by C. M. Steele
“Man, I thought you resembled him, but he was young and I didn’t know he had a girlfriend when he died.”
Mr. Middleton, Jacob’s father, interjected, “He mentioned that his head of security looked like my brother that died and your name was Tony. I didn’t believe the image he sent me was new. I thought it was my brother. You really look just like him. I asked him to find out who your parents were. When he told me, I didn’t need a DNA test to know you were Anthony’s son. Your mother and my brother were dating for a short time, but he told me that he was going to marry her.”
“In fact, this, I think, should belong to you,” my grandfather said, handing me a small box. “When he died, this was in his pocket.” I opened the faded box to see a stunning diamond ring.
“He planned to give this to your mother. It destroyed her, but I couldn’t give it to her knowing she was going to marry someone else two weeks later.”
“Why would she?”
“It’s complicated, but she was forced into that marriage. They thought you were a product of an early birth.”
“Wow, so you’re telling me that I’m, in a way, a Middleton?”
“Not in a way. You are a Middleton. I hate that you have your mother’s husband’s name, but you belong with us.”
“Is that why you gave me the opportunity?”
“Yes and no. When I offered it to you, I had my suspicions, but I wasn’t sure. I really thought you could use a break even if you weren’t related.”
“Do you have a special woman to give that ring to?” Harley asked with a knowing stare.
“You know I will when I find her.”
I was introduced to the rest of the family in the large house. Before calling it a night, my grandfather asked me into his office.
“My boy, come in here. I’m not as wealthy as my grandsons, or even my son, but I want you to know that I have had this ranch for sixty years. It’s successful, and well, I want you to have it when I go.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. It’s the one thing I can do for you. I wish I knew your mother was pregnant before she married that man. I wouldn’t have let her go ahead with it. She could have lived here on the ranch so that we could have raised you with my wife. She passed ten years ago, but she would have loved you to pieces. By the way, there’s something you should know. This was your father’s.” He handed me a pocket watch. “He told me that he would pass it onto his son one day. He didn’t know he wouldn’t get the chance, but I’m so damn grateful I could. Please don’t be a stranger, Anthony. I’ve always dreamed I’d see my boy again.”
“I won’t. I promise, I won’t.”
“Well, get that woman because I want to see some little ones running around here before I’m gone.”
“As soon as I find her, I’ll get started,” I replied, initiating the hug. This was surreal to me, but I wasn’t going to waste the blessing I’d been given. I didn’t want to stay here, or with Jake, so I was headed to the Middleton Arlington since it was closer than my apartment, which I hadn’t wanted to be in since she left me.
Chapter 11
Denise
Another twelve-hour shift and I was going to drop. I still had a couple of hours left before I could split and soak my feet. Luckily, I had tomorrow off. I wouldn’t have to deal with snotty shitheads and their questions. I wanted to bask in the solitude of my growing depression. I couldn’t fathom how one night changed my whole world. I guess a fleeting moment could do that. My heart was racing as I thought about the idea that I would have to see him again. A million scenarios played in my head. Only the nighttime fantasies were the pleasing ones. They were of him, marrying and loving him forever. I laughed to myself. I’d manage to ruin that when I ran away, then didn’t bother to tell him for a month now about the baby. Then again, he didn’t know I knew he worked for Middleton Hotels.
“Hey, Denise. It’s time for your break. Go relax and put your feet up,” David, the night front desk manager, said. I grabbed my purse and headed to the back. I was craving something. It was the first time I had wanted sweets since I got pregnant, so I was going to hit up the vending machine for Pop Tarts.
I got my sweet strawberry goodness and devoured them with a small bottle of water. It was time to go back. I was almost to the front desk when a cramp in my leg struck. I would have buckled to the floor if it wasn’t for the large steely arms that caught my fall.
I looked up to a deep, blue-eyed world of trouble.
