by Dahlia West
“Tell him in your undies,” Abby suggested with a grin. “No way could he stay mad once he sees you looking all sexy-like.”
Walking into the house, the guys were hanging out in the living room. If Tex was mad at Abby, he didn’t show it. But Chris looked irritated as all hell. His jaw twitched and he set his gaze on her. “Shopping? You disappeared all afternoon to go shopping?” he asked.
“I-”
“I called your phone. You didn’t answer.”
Sarah winced. She’d had to turn it off in the doctor’s office. “Well-”
“And you said you were working today. But then you didn’t.”
“True, but-”
Chris eyed the bags she was still holding. “Panties,” he declared. “Panties were such a big emergency that you lied to me?”
Sarah blew out a harsh breath. “Can I speak?” she snapped.
He crossed his arms in front of his broad chest. “By all means. Explain.”
She grimaced. This wasn’t how she wanted it to go. All her plans were ruined. Now there was no big surprise. “Gah!” she cried and turned to stomp up the stairs.
“You’re not getting out of this!” Chris called after her.
In the bedroom, she tossed the bags onto the chair in the corner and flopped down onto the bed. Pepper, who had followed her upstairs, jumped onto the bed as well and began purring loudly as Sarah ran her fingers through her fluffy fur.
“We need to salvage this,” she told the deaf cat, who purred louder.
Sarah eyed the bags on the chair.
Ten minutes later, she emerged from the bedroom and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. The corset made it only slightly more difficult to do that as it wasn’t particularly tight. She adjusted her black silk and lace panties. A thong might have looked better, but Chris had not had a very positive reaction that time she wore a bathing suit in a nearly similar style at the hotel in Las Vegas.
Though honestly, this was a bit different seeing as how there was no pool to get into to avoid being looked at. As much as she loved the boys, she didn’t love the boys, and there was no way she was parading around in a thong in front of them.
She gripped the rail with one hand and the photo strip in the other and descended the stairs.
Easy, who was sitting in one of the chairs and subsequently facing the stairs was the first to catch sight of her. He whistled. "Damn."
Chris, and the others, turned. Abby squealed in delight.
Sarah steeled her nerves and marched right up to her husband who was sitting on the couch. He was clearly shocked, even if he was trying to hide it. The corner of his mouth was turned up, after all.
"Careful, Shooter," Hawk warned, but his grin belied his dire tone. "She's got one hand behind her back. Might be your .44."
"Well, now," Caleb said, rubbing a hand along his chin. "Gettin' shot by a beautiful woman. Now that I think on it, that's the way I'd like to go."
"Beautiful woman in lingerie," Easy corrected.
"Well, yeah, of course," Caleb agreed. "Goes without saying."
"It was an emergency," Sarah declared.
Chris never took his eyes off Sarah. "Still waiting to hear how this was an emergency that required lying to me."
When she was in front of him, she brought her hand around and held out the strip of photos. Chris looked at it a moment then took it from her.
"I lied because I wanted to make sure before I said anything. And it was an emergency because I'll only get to wear this for a little while before I'm the size of Tex's Hummer."
"What's that?" Hawk asked, craning his neck to see from his chair, but his grin said he knew exactly what it was.
"My baby," Chris announced, looking at the photo.
"Sure it's yours?" Hawk asked casually. "She’s been spending an awful lot of time with Easy."
Sarah's mouth dropped open. Before she could speak, Chris cut her off. "Might be mine. Better find out first." He slapped the ultrasound photos onto the coffee table, started to get up, and tagged Sarah at the waist. He hoisted her up over his shoulder.
"What are you doing?!" she screeched.
Chris slapped her on the ass. "Interrogation," he said, stalking off toward the staircase. Sarah made a noise of protest. He carried her easily up the steps, entered the master bedroom, and kicked the door shut with his boot. He tossed her unceremoniously onto the bed.
He stood over her, arms folded across his broad chest. "You lied to me. We said no more lying."
