Gina giggles and rolls her eyes. “I know, silly. I was talking to Gwen. We’re having lunch.”
I can feel Harrison’s eyes on me as I turn to Gina. “Yep, we’re still on. I’ve been looking forward to trying that new salad at Twist of Lime.”
“Me too! I’ll meet you there at noon,” Gina says, throwing a wave at the rest of the group and heading toward the front door.
“You’re having lunch with Gina?” Harrison asks, the annoyance clear in his voice.
“Yes,” I tell him, crossing my arms and staring him down.
“Why?” He seems genuinely confused by this revelation.
“Uhh, because we both need to eat. Last week when we were chatting, I mentioned that I wanted to try the new Cobb salad on the menu at Twist of Lime. She said the same, so we decided to go on Saturday. You’re training most of the day, right, and lunch with a friend beats sitting at home,” I tell him.
He continues to watch me. “I could get you that salad.”
Smiling, I reply, “I know you can, but she offered and I accepted. What’s the big deal?”
Harrison runs his hand through his hair. “I guess it’s not a big deal,” he mumbles. “I just didn’t expect the two of you to hang out.”
“It’s lunch, Harrison. I’m not inviting her to be in our wedding,” I sass.
“Damn straight you’re not! That position is already taken,” Gabby pants as she continues to run like her ass is on fire. Chase, who’s running just as fast, almost trips himself up when he glances down and checks out my sister’s ass.
Harrison and I each step off our machines. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be overbearing. If you want to have lunch with Gina, that’s completely your prerogative.”
I wrap my arms around his waist, pressing my large belly into his lower stomach. “I’m used to the caveman routine.”
“It’s not a routine,” he teases, followed up by a gentle swat on the ass. His lips swipe across mine once again in a kiss that promises more to come, hopefully soon.
“Hey, Harrison, I was thinking of adding a few personal training sessions to my plan. I know you recommended Carlos last time. Do you think he’s still available to work me over?”
Gabby asks as she slows her jog down to start her cool down.
“I’m sure he is. He stays late on Wednesdays now, and even takes a few clients on Sundays,” Harrison tells my little sister.
“Carlos?” Chase asks, practically stopping his run and turning a wide-eyed face to Gabby.
She shrugs. “He seems more than competent to give me what I need,” she coos, clearly insinuating something a little on the dirty side. I already know that’s completely for Chase’s benefit, to get a rise out of him.
And it appears to be working.
“Fuck that. You need someone to work you over, I’m your man, baby.”
“I’m not sure you have the stamina to handle me, Callahan.”
“Baby, I have stamina for days. No need to worry your pretty little head about that.”
“Are they still talking about training sessions?” I whisper to Harrison, making him bark out a laugh.
“Of course we’re talking about training! What else would we be talking about?” Gabby asks over her shoulder with a friendly smile on her face.
“Definitely. I’m the only man for the job,” Chase responds, his eyes glued to my sister’s ass as she walks on the treadmill.
“If you both say so,” I mumble as Harrison entwines his fingers through mine.
“We’re gonna leave you two to talk about your pending training, then. I’m gonna steal Winnie away to go over her schedule for next week,” Harrison says, gently pulling me away from my sister and his best friend.
I groan aloud; I can’t help it. I hate going over our own training schedule. Harrison always thinks he needs to add different Callanetics exercises into my routine, and then I spend the next ten minutes arguing with him about why I don’t need to do them. He bores me to death with the added benefits, and I tune him out. It’s the same routine we’ve battled for the last eight weeks, since my gestational diabetes diagnosis.
My legs are heavy as we make our way through the gym and down the hall toward the offices. With Gina gone for the day and Chase up front torturing my sister, there’s no one back here. We enter Harrison’s office together, and he quickly shuts the door. He throws the lock—not a good sign for me if we’re about to argue over next week’s schedule.