Chapter 12
Tony
When the manager told security that Denise was on break, something in me said to check it out, so I waited at the front desk for her to return. What I got was more than I thought possible. She was losing her balance and it wasn’t because of the fucking heels she had on. It was the noticeable motherfucking bump in her midsection. I closed my eyes as I held her for a moment longer than necessary to help her up.
“I’ve got you now. And if you think you’re going to do a runner on me again, you’re sadly mistaken,” I growled against her ear. “There’s a lot to talk about.”
“It’s not…”
“So help me God, I’m going to lose my mind if you tell me it’s not my baby because I know you’ll be lying.”
“I wasn’t going to say that. It’s not that simple. Of course the baby is yours, and no, I didn’t mean to trap you. So you can carry on with your life and see your baby when you please.” She moved past me and I couldn’t drag her back because I was afraid I’d knock her off balance again. She stood behind the desk, trying to hide the belly, like if I didn’t see it I wouldn’t believe it.
“You’re not trapping me into shit. I wish I’d woken up before you did your disappearing act so I could tell you to stay and fucking never leave.”
“There was no way you’d know I was going to get pregnant.”
“No, not then, but when I tossed your fucking pills out the damn window, then I would have given it all I had. It seems I did already.” I looked at her and had a sinking feeling. She wasn’t as surprised to see me as I was her.
“Let’s go. We need to go talk,” I stated, taking her hand and pulling her from around the desk.
“David, Denise just quit.”
She tried to yank her hand from mine. I turned to her and crowded her space. “Don’t think I’m letting you out of my sight until we get some shit straight.”
“You can’t just walk in here and quit for me. I need this job, or haven’t you fucking noticed, I’m single and pregnant.”
“Both of which are temporary. Well, sort of. I plan to keep you pregnant often since I sure as fuck missed the moment you found out.”
She followed along without too much trouble. I escorted her to the bank of elevators. I had booked a room, so I might as well get the most out of it. “Where are you taking me?”
“My hotel room.”
“What do you need one for? You live close by.”
“What I need one for is the fact that over the past three months the thought of going home to my empty house felt like I was living through hell. The urge to sell it has hit me hard as fuck.”
“We can’t be together. We work for the same company.”
“Sweetheart, you’re missing several crucial facts. One, we’re in this together, whether you like it or not,” I said, rubbing her belly. “Two, you just quit, so we don’t work together. And three, I couldn’t give two fucks about company policy. Now the real question is since you know I work for the hotel and how to find me, were you ever going to tell me about our baby?”
“It’s complicated.” I screwed my eyebrows up. “But yes, I was going to.”
“What’s complicated? Working together? I just solved that problem. I took your virginity and gave you mine, so what’s the issue?” She stood there stunned, looking at me in disbelief. I didn’t care if she believed me or not, it was the truth.
“My parents only got married because of me.”
“Let me guess. They divorced and con
stantly fought over you, making you feel like an object.”
“Close, but no cigar. They fought over who would take me. At a young age, neither of them wanted me, but they made a mistake of trying to make it work.”
“Well, sweetheart. There’s nothing complicated with us. I want this baby, but I want you even more. I’ve wanted you from the first moment I saw you. For the first time in my life, I was willing to let someone in and take all I had to give. That was you and I should have found you sooner, but damn, you’re all mine and fuck if I’m ever letting either of you go.”
I slipped her suit jacket off her body because we had some makeup sex to get on with. I missed the fuck out of her and I needed to show her how much. “Sweetheart, can we fuck? Like, I won’t hurt the baby, right?”
“As big as you are, no. The baby should be very safe. And please don’t take it easy on me. I need to be punished for being so stupid.”
“Not stupid at all. Confused, yes. Stupid, no,” I answered, dropping my head to hers and taking her lips. I licked the seam until she parted her pretty pink smile. “I love you, Denise. I mean it with everything in me. You’re the only one. You’ve been the only one. And I can’t let you leave again.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere. I love you too, Anthony.”
