by Katie Dowe
“Nauseous most of the time and hardly able to keep anything down,” she told him shakily.
“Is this something that you want?” he asked her anxiously. During the time she had been taking care of him, she had been pregnant with his child and he had treated her like crap!
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” His tone was slightly accusing.
She angled her head to look up at him. “You were not in a position to hear, Jerrold.”
He closed his eyes briefly. “I was a selfish bastard and you had to endure all of that because of my damned self-pity.”
She reached up and touched his rigid jaw, feeling the muscles clenched at her touch. “It’s in the past.”
“I am sorry,” he whispered in an agonized tone.
“I know.”
“I am not him, Noelle; I swear that I will find a way to make you realize that I am not the bastard who humiliated you in high school. I want you to believe that.”
“I already know that.”
“Where is your dad?”
“At a friend’s house for dinner.”
“Will you come back home with me?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“I will wait until you have packed.” He tilted her chin up and his eyes searched her face. “I have not been doing well without you.”
“Neither have I.” She went back into his arms and he held her tight, his breathing irregular and the heat of the pent up desire crowding through his body! He released her and stepped back. “I will wait for you here.”
Noelle called her dad when she was in her room packing. “Everything okay?”
“Everything is fine. I am going back to his place.”
“Have you told him about the baby?”
“I have.” Noelle searched for and found the nightgowns she was looking for and folded them into the bag.
“I am expecting to hear wedding announcements soon, honey.”
“Dad, we are not there yet,” she protested half-heartedly as she stuffed underwear in as well.
“Honey, you have been there ever since that man started noticing you. He made a public declaration of love, so naturally he is going to want to go all the way. Don’t stand in the way of your happiness.”
Chapter 12
He forced himself not to touch her when they made their way back to his apartment. Even when they got inside and he had taken her coat, he was careful not to touch her. She had told him that she was pregnant and he was so happy that he wanted to take her to his bed and make love to her until the sun came up the next day. But first they had to talk and he had to get her to eat something. She had told him that she had not been able to keep anything down so he had stopped at the little café a few blocks from his apartment and bought soup for her. He had refused Melanie’s offer to give him the meal for free and had not only paid for it but had also left a generous tip. Now he was going to make sure she ate and tried to keep the meal down. He was not there for the first two months and his heart wrenched at that! But he intended to be there for her for the next seven months, even if he had to wait on her hand and foot. He frowned as he remembered that he had to make a trip to Costa Land during the next week or so, but he would not worry about that now. His first priority was seeing to her needs and showing her that he was completely in love with her.
“Sit,” he ordered as he went to get a bowl for her and spoon.
“Are you going to be bossing me around now?” she asked him as he placed the bowl in front of her.
“Maybe.” His expression was gentle as he looked at her. “I want to take care of you.”
“I can take care of myself, Jerrold.”
“I know, but I want to do my part.” He poured the steaming vegetable soup into the bowl and handed her the spoon. “I did not order meat because I was not sure your stomach could take it.”
“Wise decision.” She took a tentative sip of the soup and swallowed. He watched her closely for any sign that she had an adverse reaction to it, but she took several sips and nothing happened. He went to pour himself a glass of wine and joined her at the counter. “When is your next appointment?”
“The end of this month. My delivery date is in September.” She was actually enjoying the meal, the first she had been able to stomach for the past two months!
“Have you chosen an OBGYN yet?”
“Not specifically.”
“I would like to suggest Dr. Henry Whittingham, he is the best.”
“I have heard about him, but to get to where he is we would have to fly each time and I think that will prove to be too much. There is a very good one right here in town, so I want to go to her. She was the one who confirmed the pregnancy.”
He winced at that. “I am sorry I was not there with you.”
“And we are past that,” she told him as she dug into the bowl. “You are here now.”
“Yes.” He toyed with the slender stem of the glass. “I am not going to rush you into anything, but I want you to stay here, even if it means separate bedrooms.” His heart pained him to say that, but he had to. He had messed up royally and he had to allow her to call the shots.
“Is that what you want?” she asked him softly.
“It does not matter what I want,” he told her firmly. “I was the one who wronged you so I have to do what is right by you.”
“I don’t think sleeping in separate rooms will be doing right by me, do you?” she murmured as she looked at him.
“What are you saying?”
She shrugged. “I am just saying that I don’t want us to be in separate rooms.”
She saw his fingers tighten on the stem of the glass for a moment and the way his eyes darkened. “Neither do I.” He cleared his throat and swallowed the lump there. “I missed you.”
She knew exactly what he was trying to say.
“I missed you too.”
He swallowed another lump and could not finish the wine. “Any nausea?”
“No.” She finished the soup and pushed the bowl away and he took it up and went to put it into the sink before coming back.
“What do you want to do now?”
“Go to bed,” she told him as she hopped off the stool.
“You must be exhausted-”
“I am not actually.” She reached out a hand for his and he took it, his eyes on hers.
