Chapter7
Matt and Pierce sat at a secluded table, enjoying their lunch and talking about work. They had just met up to visit and share a meal at one of their favorite pubs in lower downtown Manhattan. Matt eyed Pierce curiously and broached the subject of his unconventional unromantic intimate life.
“How are things going with Kate and the baby making?” he asked, his attention focused solely on his best friend.
“There’s no baby yet. We’re still working on it,” Pierce answered him, somewhat disappointed about the issue. He wanted the baby, but he hadn’t liked what he had felt with such powerful emotion toward Kate, and just how much she was affecting him. He wanted the baby, of that he was certain, but he was beginning to want Kate much more than he had expected to, and in ways that he had never intended to. He had purposefully kept himself away from her for four days and it was all he could do not to drive straight over to the condo and take her the way he wanted and needed to. He was practicing considerable restraint every time she crossed his mind. It helped that she hadn’t contacted him at all, giving him the space that he needed to think and try to maintain their agreement.
Matt sipped his drink and then leaned forward and lowered his voice somewhat. “And how are things going with the two of you? You and Kate?”
Pierce reached his hand to the back of his neck and rubbed the nape of his neck thoughtfully. “Hot. Extremely hot.”
With a shake of his head, Matt held his glass in his hand and pointed his finger at Pierce. “You had better be careful. Are you listening to me? You better watch out, or you’ll wind up falling for her and then you’re going to have trouble.”
Pierce waved his hand in the air dismissively. “That’s not going to happen. I’m not going to let that happen.” He shrugged and looked down into his drink. “It’s just been a really long time since I was with anyone. You know, Mr. Responsibility for the family. I am usually at my father’s side, and when I’m not looking after the business and after him, I’m checking up on my siblings. I don’t have the time for a romantic relationship. Besides, that isn’t what this deal was about. This was and is still about having a baby. That’s all that it is.”
“Whatever you say, buddy,” Matt said with the bare hint of a quiet smile as he glanced over at Pierce.
Pierce didn’t say anything, but instead took a bite of his lunch and kept his eyes averted from Matt.
Five days had passed and Kate was growing increasingly disappointed in not having seen or heard from Pierce. Especially after they had shared such a hot and sensual night. She had never had sex like that with anyone, and her body burned for more of it every time it crossed her mind. She was beginning to wonder when he would come by again.
She took another pregnancy test, as she did regularly, and it came out negative. That felt like a failure to her and she was disappointed about that, too. Thinking she would just let Pierce know, she sent him a text to give him an update on their work toward a pregnancy, letting him know that the test showed no baby yet.
Much to her surprise and utter delight, he showed up at the door an hour after she sent him the text. She was stunned to see him standing there with a haunted look on his face.
“You’re here!” she exclaimed in astonishment.
He walked in and closed the door behind him. “You texted me. You said that the pregnancy test came out negative again. So I thought we’d better keep working on it.” He said nothing further, but instead, he reached for her, pulling her into his arms and kissing her hard and hungrily. She felt her whole body go up in flames and she gasped at the feel of being held and kissed and touched by him again.
There was no pretense between them any longer. They stripped clothes from one another, kissing and touching and holding as they made their way to the bedroom, and he was already tasting nearly every part of her body the moment he had her laid down in the bed, starting with the most tender area between her thighs.
His tongue teased and taunted her, his mouth drank her in, and his hands clutched tightly at her legs as she began to rock herself against his ravenous mouth, crying out and shuddering in primal release until she was weak, and it was then that he moved between her legs and thrust himself into her, aching to be in her, to feel her, to have her as much as he needed and wanted her.
They rolled and wrestled and held fast to one another three times that afternoon and evening, and again late that night, and twice more in the early morning. He just could not keep his hands or his tongue or his mouth off of her, and no matter how many times they sated one another, the hunger remained, and their desire for one another compelled them to be in each other’s arms again and again.
When their passions were satisfied in the late morning, he got up and made breakfast for them, and she was pleasantly surprised to learn that he could cook as well as a master chef. They ate and talked together, and they each realized just how much they missed the other one.
She walked him to the door and he moved to kiss her goodbye, but that quickly became impassioned and desperate kissing and tasting and touching, and before too long they were nude again, tangled around one another, losing each other in one another’s arms. They rested a short while, but just as he was about to get up, she kissed him from his mouth to his core, where she spent quite a while running her tongue along his shaft, sucking and stroking him, until he was harder than marble again, and then she rode him until both of them were completely exhausted.
