His Christmas Gift ; Decadent Holiday Pleasures

by Janice Sims

  “Because I wanted to be sure before I got your hopes up. I’ll make an appointment with my doctor when we get home. I didn’t want to disappoint you. If I found out I was wrong, only I would have been let down.”

  “You don’t need to protect me, Alia Joie. I thought we said we’d have no more secrets.”

  “Is that such a big secret from you?” she asked curiously.

  “No,” he admitted. “It’s just that we were apart for so long, and now I want to share everything with you.”

  She got closer to him in the dark until her forehead came in contact with his chin. She tilted her head up and planted a kiss on his jaw. “I’m sorry if you feel I left you out. It wasn’t my intention.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tightly against his chest. “Are you sure you don’t want to make love? Your voice, in the dark, is turning me on.”

  “We’ll be that much more ready for love when we get back home.”

  “We could go to a hotel,” he suggested, his mouth on her neck, his lips soft and warm. Her whole body was tingling, but she held on to her resolve.

  “Adam Braithwaite the third, stop trying to seduce me. And that’s probably the only time I’m going to ask you to do that.”

  He laughed quietly. “Do you know how many times I lay in my little hard bed at the facility wishing I was in this exact position with you?”

  “Now you’re hitting below the belt.”

  “Whatever it takes,” he said lightly.

  She huffed exasperatedly and turned her back on him. But that move only made it worse. Within seconds she could feel his member hardening.

  “Have you no shame?” she asked, laughter evident in her voice.

  “None,” her horny husband replied, his hands on her breasts.

  “If your parents hear us—and you know your mother will let us know—I am going to be so embarrassed.”

  “Why?” Adam asked reasonably. “Ramona already thinks you’re expecting. She knows what has to be done to get you in that state.”

  Quietly they took off their nightclothes, and equally quietly they began to make love in the missionary position. The bed squeaked, but not too loudly, Alia hoped. She closed her eyes, letting the tension at the thought of getting caught slide off her. Adam took it slowly, his penis hardening even more with each strong thrust inside of her. Her vaginal walls contracted and relaxed around his hard shaft, the results so deliciously satiating that she found herself sighing out loud. Just soft inhalations and exhalations, she told herself. You would have to have ears like a bat to hear them.

  “Oh, baby,” Adam crooned. His hands traveled the length of her body, inciting little fires of desire everywhere. It was bad enough that the feel of his muscular body rubbing against her soft curves was already driving her crazy, but he had to add further stimulation.

  On top of that, he began to softly sing “Beyond,” one of her favorite Leon Bridges songs.

  It spoke of a man finally finding the perfect woman for him, and he’s afraid to commit, but he has to admit to himself that he’d be a fool if he didn’t, because she might be his everything and beyond his imaginings.

  “You are diabolical,” she told him. “You know I love that song.”

  “I aim to please,” Adam said. He hummed as he continued to ply her with all the sensual pleasure she could take. She arched her back, accepting it, coming to the conclusion that while they most definitely shouldn’t be doing this in his parents’ house, what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. She was at her peak, and she could tell by his breathing that Adam was, too. Now, if they could just contain their enthusiasm through their climaxes, all would be well.

  She came with a prolonged sigh, kind of like the sound of air gushing out of a tire, only with a much lower volume, she thought with a little giggle. Adam also managed not to holler.

  They would have gotten away with it if, within seconds of their release, the bed hadn’t collapsed with a loud noise.

  They sat in the dark room, stunned for a moment, not daring to move, hoping that the sound hadn’t carried. But a couple minutes later, Ramona and Adam II came running, knocking on their door.

  “Children,” cried Adam II anxiously. “Are you all right?”

  Ramona was laughing uproariously. “Don’t you recognize that sound?” she asked. “You and I have broken a bed or two in our time.”

  “We’re fine! I’ll buy you another bed, Momma,” Adam yelled through the door.

  “You sure will!” Ramona yelled back.

