Chapter Twenty-One

Riley

I stare at the burgundy carpet as I rest my elbows on my knees, sinking into my thoughts in the empty conference room.

My first meeting of the afternoon is already over and the next one doesn't start for another hour. I should probably use this time to take a power nap in my office or get myself coffee or go through those documents Margot sent me so that I can leave a little earlier. Instead, I just find myself zoning out.

I still haven't figured out how to deal with Lena's pregnancy after all.

I tap my feet anxiously on the floor.

What am I supposed to do?

"There you are." I hear Judy's voice and look up to see her walking towards me in a green dress.

My eyebrows furrow. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see Jerry. He told me that you're still out of sorts."

"He said that?"

"You do look like you're not yourself. I know. I've been around you for so long I can tell what mood you're in with just a glance."

I can't tell if that's admirable or creepy.

She pulls out a chair and sits down. "What's wrong? You know you can tell me. Is it about Lena?"

So Jerry hasn't told her yet. That's impressive.

"I thought you and Lena were friends," I tell her.

"Yeah, I guess." Judy shrugs. "She's important to you, so she's important to me."

I knew it.

She gets out of the chair and moves closer to me.

"But you're far more important." She leans over me and grips the back of my chair so that my head is trapped between her arms. Her breasts are nearly spilling out of her top right before my eyes. "So if anything is going on between the two of you, I want you to know I'm on your side. You can count on me for anything."

She touches my cheek and strokes it.

Just as I thought, she hasn't given up on me. Should I have chosen her instead? Maybe if I had--

"Mr. McAllister." Margot barges through the door.

Above me, Judy frowns. I ignore her and lean my head to the side to glance at my assistant.

"What is it?"

"Your stepmother called," she informs me.

My eyebrows arch. Mickey? What does she want this time?

Judy finally gets out of my face. I move my chair closer to the table and begin to gather my papers.

"There's been an emergency," Margot adds.

"What?" I ask with little interest.

By now, I know all too well that not all Mickey's 'emergencies' are life-and-death situations. Once, it was just a matter of something stuck in her teeth that she couldn't get out.

"She said your wife had an accident at home."

The papers slip between my fingers as I grow still.

Lena's home? And she had an accident?

My eyes grow wide. In the next moment, I'm out of my chair. In a few minutes, I'm out of the building.

~

When I get to Lena's room, Mickey is standing outside wearing an agonized expression. She opens her mouth to say something as I approach but I ignore her and go straight inside the room. I close the door behind me and rush to the bed where Lena is sitting.

"Are you alright?" I ask her.

She looks at me in surprise. "Riley..."

"What happened?" I glance at the bruise on her arm and the bandage on her leg.

"I'm okay." Lena covers the bruise with her hand. "I just suddenly got dizzy while Mickey and I were talking and crashed into a table. It's my fault, really."

"And the baby?" I glance at her stomach.

"The baby is completely fine," she answers. "Mickey already knows about it, though. The doctor--"

She doesn't finish because I wrap my arms around her. Tight. My heart pounds against her chest.

All the way here, I thought it would escape. It simply wouldn't sit still in its cage, not when I kept thinking that something bad could have happened to Lena. Or to the baby.

My baby.

I've been such a fool worrying about it. What's there to worry about? What's there to fear? Lena is my wife and she's carrying my baby. That's all there is to it.

They're both mine and I always take care of what is mine.

"Riley," Lena protests as she taps my arm.

I realize I've been smothering her and let go. My hand touches her cheek.

"Are you sure you and the baby are alright?"

She nods. "The hourglass with the red stuff in it broke so it looked like there was a lot of blood. But the only real blood is from this cut on my leg which I got from one of the glass shards." She looks at it. "No harm done really."

I kneel on the carpet and take a look at it. Then I wrap my hands around her leg and press my lips to the Band-Aid.

"Riley," Lena gasps. "What are you doing?"

"I haven't been a good husband to you, Lena," I answer as I look into her teal eyes. "I've been unfair to you and our baby."

Her eyes grow wide.

"Yes, our baby," I repeat. "I put this baby in you and I will take care of it. And you."

I lower my face to plant another kiss on her leg, but she cups my cheeks.

"I know you will," she tells me. "And that's not what I'm asking. I don't want you to treat us like we're your obligations, or worse, burdens or chains. I just want you to let us be a part of your life."

I take her hand and kiss her palm. "And you are."

I drag my lips across her soft skin all the way to her fingertips, then part them and lick one of her fingers. Then I close my lips and suck.

Lena pulls them away with a gasp.

I turn my attention back to her leg and brush my lips against her skin. I drag them all the way up to her knee and lightly suck on that part of her.

She laughs. "That tickles."