It wasn’t until then that he finally made himself get dressed and head for the front door. They kissed goodbye for a long while and then he left, and she was able to try to think a little bit. She reminded herself yet again that she was in his employ. She told herself that she had a handle on her feelings.
Late that afternoon he came back again, saying that he couldn’t get enough of her and that he couldn’t stop thinking about her. They made love long and slow in the bed for more than two hours, and when it was done again, he finally left.
She continued to reiterate to herself that it had nothing to do with emotion, that it was simply sex and a baby. That was it. That was all that it was, and all that it would be.
Three days later, with no sign of Pierce, she took another pregnancy test, and the test came out positive. She sat in the bathroom and stared at the little stick. There was no question about it. It was positive. She took another test to be certain, and it came out exactly the same. Positive. She was pregnant. She was going to have Pierce Carrington’s baby.
As happy as she knew that she should have been, she wasn’t. In fact, she felt much worse about the baby for one reason and one reason only. Her having a positive test result meant that there would be no reason for the two of them to have sex again, in any form, ever. It was done and over.
She had to admit to herself that she didn’t want it to be done and over. She knew that all she could do about it would be to stretch it out for a couple of weeks until the nurse he had hired came in to do a routine physical and possible pregnancy check.
She could lie for those two weeks, and after that, there would be no hiding it. The nurse would tell him, and her body would change, and if anyone knew her body better than her, it was him. She determined that she would keep it from him for two more weeks and then let the nurse tell him. She could have two more weeks of the hottest and best sex she had ever known, and then it would be gone forever after that.
Kate gave it some thought and decided to invite him over for dinner. She called him and asked him to come to the condo and join her for dinner. He loved the idea, pleasantly surprised by it, and he found that he was very much looking forward to it.
She poured champagne for him, but none for herself, and she made an exquisite Italian pasta dinner with salad and bread and tiramisu. He arrived and brought more flowers for his hostess. They sat together in the dining room and shared the meal and wonderful conversation, talking long as they did for hours and hours. He helped her with the dinner dishes, and when they were done, she invited him out onto the balcony.
She had candles lit and soft music playing, and he was enchanted when he stepped out into the night on the balcony with her. He took her hand and pulled her gently into his arms, swaying and dancing with her to the old jazz standards. He kissed her cheek, and then he kissed her lips, and not long after that, they were making love with one another in bed, all through the night, and when they were done, she gazed into his eyes and asked him to stay the night with her and sleep beside her.
He acquiesced. In the wee hours of the morning, he woke to find her mouth on his solid erection, and he nearly came down her throat before he was able to restrain himself and enter her body to make love with her. They fell asleep after that, and when they woke late in the morning he made love with her one more time, sweet and long and slow, and finally told her goodbye, kissing her mouth tenderly as he stood in the doorway.
“When will you be back?” she whispered, touching his lips with her fingers. She was struggling with containing her growing feelings for him.
He stared hard at her. “When do you want me back?” he asked, deeply intent on her.
She gazed at him up through her thick lashes. “As soon as you can come back.”
Pierce pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately, feeling the longing for her return before he let her go. “Then I’ll see you soon,” he answered quietly and turned, leaving her behind him.
Kate went to her classes and did her best to focus on them, but he dominated her thoughts. It was frustrating to her, and she resented the fact that she couldn’t stop thinking about him. She knew that she had no business thinking about him and that she shouldn’t be allowing herself to do it at all, but knowing it and doing it were two different things.
Olivia caught up with her after her last class, and the two of them went to a café near the campus to have coffee and catch up. Olivia was going on and on about her husband Jonathon and how sweet he was and much they both loved married life, but she caught Kate thinking distractedly and asked her what was on her mind.
“It’s Pierce,” she sighed.
Olivia frowned and peered at her. “I knew it. Alright. What’s going on?”
Kate buried her face in her hands for a moment and then looked over at her best friend. “Okay. So, I haven’t told anyone this, but… I’m pregnant.”
“Oh my god! Finally! That’s fantastic! Congratulations!!” Olivia was beaming with excitement for her friend until she saw that Kate was not even remotely as thrilled as she ought to have been. “What’s the matter? I thought this was what you wanted.”
“Well, it is, or it was, until Pierce and I started really hitting it off between the sheets. I know this sounds awful, but when he finds out I’m pregnant, we won’t be having sex anymore, and I just don’t want to give it up. I don’t want to lose what he and I have. I don’t mean just the sex, I mean all the hanging out and friendship and the amazing incredible sex, and… all of it. It’s going to be gone. I’ll be pregnant and he’ll be done. I don’t want it to end yet. I want to hold on to all of it and hold on to him for as long as I can.” She couldn’t hide the sadness in her.