  In the bedroom, Alia and Adam were climbing out of the wreck of the antique wooden bed frame. Adam switched on the lamp on the bedside table. “I should have known this old bed couldn’t take a beating. This probably belonged to Ramona’s grandmother,” he groused.

  “You might have mentioned that to me!” Alia said, laughing.

  “We’re gonna leave you kids to it!” Ramona yelled from the other side of the door.

  “Okay, good night!” Alia yelled back. “We’re sorry for disturbing you.”

  “Look, there’s room to put the mattress over there.” Adam indicated the corner of the room near the double doors that opened onto a patio.

  They carried the mattress with the sheets still on it over to that corner, and after Adam turned the lamp back off, they settled down on it. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into that,” Alia said as she lay in the crook of Adam’s arm.

  “We weren’t doing a whole lot of talking,” said her incorrigible husband.

  Alia thumped him on his forehead. “You know the whole family’s going to know about this by tomorrow.”

  “Oh, Ramona’s on the phone right now, waking up Grandma Violet,” Adam informed her.

  “No!” Alia cried, horrified by the thought.

  “I’m afraid so,” Adam said. “There are no secrets in the Braithwaite family.”

  Chapter 12

  A month after Adam and his team had made their demands, Colonel Butler phoned Adam to tell him that the president had assented and said that he would acknowledge what they had gone through, extolling their virtues and officially apologizing for their lengthy imprisonment in Abu Dhabi, before presenting them with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was given to civilians as recognition for their contributions to the security or national interests of the United States and to world peace.

  “I’ll be phoning your colleagues as soon as I get off the phone with you,” Colonel Butler said. “I’d like to congratulate you for standing up for us. I somehow feel as though you’re representing those of us who didn’t get a hero’s welcome when we got back home.”

  Adam, who was standing in the kitchen with Alia Joie, where they’d been preparing dinner when the colonel had phoned, didn’t know what to say. He felt unworthy of the recognition when he thought of what soldiers must have endured while in the service of their country. “Please, Colonel,” he said. “What we experienced pales in comparison to things our enlisted military personnel have gone through. But I thank you for saying it.”

  The colonel cleared his throat, and when he spoke again it sounded as if he was holding back emotions. “As before, a packet with details of the event will be messengered to your residences in a matter of hours. I hope your lovely wife will be with you. My wife and I will be attending the ceremony and I look forward to seeing her again.”

  Adam looked up at Alia Joie, a smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. “I’m sure she’d like that.”

  “Good evening, Dr. Braithwaite.”

  “Good evening, Colonel Butler.”

  Alia Joie gazed at him expectantly after he ended the call. “Well?” she asked, cinnamon-colored eyes widening.

  “They’re going to admit what happened to us,” Adam told her, grinning.

  Alia Joie, jumping up and down, hopped over to him and threw her arms a
round his neck. “Oh, my God, I knew he would cave eventually. I’m sure he wants to start manufacturing the device.”

  “Honey, that’s already being done,” Adam said. “It’s been tested and retested. By the time the president makes his announcement, the device will be ready to be added to the military’s equipment for actively combating air targets from the ground.”

  “Wow,” Alia Joie said, and made the sign of her mind being blown with the subsequent whoosh sound that accompanied it.

  Adam hugged her and said, “I’m glad that’s settled. What I was looking forward to talking about tonight was your visit to the doctor today. You insisted on telling me face-to-face when I phoned you for an update. Then when I got home you wanted to dive right into making dinner. I’m done waiting. Let’s have it. Are you pregnant or not?”

  Alia Joie was looking especially delectable today with her hair in an upswept style that displayed her lovely neck and bold earrings, which she had a liking for. Today they were white and had a circumference of at least two and a half inches. She wore a short long-sleeved dress in brown with geometric white shapes on it.

  She merely smiled at him, then said, “I have something for you.”

  He released her and watched her stroll over to a deep drawer next to the farmhouse sink. She withdrew a green box with a bronze ribbon tied around it and a large bow on top. She gave it to him.

