by KB Winters
I raised my eyebrow at her. “Really?”
“Mmhmm.” She stoked her bare stomach. “Do you want a boy or a girl?”
“Wow. I don’t even know.” I shook my head, still in disbelief that Melissa was carrying my child. “I’m still getting used to this whole thing. I’m going to be a dad.”
Melissa smiled. “Yeah. You’ll be great. You’re amazing with Jackson.”
“Thanks. He makes it pretty easy on me.”
“He’s a good kid.”
I chuckled. “So does that mean this one will be a handful?”
Melissa smiled. “I hope not! I always thought I would have my kids super close together and get over the diaper and potty training phases and be done with it. Now it’s back to the beginning.”
“We’ll make it work, baby. Don’t sweat it. I’m a fast learner.”
“Plus, you’ll be a super-hot dad.”
I arched a brow at her. “Is that so?”
“Uh-huh. I mean you’ve got the Magic Mike moves and everything.” We laughed together and then Melissa kissed me slowly and my attention shifted from the conversation to getting Melissa out of her panties.
“You’re definitely a MILF.”
Melissa slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh. “Oh my gosh…you’re ridiculous.”
Her laugh turned to a moan when I slipped my hand down the front of her loose fitting shorts and stroked her lips over her panties. “You’re so wet, baby. You’ve been wanting me all night, huh?”
Melissa’s eyes fluttered shut as she nodded her agreement. I slipped the shorts off her legs, grazing the outside of her thighs as I pushed them down to the floor. I left her panties on for the time being and went back to stroking her through the soft fabric. I loved feeling how wet she’d gotten her panties as she’d sucked my cock. So hot.
“Chase, come fuck me,” Melissa whimpered, spreading her legs for me.
I smiled down at her as her eyes opened, the pupils dark and round. “I can’t.”
“Please? I want to feel you.”
Melissa grinned and sucked in a breath as I slipped a finger under her panties and stroked her clit. “I’m not finished playing yet.”
“Oh, God! Please, Chase...”
I teased her clit slowly, making lazy circles, until she was shuddering with each touch. She was soaking wet and my cock was so tight I was ready to explode just thinking about sliding inside of her. Melissa raised up, her back arched against the bed, and her whimpering rolled into soft moans. I sped up the strokes and brought her over the edge in a gentle climax.
“Now you’re ready for me,” I whispered in her ear, grazing my lips across the soft skin. I stripped the panties from her and she spread her legs for me as I dragged my eyes down her naked body. She was the sexiest woman I’d ever met and definitely the best lover I’d ever had.
My cock slipped between her slick lips and I teased her until her eyes closed again before I entered her. I thrust into her slowly, savoring every second, until I was buried completely inside of her. Melissa gasped as I filled her and gripped onto my hips with her thighs. I dipped my mouth down to lick and suck at her tits and they went hard between my lips.
She shivered and blinked. “I’m so sensitive,” she said, looking down at her tits. “That feels so good, Chase. Don’t stop.”
I moved inside of her slowly, not wanting to shoot my load too soon. I wanted to savor and enjoy her as long as possible but she’d gotten me so fuckin’ turned on with her mouth it was going to be hard to hold out.
When I blew on her nipples she groaned and gripped the comforter with her hands. “Damn, baby. You are sensitive.”
I thrust into her a little harder and she moaned against my chest to stifle the sound. “Shit, Chase, keep going. I’m already—” she stopped and panted. “So close.”
And I thought I was having trouble holding out. I grinned and thrust inside of her, this time a little harder and faster between pulses and her pussy clenched me frantically. Her fingertips dug into my back, scratching my skin and clinging to my shoulders.
She crashed over the edge and went so tight that I couldn’t hold myself back any longer. I came hard inside of her as she seized around me. She clung to me for another minute as she came down from the height of her pleasure and then collapsed back to the bed, her thighs sliding from my hips, and splaying open beneath me. I rolled off of her and immediately gathered her to my chest while we caught our breath and waited for our hearts to slow.
