CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
When Meg woke up the following morning, she was alone in bed. She wandered out to the living room of the hotel suite, where she found Sky passed out. He was still in his clothing from the previous night, and there was an open bottle of whiskey on the table next to the sofa where he was sleeping.
“Will the real Sky Johnson please stand up,” she muttered under her breath. “Is the gentleman who treats me like a queen when we’re home in Nashville the real you? Or is the self-centered drunk who passes out and sleeps in his clothes the real you?”
Sky’s eyes flew open. “What did you say?”
She gasped. “You heard me?”
“Yeah,” he said, as he struggled to sit up. “The real Sky Johnson is a drunk sometimes, but isn’t so self centered that he’d disturb your sleep by climbing into bed with you and waking you up in the middle of the night.”
Meg rolled her eyes. “Gee, thanks.” She tossed Sky a bottle of aspirin. “I think you’re going to need this. I ordered room service breakfast, and I’m already packed. We can leave whenever you’re ready.” She turned to walk back towards the bedroom.
“Wait. We have to talk. Please, sit with me,” he said, patting the sofa cushion. He waited until Meg sat down before taking a deep breath. “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just gonna come right out and tell you that I got a call from the police last night. Mallory is pregnant.”
Meg hung her head. I knew it when I saw her yesterday. This is a nightmare. She felt Sky’s fingers lift up her chin so she could look him in the eyes, but she turned her face away from him.
“Baby, please look at me.” His voice was raspy from liquor and lack of sleep. “She’s agreed to the blood DNA test, so I’m going to give a blood sample this morning, and I’ll know in a week or so if I’m the father or not.”
She turned and gave him an empty stare. She began to feel her body shut down and drain itself of all emotion. It was a familiar feeling, something she had trained herself to do years earlier to block the pain. “Okay.”
“Okay? That’s it?”
“What else is there to say? I’m ready to leave when you are.” She stood and walked towards the bedroom of the suite.
He ran his hands through his hair. “I guess I expected more of a reaction from you.”
Meg turned and lashed out at him. “What do you want from me? What do you expect me to say? I can’t change anything. I can’t fix this for you. It’s out of my control.” She hesitated a moment before continuing. “Look, I’m your girlfriend. I care about you, and I’ll be here for you, but this is something you have to deal with.”
When they arrived at the airport, Sky explained that he booked a private jet for their trip back to Nashville. “I don’t want to deal with questions from reporters or stares from other passengers,” he said, when Meg asked why he changed their travel arrangements. “Besides, I hardly ever do this just for myself, and thought it would be a nice treat for you.”
“It is. I’ve been on my cousin’s jet a few times, and it’s a nice luxury.” She opened a magazine and flipped through the pages, but her mind was a million miles away. I love this man, she thought as she stole a quick glance at Sky, who was wearing noise-cancelling earphones and had dozed off. He’s all wrong for me in so many ways, but he’s also right for me. I just need time to think, and figure out for myself where we should go from here. I need some time alone, especially before I have to go home later this week. He’s going to be upset I’m leaving town, but he’s going to have to deal with it.
Meg slept through the flight, and woke with a start when the jet touched down on the runway in Nashville. She rubbed her eyes, and noticed Sky doing the same thing. “I guess we both needed the sleep,” she said.
“Yeah, for sure.” When the plane came to a stop, he pulled out his cell phone and placed a call. “We’re here. See you in a few,” he said before hanging up. He turned to Meg and explained, “Paul is here. He’s picking us up.”
They walked towards Sky’s Tahoe in silence and handed their bags to Paul.
“You okay, boss?” he asked.
“Yeah.” Sky opened the rear door for Meg and climbed in next to her. “We’re going to my place, Paul.”
“Actually, I need to go home,” Meg said.
Sky whipped his head in her direction. “Why?”
“Because I have things to do.” She looked away from Sky and stared out the window.
“Fine. Paul, we’re going to Meg’s house.”
The tension was thick as they rode in silence. When Paul pulled the Tahoe into Meg’s driveway, Sky retrieved her bags from the back and carried them to her front door.
Meg tapped in the numbers to the alarm code as she crossed into the entryway. She took a deep breath and turned around to face Sky. “Thanks for taking me with you to Vegas, and for the beautiful clothes.”
“Baby.” Sky searched her eyes as he spoke. “This wasn’t the way I wanted our Vegas trip to turn out.”
“I know.”
