Chapter 2

Gina kept Winnona’s carry capsule buckled into the seat next to her on the plane all the way from Auckland to San Francisco. She took the baby out to feed and change and rock and cuddle and sing to her. To Gina’s relief, the baby slept most of the way and even let Gina sleep some.

Mostly, though, concerns about Giles Pendragon haunted Gina waking and sleeping. What would happen when she finally returned to the States? That man never took no for an answer in his life. He wouldn’t take her lunatic proposal to work from home lying down. How long could she keep up the pretense?

From the moment she walked into his office two years ago, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. He cornered her in bathrooms and broom closets. He bent her over his desk and ordered her to crawl under it to suck his dick.

Never in Gina’s life had a man fired her passions like he did. Sure, he was drop dead gorgeous in his tailored suits and his diamond Rolex. He could make her knees melt with a snap of his fingers, and he knew how to use every inch of his muscled bulk to get her to submit. He pounded her a million ways from Sunday, and she loved every minute of it—she loved every minute of it right up until that fateful minute when she read a plus sign in the results window of a cheap drugstore pregnancy test.

Holy crap—pregnant! She hadn’t laid another man since she met Giles. The baby could only be his. She wanted to get rid of it, but somehow, she just kept putting it off and putting it off until the deadline passed.

Worst of all, being pregnant made her hornier than ever. Her blood went on fire. If he flashed his deep brown eyes at her, she would feel herself get wetter and wetter until she dissolved in her office chair.

Something about her pregnant body turned him into a raving maniac. He couldn’t keep away from her. He panted after her like a dog after a bitch. He felt her smoldering desire, and he set out to satisfy it. He drilled her in his limo. He locked her in his luxury penthouse for long weekends and left her too sore to walk. He tied her up and spanked her until she screamed with intense pleasure and begged him to give it to her.

Even thinking about those days made her wet all over again, but she could never tell him the truth. When she started to show at four months, she hid her pregnancy under floppy clothing. Her buxom form helped a lot, too, but her tits ached and her nipples itched. She longed for him to caress them, suck and tease them, and pinch them to relieve her pent-up tensions, and when he did, she collapsed into his hands. He always wound up making love to her harder and harder and sending into orgasm.

No doubt he wanted to do the same thing now. So how could she live in the same town with him howling at the moon to get hold of her before he found out she’d had his baby in New Zealand?

Hiding her pregnancy was easy, even though Giles and Gina engaged in just as much sex over the internet as they ever had in person. Gina simply took extra care not to include her swollen belly in the viewing window. She focused the camera on her upturned ass, on her fingers stroking her wet lady lips, on herself squeezing her nipples, or her mouth sucking…..just about anything she found on hand. Hiding Winnona after the baby was born was easy, too. Gina simply timed their Skype calls to coincide with Winnona's naps.

Gina would have to take extra care once she brought Winnona back to San Francisco. She would have to locate a reliable babysitter to take care of Winnona during any meetings Gina couldn’t get out of. Gina couldn’t exactly video conference with Giles and his clients in the same town, could she?

Winnona woke up when the plane nosed into the Bay for a landing. Gina fed her and changed her and smiled at her and cooed into the baby’s astonished face. Gina held Winnona against her chest and rocked her while the plane veered into the runway. Winnona drifted off, and by the time all the other passengers got off the plane, the baby was asleep again in her carry capsule. Now, if she would only stay that way until Gina got the luggage and caught a cab to her hotel, life would be smashing.

Gina collected her diaper bag in one hand and the capsule in the other and headed for the concourse. She noticed by the clock on the flashing arrivals board her flight got in half an hour early. Fantastic. Now there was no chance of that man turning up and making a scene in the airport.

She hurried through the immigration line to the baggage claim. She set the carry capsule on the ground with Winnona still asleep inside it, but she couldn’t stop fidgeting. A curious dread haunted her every minute. She kept glancing over her shoulder at the sliding doors leading out to the parking garage.

She moved through the crowd to wrestle her two large suitcases off the conveyor belt. She stood them on their wheels with a sigh of relief. Now she could beat it out of here and disappear into northbound traffic.

She clicked the sliding handles of both suitcases into place and took hold of them, one in each hand. She wheeled them around to trundle them back to Winnona when she spotted a familiar face out of the crowd. Her heart stood still. It was him.

Her mind whirled. She had to think of something pretty fast. In a split second, she decided to play it cool. She didn’t stop wheeling her suitcases. She wheeled them right up to him and steered him well clear of Winnona before she stopped. She stood her cases on their wheels and faced him. “What are you doing here? I told you I didn’t want you to give me a ride.”

“I’m not here to give you a ride, Gina,” Giles replied. “I had to see you. I haven’t seen you in five months.”

She set her shoulders. “Well, now you’ve seen me.”

He shifted to stand at her side. “Let me walk you out to the taxi stand. Here. Let me take one of your suitcases. They look heavy.” He laughed out loud. “I didn’t know you were such a clothes horse.”