“So he doesn’t know you’re pregnant. You’re lying to him right now so you can keep having sex with him.” Olivia shook her head and planted her hands on her hips. “Girl, you got it so bad. Let me ask you this. Just how long do you think you can keep this up before he finds out?”
“Two weeks. He’s going to find out in two weeks. That’s when the nurse that he hired to take care of me will come to the condo to do blood work on me, and when she does the blood work, she will find out that I am pregnant and she’ll tell him. I’ll act surprised.” Kate sighed heavily and shrugged her shoulders. “Until then, I’m going to live it up and enjoy the hell out of him.”
Olivia frowned again. “You better be careful. I don’t want you getting hurt. This sounds like the highway to heartbreak if you ask me.”
“I’ll be careful. It’s just two weeks. I won’t get caught and I won’t get hurt. I’m not in love with him, I just… I just don’t want what we have to end. That’s all.” Kate vowed to herself that what she said was true, and that she would be able to let it all go when the time came to do that.
Kate was delighted to get a phone call from Pierce asking her to come out to dinner with him. She wore one of her best dresses, and loved every minute of him taking her out to one of the fanciest restaurants in all of Manhattan.
When their dinner was over, he took her for a horse-drawn carriage ride through Central Park, and as they rode along, they held hands and shared some sweet kisses. He paid a bit extra and the carriage driver delivered them to the building where she lived on Fifth Avenue. They got out and he helped her to the sidewalk. When the driver pulled away with his horse, Pierce took her in his arms and kissed her softly, giving her a tender smile.
Together they went up to the condo and made love long and slow for most of the night before falling asleep in each other’s arms. When she woke up in the morning, she saw that he was staring at her. She blinked and gave him a smile. “What are you doing?”
“Watching you sleep and thinking. I like watching you sleep. It’s peaceful to me. It brings me peace. Also, I have been thinking that I’m going to tell my father about the surrogacy. Not about how we’re doing it, but just about the surrogacy. I think I’m going to tell him today.” He looked certain of it.
She sat up in bed with wide eyes, taking in a sharp breath. “I thought you weren’t going to tell him until it was official. Not until we knew that I was pregnant.” She felt a flash of fear race through her heart. She panicked for an instant that Pierce might already know that she was carrying his child.
“I know I said that I was going to wait until we knew that you were pregnant, but I just have a good feeling about this. I feel like it’s the right time. He should know. After all, he’ll be a grandfather when it’s all said and done.” He beamed at the idea.
She looked doubtfully at him. “Well, he’s your dad. You know him best. If you think it’s a good idea, then go ahead and tell him and hope that nothing goes wrong between when you tell him and when we get pregnant.”
Pierce’s eyes sparkled. “I bet it happens soon.” He leaned over and kissed her mouth softly, reaching his hand to her belly. “I just bet there’s a little one in there before we know it.” He looked blissful at the idea, and for a second, just one second, she wanted to tell him. She wanted to be honest and tell him that his brand-new child was just beneath his hand and her skin, tucked safely away in the depths of her belly, where its father had put it. Then the rush of fear at losing him swept over her and she changed her mind.
“I bet you’re right, Pierce. I bet it happens really soon.” She smiled wistfully at him, knowing full well that it was going to happen just as soon as the nurse walked into the condo and took her blood. They would be pregnant then for sure.
She pulled him close to her again then, wrapping her legs around him and spellbinding him with her kiss as she drew his length into her body and began to ride him. He forgot about his father and the baby and everything but her as he pushed himself as far into her as he could and tasted the incredible sweetness of her lips against his, and felt the comfort and fire of her skin on his.
Pierce drove out to the Hamptons for dinner that night, knowing all of his family would be there, and it would enable him to tell them all at once. He walked into the Carrington family mansion; the biggest home on the east end of the island, by a lot, and headed to the dining room.
His siblings were there, along with his father, who had just walked into the room. Carter was a tall thin muscular man, and Pierce was a younger, slightly taller, much stronger version of him. It often pleased Pierce to think that when he was older he would so closely resemble what his father looked like as an old man.
“Pierce my boy! How are you today?” Carter asked with a smile as he looked over at his eldest son.
Pierce strode up to him purposefully and drew in a great breath. “There’s something that we need to talk about,” he began, not sure how to tell his family what he wanted to tell them.
