Bad Boy's Bridesmaid (37 page)

“Let this be a
lesson to you.” Jolene gathered two bags and a laptop. “This career is tough,
but it’s good that you know exactly what you want. Hold onto that. As the years
pass, you’ll lose that young, wide-eyed innocence about the world. Don’t let it
turn you bitter.” She shoved most of her work into her bags to take home. “Hit
the lights when you leave.”

I didn’t answer.
I returned to my desk, staring at the papers and folders that cluttered the top
corner. I should have filed them before I left for Jack’s, but I had been…

Too busy.

I opened the
bottom drawer and pulled out the information from the fertility clinic—notes on
the procedure, costs, and donors. My chest tightened, but I tossed it right in
the garbage.

It wasn’t
happening to me.

My life goal was
already ruined because of Wyatt’s infidelity. I couldn’t waste another second
hoping to get my ideal life without working for it. It was time to regain that
stability I lost when I handed him my engagement ring.

But the only way
I’d succeed was if I ended the charade with Jack so I could find that right man
for a perfect life. 

Except, I had no
idea where to find that man.

Worse, I feared
my body wouldn’t warm for anyone like it did for Jack.

But that sort of
physical, feral passion hadn’t mattered to me before. I couldn’t let it
influence my relationships now. My decision was final. In the morning, I’d
arrange news of an amiable breakup and we’d go our separate ways.

But I didn’t
sleep well. I wished it was the humbling revelation about the job and its demands,
but it wasn’t that. I woke, took a shower, and tried to ignore the parts of
Jack’s plan that no longer sounded so crazy.

In fact…they
sounded good.

My own company?
A baby? These were the things I had
always
wanted. I never thought lust
was important until I writhed in fierce desire. I couldn’t remember a time
Wyatt ever gave me an orgasm with his mouth. Or even when he last tried.

And Jack dove at
me twice.
Wanted
to pleasure me. To watch me come. To have me.

All the more
reason to get away from him before the rest of my structured, orderly life
tumbled down.

I pulled into
the facility before the Rivets’ scheduled practice began. A school bus parked
out front, and a news crew broadcasted for the league sponsored charity event.

I didn’t know
what I planned to say to Jack, or if he would even listen. Fortunately, I had
time to think before I could flag him down.

Two dozen kids
screamed, laughed, and bolted around the field, dodging players and smuggling
footballs and generally tumbling all over themselves. Their excitement was too
cute, especially as they bumbled the instructions given from players tasked
with trying to teach them the game. Coach Thompson struggled to keep their
attention. Even my teddy-bear, Caleb, lost his cool and sought refuge with the
linebackers laughing at their plight.

Only one player
successfully wrangled the kids. He tussled with them on the field and pretended
to fall in a crazed tackle as a pile of little boys leapt over him.

Jack
.

His laugh
carried over the field, and he took turns tossing ball after ball to the kids
he’d send running long. The balls were thrown gently, but, after over a dozen
passes, only one kid managed to catch it.

And Jack shouted
as if it were the winning touchdown of the championship game.

“Run!” He sprinted
down the field, cheering the boy as he ran at his side to the endzone. “Keep
going! He’s at the
twenty
! The
ten
…still at the ten, don’t tie
your shoe! Run!”

The little boy
crossed the plain. Jack lost it. He hauled the kid onto his shoulders and did
an endzone dance with him. I hoped he didn’t plan to spike the boy in
excitement, but Jack was too thrilled to do anything but celebrate.

The other kids
went insane—like they never had so much fun in their lives. When their camp
director blew his whistle and ordered them to the bus, most of the kids stayed
at Jack’s side, begging for another few minutes.

I grinned as
Jack begged too.

He was a natural
with them. He said he liked kids, but I hadn’t believed it until I saw it. I
snapped a few pictures of him playing with the children and posted to his
social media. Within seconds, dozens of comments popped up. After five minutes,
he was in the hundreds.

The public liked
this version of Jack Carson. The gentle giant. The wholesome man. It was the
side of him the media never showed.

He was right.

A baby
would
save his reputation.