Gina pursed her lips. “That’s okay. I’d rather do it myself, and I’m perfectly capable of catching a cab. I don’t need any help from you.”

He frowned at her. “What’s wrong with you? Aren’t you the least bit happy to see me?”

Gina glanced over her shoulder. Winnona’s carry capsule still sat in the same place. Some people milled around next to it. A woman stood closest. At that distance, anyone would believe the baby belonged to that woman. No one would believe Winnona belonged to Gina.

“Look, Giles. I’m really happy to see you again. I’m glad you came out. I really am. It’s very good to see you after so long. Now I have to get going.” She wanted to add, “Please leave,” but of course, she couldn’t do that. He was her boss, after all.

He didn’t leave. He stood still. “If you’re so happy to see me, why are you acting so cold? You haven’t kissed me or hugged me or whispered sweet nothings in my ear.”

She arched her eyebrows. “Is that what you want me to do?”

“Of course. That’s what I’ve been fantasizing about since the day you left. You know I’m crazy about you.”

“Well, things can never be like that again. I’m sorry. If you want me to kiss you and hug you, I will, but I still don’t want you wheeling my suitcases to the taxi stand. I don’t want to ride with you, and I don’t want to stay in the penthouse.”

He flashed her a wicked grin. “What about the sweet nothings in my ear? Will you do that, too?”

She couldn’t help but blush. He knew how to push her buttons. She had to give him that. “Sure. What the hell.”

He held out both arms. “Come on, then. Hug and kiss me. Show me how happy you are to see me.”

Gina’s ears and cheeks burned. She cast one furtive glance back over her shoulder. Winnona was still asleep. How long could Gina keep this pretense going before the baby woke up and started screaming? If Gina didn’t march over and claim her distressed child, someone would call the police.

Gina faced Giles. She had to get this over with and fast. She summoned all her resolve. She really did care for him, and she really was happy to see him again after so long. His nearness made her heart patter with hidden excitement. She could show him that, at least, for as long as it lasted.

She moved closer. His pupils dilated when he gazed into her eyes, and his neck twitched where his pulse throbbed in his veins. Did she excite him as much as he excited her? She already knew she did. Was he getting hard right now at the thought of putting his arms around her?

She crossed that last terrible frontier and put her arms around his neck. His thick muscled arms folded around her waist, and they met in a close embrace. His chest glowed warm and solid under his shirt and suit jacket. His powerful arms lifted her onto her tiptoes.

His presence flooded her brain with the old forgotten arousal. He wasn’t an image on Skype anymore. He was a living, breathing man, and he was right here with his arms around her.

This was how it started. It always started with an innocent handshake, a hug, a touch on her hand. It started with a brush of his sleeve against her blouse, a flare of his nostrils when he glanced down at her cleavage. His lips parted, and the color swept across her cheeks. That’s how it always started, and it always ended in sizzling, moaning, sheet grabbing sex.

Once she wrapped her arms around him and he wrapped his arms around her, the next stage happened by itself. She angled her head sideways and kissed him. His soft lips brushed against her mouth. The moment they touched their lips together, their mouths opened. Their tongues lashed this way and that in a delicious dance.

His tongue stroked her insides, all the way down her soft skin. His tongue commanded her pussy to respond, moving in and out of her deeper and faster. His tongue tingled through her mouth the same way it flickered across her lady lips and clit. She panted gasped for breath and clenched her fists in his hair.

Whisper sweet nothings in his ear? She never wanted to do anything so much. His arms tightened around her waist, and one hand pressed her spine inward. He bent her back to tilt her hips. Her ass stuck out, and her engorged tissues opened for him.

His other hand glided down her side to her hip. He guided her pelvis forward and back, and he slipped one knee between her thighs. He jammed up between her legs to nudge her blazing inferno to life.

He broke their kiss and laid his cheek against hers. His voice whispered low into her ear. “Tell me how much you want it. Tell me you want me right now.”

She couldn’t contain herself. His hands and leg and lips—every part of him—burned against her skin. Everywhere he touched her he pushed greater desire, she felt a tingle through her body at the awakening of this side of her.

Christ, she wanted it like she couldn’t believe! How did she ever think she could live in the same town, in the same country, or even on the same planet with him and not collapse in a puddle at his feet?

Her breath deepened and sped up. She panted and whimpered into his ear. “Oh, yeah, I want it. Oh, please, don’t do this to me. You know I want it so bad.”

He turned his head aside so his mouth pressed against her ear. “I’m gonna fuck you, Ms. Kemp. I’m gonna fuck you just the way I used to. Are you ready for that? Is that what you want? Say you want it. Say you want my cock in your ass right now.”

She swooned in his arms. Her brain screamed to tear herself away, to grab Winnona and run for the hills, but her body wouldn’t obey. She wanted him. Her body clung to him and rubbed her breasts into his smooth cotton business shirt. Her body sat down on that muscled thigh and teased her clit into oblivion. She moaned in his ear. “God, I need your hard cock. I need it so bad. Oh, dear God, please fuck me. You know I want it.”

