Chapter 29
Lara
Ouch.
Good, but ouch. I didn’t think there was a single inch of my body that wasn’t suffering from whisker burns. My ankles were even a little raw, which brought up a very vivid memory. Mason was an absolute god in bed. We’d had some good sex, but this weekend had been earth-shattering. My body felt like putty.
Every muscle felt worked over, like I had been through a grueling yoga class. I had flexed and worked muscles I didn’t even know I had. I was pretty sure I could probably try out for a circus act. My body had been bent in ways I never knew it could. Every position involved his cock buried deep, deep inside me, taking me to new levels of pleasure I hadn’t thought I could ever experience.
My tormenter leaned over me, kissing me on the lips. “Good morning.”
I smiled and leisurely stretched. “Hi.”
“I have to get going. I’ll call you tonight. Have a good day at work.”
“Bye,” I said with a smile that I was pretty sure was permanently in place now.
I allowed myself to lie in bed a few more minutes after he left, relishing in what was an extended afterglow. I didn’t want to get out of bed and put a hand to my flat stomach. If Mason was going to get me pregnant, it would have happened this weekend. I couldn’t even count how many times we’d had sex in the past forty-eight hours. He had offered to use a condom, but I was not going to change my mind.
Drunk or sober, I wanted his baby. I would deal with what all that meant another time. Right now, I had to get to work.
When I walked into work, Kali was ogling one of the new handmade items I had procured.
“You look like a fat kid who wants cake,” I teased.
She sighed. “These are seriously the cutest things I have ever seen. I want them all, but damn, they are expensive.”
I chuckled. “You pay for quality.”
“Is the thread made of spun gold?”
I laughed again. I had to agree with her a little, but I had seen how much work went into making these beautiful clothes.
“Uh, you’re glowing, again,” she said, finally looking at me. “You got laid. A lot, judging by the way you’re moving.”
I blushed but didn’t deny it.
Kali picked up a blanket and ran her hand over it. I had a feeling it would be like this for the next nine months. It was going to be very odd working with a pregnant woman—especially if I couldn’t get pregnant.
On a happier note, I envisioned the customers coming into the store and seeing two pregnant women running the place. I hoped that would be good advertisement. Once the babies were born, we could give real reviews of the items.
I shook my head, snapping myself out of my daydream. The fact was, I was not pregnant and had to prepare myself to accept the possibility that I couldn’t get pregnant. Though unlikely, it was possible that my one shot at having a child may have died with my miscarriage.
“How are you feeling?” I asked her.
“Fine. Totally normal. I’m just waiting for the morning sickness to hit.”
I smiled, thinking back to my brief bout with morning sickness. It had lasted only a couple weeks and then it was all over.
“That’s good. How’s Brian taking it? He seemed a little in shock when he told me.”
“He’s coming around. At first he was definitely in shock, but the idea is growing on him.”
“Good. Have you guys talked about the future?”
The grin on her face told me they most definitely had. “I’m going to be moving in next month.”
I almost choked. “What?”
“I know!” she squealed. “Can you believe it? A month ago, I was a single woman, playing the field, and now I’m pregnant and moving in with a man I barely know!”
“Uh, no, I can’t believe it. Wow. You guys are moving really fast.”
I couldn’t quite feel the same enthusiasm as she did. Brian was my big brother, and as much as I loved Kali, I was worried the whole thing was going to blow up in their faces.
“You’re not happy about it?”
“I am. I just—well, I guess I have some reservations. Obviously, it doesn’t matter what I think since you two are the ones involved. Was this your idea or his?”
I could see the moment her hackles went up and realized I had put her on the defensive.
“Lara, this is the real thing for both of us. I understand you have your own feelings on this, but I would appreciate if you could be happy for us.”
“I’m sorry. I really am. Really, I was just asking. If you’re happy, I’m happy, and I will support you both.”
“Good.”
I stared at her. “I can’t believe you’re going to have a baby. It is so crazy! And not just any baby! My brother’s baby! I’m going to be an aunt!”
She started laughing. “I know. I forget I’m pregnant all the time. We went to dinner and I ordered wine without even thinking. It wasn’t until it was delivered that Brian had a freak out moment. I’ll be more careful in the future.”
“Things are definitely going to change. Let me know if you need to work fewer hours. We can hire another part-time employee. I don’t want you overdoing it.”
“Thank you. I’m fine for now. I mean, I may change my mind in a few months, but right now I feel normal. A little emotional, but normal.”
“Good. Just let me know.”
I headed to my office to drop off my purse and check my email. I truly was happy for Kali and Brian, but it was going to be difficult to see her belly grow and watch her go through the joys of pregnancy, even the parts that weren’t so fun. I couldn’t be jealous, though. It wasn’t right, but deep down, that little green monster wanted to stomp her foot and scream about the injustice of the situation. I’d have to keep the monster locked down tight.
