A Baby For The Billionaire (11 page)

“I don’t want to cause any problems
between you and Vanessa, Chase. And please believe me when I say
that my getting pregnant was certainly not planned.” Even though
Alicia genuinely hadn’t planned the baby, she felt hypocritical
because of her initial plans to deceive Chase, either by
blackmailing him or going to the press behind his back.

He gave a wry chuckle. “There is no
way you could come between Vanessa and me, Alicia. That ship sailed
a long time ago, and I’m pretty sure you’ve noticed things are not
as they should be between us anymore. Our marriage is one of name
only, regardless of the facade that we put on in front of other
people.” He shrugged and his expression became cynical. “I think
it’s true to say our days as husband and wife are numbered, but the
situation is complicated and I can’t simply divorce
her.”

Alicia felt a thrill of excitement run
through her as she listened. Was he trying to say that he would be
with her if it wasn’t for his marriage? She didn’t have the guts to
come right out and ask him, but for now she would be satisfied with
what he was telling her.

“In all honesty, her spoilt, childish
behavior is driving me insane. She acts as though the world owes
her a favor, and if I don’t give her the moon on a stick she goes
into a fit of rage and gets blind drunk.” His wry smile returned.
“I’m sure she thinks I’m completely oblivious to the fact that her
days in rehab centers are little more than an excuse for her to
screw around and do whatever she wants.”

“I’m sorry, Chase.” Alicia’s tone of
voice evidenced her sympathy. “I can’t even begin to imagine what
it’s like.”

Chase reached out and took her hand,
and she marveled at how small her palm looked against his. “It’s
not your problem, and I certainly don’t want you to worry about it.
You’re not to have any stress, remember?” He rubbed the back of her
hand with his thumb, obviously contemplating his next
words.

“How much are you going to let me be
involved with the baby, Alicia? I don’t want to make things more
difficult for you than they already are, but this is my child too
and I want to be in its life as much as possible.”

“I would never deny you any contact
with the baby, Chase, regardless of the situation between us. But I
don’t want to be the one responsible for breaking up a marriage,
and I certainly don’t want you or our child resenting me at any
time in the future. That was one of the main reasons why I was so
confused about whether to tell you or not.”

“You wouldn’t be the one responsible,
Alicia. I’m the one who got you pregnant, and I need to face up to
the responsibility of taking care of you both.” She could see the
genuine concern on his face. “But it’s going to take time for me to
get everything sorted, and that means that for the time being the
baby and our relationship will have to stay just between us. I
can’t risk Vanessa finding out until we’re ready, because she’ll
cause all sorts of problems if she does.”

Alicia felt her heart sink a
little at his words, but took comfort in the fact that he hadn’t
said that he wanted nothing more to do with her. In fact, he’d even
used the words ‘
our relationship’
when he’d been talking about them, which
definitely made her feel more positive with regards to their
possible future together.

She paused to think. Was she really
contemplating a future with Chase? Could she dare hope that they
would be able to bring up their child together? Only time would
tell, she supposed, but it was nice to imagine them playing happy
families and getting old together.

“Are you okay, Alicia? Chase’s deep
voice brought her back to the present and she smiled at him
wistfully. “You were miles away then. Could I ask you to share your
thoughts or are they private?”

Alicia shook her head. “Not private as
such. Just a pregnant woman feeling a little sentimental, that’s
all.”

“A very beautiful pregnant woman who
has been through a lot over the past few weeks, so I think you’re
allowed to feel a little sentimental right now.” She blushed at his
offhand compliment and he laughed softly. “What makes you even more
desirable is the fact that you don’t realize just how beautiful you
really are. Do you have any idea how difficult it’s been trying to
avoid you whenever Vanessa has been around? She would have known in
a heartbeat just how attracted to you I am if I hadn’t been
careful.”

Alicia was dumbfounded by his
admission. “But why were you so hard on me when I was working? You
were a complete asshole sometimes, you know that,
right?”

He threw back his head and gave a
hearty belly laugh of genuine amusement at her forthrightness. “I
know I was, and I’m sorry. But, it was the only way I could keep
any kind of distance between us while I tried to fight what I was
really feeling towards you. It sucked, and I failed miserably, but
at least it stopped both you and Vanessa from discovering the
truth.” He threw a grin in her direction. “Well it did until I
walked in on you fast asleep on my marital bed, looking absolutely
ravishing and being as feisty as anyone could hope to ever get away
with when you realized you’d been caught.”

“Don’t remind me. Do you have any idea
how mortified I was when I woke up and you were standing there? I
was convinced that you were going to fire me on the spot—and I know
it would have been justified because I deserved it.”

“But, instead of firing you, I took
you back to the bed and took advantage of you. Believe me, you
weren’t the only one who was feeling mortified. I felt thoroughly
ashamed of myself the following morning, so much so that I couldn’t
get out of the house quickly enough. But the look of hurt on your
face was the worst thing, and it made me realize just how much of a
selfish bastard I’d been.”

Alicia nodded in agreement, but the
smile on her face showed she wasn’t holding any grudges against him
for his behavior. “Neither one of us behaved very well, so please
don’t think that I’m holding it against you, Chase.”

She watched as a wicked grin flashed
across his face and his eyes deepened to almost black. “Sweetheart,
you can hold it against me any time you want.”