Our eyes locked on each other and all I could see was her face as we watched each other revel in our shared pleasure. “It all makes sense now,” she whispered, smiling at me.
“What does?”
“Why you’re so good in bed.”
I laughed, surprised by her comment. “Oh yeah?”
“It was those stripper moves. You know how to work those hips.”
“Oh, good grief.” I rolled my eyes as I groaned but couldn’t stop smiling. “Yeah, yeah. Next time I’m leaving the lap dance to you.”
“I don’t know… this way seems to have worked out pretty well for you.”
I laughed. “I can’t argue with that, but I still wanna watch you work it.”
“All right, deal. But we’ll have to do that before I hit the waddle phase of this whole pregnancy thing.”
“I can’t wait to see you waddle.”
“You’re impossible.”
We laughed softly together, and Melissa laid her head against my chest.
Melissa fell asleep against me, and before I let myself drift off, I set an alarm for early morning to give her time to sneak back to her bed with Jackson before the sun would rise. As much as I wanted to spend the whole night with her, I knew for the time being it had to be this way.
Someday, I’d change that.
Chapter Thirteen
Melissa
“Where are we going?” Jackson asked me as I finished packing my bag and then asked him to get me his little suitcase from where we’d stashed it under the bed.
“We’re going home, sweetheart,” I answered, craning to look at him. He brought me the case and I opened the bottom drawer of the dresser and transferred the stacks of clothing from the drawer to the suitcase.
Jackson sat down beside me on the wooden floor. He was still wearing his pajamas and his hair was more ruffled than normal from a night spent tossing and turning. After Chase and I made love, I crept across the hall and climbed into bed with Jackson. He flailed and kicked. I was tempted to wake him from his tangled dream, but I knew it would be hard to get him back to sleep again, and he needed rest for the day ahead. After a few minutes, he had calmed down and turned back over again.
“Mama? Is Chase going to live with us when we go home?”
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, trying to read his expression. He looked confused. I set down the shirt in my hands and turned towards him, or knees touching. “I don’t know, baby. I haven’t asked him. Is that…what you would want?”
I was wading into dangerous waters, but eventually I would have to tell Jackson about the new baby, and while Chase and I hadn’t formally talked about it, there was a chance he would come live with us. Or, better yet, we would all find a new place together. I wasn’t eager to get back to the mansion that Henry and I had shared. It was haunted now, memories of the past, most of them unpleasant. But I knew that home would bring Jackson comfort so I was willing to live there at least for a little while to help him adjust.
“I like Chase, Mama.”
I smiled softly at my sweet little son. “I do too. He’s a very nice man.”
Jackson dropped his eyes to his hands and I noticed him fidgeting. “Mama, do you think Chase can be my dad now? Or is that bad?”
Tears pricked my eyes at the guilt in his small tone. “No, honey. That’s not bad. It just means that you like Chase very much.” I breathed in deeply. “Henry will always be your dad—even now that he’s gone. But that doesn’t mean that s
omeone new, someone like Chase, can’t be like a dad to you too. That’s okay to feel that way.”
Jackson smiled and glanced up at me. “Then I think he should live with us.”
I laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“I’ll make him pancakes every day!” Jackson added, sweetening the deal.
“I’ll make sure to list that as one of the benefits.” I leaned forward and smoothed Jackson’s hair. “Let’s finish getting packed and we can go make our last batch here at the cottage before we leave, okay?”
“Okay, Mama.” He hopped up and went to his bedside table and came back with a handful of trinkets and treasures he had collected since arriving at the cottage. He had a few seashells, smooth stones in an array of colors and shapes, his treasure maps from the flea market, and a couple of flies from fishing with Chase. “Be careful with these, Mama. They’re special.”
“I will, sweetheart. Why don’t you go see if Chase can get you started with the pancakes?”
I packed his treasures carefully as he raced from the room.