“But you said you wanted to go bed-”
“There are other ways of using the bed, Jerrold.”
“Of course.” She felt the tremor in his hand as he walked with her out of the room and into the bedroom that she had spent some very wonderful times with him as he made love to her and slowly opened her up to the possibility of letting go of her past and finding love.
He let go of her and watched as she went into the middle of the room and stood there before turning to face him. He closed the door but stood where he was for the moment. “When you first made love to me, I could not believe it was possible to feel the way you made me feel and all the times after that. I am so happy that you were my first.”
“I want to be your last.” The words sounded as if they were forced from his throat as he stared at her.
“I would like that too,” she murmured. His eyes flared as she pulled the sweater over her head and his body clenched as he realized that she was not wearing a bra. Her small breasts gleamed in the light of the lamp he had turned on before he left to go to her and he saw the hardness of her nipples. She also took off the leggings and panties she had on and stood before him naked, one hand placed on her flat stomach that shielded his baby growing inside her. The thought of that overwhelmed him so much that his knees buckled! He walked swiftly towards her and stopped when he was right in front of her. He had spent so many nights wishing that she was here in his bedroom that now he felt as if he was dreaming and if he touched her she would disappear like wisps of smoke! He reached out to push back the tendrils of hair from her face, his fingers trembling as he trailed a finger over her cheek
slowly. He bent and lifted her up into his arms, bearing her towards the bed where he laid her down gently before stepping back to take off his clothes and joining her on the bed. His fingers touched her face in wonder, his eyes holding hers as he let his fingers wander down the column of her neck, feeling the quiver of her skin, glorying in the effect he had on her and the power she had over his own body. The desire was raging inside him and he was merely touching her! His fingers circled the tight bud, watching it come to life proudly erect as he passed his thumb over it. He bent his head to it and she lifted her body in anticipation of his mouth and when he swirled his tongue around the tight bud and pulled it into his mouth she stiffened at first and then moaned, her fingers digging into his thick coffee brown hair. Noelle felt the tremors invading her body as he pulled insistently on the nipple, sucking on the sensitive bud and sending the fiery desire racing through her body! He lifted his head and went to the other nipple this time his free hand wandering down her stomach, lingering there before going further down, his hands nudging her legs open, touching the triangle of curls there. Noelle murmured as his fingers found the protruding flesh, stroking it slowly, circling the bud with his fingers and sending her into a frenzy of passion that threatened to be her undoing! He lifted his head and stared down at her, his face hard with passion, his fingers driving into her, watching as her lips parted and the moans escaped her. He bent his head and took her lips with his, driving into her mouth as his fingers sent her to unparalleled heights of intense ecstasy! Without breaking the kiss, he removed his fingers and came over her, guiding his aching erections inside her, circling his hips for one frustrating moment before driving into her full force, stopping when he touched the core of her! Noelle lifted her body against his, her hands digging into his muscled chest, her wet nipples touching the hairs on his chest and sending the nerve endings inside her to new heights! Jerrold slowed the kiss down as he drove into her, his hips meeting hers, his body shuddering from with the familiar raging desire that he had experienced since the first time he had made love to her! He tore his mouth from hers and gritted his teeth as he looked down at her, his hands coming up to frame her face. “I love you,” he told her raggedly. “I promise that I will wait until you are ready-”
“You don’t have to.” She slid her hands around his neck and buried her fingers into the short hairs at the nape of his neck. “I love you too.”
He stiffened as he stared down at her. “How? When?”
“About the same time you had the accident,” she told him gently.
He bent his head to hers and breathed in sharply to stop the frenzied beating of his heart. “You should have told me.”
“No, I could not have.” She moved against him restlessly. He tried to speak, but the words could not make their way past the lump in his throat. Her restless movement beneath him was making it harder and harder for him to think much more speak and he already felt the tightening of his body in response to what she was doing! He drove into her urgently, his hands capturing hers above her head and his lips taking hers again as she moved beneath him. Noelle’s body stiffened as the familiar feeling rushed through her, the pit of her stomach clenching as she gave in to the inevitable orgasm crowding her. Jerrold felt it too and felt his body clenching at the incredible passion! He released her hands and gripping her hips, he guided them both into the whirling maelstrom of incredibly passion that took them over and tumbled them along in its wake!
He eased off her, still intimately joined with her as he belatedly wondered if he had been crushing her. His hands trembled as he pushed back the tumble of hair from her face. He bent his head and took her lips with his, unable to help himself from enjoying the soft sweetness her lips had to offer. He lifted his head shakily, closing his eyes as he fought the desire trembling through his large muscled body. Never in his life had he expected to come upon something as earth shattering as what he was feeling for this wonderful woman! She brushed her fingers over his chest before snuggling against him. For the first time in more than a month, she felt the contentment of his strong arms wrapped around her and never wanted to experience the loss of it again!
“Are you sleeping?” he murmured huskily, his fingers soothing the small of her back.