Sarah propped herself up on her elbows and looked up at him. "True. But if I'd said I was going to the doctor, then you would have known why. And there might not have been a baby. I- I was..."
"You were what?"
She blew a stray hair out of her eyes. "I was....doing recon."
He grinned at her. "I love it when you talk dirty." He gripped her ankle and yanked her til she was flat on her back. He reached up between her thighs and ran a finger along the outside of her panties. She drew in a sharp breath. "And I like this, too," he said, passing his other hand over the fabric of her corset. "We're gonna need more of these. Til you're as big as Tex's Hummer."
Her head tilted back and she closed her eyes. Her legs fell further open as he slowly stroked her slit. "Whose baby is it?" he asked suddenly.
Her head jerked up and her eyes flew open. "You can't be serious."
"Deadly serious," he replied, settling one knee between her legs, and then the other, he brought both hands to the tiny straps at her hips. He slowly began pulling her panties down.
"You know it's your baby," she said. He didn't respond, instead he tossed the panties and rubbed his thumb along her mound. "Chris," she said, this time a slight edge of desperation in her voice. "You know it's-"
Suddenly he was on her, covering her, his thumb pressed against her swollen clit and his other hand cupping the side of her face as he kissed her firmly, his tongue sweeping into her mouth, claiming her both above and below.
He pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. "Say my name again, Slick," he demanded as he brought his thumb lower and pushed it into her.
"Chris," she gasped as she bucked her hips to take his thumb deeper. He leaned down and brought his lips to her throat, biting and licking as she wiggled beneath the onslaught. He worked his way down to the swells of her breasts. His tongue ran over the thin, white scar.
"Again," he ordered.
Sarah wove her fingers through his hair, pulling his mouth back down onto her aching flesh. "Chris," she moaned, but this time it was more of a plea.
He lowered himself between her thighs. He blew lightly across her exposed pussy. She whimpered and tried to force his head closer with her hands still in his hair. Chris resisted even though it was torture for both of them.
"Who does this baby belong to?"
"You," she whispered.
He moved lower, nuzzling her mound, "Who?" he demanded again.
"Oh, God," she cried, trying to get her clit somewhere in the vicinity of his mouth. "You. It's your baby, Chris."
He let her strain at her efforts for a bit before sealing his mouth over her tight bud. He sucked and swirled and loved the little button, stopping only occasionally to lap up the sweetness that seeped out of her aching hole.
When she was on the edge, trembling and grasping at him, he stopped and moved over her. During his oral assault he'd freed his cock, though somehow she hadn’t noticed. "Put your legs around me," he ordered and she immediately wrapped herself around his waist. He took his cock in hand and rubbed the head up and down her wet seam. She thrashed and tried to pull him in.
"Who do you and the baby belong to?"
"You," she cried out, her voice breaking.
He slipped the head into her tight entrance, just enough to tease her into madness. "Who do you and the baby belong to?" he demanded again.
"Oh, please," she begged. "Oh, God, please. Please, Chris. We belong to you. Oh, God we belong to you."
He drove int
o her hard and her muscles clenched around him, already in the throes of the orgasm he'd been dangling in front of her for the last few minutes.
"We belong to you!" she screamed as she came on his shaft, and that beautiful declaration sent him over the edge with her, pumping into her, loading up her already planted womb.
He rolled onto his back, pulling her with him, settling her on top of him. He was careful to keep his cock inside her, enjoying their closeness. It took him a minute to realize she was shaking a little.
"Why are you crying?" he asked her softly, brushing her hair back.
"Because I love you so much."
He nodded, accepting that answer. "I love you, too, Sarah. You and the baby. I couldn't love anything more." He rubbed his hands down her back. "You touched my scars when no other woman would. You trusted me even when it terrified you. You saved my life and then gave me a life." He kissed the top of her head. "You're such a miracle, Sarah. And I can't believe you're mine."
Chapter 5
Sarah parked her SUV and hurried into Maria’s to start her afternoon shift. She stepped into the bar and let her eyes adjust. Maria was behind the bar looking at her expectantly. Sarah grinned and headed over. Maria smiled back. “Guess I don’t have to ask,” the older woman declared.