Alicia went from blushing pink to
scarlet red as his innuendo sank in. “Chase!” She didn’t really
know what else to say. This was a side to him that she hadn’t seen
in weeks, and her body responded in a way that was becoming
increasingly familiar whenever she was around him. Her nipples
tightened and she felt her clit give a little throb as it swelled
as desire shot through her at his words and playful
tone.

He roared with laughter again, then
his expression became more serious. “Do you realize that we’ve only
eaten our soup? We have another two courses to go yet, and I know
that you’re going to love dessert because I asked Julie what your
favorite was.”

“I’m so sorry, Chase. You’ve gone to
all this trouble, but I really don’t think I’m all that
hungry.”

“You have absolutely nothing to
apologize for, Alicia. I don’t have much of an appetite myself.” He
raised an eyebrow suggestively. “Not for food, anyway.” He gave her
hand a gentle squeeze.

There was no doubting his sexual
innuendo, and Alicia chuckled softly, her palm squeezing back.
“Chase!” She might have sounded shocked, but she loved his
flirtatious side.

Without another word, Chase got to his
feet and pulled Alicia up to hers. He wrapped his arms around her
and bent his head down to claim her mouth in a kiss that was as
tender as it was passionate. As Alicia’s arms crept up around his
neck, her tongue came out to meet his and they both moaned softly
at the contact. The kiss seemed to last forever and both of them
were breathless when they finally pulled apart.

“How about we retire upstairs for
dessert?” Chase’s voice was thick and heavy with desire, and Alicia
was unable to say a word, indicating only with a nod of her head
that she liked the idea.

She turned to walk towards the door,
then squealed with surprise when he scooped her up into his arms.
“If you really think I’m going to let you walk up all those stairs,
you can think again young lady.” She wrapped her arms around his
neck and held on while he carried out of the dining room and up the
grand flight of stairs. When they reached the landing, Chase paused
and looked down at her. “Would it be okay if we used your bedroom
this time?”

“Absolutely.” He was right. Making
love to her in his marital bed the first time was something that
hadn’t been planned—it would be even more wrong if they did it
again.

CHAPTER NINE

…

It didn’t take long to reach her room
and Alicia reached for the handle of the door, swinging it wide so
that Chase had plenty of room to maneuver her inside. He kicked the
door closed behind them and walked towards the bed, setting her
down on her feet while his mouth reached for hers in another
embrace.

The first and only time they had made
love, Chase had taken control, removing her clothing with expert
ease. This time, Alicia didn’t give him time to have that option;
pulling away from him and unzipping her skirt, letting it fall to
the floor around her ankles then unbuttoning her blouse and
shrugging it from her shoulders. She stood in front of him in just
her bra and panties, and her fleeting worry that he wouldn’t find
her desirable when he saw that she’d gained a little weight was
snuffed out when she saw the appreciative gleam in his
eyes.

“You look beautiful, Alicia.” His
voice was gruff and there was no mistaking the fact that he was
turned on by the very prominent bulge at his crotch. And the way he
was looking at her actually made her feel beautiful; something that
she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

She was touched, and couldn’t seem to
find the words to let him know just how much what he’d said meant
to her. She slowly raised her hand and placed it against his cheek,
her thumb stroking over the stubble it encountered. She watched
enthralled as his full lips parted slightly, and her thumb changed
direction and softly traced the curve of his lips.

Her breath caught in her throat as
Chase placed a kiss on the pad of her exploring digit, his tongue
coming out to lick and guide her into his mouth, where it sucked
and swirled around her shaking thumb before releasing it. Without
conscious thought, Alicia imperceptibly shook her head as though in
a daze. “And you are incredibly handsome.”

She watched the emotions run across
Chase’s face and delighted in the way he looked at her, almost as
though she was leaving him breathless with just her hand. “I want
to kiss you.” She wasn’t sure if she was asking permission or
letting him know her intentions, but she did want to be the one to
initiate their next kiss.

“Don’t let me stop you. Please.” His
voice was deep and sent tremors of response running through her
body.

The short distance between them was
closed, and Alicia raised her face up and pressed her mouth against
his in a kiss that was warm and firm; exploring, delving, and
absolutely breathtaking. Chase’s arms embraced her once again, and
he pulled her to him even tighter as she wound her fingers in his
hair, pulling softly so the contact between them
increased.

The kiss seemed to go on forever with
both of them adjusting the angle of their faces as it deepened and
got more intense. Alicia sucked his bottom lip, gently biting down
and making him moan before she pulled away and looked up into his
eyes.

“I want to spend the whole night here
with you.” She nodded her head in agreement with Chase’s words.
“But you know I can’t promise that we are going to be able to be
together properly any time soon. We have to make sure that we do
this right, Alicia. While I don’t love Vanessa, I don’t want to
cause her any more hurt than is absolutely necessary, and that is
going to take some time.”

As much as Alicia didn’t like hearing
what he was saying, she couldn’t help but agree. It might take a
few weeks before they could be together properly, but then they had
the rest of their lives to spend together as a family. “I
understand, Chase. Really I do.”

Her fingertips dug into the nape of
his neck and she pulled his head back down to her, parting his lips
with her own as her tongue dove into the moistness of his mouth.
Chase had obviously had enough of her being in control and his arms
crept back around her as he crushed her to him with her breasts
flattening against his chest. Alicia slipped one of her thighs
between his legs and both of them moaned as she brushed against his
groin, feeling the heat of his arousal through his
clothing.

He pulled his mouth away from her as
and kissed a path to the side of her neck just below her ear.
“You’re driving me crazy,” he groaned.