Regency Romance: The Rake's Fake Marriage (Historical Arranged Marriage Romance) (19th Century Victorian Romance) (39 page)

Giggling, Cambry rolled and laid her head on his chest. "Yeah, it was."

"This probably isn't the most romantic thing to say afterward, but are you okay with it?" he asked.

She tilted her head so that she could look into his eyes and nodded. "Yeah," she replied with a smile. "I am. Are you?"

He nodded as well. "Yes. I was just worried about you. Especially with this being our first date and all."

Cambry shrugged. "I don't normally invite the guy in on our first date, but there was something about you that I just couldn't resist."

Brooks smiled and kissed her nose. "Well, for that I am glad."

They laid in silence for a while and eventually Cambry could hear Brooks' even breaths, signaling that he had fallen asleep. She closed her eyes and soon enough she was also asleep.

In the morning, Cambry's eyes popped open in surprise. She had realized the night before she hadn't even thought about the fact that she was no longer on birth control. She had just stopped taking it about a month before because she decided she didn't like the way it made her feel. Because she was still so used to being on it, she didn't even think about the fact that they would need some alternate form.

Trying not to wake Brooks, who still slept peacefully next to her, she crawled out of the bed and pulled on her robe so that she could go into the bathroom across the hall. Once she was finished, she quietly opened the door to Jenae's room and saw that she was sleeping peacefully in her bed.

Cambry quietly went back to her own room and got dressed. She wanted to hurry to a pharmacy she knew of that was a few blocks away so that she could get a day-after pill. As she dressed, she heard Brooks stirring in her bed and turned to see if she had woke him up. His eyes were open and he watched her with curiosity. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

She nodded, pulling on her pants. "Yes. Sort of. I need to get to a pharmacy."

Brooks sat up quickly, allowing the blanket to fall so that his bare chest showed. "A pharmacy?"

"Yes," Cambry said. "I have a small problem."

Realization dawned in Brooks' eyes. "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't even think about that last night. I assumed if it was a problem, you'd tell me."

Cambry nodded. "Normally it wouldn't be, but I just stopped taking my birth control about a month ago and I've been so used to not having to worry about it."

Brooks climbed out of the bed and began to pull his clothes on. "I'll drive you over."

She looked at him, grateful that he immediately stepped up to help her. "You don't have to do that," she said. "I can just walk."

He shook his head. "Nonsense. I have a car and it's here. There's no point in you walking."

"Thank you," she replied.

Once they were dressed, they left the apartment and Brooks drove her to a nearby pharmacy. After she got the pill, he asked, "Since we're out, would you like to grab some breakfast?"

"Sure, that would be great," she replied.

They went to a local breakfast diner that was known for its pancakes. Cambry expected there to be tension in between them, or at the very least awkwardness, but Brooks didn't seem to be bothered at all by the situation. Instead, he had stepped up to help her take care of everything and she was incredibly impressed. "Thank you for your help this morning," she said after they had told the waitress their order.

Brooks took a sip of coffee before replying. "It's not a problem. We did this together, I figured we should help solve it together."

"Well I certainly appreciate it," Cambry told him. "Not every man would have been willing to help."

"Then that's not a man," Brooks said, flashing her a smile. "It is my belief that you see everything through, whether you want to or not. I'm not saying I didn't want to help with this, but there are times when I don't want to have to deal with something, but I still do. That's just how I was raised."

"Your father must be proud of you, if that's how you see life," Cambry told him. The waitress returned and placed their food before them.

Brooks shrugged. "I don't know about that. My parents and I have an odd relationship."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Cambry said after swallowing the bite of food she'd had in her mouth.

"Thanks," Brooks replied. "So, do you know how effective that pill is?"

Cambry pursed her lips, thinking about the numbers she had floating around in her head. "I've heard it's something like eighty-five percent effective, or somewhere around there, but I'm not one-hundred percent sure."

He nodded. "Well, I guess we can only wait and see where you fit in."

After they'd eaten, Brooks dropped her back off at her apartment. "Can I call you tomorrow?" he asked as they stood at her door.

"Yes," Cambry nodded. "I'd love that."

Smiling, Brooks pressed his lips against hers before we walked away. As Cambry's stomach fluttered with nerves, she prepared herself to go inside her apartment and tell Jenae about everything that had happened.

Chapter 4

Six weeks later, Cambry sat at the table at Brooks' parent’s house. He sat next to her and his mother sat across from him. On Brooks left side, his father sat at the head of the table. Dinner had just been set on the table and they were preparing to eat. Brooks plan was to tell his parents that evening that Cambry was pregnant with his child and that they had decided to get married.

He knew his parents wouldn't be thrilled, especially since they had hoped he would marry their business partner's daughter, Ashley, but he didn't care. Even though it had only been a little more than a month he knew he was in love with Cambry and since they were going to be having a baby he figured they might as well get married.

Cambry and Brooks had discussed this ahead of time. He told her he would do most of the talking, but that she was welcome to jump in if she wanted or needed. As she dug into her chicken and rice, Brooks mom, Connie, began talking. "It's so lovely to meet you, Cambry," she said. "Of course I'd heard him talk about you, but I didn't realize how serious you two were until he mentioned bringing you to dinner."