He caught me
watching and waved.

“Stay there!” He
shouted. He turned to the kids. “Ready?”

They screamed in
unison and scared half of the team. Jack punted the ball forty yards down the
field to get rid of them. They sprinted away, and he jogged to meet me.

“Hey.” He didn’t
try to kiss me, even though he loved making me squirm in front of his
teammates. “I tried to call you last night—”

“You were
right.”

I didn’t
apologize for interrupting him. Instead I took his hand.

“I think we
should do it.”

“Do what?” His
eyes widened. The blue almost looked innocent despite the intent of our
proposal. His words hushed. “You…
want
to do it?”

“Yes.”

“…Are you sure?”

“No, but I think
it’s exactly what I
need
to do.”

His hand slipped
to my cheek, entirely close and intimate. This touch was genuine, and his
excitement pounded his heart so hard I could feel it in his palm.

 “You’re on
board?” he asked.

“Yes.”

His smile grew.
“Do you want to do it now?”

I laughed,
glancing over the field. “You’re at practice.”

“I’ll leave.”

“Jack.”

“Okay.” That
smirk might have charmed my pants off right then and there. “You’re serious
though. This isn’t a joke?”

I held his hand
against my cheek. “Jack…let’s have a baby.”

Chapter Eight – Jack

For the first
time in my life, I wanted something more than a championship.

I wanted Leah.

I wanted her on
the bed. Legs spread. Fingers digging into my body. I imagined her panting,
moaning, offering that wet little slit for me to pound and seize.

I’d fill her.
Completely. As soon as I got her alone, I’d take her as a man was meant to have
a woman.

And I’d fuck a
baby into her.

I couldn’t
concentrate at practice, and I nearly got myself killed in the weight room. My
head wasn’t on the game. I already celebrated what I’d do to Leah. She’d love
every fucking second I ruined her with pleasure and stuffed her with my cum.

Seed
?

Technically. Who
cared what it was called as long as it pumped into her.

I headed to her
apartment at her request, but we wouldn’t be staying. No way was I keeping her
in a one bedroom box with a bigger radiator than stove. She’d stay with me.

In my bed.

In my arms.

Full of my heat.

She opened the
door, but I hadn’t expected the cute little tank and sweatpants. I read the
lettering over her tight little ass as she waved me inside. She was as
Sweet
as her pants declared, but not now. Leah was all business, brandishing a
variety of papers, folders, and brochures.

“I’m glad you’re
here,” she said. “I pulled some information off the internet. I think I found a
way to do this right.”

She left me in
the doorway. Not what I expected. I watched her bite the end of a pencil before
furiously scribbling over her notes.

Why was she
taking notes?

“You…uh, gotta
research it?” I closed the door behind me. “I mean, if you need me to explain
how this is done, we might have a bit of a problem…”

“Be realistic,
Jack.”

Leah snuggled
onto the couch, clipboard in hand. She waved over the coffee table,
meticulously organized with too many shiny papers and brochures. She
color-coded something.

What the hell
needed to be
color-coded
?

From my
experience, most of the important pieces fit together and…locked. I didn’t pay
attention in health class, but did we really need note cards for this?

“This procedure
isn’t always foolproof,” she explained. “Can I get you something to drink?”

Yeah, something
hard to drink sounded good. At least until I could figure out what the hell
went wrong from this morning until now? She handed me a bottle of water from
her fridge, but hadn’t taken her eyes from the papers in her hand.

“What
procedure
?”
I asked.

“It’s
complicated. And there’s not always a great chance to conceive.”

“So?” I thought
that part was supposed to be fun. “You just do it again until it sticks.”

Leah laughed.
“It costs tens of thousands of dollars each attempt.”

Did she charge
by the hour? “I already offered to pay you.”

And now I
insulted her. She scowled, tucking in deeper to the sofa. “I’m not taking your
money.”

“Well, who the
hell is getting the thousands of dollars?”

“The fertility
doctors.”

“You’re gonna
fuck a doctor too?”

The clipboard
dropped to the floor. “
Excuse
me?”