I open my mouth to try to head him off, when his lips slam against mine. With my mouth still open, his tongue easily dips inside my mouth, licking and tangling with my own. A groan spills from my mouth as his fingers thread into my hair and he pulls me tautly against his body. His erection is there, large and heavy in his shorts, and making the ache between my legs that much more intense.
“Fuck, you can’t wear this anymore in public,” he growls, tracing his lips along my jaw and down my neck.
“Wear what?” I ask, my brain struggling to catch up.
“My shirt. I know it’s mine, Winnie, and when I see it stretched across your belly, it makes me want to do dirty things to you,” he whispers, just before nipping at my earlobe.
Gasping my agreement, I throw my arms around his shoulders and try to climb him like a tree. It doesn’t work, of course, considering I have a basketball attached to the front of my body. Harrison guides me backward until my ass hits his desk. His lips devour mine, stealing every ounce of breath and sanity I have left. I hear the sweep of his hand and the sound of things falling, but I pay no attention to it. I can’t. All I can think about is the way he makes me feel.
The pleasure he gives.
Harrison lifts me up and sets me on top of the desk. My legs instantly wrap around his hips as I grind against his erection. My body is on fire, alive with reckless desire, as he makes a grab for my T-shirt. The moment it’s gone, I internally groan at the image I must present. I’m wearing a no-frills sports bra, which does nothing but flatten my girls to my chest. But I’ve learned that the bigger my boobs get, the more I need the sports bra when working out.
“Fuck, Winnie,” he barks, glancing down between us. You can clearly see his erection, tenting out his shorts, but also my swollen abdomen and my nipples, tight and aching in the confining material. He slowly pulls down my shorts, my hips lifting in assistance. “What were you thinking about earlier? You know, when you almost tripped on the treadmill.”
Cool air kisses my heated flesh as he removes my panties right along with my shorts. “I was thinking about you. And this desk.”
His nostrils flare and his eyes darken further. “What were we doing on this desk?” he asks quietly, relieving me of my sports bra next. Before I can answer, his mouth descends, greedily sucking one nipple into his warm mouth.
I gasp as pleasure shoots through my body. My pelvis tilts and I grind against his cock.
“What were we doing on this desk, Winnie?” he asks again, shifting to show my other nipple equal attention.
“You were sitting on the desk,” I moan, my hand moving to his hair. “I had you in my mouth.”
Harrison stops and glances up at me. “We can try that next.”
“Yes, please.”
He drops his head again and licks at my nipples. “So polite. I think that deserves a reward,” he says, his hand dropping to remove his shorts.
“Yes, yes, definitely a reward,” I beg, reaching for his hard erection. As soon as it’s in my palm, I give it a few quick strokes. You know, to make sure he’s good and ready.
It’s his turn to moan now. “Fuck, you keep doing that and this won’t take long at all,” he bites out between strokes, grabbing the neck of his shirt behind his head and pulling it over.
“That just means we can get to round two quicker,” I reason.
Harrison’s eyes burn into mine with the same intensity I’ve always seen reflected in them when we’re in this moment. He looks at me as if I were the only woman on the planet, the only on
e he wants.
I lean back and glance down, unable to watch this moment with my belly in the way.
“Close your eyes, Winnie. Close your eyes and just feel,” he whispers, taking my hand in his. He wraps it around the base of his cock, his large, warm fingers around mine, and guides himself to my entrance. “I can already feel how wet you are, baby. I can already feel how badly you want this right now.”
“So much,” I whisper as, together, he starts to enter me.
My breathing stalls in my throat as I stretch to accommodate him. My legs wrap around his back and lock the moment he’s fully seated inside me. I lean back on my elbows as Harrison places both his hands on my stomach. And then he moves. He thrusts his hips, filling me completely, stroke after stroke. The entire time, he never moves his hands, just lets his hips and legs do all the work.
“You look so fucking good on my desk, with my cock buried inside you.”
I clench around him as his words and his dick continue to drive me closer and closer to the release I’ve been craving. I can’t seem to find words as he pumps harder into my body.
