Chapter 14
Claudia opened her eyes to find Brody and Angela standing over her. Brody had a worried look on his face as he knelt down next to her. She must have scared him.
“Baby, are you okay?”
She nodded.
A beautiful, blonde-haired woman approached them with a glass of water. “Here,” she said. “She should drink this.”
“Thank you, Mona,” Angela said.
Claudia tried to sit up, but Brody put his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t get up too fast. Just rest.”
“I’m good. I just got overheated, and I didn’t expect you to—” She stopped and looked around at all the faces watching her every move. “Can I have that water?”
“Sure,” Mona said. “Do you mind if I take your pulse?”
“Huh?” Malibu Barbie wants to take my vitals?
“Mona is studying to be a doctor,” Angela said. “A gynecologist.”
Of course she is.
“I think that’s a good idea, Mona,” Brody said. “Claudia has high blood pressure.”
Mona knelt down next to Brody and took Claudia’s pulse. “Do you feel any pain? Any cramping?”
Claudia shook her head. “I was hot, but I’m fine now.”
“How far along are you?”
Claudia looked up at Gavin who watched in horror as Mona asked questions about the pregnancy. He must have been put off by the fact that his girlfriend was tending to the housekeeper who was having his baby.
“About twenty weeks,” she said.
Angela looked at Brody. “How long have you been together?”
“We’ve been together a while,” Brody said. “We just didn’t make it public.”
“Claudia, your pulse is fine, but I recommend you see your own doctor. I could call and explain what happened if you’d like?”
“Um, thanks, but that won’t be necessary. I should have known better than to be out in the heat.” Claudia sat up. “Can you take me home?” She stared at Brody. “I just need to rest.”
“Of course,” he said.
“Make sure she gets plenty of fluids.” Mona smiled at them. Barbie seemed like such a sweet girl. What was she doing with Gavin?
“Thank you for your attention.” Guilt overtook Claudia for judging Mona just because Gavin was her boyfriend. She had made her own mistakes when it came to him.
“I hope you feel better,” Mona said.
“Sorry about all the commotion.” Claudia looked around the room at all the people she’d been cleaning up after for the past few years. She’d never been so embarrassed in her life.
“No need for you to worry,” Angela said. “You have to take care of yourself. You’re carrying a Callahan.”
“Yeah, I guess I am.” Claudia looked at Gavin and then back to Brody. Why would Brody take responsibility for his brother’s child? How were they going to fix this now that he’d made a public announcement? They were going to look like idiots once the truth came out.
“Come on,” Brody said. “My car is in the driveway.”
Claudia smiled as a few of the women congratulated her on their way out. Brody put his arm around her waist and led her back through the house.
“I can take you to your doctor right now if you’d like.” He put his arm around her. “Do you feel okay? You scared me when you fainted.”
“What the hell were you thinking? Why would you do that?” Claudia whispered as they made their way to the front door.
“Can you wait until we get to the car?” Brody opened the front door for her.
“I don’t understand. Why would you do that?”
“Because I wanted you to see how serious I am about us,” he said. “I told you I didn’t want you to worry, and now you don’t have to.”
“Yes, I do,” she said. “All you did was supply gossip for those women. I still have to come back to work and now everyone will think Brody Callahan got the housekeeper pregnant.”
“How much longer did you think I’d let you scrub our floors? Gavin is an idiot. How could he have let this happen? I don’t care if everyone thinks I got you pregnant.”
“This isn’t about me or Gavin right now. This is about you and your reputation.”
“My reputation? Do you think I care what a bunch of snobs think about me? You’re a smart, beautiful, funny woman. Where’s the respect for you? I will never let you come back and clean up after my family. Even if you weren’t pregnant with his baby, you don’t belong here. I’ve been trying to convince you of that for weeks.”
“You didn’t have to do what you did,” she said. “I don’t understand.”
“Maybe you’ll understand this.” He took her by the waist and pulled her against his chest. He kissed her long and hard. The kiss left her weak but in a good way. They had kissed many times before, but this was different. “I love you.”
“You do?” Her head spun from the kiss.
“I want you and that baby. I don’t care about paternity, Gavin, or anything else. I will care for you. I won’t presume though. If you don’t reciprocate, it changes nothing. I’ll still be here for you and I’ll provide for your child.”
“You love me?” Claudia wanted to make sure she’d heard him correctly. “I didn’t expect that you could—” She slipped out of his hold and sat on the porch swing. She didn’t want to faint again. “I didn’t tell you the truth about the baby. I slept with your brother. How could you feel anything for me?”