I drew in a sigh as I zipped the case closed. We were really leaving. I couldn’t decide how I felt about saying goodbye to our little temporary home. I’d been on the verge of going crazy, cooped up like an animal all day, but now that the danger was over, we could have spent more time in Manzanilla, gotten to know the locals, and maybe really built something. A real life.
But instead, in a few days’ time, I’d be back in California with a horde of friends, family—mostly Henry’s—and acquaintances barging into my life to figure out what the hell happened. The idea was exhausting. How was I supposed to explain my decision to run? Could I really look Henry’s parents in the eye and tell them their dead son was a killer? That he’d tried to have me murdered? Would they even believe me? I had no idea what details the FBI would release or how the media would spin the information. Was he being touted as a victim of an aggressive task force? Or was he being portrayed as an evil criminal ringleader who would stop at nothing to get his way?
On top of that battle, I would also have to find a way to explain the new man in my life and the fact that I was pregnant with his child.
That might be the worst part of it all. It was enough to make me want to crawl under the bed and stay there forever. Or, get on the boat and set off in the opposite direction. Without Henry’s men after us, we could go anywhere. I didn’t know how much money Henry would have left to me, but I knew there’d be plenty. He wouldn’t have wanted Jackson to go without. And I still had most of the money from when we left him. We could all just run away together.
“Yeah, right, dumbass.” I chided myself. I knew it wasn’t an option. I couldn’t run away forever. I needed to go home and face up to my problems.
And with Chase at my side—it would be a helluva lot easier.
I pushed off the floor and took a moment to steady myself before going out into the kitchen. Jackson was at Chase’s side and coaching him through the steps to make perfect pancakes. “No, no, don’t stir too much!”
“Why not?” Chase asked, glancing down at his small assistant.
Jackson thought for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know but Mama says not to go too crazy. And I’m your ’Seuss’ chef, remember?”
I stifled a giggle as Chase laughed and nodded down at Jackson. “All right. I promise not to go crazy. What toppings are we doing today?”
“I think we still have some berries in the fridge,” I offered, joining their conversation.
They both turned to glance over their shoulders. “Mama, Chase is going crazy with the stirring!”
I laughed. “It’s okay, baby. I’m sure the pancakes will be great.”
I retrieved the berries from the fridge and Jackson insisted chocolate chips would add to the experience so I got those out of the cupboard. “All right, this looks great. I set a hand on Chase’s back. “You want me to take over here?”
“I got it. How about you sit down and rest for a little bit.”
“Rest? I just woke up not too long ago,” I protested, laughing softly at his concern.
“We got it, Mama!” Jackson added.
“All right, all right.” I held up my hands in surrender and circled back to the dining room table.
I smiled as Jackson and Chase worked together to finish their pancake masterpieces. They worked so well together. Whether it was fishing, cooking, or learning to snorkel, Chase had a way of getting Jackson to slow down long enough to listen to his instructions. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that the baby inside of me would have Chase’s heart and that Chase would be an amazing father.
The past month had been so dark and full of moments that stretched me to my limit, and while I wasn’t happy about the way things had ended, I never wished Henry dead, but, now that we were coming out of the darkness and into a whole new future, it was hard not to let myself feel a little bit of excitement.
* * * *
“I can’t believe this is all over,” I marveled as Chase came to sit beside me back where things had all started, the top deck of Matt’s boat. Jackson was sleeping down below and Chase and I had decided to pick up our old tradition of a nightcap overlooking the ocean. Of course, Chase’s new beverage of choice was a Mexican beer and I was sticking to sparkling water instead of wine, but the rest of it was the same, and it felt good.
“I know,” Chase agreed. “We should be back to the harbor tomorrow afternoon. We’ve made really good time. The seas have been kind.”
“Did you talk to Matt today?”
“Yeah, he said he’ll meet us at the harbor when we arrive,” Chase answered with a nod.
“Cool.”