“Can I stay the night with you? I need you.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I need some space.”
“Please, just for tonight?” He took her into his arms and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “I promise I’ll give you a little space starting tomorrow if you need it, but I need you tonight. It’s been too long since we’ve shared a bed together.”
“Just two nights.”
“Way too long.” He backed her against the wall of the entryway and let his lips and tongue make his case as he nibbled at her ear and down her neck. He felt her body relax in his arms, and he knew he was on the right track. “Let’s shut our phones off and focus only on each other tonight,” he whispered into her ear. “It’s been all about me for days now. Tonight is gonna be all about you.” He slipped a hand underneath her t-shirt and began to caress her breasts.
Meg tried to fight her reaction to him, but it was no use. “You make it impossible for me to resist you.”
“Good.”
She smiled, and shook her head. “You’re incorrigible.”
He chuckled. “I know.” He released her from his grip. “I’ll be right back.” He darted out of the house and down the driveway to the Tahoe. After speaking with Paul for a moment, he grabbed his backpack and ran back to the house. “Meg? Where are you?”
“In here,” she said, calling from the living room.
Sky followed the sound of her voice. “What are you doing?”
Meg looked up from the mail she was sorting. “Just going through the mail, and separating out my bills.”
“Well, that’s a real mood-killer.”
So was finding out that Mallory is pregnant, she thought, but didn’t say. She felt her emotions beginning to shut down again, and tried to fight off the feeling of numbness. There will be enough time for being numb later this week. She put the mail aside and stood up. “Do you want something to eat or drink?”
Sky’s look was intense as he closed the gap between them. “Just you,” he said, as he scooped her up into his arms. He turned and carried her down the hallway, where he placed her on her bed. “You’re the most beautiful woman in the world, inside and out,” he said, before kicking off his shoes and lying down next to her.
Meg could feel his heart beating through his t-shirt as he pulled her towards him. The tightness in her muscles began to release as she felt his warm breath against her neck.
Sky eased her onto her back and brushed the hair out of her eyes. “I want you,” he whispered.
“I want you too,” she said.
“No matter what happens?”
She closed her eyes and nodded her head. “No matter what happens.”
“That means everything to me.”
“I know.” I’m going to be asking you the same question, and hope you give me the same answer, if you ever find out the truth about me.
He began to undress her, before he removed his own t-shirt and jeans. After he removed her underwear, he kneeled over her so he could take in the sight of her naked body. “You’re stunning, baby. There are days I can’t believe you’re mine.” He lay on his side next to her, and ran a hand up between her legs.
She parted her legs just enough to allow him access to her private space. Her body quivered as Sky’s fingers found their way to her slick insides.
“Someone’s ready,” he said, as he took a nipple in his mouth and sucked until it was pebble hard. He turned his attention to her other nipple. “Gotta give equal time to both,” he said as he began to devour her other breast.
“Sky,” Meg gasped as she reached for his crotch. “Please.”
“Just lay back and enjoy, baby. Relax. Tonight is all about you.”
“But…”
“Shh…” Sky’s mouth covered hers in a deep kiss. His lips blazed a trail down her body, pausing at her breasts before making their way between her legs. When he placed a light kiss at her opening, her hips reached towards him for more. “Not yet, baby.”
His mouth worked its way down the inside of one leg and down to her foot, before switching to the other foot and working its way back up. His fingers parted her most private area as he brought his mouth to her pleasure center. As his tongue flicked over her most sensitive part, he thrust his fingers into her slick opening.
Meg’s body convulsed as heat and pleasure shot through her core. “Oh my God, Sky,” she called out as she reached her climax. Her voice was breathless as she reached out to him and begged, “Please, I need you.”
His eyes bored into her as peeled off his underwear and massaged her juices onto his engorged manhood. “Is this what you want?”
“Oh, yeah,” she said, as she reached for him.
He had the condom in place in record time, and was on top of her in a flash. “I need you, baby,” he said as he plunged himself deep inside her. “I want you to come all around me.” He thrust deeper inside her, desperate in his attempt to make her feel his need for her.
She felt his urgency, and wrapped her legs around his back in response as the pressure began to build between her legs. When her breath became shallow and her back arched up, she called his name again.
He could feel her urging him on as he rode her hard. He felt her nails dig into his back as she contracted in waves of pleasure around him, bringing him to his release. “Oh, God, baby,” he grunted, he collapsed on top of her.