Sarah set the photos down on the bar. Maria picked them up and nodded.
“What’s that?” Milo, one of the bar’s regulars, asked.
“Slick’s got a bun in the oven,” Maria replied.
“Oh, yeah? Can she get my hamburger bun in the oven so’s I can eat? Let me see that anyway,” he said. He scrutinized the strip. “Don’t look like much.”
Maria snorted. “That’s because it’s the size of your brain.”
To Sarah she said, “Congratulations, honey,” and swept Sarah into a hug when Sarah moved behind the bar.
Milo grunted. “This puts me to mind that I should make a few calls around to see if I got any little Milos on the way.”
Sarah laughed and he scowled.
“I’ll have you know,” he declared, “that I am very popular with the over 50 set here in Rapid City. All the women call me to see to their plumbing.”
“He means fixing their toilets,” Maria replied snidely.
“Sometimes they offer me a night cap, though,” Milo insisted.
“Forget it,” Maria said. “There are no little Milos about to descend on the town.”
Milo rubbed his chin. “Good thing, too.”
Sarah grinned at him. “The world isn’t ready for a thing like that.”
“Don’t I know it. Though my wife always said she wished there was two of me.”
“One to fix the toilet and one to clean the gutters?” Maria asked.
He grumbled. “Probably something like that.” He looked at Sarah. “Guess you won’t be around too much longer.”
Sarah bit her lip and glanced at Maria. “For a while, anyway,” she hedged.
Maria waved her hand. “It’s alright. Lord knows you can’t work in a bar and raise a baby at the same time. Well, you could. I did. But you’ve got an old man whereas I didn’t and no way in Hell is Shooter going to let you sling drinks on Friday and Saturday nights with a kid at home.”
Sarah frowned. “No, he won’t. I do need a job, though. Something with normal hours. I hate to just leave you.”
“There’s other girls,” Maria said. “Always other girls. None of ‘em will be as good as you, though.”
Milo laughed. “That’s as close to a ringing endorsement as I’ve ever heard her give.”
Sarah smiled and left to clock in. She really did need a plan for after the baby came.
****
On her lunch hour the obvious finally occurred to her and she clocked out, making a beeline for her SUV. She hoped she could make it downtown and back in an hour. She weaved through midday traffic, parallel parked, and lurched out of the vehicle. She found her best friend in her office, half-buried under a sea of paperwork. Sarah flopped into a chair.
“More shopping?” Abby asked, grinning. “Baby shopping this time? Pretty please?”
Sarah shook her head and Abby scowled. “Woman. You are ruining my fun,” said Abby.
“Sorry. We will go shopping. I swear. But I came to ask you for a favor.”
Abby raised an eyebrow. “You want to send another dirty video to Chris? You need help with ideas?”
Sarah flushed scarlet as she remembered making that video. And Chris’ reaction to it. She hadn’t tried anything like it again. She didn’t know if it was scientifically possible to be fucked into a coma, but she didn’t want to risk it. He had bought her a snazzy little toy after that, though. However the rule was he was the only one allowed to use it on her.
Though one time she turned it on while he was in the shower. Just to see what he’d do. It was-
“Sarah?”
Sarah blinked at Abby and shook her head, both to clear her naughty thoughts and to indicate no. “No video,” she said. “I need a job.”
Abby sat back in her chair. As the hotel’s owner, Sarah was pretty sure Abby relegated the task of hiring employees to someone else. But she’d make an exception.
“I need regular hours,” Sarah explained. “And less dealing with bikers and rough necks. I was thinking maybe front desk? Or if you don’t have anything there, housekeeping is fine. I’ve worked in salons before, too, but only as a hair washer and to be honest I need more money than that. I figure I’ll take three months with the baby, find a nanny, and then start my new job.”
Abby pushed the sea of paperwork away from herself a little bit. Her face was inscrutable.
“Sorry, Slick. No.”