“What the hell
are you talking about?”

“What the hell
are
you
talking about?”

Fuck if I knew
anymore. “You wanted to make a
baby
.”

“So did you,”
she said.

“So what’s with
all the paperwork?”

“I got
information…In-Vitro Fertilization is a difficult procedure.”

Just the word
shriveled my balls. I swore.

“Oh, Christ,
Kiss. Only
you
could take all the fun out of making a baby.”

Leah’s
expression twisted. She batted a wayward curl from her eyes, but her fingers
tangled in her hair. She froze.

“Did you think
we would…?” She stood, ducking from me and brandishing the paperwork like it’d
save her from my intentions. “You’re kidding.”

And here I
thought she didn’t let me in on her joke. “I figured we’d do it the
old-fashioned way. Tried and true.”

“You wanted…to
have
sex
.”

“You
didn’t
?”

Her mouth
dropped open. “That wasn’t my plan at all.”

“What? Were you
just sitting here, fingers crossed, waiting for a damn
stork
?”

“I didn’t
think…”

“That I’d
fuck
you?”

Leah exhaled,
gathering her papers and reorganizing them all neat and tidy into a folder.
“I…don’t you think it’ll complicate everything?”

“More than
having a
baby
?”

“You’re right.”
She lowered her head. I recognized that defeated sigh, the hesitation in her
voice. She had the same reaction every time she pushed me away. “Jack, maybe we
shouldn’t—”

“Get changed.”

Her brow
furrowed. “What?”

“Get changed.
I’m taking you out.”

“Where?”

“To
Diva
.”

Leah cracked a
smile so sexy I thought I’d only earn it with my head buried between her legs.
“You’re taking me to a nightclub?”

“We need…a new
perspective.” I flashed a grin. “Let me take you out. Have some fun. Get
seen
in the hottest club in the city. It’ll convince people we’re an item quicker
than me kissing your cheek at an afternoon baseball game.”

“Diva’s the most
exclusive club in Ironfield.” She scoffed. “Hell, they won’t even let Jolene
and me inside. We get our clients on the list and they go alone.”

“I can get you
in.”

“Yeah, but at
what cost?”

 “No tricks. I
think you need a little more fun tonight, Kiss, and a lot less…” I waved to the
brochures. “
Planning
. Get changed. We’ll have some fun.”

She glanced over
her tank and tight sweats. I loved the look, but Diva was damn fancy. She
scolded me when I tried to follow into her bedroom. “Wait right here, Mr.
Carson.”

“Nothing I
haven’t seen before.” My voice lowered. “I’d like to see it again.”

“Wait. Here.”
She hid her excitement as she closed the door. “I can’t believe I’m going to a
club with
you
.”

“I’ll prove to
you that my nights aren’t that scandalous.”

“By whose
definition, Casanova?” The dresser drawer slammed shut. “Make no mistake. I’m
holding your leash tight tonight.”

“If you only
knew how sexy that sounds.”

Leah stepped out
of her room, dressed in a tiny red scrap of sin that clung to her curves and
would split my cock if I didn’t get my hands on her.

“This good?” She
spun. “I’ve never been to
Diva
before.”

Could a man talk
with no blood in his head? “We shouldn’t go.”

“But…you said
you wanted to take me somewhere fun?”

“Yeah…we could
have plenty of fun right here.” I surveyed those hips again. “Without anyone
seeing you in that dress.”

“Are you
jealous?”

Never thought I
would be. “I don’t like to share.”

“I bought this
dress a few months ago.” She twirled for me, baiting me to toss her down before
I let her get out of my reach. “I worried it was a little too slinky.”

“You look
perfect.”

“If
you
think I look good, then it is too slutty.”

“Good then. Just
wear it for me.”

Leah sighed.
“Well, if we’re serious about having a baby…it might be the last time I’ll fit
into the dress. I should wear it while I can.”

Images flashed
into my head. Leah with a little bump, her body soft and changing, swelling
with my baby. My dick couldn’t punish me anymore, but I never had it get so
hard before.