Chapter 13
Denise
He looked ten times sexier with his growing scruff. I don’t know what brought it on, but it made him look fierce. His eyes, blue as ever, were trained on me, examining my every move as I started to undress. Kicking my heels off, I felt insecure. The baby had already made massive changes to my figure and not in all the flattering ways. My feet were bigger and swollen along with my ankles. He eyed my body, then did something I hadn’t expected. He wrapped his arms around my waist and led me to the bathroom.
He walked to the bath and started it. While his back was turned, I sniffed myself. I didn’t think I smelled bad. Then he tossed in the complimentary bath bombs.
He turned around and started unbuttoning my blouse. “As much as I want to fuck you until I forget the past three months of loneliness, you need to come first.”
“A bath isn’t going to make me come.”
“I meant I need to take care of you and our baby. You’ve been standing in those heels for how many hours now?”
“Seven,” I replied, letting him slide my skirt down my body. While he was bent down, he placed a kiss on my belly. My heart thumped in my chest. He was going to love both of us. He wasn’t pressured. This was what he wanted. I could cry and did.
“Yeah, that’s six and a half hours too long. I’m here to make you happy and love you the way a woman should be.” He looked up into my eyes and saw the tears. “Please don’t cry.”
“I’m so happy, Anthony,” I sobbed.
“Those kind I can deal with. Come on, let’s get you nice and relaxed so I can fuck you to sleep.”
“Join me,” I demanded, gliding my hand along his length through his pants.
Epilogue
Eight months later…
Tony
“Hello, grandpa. We’re here,” I called out. We came to visit for a week. He wanted us to move in now, but I wasn’t ready. I loved having my privacy with Denise.
“Hey, son. Welcome back. And Denise, my sweet thing, do you look lovely as ever.”
“Don’t be trying to steal my woman, old man,” I joked.
“Nah, but I came for this little one right here.” He took Anthony Middleton III from my arms. I legally changed my name before our wedding two months after we got back together. I refused to have that other name haunt me any longer. It meant jack shit to me and reminded me of the years of abuse. I stood proud alongside my cousins as they added me to the fold. I was the head of security for the entire Middleton Corporation and all its hotels. It was a cushy job as I delegated duties to those beneath me. But to me, it was the bonding I had with my family. I hadn’t forgotten about Andy. He was doing well all on his own, proving daily that he wasn’t his father’s son after all. He’d just graduated college and is waiting to meet the right girl to settle down with.
“Careful, he just finished eating.”
“It’s okay. He’s a Middleton, throwing up food isn’t in our vocabulary.”
“That’s for sure. So do you got some cows to cook?” I asked, my stomach was growling. After all the sex this morning, I could eat the entire farm.
“Yes, my housekeeper is getting them ready for the grill.”
“Good. I’m starving.” My words had Denise blushing and my grandfather smiling at me.
“Worked up an appetite, have ya? Well, leave that wife of yours alone and get to grilling.”
“I’m taking her back with me,” I replied. I loved the old coot. He’d been teaching me the ropes around here. He was set on giving me the place and I wanted it. Denise fell in love with the ranch as well. She’d watch the horses do laps around their large pen, but since she had been pregnant she couldn’t go near them.
“Hey, you promised to take me to see the horses.”
“And I will, beautiful, but first we need some strength. The ride is a rough one,” I said with a wink, helping her to her feet and down the hall to the backyard.
Twenty years later...
Tony
Things were booming for the Middleton Hotels, but I'd taken a step down from the company fifteen years prior when I became engrossed in the ranch. My grandfather died five years ago, but loved that we all moved in. My large brood had taken up the house. It seemed my wife and I were into breeding more than livestock. She was, after all this time, pregnant with our seventh kid. She was complaining that she was too old, but she was only thirty-nine. Denise was the most agile, healthy woman I’d ever seen. After the first baby, she learned how to ride. We now have a horse riding program for children with special needs. It was something close to our hearts as our little girl was born with a hearing impairment. She’s doing great now, but it was a long and hard road for all of us. When my little Susie took to the horses, it was a joy to see her smiling. Now she was fifteen and helping her mother every day. She didn’t care for boys yet. Really, I believe it stemmed from her impairment, but for now a father will take it.