Sarah blinked at her, unable to process it. “What?”
“No,” Abby repeated. “I won’t hire you to work in the hotel.”
Sarah gaped at her friend. “Look, it won’t be a problem,” she insisted. “I know we’re friends, but I won’t slack because of it. I’ll work just as hard for you as I do for Maria. I wouldn’t take advantage.”
Abby pushed her chair back and stood up. “I know,” she assured Sarah.
Sarah looked up at her. “Then what’s the problem?”
“Let’s go for a stroll,” Abby replied.
Sarah reluctantly got up. “You’re not going to take me for a ride and only one of us comes back, are you?”
Abby laughed. “Close. But no. The Raines side of the family are strictly mercenaries. But I am going to make you an offer you can’t refuse.”
Abby led Sarah out of the office, past the reception desk and into the hotel’s temporarily closed bar. There were only two men here, pulling up the flooring at the end of the bar where the hole had been knocked into the wall. Abby ushered her through.
Ducking under a sheet of plastic Sarah asked, “Don’t your neighbors mind that you tore a gaping hole in their wall?”
Abby shook head. “The only neighbor is the book store on the corner.”
Sarah entered the large open space that had exposed beams on the ceiling, studs for a wall up near the back, and more plastic sheeting everywhere. She looked down at her feet and then up at Abby.
“What?” Abby asked.
Sarah grinned and shrugged. “Well, I am standing on plastic.”
Abby scoffed. “Relax. You’re not going to die.” She turned and gestured to the large space.
“What is it?” Sarah asked, looking around. The ceiling was high, the floors were just concrete.
“Well, it’s nothing right now,” Abby admitted. “I bought the property a few weeks ago. With a lot of hard work and a good executive chef, it’s going to be the best restaurant in Rapid City.”
Sarah’s eyes widened. “Are you serious? You didn’t say anything!”
“Only Tex knows. Because has to listen to me bitch about rezoning and building permits and shit like that. I wanted it to look a little better before I brought it up,” she told Sarah. “But back there’s the kitchen. We’re putting in a nice hos
tess area right in front of the door. Large double entryway from the restaurant into the hotel bar.”
As Sarah looked around the placement of the studs made sense to her now. “You want me to work in your kitchen?! Oh, my God! Yes! Yes, yes, yes! A thousand times yes!”
Abby smiled and shook her head. “Oh no, Slick. Aim a little higher, sister. I want you as my Executive Chef.”
Sarah’s head snapped back to Abby. Her mouth dropped open. “Abby-” She shook her head, bewildered. “Abby I’ve never even worked in a kitchen, except for helping out Thomas at the bar in the afternoons. I could barely be a sous chef, let alone run an entire kitchen.”
“That’s where the rest of the offer comes in. You’re too smart, Sarah, to wait tables and do grunt work. And your cooking is amazing. If we put some technical skills behind all that creativity, we could have the best restaurant in the city. We’re not in Vegas. Or Chicago, or New York, or L.A. It really is possible to make a go of it here. I’m only using half my degree,” Abby told her. “Hotel and Restaurant Management. But I don’t have the creativity or the food knowledge.”
Sarah shook her head, amazed at the opportunity but knowing it was beyond her capabilities. “I don’t, either.”
“You will,” Abby insisted. “After you go back to school.”
Sarah stared at her. “What? School? Where?”
“Black Hills State. It’s only in Spearfish. The commute isn’t terrible. And you’d only need some basic certifications. It wouldn’t take as long as a four year degree. They have a culinary arts department.”
Sarah was having trouble processing everything Abby was telling her. It was more than she’d ever hoped for.
“I’ll front you the money for school,” Abby explained. “When the restaurant takes off, you pay me back. No big deal.”
Sarah tried to keep from hyperventilating. “Abby-”
“Don’t you dare say no, Slick. Or anything like you can’t do it. Because I know you can.”
Sarah glanced around again, taking it all in. Her gaze finally settled back on Abby. “You’re right,” she said. “It’s an offer I can’t refuse.”