  Confused, Adam took the gift, carried it over to the huge center island, sat down on one of the stools, gingerly untied the ribbon and opened the lid of the box. Alia Joie joined him at the island, watching every move he made. Inside was a white mug made of thick ceramic that could hold around fourteen ounces. Admittedly, he loved a big cup of coffee, but what did that have to do with whether or not Alia Joie was pregnant?

  Alia Joie laughed suddenly. “Talk about an unobservant scientist.”

  He peered inside the mug. Sure enough, there were words printed at the bottom. It read, Congratulations on Becoming a DILF!

  “Okay,” he said. “Is that some kind of slang a nerd like me would never get?”

  She whispered in his ear, “Dad I’d like to—”

  He jumped up from the stool, grabbed her in his arms and spun her around, all the while yelling, “I’m going to be a dad! I’m going to be a dad!”

  Alia Joie was laughing, too. “Yes, my love, I’m having your baby. I went to the doctor. We’re definitely pregnant.”

  Adam squeezed her tightly, then thought that perhaps he should be more careful and let up on the pressure. He peered down into her upturned smiling face. “I never knew until this moment how much I wanted to become a father. I mean, I knew I wanted to have children with you because I love you, but I hadn’t given much thought to what it means to become a dad.” He set her up on a stool. She spread her legs and he moved between them and took her into his arms. He didn’t want to let her go, he was so happy. He gently rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand. “I know this is a very natural occurrence. Men and women have been producing children since the beginning of time. It feels special to me, though. Imagine a little being with your beauty, your brains and my sense of humor.”

  “What about your beauty, your brains and my sense of humor?” Alia Joie joked.

  “I’ll take that,” he said, and bent to kiss her lips. “I’ll take it all.”

  His next thought was Ramona, and he excitedly said, “That Bahamian witch knew what she was talking about. How could she have known you were pregnant?”

  Alia Joie laughed. “It was wishful thinking on her part. You know how much she wants a grandchild. She told me I was pregnant when she first saw me in her shop because my skin was so lovely. Her words. She said when I burst out crying after she’d made that comment, she knew I was pregnant. The first thing that changes with a pregnant woman, she says, is that your hormones make you emotional. She’d never known me to cry like that before. So, you see, she’s just observant, like her son.”

  Adam couldn’t stop smiling. He kissed the top of her head and said, “I’m going to call her and let her know. I don’t have to worry about the rest of the family. She’ll make sure they find out.”

  Alia Joie nodded, climbing off the stool. “Good idea. I’m going to phone Mom and Dad, too.” She went into the bedroom, and he picked up his cell phone and pressed the button that would connect him to his parents’ home phone in Nassau.

  “I love you!” he called after Alia Joie.

  She turned and blew him a kiss. “Back at you, Professor.”

  While the phone rang, he picked up the mug she’d given him and looked at the message inside it again, murmuring, “DILF, indeed. I’m married to a wild woman.”

  * * *

  Alia and Adam, along with his colleagues, were put up at a luxury hotel in Washington, DC, that was within walking distance of the National Mall. This, Adam told her, was a short drive from the White House. Leave it to her husband to know that. Their party was able to check into the hotel the day before the ceremony and do a bit of sightseeing. And after the ceremony the next day, there would be a reception at the White House.

  This was their first night in Washington, DC, and the four couples went out to dinner together. The restaurant was Italian. It was very busy, and Alia noticed several famous politicians among the restaurants’ patrons. The atmosphere was lively, and looking around the table, Alia felt she and her friends fit right in. The ladies had glammed it up a bit, and the guys were handsome in their suits. Alia was having a good time catching up with Arjun and Madhuri, Maritza and Raul, and Calvin and his new girlfriend, Evie. She found out Evie was short for Evelyn. Evie was British, like Calvin, and she was so far from being a model, the only women Calvin had been dating lately, that Alia held out hope this one might work out. Evie was a research scientist at Bristol Institute of Technology, where the others worked. She told Alia she and Calvin were from Surrey in South East England. Alia asked her about the history of Surrey, which turned into an interesting conversation around the dinner table.

