemed to be what made her mad at me in the first place.
But I firmly believed I was in the right, so Grace’s reply confused me a bit.
“You’re going about this all wrong, Ryan,” she said in a chiding tone.
“What?”
She sighed. “Lighten up, Ryan. Can you learn what that means and try to do it? We can even make it homework if you’d like.”
“You don’t have to do that, I know what it means,” I said defensively. “And it’s not like I’m making impossible demands or anything! I’m sure if you’d heard you wouldn’t disagree with me right now because it’s for the best.”
Again, she let out a sigh, and this time, it had me frowning.
“That, right there is your problem, you know? You probably won’t tell me what it is, but that doesn’t matter. You’re assuming whatever decision you’re making is the best. How does this girl feel about that? Because you know you can't just make decisions for her, right? That would get her mad at you.”
That had me going still in my seat. I tilted my head back and stared blankly at the ceiling. Grace was right because I was the one pushing all the decisions in everything we did. I drafted the contract by myself, and yeah, I gave it to her to read before she agreed, but what if there was something she’d wanted to add in or wanted to clarify or change? I hadn't been there. She’d signed, and I found out afterward. Hell, I hadn't talked to her much at all.
“Why don’t you try talking to her again?” Grace suggested. “And this time, discuss the two of you, as soon as you possibly can, before she has time to grow even angrier.”
“Do you think she would talk to me if I went to her now?” I asked anxiously, unconsciously running my hand down my thighs.
Grace hummed. “Well. If she’s in a bit of a huff now, going to see her too early might not be the best idea either. She’d probably ignore you if you tried your phone, too.”
I knew that already, which was why I hadn't bothered to try contacting her that way. And I figured she hadn't wanted to see me, which was why I hadn't gone to her room.
“If you want a quick fix, there’s a book the young miss appears to like. I’ve heard news from the other maids, and it proved my theory correct.”
“What theory?” I blurted out, impatient.
“Lexi loves to read,” she said, telling me something I already knew. Then, she went on. “Once she discovered your classics collection in the library, she fell in love with one particular book.
I got her hint immediately and grinned.
“Thank you, Grace,” I said quickly. She gave me the name of the book, and I was on my feet and racing out of my room after quickly hanging up the call.
In the library, I moved to my little covered office. I had plenty of pen and paper in the drawers, and I went through them until I found one of each. I wrote down a quick note, for Lexi to meet me as we’d originally planned so that we could have a proper talk.
Then I went hunting for that book, I was relieved when I found it.
I kept glancing over my shoulder to make sure there wouldn’t be anyone there to see me, though I didn’t understand why; but by the same token, I loved the idea.
Chapter 14 - Lexi
As I entered, his cold smile turned into a warm, loving one.
“What am I doing here?”
“I thought you wanted me to fuck you?”
“Thought you did.”
“No, that was just a teaser,” he replied, which sent shivers down my spine. “I will have you screaming for more.”
I wanted to scream ‘yes, please.’ I just simply nodded. I began to grow weak and wet at the anticipation that he would enter me one more time.
He took my hand. I glanced at the mahogany posts on either side of the bed and a large gold lace curtain tied to each post. The first thing that came to my mind was it was more of a woman’s bed than a man’s type of bed. It was huge, and the idea of lying on the golden bed turned me on, especially with the hottest man that I’d ever met so near to me.
He took my hand and led me to the bed. I took off my shoes in anticipation of him exploring me once more. I got excited at the thought of what he was going to do to me. He reached for my hair and loosened it from my usual ponytail.
“That’s better. Why do you insist on keeping your lovely hair in a cage?”
I had never thought of it like that. I just tried to keep it off my face. Not that I wanted everyone to stare at my face, but with my short-sighted vision, I needed as much visibility as possible.
I was a slave to his commands. Next, he gently used his arms to lower me onto the bed. It felt nice to be treated so well. He knew how to make a woman feel special, and right now, I did not feel like a woman. I felt like a lady.
He gently nibbled on my ear and said, “You are mine tonight.” I did not respond but merely closed my eyes with hot anticipation. This time, I watched his every move. He stripped for me slowly by taking off his t-shirt, and I watched as the ripples of his six-pack were revealed.