“You were afraid.” He sat down next to her. “I understand that. I wish you would have been open with me from the beginning, but I can see why you didn’t want me to find out about Gavin.”
“You really want to help me with the baby?”
“The baby is a part of you.” He pressed his hand to her stomach and his touch made her whole body warm. “I’ve never been drawn to anyone the way I have been to you. You’re all I think about. I hate leaving you every night. I count the hours until we can be together again. I’ve hopelessly fallen for you. There is no way I can be without you.”
She placed her hand over his. “I want to be with you too. I want my baby to know you, to love you the way I do.”
“You feel the same?”
“I’ve known since that day on the dock when I brought you lunch, but I was afraid to have feelings for you.”
“You don’t have to worry about anything.” He gently kissed her. “I’ll always be here. I’ll take care of everything.”He stood and took her hand. “Come.”
“Where?”
“I’m taking you back to my place so I can show you how much I love you.”
* * * *
As the doors opened to the elevators, a nervous energy coursed through her. Brody guided her to his door and pressed her against it. Her nipples hardened when he ran his hand down her throat and over her breasts.
“I’ve wanted you for a long time.” He trailed his lips along her jaw. “If you hadn’t run out of here that night, I would have taken you on the steps.”
“I was afraid then.” She tangled her fingers in his hair and brought him to her lips.
“And now?”
“I want you to make love to me.”
He pushed open the door, and then swooped her up into his arms and carried her up the steps.
“Brody.” She giggled. “What are you doing?”
“Getting you into my bed before something interrupts us.”
Once inside his bedroom, he kicked the door shut and then placed her on the center of the bed. She sat up on her elbows and watched as he shed himself of his suit jacket and tie.
When he reached for his belt buckle, she trembled with lust. She got up on her knees and undid the buttons of his shirt.
“Are you sure you’re up to this?” He kissed her. “If you’re not feeling well we could wait.”
“Brody.” She tugged his shirt from his pants. “I’m so hot for you right now that if you don’t fuck me, I’ll explode.”
“You talk dirty?” He lowered her onto the bed, but then he stopped before he could join her. He looked distracted.
“What is it?” She sensed his hesitation.
“I don’t want to hurt you or the baby.”
“You won’t.”
“If I do something that’s uncomfortable you have to let me know.”
“I will.”
She sat up, pulled her shirt over her head, and then kicked off her shoes and socks.
“You’re so beautiful.” He stripped off his remaining clothes before slipping her pants over her hips. “I’ve been thinking about your body all day. The way your stomach bulges out...” He placed a soft kiss on her belly. “…is extremely sexy.”
“You don’t have to say that.”
“I speak the truth.”
“I’m sure you never found pregnant women sexy before.”
“I never saw you pregnant before.”
She ran her fingers through his hair. “You’re the sweetest man I’ve ever met.”
“And these...” He trailed his lips up to her breasts and licked her nipples through the thin lace of her bra. “I’ve wanted to put my mouth on them since the first time I saw you standing in your kitchen in that yellow dress.”
“Ahh.” Her nipples were sensitive, but his tongue only heightened her arousal. “That dress doesn’t fit anymore.”
“I’ll buy you a new one.” He pushed the straps from her shoulders and unclasped the hook. “But right now I want you naked.”
She squeezed her thighs together in an attempt to create some friction between her legs as he licked and sucked her breasts. He didn’t let up on her nipples when he reached between their bodies and slid her panties down. Once he had them off, she wrapped her legs around his waist and rubbed against his hard cock.
“Ah, baby.” He moved his hand down, took his erection in his palm, and brushed it along her slit. “You’re dripping all over me.”
She ran her fingernails down his back and tightened her hold on his hips. “Please, Brody. I need you.”
“I know.” He continued to run his tip just along her entrance, making sure to push against her clit. “I want to savor every moment with you. I don’t ever want to forget our first time.”
“We won’t forget.” She thrust against him, causing him to slide deep inside her.
“Such an eager girl.” He placed one hand on the mattress beside her face to support his weight, and then took the back of her thigh in his other hand, gently lifting her leg so he could move in and out of her.
She gripped his shoulders as he moved within her, pulling all the way out and then filling her completely as he slid back in. She didn’t want this connection to ever end.
“Brody.”
He lowered his lips to her jaw, trailing up to her ear. “Let go.” The vibration of his voice, commanding her to release, caused her to shiver. He kissed his way to her lips, nipping and sucking the bottom one in between his teeth as he picked up his pace with his hips.