  “Well, it’s the woodsiest area in England, to begin with,” she said shyly. In her early thirties, she had very curly red hair, which grew in abundance. Her skin was fair and her eyes a dark green. Alia thought she was adorable and complemented Calvin’s blond handsomeness. “Which is to say it’s got lots of woods to explore. A lot of people own property and love working in their gardens. I suppose the most notorious person to ever live in Surrey was Henry VIII, who had a castle there. But as for me, my favorite person to have lived and worked in Surrey is H. G. Wells. He’s why I wanted to become a scientist. He made it sound exciting. But as for present-day scientists, I really admire Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock.”

  “I’ve heard about her. She’s a science educator who’s been on television in Britain, right?” Maritza asked.

  “Right,” Evie said, seemingly delighted Maritza had heard of her. “She’s inspiring a lot of girls to get into science.”

  “For me, it was Marie Curie,” Maritza put in. “She discovered radium and then died as a result of exposure. I thought she was a hero.”

  Alia smiled at Maritza. “She was. Because of her, many lives have been saved by having their illnesses properly diagnosed with the use of X-rays.”

  Maritza beamed at her. Alia was pleased she was able to keep up with the intellectual ramblings of the group, all of whom, except for her and Raul, could legitimately be called doctors. She was an artist and a businesswoman. Her highest degree was a master’s in marketing. However, she had been brought up to believe that she should feel at ease in anyone’s company.

  Calvin said, “For me, it was Einstein. When I was a kid, I read everything about him I could get my hands on.”

  “And then you became a quantum physicist,” Adam ribbed him. He’d said this because though Einstein had inspired Calvin, Calvin hadn’t become a theoretical physicist like Einstein.

  “Yes, well, qua
ntum physics and theoretical physics are connected,” Arjun said. “Which is why we four mesh so splendidly.”

  Alia thought he and Madhuri made the cutest couple. Madhuri was in medical school, and would one day be a gynecologist.

  “Can we please change the subject?” Raul cried. “My brain is about to explode. Does anybody here watch sports?”

  Everyone laughed.

  “There, you have us,” Maritza said, smiling at her husband. “I doubt anyone here could tell you who won the Super Bowl this year.”

  Arjun whipped out his cell phone and asked it who had won the Super Bowl. Everyone laughed.

  Raul laughed. “Arjun, you’re nuts, man.”

  Arjun smiled. “It helps when you’re a particle physicist looking for the small pieces that make up the universe and never making any progress. It’s maddening.”

  Sitting beside Adam, Alia reached over and clasped his hand. He responded with a gentle squeeze and a sexy smile directed at her. “Getting tired?” he whispered.

  “A little,” she whispered back.

  That was all her indulgent husband needed to know. He’d been extra protective of her since they found out she was expecting. He rose and announced to their companions, “We’re going to say good-night. It’s been a pleasure.”

  “Before you lovebirds run off, I have something to say,” Calvin said.

  “All right,” Adam conceded, sitting back down at the table.

  Calvin reached over and took Evie’s hand. Evie smiled at him, her lovely green eyes lighting up. Alia wondered if this could be a marriage proposal. Calvin and Evie hadn’t actually been dating that long, but she’d heard from Adam that the two had known each other for years. That Surrey connection was just the beginning. They’d attended secondary school in Surrey and had started college at Cambridge at the same time. Old friends turned lovers? She listened with high hopes for them.

  “Evie has been a naturalized citizen for a few years now,” he began. He took a deep breath, his gaze on Evie’s face. “When it got back to the president that I wasn’t a citizen, he pulled some strings, and since I already had my green card and five years of continuous residency, all I needed to do was pass an exam and be interviewed. I came through both with flying colors. And a few days ago, I took the oath of citizenship. I’m an American citizen now!”