“Hey there, cowboy. What’s on your mind?”
“You and our kids. How you feeling this morning?”
“Wonderful, actually. Do you want to take me for a ride today?”
“Wow, that could be taken so many ways.”
“Yeah, like rough and fast, or even slow and sweet.”
“Sweetheart, I guess I know how you’re feeling. Hornier than a motherfucker.”
“Always for you, Anthony.” She slipped her arm around mine and started leading us to the house.
“I thought you wanted to ride?”
“I need to get ready first.”
“What about the kids?”
“Tony is with Susie, brushing the horses down. Miles went fishing with Mitch and Reed. And Eric is at his friend’s house down the road. So, it’s you and me in this big ol’ house. What do you say, cowboy? I want some alone time.”
“Saddle up baby, it’s going to be a wild ride.” I grabbed her from around the back of the knees and flipped her over my shoulder. She was only a month pregnant, so it was still all good. Of course, I felt the sting of her smacking my ass. The woman was riled up. “You don’t behave, I might just have to rope you up.”
“I’ll behave,” she said in contrition, which I knew was a motherfucking lie. This little woman wanted to be at my mercy. Over the years, we’d grown to add more things into our sex life. With her pussy constantly rubbing against the saddle, she came back a sweaty, needy mess. And there was only so many times we could fuck with the kids in the other room. I had to learn how to muffle her screams.
I reached our bedroom and went straight to the bed. Tossing her on the soft mattress and twenty pillows she had to have, I went to get my supplies.
“Fuck,” I growled, when I heard her moan. Her hand
was already between her thighs, rubbing her pussy through her jeans. Damn the woman.
“Stop touching yourself. And take off your clothes now.” She did, but still teased her clit after I told her not to. I shook my head. “I warned you, love.”
I took out the cuffs and pulled the chain from under the bed. “Hold out your hands for me.” She shook her head in a need to defy me. I pulled the leather whip out of my back pocket. It was her favorite. Black corded handle with purple and black fringe. Her eyes widened but she shook her head again at me. I ran the handle slowly up and down her legs, taking my time at her thighs. Her pussy was fucking soaked already.
“I want to touch you, Anthony,” she moaned.
“Undress me,” I ordered, slapping the leather against her thigh. A moan escaped her lips and she climbed off the bed, naked and eager. She grabbed my belt, and with practiced hands, she whipped it off. I pulled my shirt from my jeans and lifted it from my body. I couldn’t wait for her.
“Too impatient, hmm?”
“Yes, I am.” I lifted her back onto the bed, undid my pants, and kicked them off. I picked up the whip and gave one lash to her breasts. Her chest heaved as tiny red marks covered her huge tits. Fuck, she really got off on this. I cupped her sex, feeling her soaking cunt. “You want to come, don’t you?”
“Yes,” she sighed, leaning back on her elbows, her legs parting for me. I reached around her and grabbed the cuffs. She needed to be fucked good and hard, and I didn’t want her to be able to move.
“Hands,” I demanded. She brought them out and I cuffed them, leaning over her, I hooked the binding to the chains. I stood at the edge of the bed and admired my kinky, wife as she lay there, naked and vulnerable for me.
I climbed between her thighs, and lifted her hips. “Remember, be quiet. The kids might come back early.”
“Well, then hurry.”
I smacked her pussy with my hand. She cried out my name, giving me more of her juice. I dipped my head and sucked on her clit. Her hips flexed up as she started to feel the orgasm, but I stopped, smiled at her, and gave her a wink. I grabbed her hips and flipped her onto her belly, her arms crossing and her ass up in the air.