“I’m ready to listen,” Carter replied, looking at his son seriously.
Pierce’s siblings all looked at him questioningly as well. “What is it?” Camilla asked, voicing what they were all wondering.
“Did the stock market crash again, brother dear?” Ryder asked flippantly as Lucas shot him a dark look.
Pierce spoke clearly and evenly. “I’ve hired a woman to be a surrogate mother for me so that I can become a father. I expect positive pregnancy results any time now. I thought that all of you should know.”
The room was so silent that one could have heard a pin drop, but the moment following that eternal silence was filled with questions and gasps of shock.
“What are you thinking?” Lucas asked incredulously. “You aren’t married, no wife, no mother for the kid. How are you going to take care of a baby? You’re too busy working all the time.”
Pierce was surprised that it was Lucas who was the first to berate him for his decision. He was expecting it from Ryder. Ryder stared at him and then began to nod.
“Good, brother. Very good. You need someone in your life; someone not us that you can care for. I think this is a bold move and I’m glad that you’re doing it. It’s going to be a great addition to this family.” Ryder hugged him and Camilla followed her twin to hug Pierce immediately as well.
“What are you talking about, Luke? You know I’ll be an auntie, and there’s nothing in the world that I wouldn’t do for any baby that any of us have. Congratulations, brother. I agree with Ryder. You’ve definitely earned this.”
They all looked at Carter then. Carter was staring at his son without expression at first, but then he began to smile, and the smile grew into a grin. “Congratulations, son. I understand completely. You want someone to leave your inheritance to… your legacy. You know exactly how I feel now. That’s something that comes of being a responsible father. I have long held a hope that you would one day soon have children of your own and that time is coming. I am proud of you for finding a way to make it happen, even though it might be seen by some as unconventional. You are and always have been a man ahead of your time; cutting edge, and in the lead on the curve. Well done. Please keep us updated on how it’s going. I must say, I’m thrilled at the prospect of becoming a grandfather. At this point in my life, nothing would make me happier.”
Lucas sighed and went to him, reaching for his hand and taking it in his grasp with a firm hold. “I am happy for you brother. I’m sorry I doubted you at first. Congratulations.” Pierce knew that his father and his siblings were absolutely genuine in their support of him, and it meant the world to him.
“Thank you all, it really does mean everything to me, and I’m so grateful for your support and loyalty. I hope to be a father soon, and I hope to be a good father.” He felt the grin start around his own face and then it was Lucas who called out to the staff, “Champagne! We need to celebrate! Champagne to ring in the new little one we will have in this family!”
Moments later they were pouring Cristal and toasting each other and Pierce. He felt blessed to be in the family that he was in. He only wished sorely that he had brought Kate with him and that she was part of the celebration, because she was the one who would bring it all to life, literally.
All through the celebration with his family that night, his mind kept straying to her, and when the meal was done and everyone had gone their own ways and bidden him good luck and good night, he went out behind the massive house to the ocean that washed into the sandy beach for quite a distance along their property.
He kicked off his shoes where the grass met the sand and he strode with his hands in his pants pockets, thinking deeply about everything that was happening. He realized that he was thinking of Kate far too much, much more than he should have been, and he realized that he wanted her more than he should. As he walked along the sandy shore, he thought hard about just what it was that he wanted and what he most wanted was a child. She was at best a considerable distraction, and one that was shifting his focus from the child he was trying to bring into the world.
With a heavy heart, he realized that he needed to stay away from her. As soon as the pregnancy was confirmed, he would have to distance himself from her. She would carry the child, he would become a father, and she would go on her way. She would be the most incredible affair that he had ever had, but he would let her go at the end so that he could hold on to his child wholly and completely.
He left his father’s house late that night and drove back into the city. He had intended to talk with her about it, but the closer he got to the condo and to her, the more he thought that he still had a little time with her, between that moment and whenever she became pregnant, he could have her all he wanted her, which was more than he could believe, and it would be a sweet gift; a momentary window in time when he would have and hold more passion than he had ever known.
By the time he got to the door of the condo, all he wanted was her in his arms for the whole night. He went in and found her sleeping in bed. He pulled his clothes off and slipped into bed beside her, pressing himself up against her, and somewhere in her dreams and sleep, she must have realized that he was there. She snuggled up to him as well, turning and nuzzling up against his chest and kissing him once in her sleep. He held her for a long while, his thoughts in turmoil, before sleep finally took him.