He pulled his head back, the stare of his green eyes pierced into her at close range. “Come with me. I’ll give it to you in the limo on the way back, and I’ll take you to the penthouse and give you a good hard spanking if you want? Come with me now. I’ll make you cum all over my dick.”

In a flash, cold clarity drowned out her desires. She couldn’t let this go any further, but her arms still clutched him as tight as ever. “I can’t. I want to, but I can’t.”

His eyebrows darted together, but they flew apart to their usual place just as fast. “I suppose you won’t tell me why.”

Gina caressed the back of his neck. She pecked him on the lips. “Believe me, I want to. I would give anything to go with you right now, but I can’t. I can’t explain it now. I wish I could. I really wish I could confide in you. You don’t know how hard it is not to.”

He really did frown then. “What’s wrong? Are you in some kind of trouble? Let me know and I can help you. Have I ever let you down before?”

“I can’t. If you really want to help me, go get in the limo and drive back to the city. Let me do what I have to do. I’ll catch a cab—alone—and I’ll get in touch with you when I’m settled enough to start work.”

He searched her face for some answer to the burning questions nagging his eyes. When he found nothing but her eyes searching him back, he let go of her and moved back. “All right, Ms. Kemp. I have no choice but to trust you. I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”

Gina sighed. “So do I. I really hope I do.”

He shrugged his shoulders into place under his jacket. “All right. I’ll leave you alone.”

“Thank you, Mr. Pendragon. You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”

He turned away with a shake of his head. “I don’t like this. I don’t like this one bit.”

“You said that already,” Gina muttered.

He looked around, but he didn’t leave. “Now I’m worried about you.”

“Don’t be. Everything’s fine. I just have to do this my own way. Can you understand that?”

“I understand. I only wish you trusted me as much as I trust you.”

Gina stared down at the floor. “I do trust you. It’s myself I don’t trust.”

His head whipped around, and he fixed her with that ferocious glance of his. She knew that glance. That glance meant he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted and find out what he wanted to know. That glance meant he spotted his quarry and set out to hunt it down. She was his quarry, and he would catch her in the end. He always did.

His shoulders settled lower. He would leave in a minute. She would pick up Winnona's capsule, wheel her cases to the taxi stand, and ride away—alone—into the city. He would leave in the limo. When would she see him again? When would he touch her again the way he touched her today?

How she longed to touch him, not only to straddle his thighs and whisper dirty words into his ear. She longed to hold him, to murmur the raw truth into his ear and make him understand. She would give anything to hold his hand right now, to unburden herself to him, of all people.

He didn’t even know Winnona existed. Every moment that passed, she robbed him of the joy of sharing Winnona's life, but she couldn’t break her silence. She couldn’t reveal the lie she worked so hard to construct.

He gave one more curt nod. “All right, Ms. Kemp. I’ll go now. But I hope I see you soon.”

“You will.” Not even Gina believed that. One lie fed into another until they tied her in knots.

He still didn’t leave. He kept hanging around. He glanced toward the parking garage, then toward the baggage carousel, then at her, then at the people milling around. Gina willed herself to keep still. She couldn’t show him how nervous he made her, how anxious she was for him to leave. She had to keep her cool. She had to show him she could still hold it all together.

Her motherly sixth sense heard the first peep behind her. Winnona was waking up. Gina went rigid. She had to get to her baby. She had to pick her up and reassure her before she started screeching to high heaven.

Giles didn’t notice. He didn’t hear a thing. He kept shifting from one foot to the other and not leaving. What was wrong with him? Hadn’t she made it clear what she wanted him to do?

Winnona gave the little twisting squeal she made when she woke up and wanted Gina. That squeal preceded the first wrenching cry. As soon as that cry echoed through the baggage claim, people would start turning around to look. They would wonder where that baby’s mother was and why the mother didn’t come for her baby.

Gina had to give Giles a kick in the ass to get him out of here. How could she do it without offending him beyond redemption? Maybe she’d already crossed that line. Maybe she’d blown her whole crazy plan out of the water.

She forced herself to smile at him. “See you later.”

He shifted again and shrugged. “Yeah. I guess so.”

Winnona squealed one more time. That squeal meant, “Get over here now if you know what’s good for you.” The carry capsule rocked and made a clunking noise on the floor.

Gina glanced over her shoulder toward the sound. Some other people, including the woman closest to the capsule, looked over, too. Thank goodness for that. Gina made it look like she was just curious about the noise.

Giles caught her looking. “All right. I guess you want to get going. I’ll see you later.”

Gina flashed him her friends-with-benefits smile but didn’t say anything. Nothing remained but for him to turn around and walk away, and that’s exactly what he did. He gave her one last furious glare and strode out of the airport.

Gina stayed rooted to the spot until she saw the limo glide past the entrance. At that moment, the first piercing cry ripped through the baggage claim. Gina’s shoulders slumped. She turned around, walked over to the capsule, picked it up, and carried it to a nearby bench to sit down.