I spent my life
trying not to knock up women, but now I was supposed to do it. It should have
terrified me, but the only thing greater than that sexy dress was the thought
that I’d be the one to claim her. All I wanted to do was throw her down and
fill her womb with my seed.

Holy shit, was
that even a
normal
reaction for a man to have?

Every muscle in
my body tensed, tightened, and
demanded
that I keep her there, under me,
with me, on me. I had to get inside her.

Leah winked.
“Are we going? You don’t look so sure anymore, Jack.”

Fuck me. I’d
never survive. And she
knew
it. She played me.

Too bad I hated
to lose.

By the end of
the night, she’d be asking for it, Pleading with me to grant her a release. To
touch her. To hold her. To fuck her until we collapsed in the ultimate pleasure
a man and woman were meant to experience.

She’d beg me for
a baby.

And I’d give it
to her.

“Yeah…” I
glanced over her body again and imagined the dark curves that would be mine.
“You’re gonna have a night you never forget.”

“Promise?”

I held the door
open for her. “I guarantee it.”

Her shy smile
twisted my boxers. I led her to my car, helping her into the passenger seat
like a perfect gentleman.

Of course, as
she slid inside she accidently offered me a view of her soft thigh. Cocoa
trouble, that’s what she was. If looking at her rendered me into a slobbering
moron, catching the brush of her perfume would flatline me. She smelled of
violets and sweetness, just how she had tasted on my tongue.

I drove to the
nightclub, leaving my car with the valet and offering my elbow for the most
beautiful woman at the venue. Diva wasn’t a five-dollar-cover close to the
colleges. It was class. Velvet ropes and dropped names. It thrummed sensual
music and pushed forty dollar drinks.

Leah had never
been inside before, but I wasn’t leaving her to the rabble below. A man of my
status earned the VIP section even before I invested in the club. I let her
walk before me, admiring how her ass shimmied up the stairs. She knew it too,
and each step was taken slow, deliberately, until she tucked behind the beaded
curtain and overlooked the dancing below.

She leaned over
a gold railing and watched the show. Couples grinded on the dance floor while
those yet unattached claimed tables in the darkness. The VIP section passed
around champagne. She declined, eyes lowered.

“I shouldn’t, in
case I decide to…” She smiled. “You know. Have a procedure.”

God, that tease.
Leah stared at the club with wide eyes and peeked over the gold railing. Her
hips wiggled in time to the music, subtle. Like how she’d dance in her office
when she thought nobody was looking.

But I watched. I
saw. I wondered how that delicate ass would feel pressed against me.

I stretched my
arms over her, covering her hands on the railing and edging close. She tensed,
but she didn’t push me away, even when I kissed the vulnerable, pulsing spot
between her neck and collarbone.

If she meant to
arch into my lips, she hid it well. Her eyes closed.

“I want you.” I
didn’t have to say it. My pants trapped my cock, and I ground the hardness
against her ass to the rhythm of the music. “I’d give you the best night of
your life.”

Leah didn’t push
me away, but her voice challenged me just the same. “You don’t know that. Maybe
I’ve had many good nights.”

“Ever have a
great one?”

“It’s
subjective.”

“Not with me.
Spend a night with me, and nothing will ever feel the same.”

Leah smirked,
enjoying the music, ignoring how my body enveloped hers. “You’re so full of
yourself.”

“Do you want to
be full of me?”

“Are you ever
serious?”

I pulled away
from the railing, letting my fingers tickle her arms, her sides, her waist.
“I’m always serious about good sex.”

“Wouldn’t this
be a little more than sex?”

“Yes.”

“Then shouldn’t
we talk about this?” she asked. “Take it seriously?”

I hadn’t lured
her to the sexiest club in the city to make a damn pro/con list. I led her away
from the crowd and into a secluded, shadowy part of the VIP room. We had a
private dance floor, a sanctuary within the pulsing music and loose morals.
Leah tangled in pink and purple shadows, drifting lights in a smoke filled and
exciting club. Her red dress was not nearly as beautiful as the darkness of her
skin. She was sultry and seductive, innocent and wide-eyed.