“No,” she whispered against his chest.
“Want to talk?”
She nodded.
“I wanted to wait for the right moment, until I felt that you have sufficiently forgiven me for what I did to you.”
She lifted her head and looked up at him, her dark brown eyes meeting his. “What is it?”
He lifted one hand and placed it against her cheek. “For a very long time, I have been searching for you. People constantly asked me why I am hardly in a relationship and I knew I sounded like some delusional fool, but I believed that there was someone for me and only me and I was prepared to wait.” His eyes met hers and held. “When I saw you, I knew that you were that person.”
“I am starting to believe you,” she teased.
“With that in mind, I want to ask you to marry me, darling, and let us become a family. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you and taking care of you and our child and I want to show you how much you mean to me. Will you give me the opportunity to do so?”
“That depends.”
He stiffened slightly. “On what?”
“On whether or not you agree that we are going to have more than this one child.”
He closed his eyes in relief, opening them again to look at her with a twinkle in them. “How many are we talking about?”
She shrugged one slim shoulder. “Maybe three.”
“How about two?” he suggested gently.
“Or four.”
He grinned at her. “Whatever you want, darling, as long as I get the chance to get to be with you and get to know you better.”
“Are you going to be taking out ads in the papers?” she asked him teasingly.
“Definitely,” he told her with a tender smile. “How else are those two people who were the authors of your humiliation in high school going to find out that you have snagged a very eligible bachelor?”
“How indeed?” she said dryly as she pulled his head down to hers. “I am not in the least bit tired.”
“Neither am I,” he whispered and showed her how energized he was!
*****
Jerrold Littman was anything if not a man of his words. He did not exactly put out ads in the papers, but he allowed his publicist to call up the papers and leaked the news that he was seeing Noelle Buckner, former physiotherapist (he refused to have her working for the team and was insistent on that) of the Lakeside Bears, who had agreed to marry him but the date had not been set yet. That caused a flurry of reporters to descend on the small town in order to get the scoop on the famous basketball player. Noelle had refused to divulge the news of her pregnancy and she had told him that she wanted to keep it a secret for now. “It’s bad enough they are prying into my life, I don’t want them speculating on the sex of our baby or anything like that.”
“They are going to end up finding out when you make the visit to the OBGYN,” he pointed out.
“I want it kept a secret for as long as possible,” she told him with a sigh. Their relationship was all over social media as well as his plan on retiring from the team. Also of great interest were his negotiations with the top brand name clothing line Romano’s and the shoe company as well. Endorsement deals were pouring in and he had his hands full as well as that of his publicist. He had formally asked her dad for her hand in marriage and had given her an eight carat oval diamond ring as an engagement ring and she had sat there admiring its brilliance. He wanted to fly her to Paris or even Italy, but she was still having trouble keeping things down and with her stomach heaving at odd hours of the day she had to stay put. There was also a concern Dr. Whitehouse had told them about during the visit a week ago.
“Your pressure is a little high and I am concerned about the persistent nausea,” the woman to
ld them. “I am going to advise some bed rest for a couple of weeks and absolute relaxation – no worries or stress or anything like that.”
“Is it very serious?” Noelle asked anxiously, closing her fingers on Jerrold’s when he took her hand in his.
“As long as we get your pressure under control.” She had eyed both of them. “I am aware that the announcements in all the papers have reporters calling you every second of the day. And the town is crawling with them so that can add to the excitement.”
“I will make sure she stays out of the spotlight,” Jerrold assured her. “What about the nausea?”
“I am of course concerned about dehydration from the vomiting. Is there anything you can keep down?”
“Soup from the café near to Jerrold’s apartment and of course crackers,” Noelle said wryly. “Even my usual toothpaste has turned against me.”
“I am hoping that when you reach the second trimester it will become less of an irritant. But in the meantime, stick with the soup and I am going to prescribe something else to help with the nausea.”
*****
His parents had come over for dinner when they had been called with the extra happy news that they were expecting a child. Jackie had insisted on cooking dinner, making sure to bear in mind that the mother-to-be was not keeping anything down. “It’s a boy,” she insisted as she handed Noelle a cup of herbal tea. The men were in the living room talking while she and Noelle were in the kitchen.
“It’s too soon to tell,” Noelle reminded her as she watched the petite woman bustling around the ultramodern kitchen with a towel tied around her waist as she prepared her famous stew.
“I had the same reactions when I was pregnant with Jerrold,” she said with a grin as she sliced potatoes. “Could not keep anything down and was so miserable that I could not wait for the pregnancy to end. You mark my words, it is a boy.”
“I don’t care what it is as long as it is a healthy baby.” Noelle closed her eyes as her stomach quieted. Ever since their visit to the doctor, Jerrold had not touched her and she knew why. She had assured him that she was okay and that making love would not do anything to affect their baby, but he was not taking any chances. Sleeping in his arms was the hardest thing she ever did and the desire was driving her crazy!