Oh, my, I am in seventh heaven.
I wanted to taste him and touch him. As he took off his pajama bottoms, I moved closer. I have never touched a cock before; I thought as I caressed it. He moaned as I squeezed it and he put his hand on the back of my head, encouraging me to go forward.
It smelled so good, I just had to taste it with my mouth. I envisioned that I was sucking a lollypop and did the same movements I would do if I were sucking one. I put it in my mouth making sure I did not bite him. He groaned louder and pushed my head even more onto his thick cock as I sucked him harder and harder.
I was pleased that he was enjoying it, I was becoming wet from the noises he was making, and my panties dampened. Oh, yes, I wanted him in so many ways that were unspeakable. I just wish this weren’t the last night.
I removed these thoughts from my head as I sucked until he came in my mouth. I swallowed it, and he responded, “You are a good girl, you sucked me dry.” He laughed while panting at the same time.
What was the big deal?
I wanted to satisfy him, and I wanted to make sure I did.
Like a hungry wolf on the hunt, scavenging for their feed, he wanted to feed me with sex, and I was helping him.
He wanted to gratify me. Didn’t he realize that everything he did to me did that alone? I did not need more from him. He did that with his smile, his touch, his embrace, and most of all, by making love to me. Yes, I came to the right place at the right time to discover that I do belong somewhere, in his arms and in his life.
He turned me on all fours. I felt like a dog, and then he slid his two fingers up my arse. They were wet and slimy; I’m not sure why. At first, it hurt, but the more he did it and rocked me, the more I discovered it was not too bad. He was lying in between my legs, and as my breasts dropped further down, he would try to capture them in his mouth sucking them and laughing every time he managed to capture one of them.
It was a game to him, and he liked it.
Afterward, he stopped me and forcibly made me sit on his fat dick covered in a condom. Crap, when did he put that on? He used his hands to maneuver me forward and backward. It hurt at first. I wasn’t sure if it was because his dick was so big or because I had only lost my virginity the day before.
As the movements became deeper, I enjoyed it more, but I could feel the same sensation as I had the day before. I was climaxing. I could not believe that this feeling was something that I had never felt in my entire life. I had heard about it, saw it a few times on television, but experiencing it was an utterly new experience. It felt so good, too good in fact.
I reached my arms up into the air and began to arch my back. I felt the thrill of a rollercoaster ride, and I wasn’t going to stop until I felt ecstasy. I started to scream and s
o did he at the same time.
“Yeah, baby, come to papa.”
As we both screamed in pure joy, I fell on top of him. He laughed as he brushed my back the same way he did two days before when we were taking pictures. He smiled and shivered at the same time.
Chapter 15 - Ryan
Lexi fell asleep almost immediately. I didn’t blame her; the sex was intense. I still had a smirk on my face, knowing just how much she’d enjoyed it, and loving it.
I slid out of bed to head to the bathroom. I found a wash cloth and wet it a bit with warm water to wipe myself down. Then I went back to the bedroom to do the same for Lexi. She mumbled in protest, squirming around, a slight furrow on her brow, but she didn’t even wake up. I just smiled at that and went to put leave the cloth in the bathroom.
Back in the bedroom, I eyed the mess that was our strewn clothes and hesitated. Technically, we were done for the night. I was supposed to try not to get attached to this woman, which was why I’d been trying too hard to keep my distance before.
But I couldn’t bring myself just to get dressed and leave. Instead, I went back to the bed, lay down next to her, and watched her sleep.
Damn, she is beautiful. More and more every time I see her.
I reached a tentative hand to brush a finger down her cheek. She squirmed a little, but again, did not wake up.
A ring interrupted the silence. It was my phone, and I got out of bed, heading for my clothes to pick the call up quickly before it woke her up.
“Hello?” I answered quietly, going to the bathroom and locking the door behind me.
“Daddy? It’s me!”
I perked up at the sound of my son’s voice. It had been a while since we’d been apart for so long, even though it was only for a week. I didn’t send the kid away from home often because he didn’t like leaving home. I’d been distracted by Lexi’s presence, but hearing his voice again, I remembered just how much I missed my kid.
The Baby Contract: A Single Dad Romance Page 7