Chase considered me for a moment as he took a long sip from his beer bottle. “Any thought on where you’re going to stay?”
“I’ll make reservations when we get back to a Wi-Fi hotspot. I don’t want to go back to the house yet. I’m not ready for that and I don’t think Jackson is either.”
Chase gave a thoughtful nod. “I’ll probably stay with Matt for a couple of days. That’ll give us time to figure things out.”
“Yeah.” My gaze drifted off the side of the boat. “It’s going to be kind of weird to say goodbye, huh? After all these nights spent together.”
“I know,” Chase agreed, reaching across the table to take my hand. “We won’t have to be apart for long, but you’ll have a lot going on, and I don’t know if your family and friends will appreciate me hanging around the whole time.”
I nodded. He was right but the idea of facing it all alone overwhelmed me. I’d come to rely on his quiet strength and all the help he’d provided with taking care of Jackson. “Not that I care what my family and friends think, but maybe we can still do dinner together or something?”
“Sure.”
“Jackson wants you to come live with us.”
“He does?”
I smiled sadly. “Yeah. He asked me about it when we were packing the other morning. He wants you to come live with us and asked if…he asked if it was bad that he wanted you to be his dad.”
“Wow.” I glanced at Chase and saw the surprise in his eyes. “What did you tell him?”
“I told him it wasn’t a bad thing to think that way and that you would be a part of our life even though we’d be home again. But I also reminded him that Henry would always be his dad.”
“That’s good.”
“Henry was a bad guy, but he was a good dad, at least when he was around. I don’t want to put the weight of my feelings towards him onto Jackson’s shoulders. I’ll tell him the full story when he’s older. I’m sure he’ll hear the rumors at some point. God knows, Henry’s parents will probably blame it all on me. We’ve never really gotten along. They’ll probably tell their friends I pushed Henry to work harder and make more money so I could have a nicer car or second beach home,” I paused and shook my head, imagining just how it would play out. “Luckily they live on the other side of the country so I won�
��t have to deal with them all that much.”
Chase nodded. “What about Jackson? Won’t they expect to see him?”
I shook my head. “Not likely. They’re not ‘kid people’ to put it in their words. They’ve seen him twice since he was born. Both times at family weddings they had to attend. And even then, they barely spent ten minutes with him. But they’ll circulate the rumors to the rest of the family and so there’s no avoiding it. I can’t keep Jackson away from all of them.”
“You’ll see where people’s feelings truly lie once all this shakes out. I can’t imagine anyone could blame you for Henry’s crimes.”
I shrugged. “Maybe not. I guess it’s one way of figuring out who your friends really are.”
“What about your friends?”
“I don’t know. I don’t really have any. At least not really close friends. I have my friends that like to shop, or go to the theater, and sometimes I get together with other mom’s from Jackson’s preschool, but that’s about it. I was never the splashy LA wife.”
Chase chuckled. “It is hard to picture you that way.”
“Thanks. That’s a compliment actually.” I shook my head thinking of all the ridiculous people I knew. I’d never really belonged with them. The month spent with Chase had only proved that point further.
I couldn’t go back to my ‘old’ life, because it had never really been mine to begin with.
Chapter Fourteen
Melissa
“Land ho!” Jackson bellowed, racing out of the bridge where he had spent the afternoon helping Chase steer the boat.
I glanced up from the paperback I’d borrowed from Chase and saw we were lined up and ready to cruise into the harbor where Matt’s boat was docked when we first met. It felt like years ago. So much had changed and so many things had happened, my reference for time was beyond screwy.
I stashed the book in my tote bag and jumped up to join Jackson at the railing. He was used to the boat, but he still made my heart jump when he leaned over the edge.
Chase got us up to the dock and Jackson raced after him as he secured the boat. When we walked down the gangplank, a familiar face was there to greet us. “Melissa! Hey, brother!” Matt called to us. “And you must be Jackson. Hey, buddy.”