The cool sheen of his sweat trickled onto her skin when their bodies rubbed together. Her heart beat out of her chest as she screamed his name. She squeezed her eyes shut and exploded around him. She shook against him with each aftershock, coming harder than she ever had before.
She couldn’t remember when he’d lifted her into his lap and wrapped her legs around his waist, but when she opened her eyes they were facing one another.
“I lost you for a few seconds.” He took her face between his hands and thrust his hips upward. “Claudia, sweetheart...”
After a moment, he filled her. He kissed her hard as he held her close to him. She’d never felt more desired or wanted.
He loosened his hold and then leaned back to look at her. “Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No, you were perfect.” She rested her head against his shoulder. “It was perfect.”
“I’ve had sex before.”
She laughed at his odd statement. “So have I.”
“Obviously.” He lifted her off him and then lay her down on a pillow. “But this was the first time I’ve ever made love.”
“Brody,” she whispered.
“Don’t start crying.” He stroked her cheek, as he settled on his side, propping himself up on his elbow. “I don’t want any more tears.”
“These are good tears.” She shifted so she was on her side, facing him. “I know it’s awkward that I was with Gavin, but it was never like this with him. We didn’t love one another. We never did anything together.”
“What do you mean?”
“We didn’t date.” She looked down, feeling ashamed she’d allowed Gavin to use her for sex. “I went to his place once a week and we slept together. I’d never done anything like that before. I’d never even been with anyone before. I thought we’d eventually have a relationship, but he was already with Mona, although I didn’t know that at the time.”
“How could you?”
“I just feel really stupid and ashamed of myself.”
“Don’t.” He gently kissed her. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. I can’t say the same for Gavin, but we’re not going to concern ourselves with him.”
“He’s your brother,” she said. “I’m having his baby. How are we going to avoid him?”
“Is this why you ran from me that night? Is that why you said you were doing the right thing?”
“I wanted to do the right thing, but I couldn’t stay away from you.”
“I wasn’t going to lose you,” he said. “I was trying to give you some space, but I was going to pick you up from work myself that afternoon if you didn’t show up first.”
“I’m in love with you, but how can we make this work?” She would never be able to walk away from Brody. She wanted him, and she wanted him to be the father Gavin refused to be to her baby. “I keep thinking things would be different if I was pregnant with another man’s baby, but Gavin will always be part of your life.”
“It won’t be easy, but you and this baby are worth it. Gavin doesn’t want the baby, so I think he’ll leave us alone for now.”
“What if he changes his mind later? If the truth comes out—”
“I don’t want you to worry about anything. I’ll handle Gavin. I just need to know what you want. I may have gotten a little possessive today at the main house.”
“A little?” She shook her head. “You went all caveman on me. I was waiting for you to beat your chest and pull me out by my hair.”
“That would have been hot.” He laughed. “Maybe we’ll try that later.”
“I love that you want to protect me, but I’m not sure you can.” She inched closer to him and draped her leg over his hip. She wanted his skin on hers because she didn’t want to lose the connection they’d formed. Being close to him relaxed her.
“I can protect you. Gavin and Angela won’t be a problem.”
“Why is Angela afraid of you?” Claudia remembered the day Angela backed down. “She got in my face one day about you sending John for me.”
“That’s none of her concern.”
“I told her you wouldn’t be happy about her harassing me and she backed down. Why?”
“She should back down.” He placed his hand over her thigh. “I control my father’s estate. The business, the money, the houses, the cars, everything is in my name.”
“Why did your dad do that?”
“He didn’t trust Angela with his money and he knew Gavin wasn’t ready to handle the business. He worked hard and wanted to make sure his fortune wasn’t squandered away.”
“Angela has to rely on you to live?”
“Pretty much.” He ran the back of his hand down her neck and to her shoulder. “She won’t be a problem.”
“I hope you’re right.” Claudia shuddered at the thought of Angela staking a claim on her child. “Sometimes I worry she’ll try to take my baby.”
“That will never happen. You’ll have to trust me.” He moved his hand down to her breasts and traced small circles over her nipple with his thumb. “Are you hungry?”
Hungry? How could she think about food when he touched her so intimately? It was the most erotic sensation she’d ever experienced.
“I could order dinner from the little café downstairs in the lobby. They’ll send it up.” He continued to caress her nipples. “What would you like?”
“For you to make love to me.” She ran her fingers down his chest and over his well sculpted abs. His breath on her lips, his warm skin against hers, and his soft touch had her in overdrive. “Right now.”
“That I can do.” He leaned closer to her and brushed his lips along her mouth. “All night if I have to.”