Chapter Thirteen
Michael
I woke up to my alarm, a rare occurrence. Usually, I was awake at least a couple minutes before it and could shut it off before the thing made a sound. I scowled my annoyance and flipped my phone over, thankful for that feature, so I didn't have to scramble to find the correct button to push.
Paige was still asleep in front of me. For a moment, I nuzzled back against her, my arm still draped over her waist. It was warm and comfortable there, our legs tangled together beneath the sheets. Everything felt good. Not only did I feel physically sated after our actions of the previous night, but I also felt mentally better than I had in a while. I felt ready to face the day, ready to—
I interrupted that thought and rolled away from Paige, wondering what the hell I was thinking, anyway.
Paige wasn't my girlfriend, and I didn't have feelings for her. We were just fucking. The happiness I was feeling right then wasn't because everything in my life was somehow so perfectly aligned. It was because we'd had awesome sex and I was still basking in the afterglow. That was why people had sex in the first place, wasn't it? Because it made them feel good afterwards.
I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Paige. She was out of it, and I congratulated myself mentally on a job well done. She had come hard the previous night; I had been able to tell. Right now, she showed no signs of getting up.
The nice guy in me wanted to make her breakfast and bring it to her in bed, but that seemed too cute and too couple-y for me to do. If she was just a one-night stand, I wouldn't have minded. But with this relationship, being what it was, I felt like I had to be extra careful to play by the rules that we had set out in the contract. And that meant no breakfast in bed.
I paused in the doorway, looking back at her. The sunlight coming through the window hadn’t reached her yet, but even in this half-light, she looked stunning. Peaceful, too. I couldn't help smiling, glad I'd been able to give her a well-deserved sleep. Maybe we'd have to keep this up even after she'd gotten pregnant. It was probably healthier for her to get a good sleep every now and then.
For now, I forced myself to turn away from her and made my way into the kitchen. I'd grab breakfast on the way to the office, but I couldn't go without leaving a note for her.
Good morning,
Had an early conference call so had to run.
Feel free to eat anything you'd like, and shower too.
And feel free to spend the night again tonight.
—M.
I frowned down at the note, wondering if it was exactly what I meant to say. Not the part about breakfast and a shower; she was more than welcome to make something to eat and to clean herself up a little. But the part about staying the night again, was I allowed to ask?
I wanted to get inside of her as much as possible. I tried to tell myself that it wasn't just about us, her and I. The more I came inside her, the more likely it was that I would manage to impregnate her, which was what we were trying to do.
More than that, though, I was having a hard time resisting her. I hadn't intended to take things as far as I had in the limo the previous night, but there we had been, unaware that we were sitting outside my building, for who knew how long. It was as though when I was around her, my whole focus narrowed to her. Thinking with your dick, I think that's what that's called, I thought wryly.
It wasn't even just about my pleasure, however, although I couldn't deny that I'd enjoyed the orgasms that I'd already had with her. I wasn't sure I had ever come as hard as I had with Paige. There was just something about her that had me interested. We worked so well together that it would be a shame when this was over.
But the main thing: there was another part of me that also wanted to make her come again and again, as much as I could. I had always been a giving lover, but the amount that I wanted to give to her was borderline ridiculous. Even after she'd come twice the previous night, even after it had become clear that she was exhausted and ready to pass out, I'd wanted to put my hands on her again. Or better yet, my mouth.
I was still couldn't stop thinking about getting my mouth on her. Maybe that's what I'd do tonight if she stayed.
I shivered, just thinking about it. Yes, that was what I wanted for the night. And with that in mind, the note said exactly what I intended it to. I nodded to myself and crept quietly back into the bedroom, leaving it on the bedside table. Then, I quickly dressed and headed into the office.
Chris was there waiting for me when I arrived. He raised an eyebrow at me. “Someone's looking chipper this morning,” he said.
I grinned at him, but I knew better than to tell him about Paige. I wasn't sure how to tell him the whole reason I was with Paige was because I was trying to impregnate her with my future heir.
Suddenly, the bizzareness of the whole situation struck me, and I could feel my grin falter. Chris immediately got to his feet. “Uh oh,” he said. “What's up? I've known you for long enough to know that expression means nothing good.”
“It's fine,” I told him.
Chris gave me a searching look. I glanced at my watch and swore, realizing that I was late for my meeting.
“I already told them that you were feeling under the weather today and wouldn't be attending your meetings,” Chris said helpfully. He frowned. “I know you don't care all that much about all the business to do with the hotels, but you're not the kind of guy to just blow off meetings.” He paused. “Unless there was a girl in your bed this morning.”
I groaned and sank into my desk chair, feeling like an idiot. “There was a girl in my bed this morning,” I admitted. “I forgot to reset my alarm last night so I could get here early enough for the conference call.” It had been with some of our international branches, so I had meant to be a part of it. Again, not that they couldn't function without me, but I knew that I needed to show my face on these calls at least every so often.
“You went to the bar by yourself on a Wednesday night?” Chris asked, raising an eyebrow at me. “Or have you replaced me as your wingman?”
“It's more complicated than that,” I told him. I paused, wondering how much I could tell him.
Chris looked concerned. “Bro, you know you can tell me if there's something going on. We've been friends since we were in grade school.”
“I know,” I sighed. I decided to just come out with it. “I'm paying a woman 2.5 million dollars to have a baby for me,” I told him.