I ignore it and move even further up. I push back the hem of her skirt so I can nibble on the inside of her thigh.

She grabs my shoulders. "Mickey's outside," she reminds me.

"So?" I give her thigh a long lick and she trembles. "She knows better than to come in while I'm here."

I continue on until I reach Lena's cotton panties. I part her thighs and press my lips firmly against the front.

"Riley!" she admonishes. "What are you doing?"

"What I should be doing," I answer. "Taking good care of my wife."

I push my tongue against the cotton. Lena gasps. Her nails bite my shoulders.

"But that's--"

"You liked it last time," I remind her.

That succeeds in silencing her. When I give her another lick through the cotton, she gasps once more and falls on top of the bed.

I keep licking the cotton and it gets wetter, both from my saliva and the juices leaking out of her. The sweet scent drifts to my nostrils.

Lena moans. Her thighs tremble around me as her fingers tug at my hair. My cock quivers in my boxers.

I lift my head and look at her. She's not drunk, but she may as well be with her cheeks flushed and her eyes glossed over.

They close as I capture her lips. My hands squeeze her breasts through layers of fabric as my tongue entangles with hers. I feel their peaks stiffening against my palms.

I kiss her jaw next, and the side of her neck as I reach beneath her to find the zipper of her dress and the hooks of her bra. I undo them both and slip the bra straps off her shoulders so her breasts can spill freely, their stiff rosy peaks stretching out to me.

I take one between my lips as I slip my hand beneath her skirt and her wet panties. I suck on her breast as I dip my finger into her moist heat.

Lena throws her head back as she squirms. Her arms drop to her sides, hands clutching the sheets.

I suck on her other breast as I put in another finger. I move them both in and out slowly, careful not to go in too deeply.

I don't want to hurt her. Regardless of how my cock is straining against my pants, aching to be freed, I must keep myself in control.

She's not just a body meant for my satisfaction like those women before. She's the vessel for my child.

I withdraw my fingers and move my head lower to her belly. There, I plant a reverent kiss.

Lena strokes my hair.

"Our baby," she whispers. "I was able to hear its heartbeat just a while ago when Dr. Henrick and his friend, Dr. Stanley, were here. I wish you could have heard it."

I press my ear against her belly. "I don't hear anything."

"Of course not. Our baby is still tiny so you need a machine."

I shrug. "Next time, then."

I kiss her belly once more before I pull off her soaked panties and take off my belt.

"Did the doctor say the baby can hear us?"

Lena shakes her head. "No. Why?"

"Because we're about to make some noise," I say as I finally free my cock from its prison.

I grip her thighs and enter her slowly. She gasps.

"Tell me if I'm hurting you," I tell her hoarsely as I fill her inch by inch.

"I'm fine," she gasps out.

Still, she squeezes her eyes shut and throws her head to the side.

Finally, I'm completely inside her. I let out the breath I've been holding and begin moving slowly. Lena moves her hips.

"Faster," she says.

I chuckle. Here I am trying to be careful and there she goes making demands on me.

"Yes, ma'am."

I move faster, lifting my head so I don't see her stomach. It's still small, but I can't help but imagine the baby in there. I know what we're doing is fine. The doctor would prohibit Lena from having sex if it wasn't. But I can't help but worry.

My thoughts vanish, though, as Lena tightens around me. Her body arches. The back of her head digs into the sheets as she clutches them between her fingers. A cry escapes from her lips and fills the air.

I manage a few more thrusts into her tight passage before my own desire overwhelms me. With a groan, I pull out and spill my seed on her dress. When I finish, I lie down beside her as I catch my breath.

Lena sits up and looks at her dress. She frowns.

"Sorry," I mutter as I put my spent cock back in my boxers. "I was worried it would be bad for you if I came inside you."

She glances at me. "Then maybe next time you'll use a condom?"

I nod. "Noted."

She lies back down. I take her hand in mine and lift it to my lips, which curve into a smile as I realize that she said 'next time'. My smile turns into a frown, though, when I see the bruise on her arm again.

I kiss it.

"Ouch," Lena complains. "That spot is still tender to the touch."

"Sorry." I let go of her arm. "When did you return, by the way?"

"Just this afternoon."

"I didn't think you'd be back so soon."

She shrugs. "I'm not running away anymore."

She did say that before, but something in the way she says it now fills my chest with warmth.

"What did your family say?" I ask her.

"Oh, they're thrilled. My sister especially. You'd think she was the one having the baby."

"And your father?"

"I have his support. As always."

I nod. "I still haven't given him my autograph."

"Yup."

I prop my head on my elbow and look at her. "And what were you and Mickey talking about?"

Lena shrugs. "Nothing much. She was just surprised to see me."