“So fucking beautiful,” he growls, his hands gripping me as he thrusts deep. “Mine.”
My orgasm hits quick and fierce. Harrison pauses for a second, closes his eyes in euphoria, and then slams hard into me one last time when his orgasm follows. We’re still for several moments before he bends down and takes my lips with his. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I pant, trying to catch my breath.
“I love this,” he adds softly, rubbing his hands over my tight stomach. His cock twitches inside me. “I love it so much,” he says, pulling out and gently sliding back in. “I think you should stay pregnant.”
“Well, we’re on our way to achieving that.” My giggle turns to a gasp as he flexes his hips and hits that magical spot deep inside me.
“You are the most radiant pregnant woman ever,” he adds, lifting my legs and holding me in position. After a few slow, teasing strokes, Harrison pulls out completely, making me whimper in protest. “Come on, love. The shower in my bathroom is calling our name,” he says, as he leads me toward the small adjoining room off his office for round two.
“I’m so excited that you made it!” Gina bellows as I enter Twist of Lime. It takes me a few seconds to adjust to the dim lighting in our favorite hangout.
“Me too. I was busy doing laundry all morning to keep my mind occupied, and now I’m craving this salad something fierce,” I state, joining her in the booth.
“I went ahead and ordered for both of us,” she says, nodding toward the water glass in front of me.
“Thank you so much. I’m so thirsty.” I take a few greedy drinks before we launch into talk about the gym, one of the things we have in common.
“It’s been so crazy lately. With all the new locations and staff, I can barely keep up.”
I level her with a serious gaze. “If it’s too much, Gina, don’t hesitate to say something to Harrison. I know he doesn’t want you overwhelmed at work.”
She waves me off. “Oh, it’s fine. I mean, he hired me so he could be with you more, right? If I complain, that just means he’ll take back some of the duties he’s given me, and you don’t want that.”
No, no, I don’t want that, but I don’t want her stressed and overwhelmed either. “Well, promise me that if it gets to be too much for you, you’ll say something. Or let me say something to him if you’d prefer.”
Gina grins. “That’s sweet, but I’m good. I really enjoy my job. Harrison is a great boss.”
I just smile in return. Even though she bugs Harrison daily and he’s threatened to fire her on more than one occasion, she seems to really like what she’s doing. She really has been a tremendous help with those office duties that he has always hated doing, even if she gets a few things confused from time to time. I mean, we all do that, right?
Right.
“Oh, I got your shower invitation the other day. I already put it on our calendar at work, so I made sure not to schedule anything on December fifth. Harrison already has that entire week blocked out for the opening of the Porter location.”
“Yeah, it’ll be a busy Saturday, for sure, but my sister said that date was the only one open at the community center. With Christmas coming up and different things going on, it was sort of a take-it or leave-it date.”
“What fun, though! You get to celebrate your baby girl right before Christmas. Plus, Harrison will be at the other gym all week, so he’ll stay out of your hair,” she adds with a giggle. Though, I don’t really mind having him around. In fact, I sort of like having Harrison in my hair.
Our salads are delivered, and we both dive right in. There’s a fresh mix of vegetables and nuts on the salad, and paired with avocado and chicken; it’s everything I had been hoping it would be. In fact, I go ahead and order one to-go for Harrison. Since he’s spending his Saturday training the few clients he kept and a couple for the trainer who is on vacation, he probably hasn’t taken time to eat lunch.
“Well, I should probably get this over to the gym,” I say to Gina as the waitress delivers the to-go salad.
“I had so much fun,” she states as she pulls some cash from her pocket. “I hope we can do this again. With Chase gone most of the time to the Dalton and Lakeview locations, and knowing that Harrison is about to get super-crazy busy opening the Porter building, I get lonely at the office. I hope you’ll stop by all the time!”
Pulling my own money from my purse for my two salads, I drop it on the table and gather my stuff. “I’m sure I will. I’m still on the strict exercise plan to keep the diabetes under control. We’ve managed it without having to medicate, which I’m grateful for,” I tell her, sliding from the booth.