My phone rang in my purse. I quickly fished out and saw it was Mason. That was fast.
“Hi,” I answered.
“Hey. I just got to work and checked my schedule for the day. I forgot I have a board meeting tonight, so I’m going to have a late night.”
“Oh, bummer,” I pouted.
“I know. Trust me, I would rather spend the evening with you than a bunch of stuffy board members.”
We were supposed to meet at his place for dinner, which we both knew meant more sex. My body could probably use a break anyway.
“I’ll see you tomorrow maybe?” I asked.
“Yes, you will. I have a fairly light schedule. What about you?”
I pulled up my schedule and saw one of the other girls was scheduled to close tomorrow. “I can meet you somewhere by six if that works.”
“Sounds good. How about that restaurant on fourth we were talking about?”
We had just talked about the place while lounging in bed and debating what we wanted to eat for lunch. We’d never made it out of bed.
“I’ll see you then. I’ll call or text if anything comes up.”
“Hey, you’re not getting rid of me that easy. I’ll call you tonight after the meeting. I want to hear your voice before I fall asleep,” he said, his smile evident in his voice.
“You’re so sappy,” I teased. “But fine, call me and I’ll sing you to sleep.”
He chuckled and hung up the phone. I put mine back in my purse and thought about how I would spend my night. Maybe a good book and some wine. No. No wine on the slim chance I was pregnant. Well, I knew I wasn’t actually pregnant yet, but if that little swimmer was trying to woo one of my eggs to let him in, I wasn’t going to muck things up with alcohol.
I knew way too much about my body and the reproductive system. Clearly, I needed to get a hobby that didn’t involve sperm.
“What are you thinking about?” Kali said, interrupting my thoughts. “You have a very strange look on your face.”
“Sperm.”
The look on her face was priceless. “Oh. Well, okay. I’ll let you get back to your thoughts of, uh, sperm.”
I started giggling. “I know it’s ridiculous, which is exactly what I was telling myself. I am obsessing over sperm. I feel like a cheerleader, encouraging the little swimmers to keep going.”
“Did you get inseminated again? Already? I thought you had to wait?” she asked with a confused look.
“I did, but not the clinical way.”
A huge smile spread across her face when she realized what I was saying. “You gave Mason the go-ahead to knock you up?”
“That sounds so crude, but yes. We gave it a good shot. Now we wait and see.”
She gleefully clapped her hands. “I hope it worked. When can you take a test to find out?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “A few days, a week, a month. I don’t know. I’m almost afraid to jinx it. I’m going to do my best to pretend I don’t have sperm swimming around in my vagina or uterus or wherever the hell they ended up going.”
“You’re a strange duck, Lara. That is a very strange way to think after having sex with a guy.”
“I know, which is why I need to get busy. I can’t keep dwelling on it. I’ll end up going crazy.”
“Oh, hon, I think that ship sailed a long time ago.”
We both laughed and headed out front to start cleaning and organizing the shelves. The day was spent laughing and talking about names for Kali’s baby. She was hoping for a boy, as was Brian. I felt less jealous and more excited for them after seeing how thrilled she was about the baby.
I stopped by a sandwich shop and picked up some potato soup and a turkey on rye sandwich for dinner. When I walked into my home, I felt like I was seeing it with a fresh set of eyes. I loved the warmth of the colors. It felt like a home and not a sterile condo. It made me want to kick off my shoes and relax.
As I walked to the kitchen across the marble floor, I decided I needed to get some throw rugs. I didn’t want my baby crawling over cold, hard floors. I grabbed my laptop and my dinner and sat down at the table to do a little shopping while I ate.
While I shopped for rugs, I couldn’t help but look at the nursery décor. I knew I shouldn’t, but I gave myself a little time to dream. I still couldn’t believe I’d asked Mason to get me pregnant. It had been completely reckless. Though, in the back of my mind, I think I believed it wasn’t possible for me to get pregnant. But there was no fighting the hope that I would.
Where it would take our relationship if I actually did get pregnant by him, I didn’t know, but I would figure it all out later. I kept telling myself I couldn’t think about it. Mason had told me to relax, and that was what I was trying to do. Unfortunately, I had baby on the brain and everything I did or thought about always came right back to having a baby.
The phone rang. I looked at the time and saw it was almost nine. I had gotten a lost in my shopping and had no idea it was so late.
“Hey, sexy,” I answered, closing my laptop and heading for my room to get ready for some phone sex.
His soft, deep chuckle sent shivers through my body. I could get used to having this man in my life.