Chris's eyes widened fractionally. “Oh, is that all?” he asked teasingly. He frowned. “So it wasn't that you had a girl in your bed this morning, it's that you had an appointment to jack off into a cup?”
I shook my head. “I didn't want to do it that way,” I told him. “I didn’t want the kid to come out of a more loveless marriage than the one my parents had.” I made a face, and Chris did as well; he knew what my parents were like, and his own were very similar.
“All right, so you did have a girl in your bed this morning?”
“Yeah,” I admitted.
“Are you dating her?” Chris asked sharply. “I'm going to be offended if the answer is yes and you didn't think you could tell me.”
“Of course I'm not dating her,” I said, rolling my eyes to emphasize my point. “She's come over to my place a couple times. We haven't even eaten dinner or gone on a proper date, we just fucked. The first time, she slipped out right afterwards, but last night, I guess she was too worn out, and she slept in my bed.” I paused. “She still wasn't up when I came to work this morning, and you know I'm not the type of guy to kick a woman out.”
Chris looked floored. “Okay,” he finally said slowly. “So the two of you have had sex a couple times now, and she'll have conceived, right?”
“Hopefully,” I said. “We don't know for sure yet. It takes a couple days for a pregnancy to show up positive on one of those tests, I think.”
“Right,” Chris said. “But once she's conceived, then what? Are you guys going to get engaged or what?”
I laughed. “Of course not!” I said. “Chris, have I ever said that I wanted to get married? You know I don't want that. This is just a means to an end. I was talking with my attorney, drawing up my will, and I realized that I need to have an heir, sooner rather than later. I'm only getting older, and it would be good to have someone who could take over my money and my business when I can’t do it anymore.”
Chris continued to stare at me, and I started to fidget, feeling agitated.
“We're not in a relationship,” I reiterated. “We signed a contract and everything. And she doesn't want this to be a relationship any more than I do. We've talked it all over, and she's okay with giving me the baby, once it's born. She'll have nothing more to do with it.”
“Wow, man,” Chris said, sounding shocked. “Just, wow.” He grinned. “Guess we're going to need to get some good bro time in over the next nine months, huh? I'm losing my wingman!”
I laughed. “Come on, I think I'll be able to afford a babysitter,” I reminded him. “Thirsty Thursdays are still going to be thirsty.”
Chris laughed. “All right, whatever you say,” he said.
“Was there a reason that you came in this morning anyway?” I asked, wanting to change the topic of conversation before I had too much time to think of all the things in my life that could potentially change if and when Paige got pregnant. It was too early to speculate or worry about all of that, though.
“Other than to save your ass when you showed up late and didn't even realize you'd missed your first meeting?” Chris asked. He frowned. “I don't mean to sound like your dad, but make sure that whatever you're doing with this girl, you're not letting it take over your whole life. I'm sure I don't need to remind you that you've got a good thing going here.”
“I know, I know,” I sighed. “It won't happen again.”
“Anyway,” Chris said. “I just dropped by to invite you out for drinks tonight, but I guess that's not going to work, is it?”
I laughed and shook my head. “Give me a week,” I told him. If Paige really was ovulating, a week should be plenty of time for me to get her pregnant.
“A whole week?” Chris asked, sounding appalled. “You may not have replaced me with a new wingman, but I might have to replace you. Sounds like you've got a thing for this girl.”
“It's not a thing,” I insisted. “I just want to make sure that I've got her pregnant. Then, it'll be about sitting back and waiting.”
“Well, couldn't you make it to Thirsty Thursdays first and then bring her back to your place?”
I frowned, thinking about it. “She's probably working tonight anyway,” I realized slowly.
“What does she do?” Chris asked, looking confused. Then, his eyes widened. “Is it one of the bartending chicks?”
I laughed at how transparent I was. But then again, I guessed that was what happened when you were best friends with the same person for nearly your whole life. “Yeah,” I admitted. “It's one of the bartenders.”
“The hot blonde one?” Chris asked. “The manager?”
“Nah,” I said, shaking my head. “That's Erica; she's Paige's best friend and roommate.”
“Paige,” Chris said, his eyes narrowing. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. “She's the one with the eyes, isn't she? And the legs.”
“She's the one with the eyes and the legs,” I said, making my tone teasing even though I knew exactly what he meant. I was glad for the desk between us as I felt my dick take an interest in the line of my thoughts, as I remembered the way she had bent over the previous night.
I didn't know how I was still this turned on by her, when she wasn't even there and when we had already had sex multiple times in the past 48 hours. As I thought about it, I couldn't help considering what it would be like to lock both of us in my penthouse for a weekend of sex and exhausted napping. Now that had me interested.
Chris whistled under his breath. “The two of you are sure going to make some beautiful babies,” he said.
“That's the hope anyway,” I said. “Although it's just one baby. I just need an heir.”
“Sure,” Chris said, looking like he didn't believe me. He paused. “So if she's going to be working tonight anyway, you could get some drinks with me, right? I need a wingman, and you need a distraction. You can always take her home at the end of the night if you can't find anyone you'd rather go home with.”
I thought, privately, that there was no way I was going to find someone else that I would rather go home with. But I couldn't keep thinking like that. Pretty soon, this thing with Paige was going to be over.
I nodded at Chris. “You're right,” I agreed. “I probably do need a distraction. Let's head over around nine or ten.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Chris said, getting to his feet. “See you later, man.”
“See you later.”