“Oh, I’m sure that’s tough,” she says sympathetically, touching my arm.
“It’s not horrible, but I do miss my large glasses of chocolate milk.” I chuckle.
“That is horrible!” she cries, with a laugh. “Almost as horrible as finding women’s underwear under your boss’s desk!”
As I reach the sidewalk out front, her words register and stop me in my tracks. “What?”
Gina seems to realize what she said, a cross between pity and mortification flash in her eyes. “Oh, nothing,” she says, trying to laugh it off.
“No, seriously, what do you mean about finding underwear? When?”
Gina must be able to tell I’m not going to drop it. She shifts on her feet and averts her gaze. “Well, yesterday, when I got to work, I was on Harrison’s computer, making sure to sync the calendars and I found them under his desk.”
My heart hammers in my chest.
“I’m sure they’re not from Harrison, Gwen. I mean, chances are, Chase had some gym bunny in there and she left them,” Gina assures, her eyes still not showing me she’s convinced of her own words.
And then it hits me.
Thursday night.
The gym.
The desk sex.
And suddenly, I’m laughing.
“Everything okay?” she asks, clearly thinking I’m losing my mind.
“Yeah, everything’s fine. Those panties,” I start, recalling how I didn’t put them back on after our shower, “I’m pretty sure those were mine.”
Gina just gives me a look before laughing. “Well, you little hussy, you.”
Hussy? No.
Horny pregnant woman who can’t keep her hands off her ex-husband, turned fiancé? Guilty.
“Yeah, I might have forgotten to pick them up,” I reply, sheepishly.
“Well, I’m so thankful they were yours! I mean, after hearing Harrison tell Chase that you’ve really been putting on the weight, I was afraid he was stepping out on you! And it’s not okay to step out on my friend!” Gina declares with a laugh.
But my mind focuses in on one part of her statement.
Putting on weight.
“He said I’m putting on weight?” I whisper, feeling the tears burn in my eyes.
“Oh, well… shit. I shouldn’t have said anything. I mean, of course you’re going to put on weight, right? You’re pregnant!”
I give her a forced smile and nod, but in my chest, I feel like my heart was just dropkicked into December. I know I’m gaining weight. For a while, I gained more in a two-month span than some people do in their entire pregnancy. It’s a sore subject for me, but I guess I never stopped to think about how this weight gain would affect Harrison. His business revolves around physical fitness, and here I am, blimping out like I just swallowed an Oompa Loompa.
My mind spins.
“Are you okay?” she asks, pulling me into her arms and giving me a tight hug.
“Yeah, I’m fine. This weight gain isn’t forever, right?”
“Right! In about two months, you’ll have a beautiful baby girl in your arms, and all this pesky weight gain will mean nothing.”
I nod, though it’s more for her benefit than my own.
“Well, I better get going. I’m grabbing groceries before heading home,” Gina says.
“Thanks again,” I say automatically, though my mind is already a million miles away.
Gina pulls me into her arms once more. “Keep your head up, sweetie. I think you look beautiful,” she whispers before letting me go and heading off toward her car.
I’m left standing on the sidewalk, trying to figure out why I never realized that my weight gain would change the way Harrison sees me. Of course he’d see the extra pounds I’ve put on. He gets an up close and personal view of my swollen ankles and the extra-wide birthing hips I’ve developed in the last couple of weeks. He’s always said he loves my growing body, but then why did he say something to Chase?
My heart drops when I think about him lying to me.
To make me feel better?
God, that makes me want to throw up.
On autopilot, I make my way to the gym to deliver lunch to Harrison. I guess if he’s starting to get disgusted by my weight, I’ll just have to keep it covered up more. Maybe make sure the lights are off from now on. The last thing I want is to make him uncomfortable, or worse, for me to see the look in his eyes when he catches just how big and fat I’m getting.
Fair Lakes Series Box Set Page 20