Smiling, Cambry replied, "It's a pleasure to meet you as well. Brooks speaks only positively about you." Inwardly she sighed, hoping that Connie and her husband Benjamin would take the news well.

While they ate, Benjamin opened a bottle of wine and poured some into each of their glasses. When he reached Cambry's, she held her hand up. "I'd actually rather have water," she told him politely.

"Oh, of course," he said, sitting. She poured herself some water from the pitcher on the table. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Connie staring at her and wondered if her soon-to-be mother-in-law was guessing the reason that Cambry had turned down the wine.

She chose not to meet her eye, but instead kept her eyes on the food in front of her. Connie waited until Cambry had taken a bite before she said, "I was going to have our chef cook some fish tonight, but then Benjamin decided he'd rather have this dish. It's one of his favorites. Do you eat fish, Cambry?"

Cambry shot Brooks a look before answering Connie. "Normally I do, yes," she replied, trying to maintain as vague an answer as possible.

"Tell me, when is your birthday?" Connie asked, abruptly changing the topic.

"Oh, it's in January," Cambry told her, wondering where she was going with her thinking.

"Well," Connie said, clapping her hands together. "That's only two months away. If you two are together, we'll have to throw you a big party. What's your favorite cocktail? I'm sure you know Brooks has an incredible talent for making drinks. We'll have him and some of his friends there to make it for everyone."

Brooks jumped in at that point, hoping to save Cambry from his mother's obvious attempt to get information. "Mom, let's not get too ahead of ourselves. We've only been dating a month. I'm sure Cambry doesn't want a birthday party with all of our family friends there."

A disappointed look crossed Connie's face for a moment, but it was brief and she quickly brushed it aside. "Well you know how I love to throw a party. I'd love to do this for her."

"Thank you, but that's not necessary," Cambry said.

Connie turned to her. "You do drink, don't you?"

"I sometimes do, yes," Connie said, slowly nodding her head.

"Mom, do you have something you want to ask?" Brooks said.

Benjamin had silently watched the interaction between the three of them and still remained quiet when his wife spoke. "Have you gotten that girl pregnant?" Connie asked, pointing a finger at Cambry.

Brooks sighed and passed his hand over his face. "Well, this isn't how I wanted to tell you, but yes. Cambry is pregnant with my child."

Connie gasped, dropping her fork and knife onto her plate. Benjamin's face had a stunned look on it and he opened and closed his mouth a few times. Cambry watched as his face turned from a pale white to a bright red in a matter of seconds. Neither one spoke, so Brook began again. "I know we've not been together long, but I've fallen madly in love with Cambry," he said, taking her hand in his. "We want to get married, with just a few family members and friends."

Benjamin finally spoke. "Absolutely not. We were willing to put up with you seeing other girls for some time, but you are not marrying anybody but Ashley. That's all there is to it." His voice was well controlled, but underneath the surface there was a seething anger that scared Cambry.

"Dad," Brooks said. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice. Cambry and I will be married."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Benjamin said, pounding his clenched fist onto the table.

"Well you don't have anything to say about it," Brooks told him, standing. He placed his hands on the table. "Cambry and I are going to be married and you're either going to have to accept that or disown me. We'll leave now and when I come in to work tomorrow, we will discuss this like adults." He gently pulled Cambry up and led her out of the house.

Brooks drove to his apartment in silence. Cambry could tell he was seething with anger, but she didn't know what to say. When they were settled on his couch, she looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry to have messed up your life," she whispered.

He jerked his head in her direction. "Don't say that," he told her gently. "You didn't mess anything up. For whatever reason, my parents want me to marry Ashley, but they really don't get a say in it. They never have had a say in it; I just didn't let them know that until now. I love you and I want to be with you."

"Are you sure you're not just saying that because I'm pregnant?" she asked, concerned. Even though she had taken the day after pill six weeks before, she had still gotten pregnant and she felt as though she was a problem for him to solve.

Brooks placed his hand underneath her chin and lifted her head so that she looked into his eyes. "I'm positive," he whispered and placed his lips against hers. She immediately melted and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Their kiss grew heated as Brooks' hand wandered down her stomach and underneath her shirt where he reached up and began to massage her breast. Immediately desire shot through Cambry's loins as his fingers teased her nipple until it was taut. She forgot about all of her concerns for some time while his hands worked over body.

As his tongue licked her nipples, Cambry reached down and pulled open the button on his pants. He pulled away for just a moment to take his pants off and help her remove hers before he placed himself back in between her legs. Brooks kept his eyes on Cambry's while he lowered his head and began to lick her clit with his tongue.

For a moment he moved down and swirled circles around her opening before returning his attention to her clit. She moaned, placing her hands in his hair as he stuck his fingers inside of her. Brooks moved them in a "come hither" motion so that he rubbed them against her g-spot.

"Oh god," she cried as he sucked on her clit at the same time. An orgasm began to build and within moments she was practically screaming in pleasure as waves of the orgasm wracked over her body. Brooks kept going until she her screams had quieted and she pulled him up by his arms.

With a smile on his face, he pressed his lips against hers. Cambry eagerly opened her mouth. She could taste herself on him as he swept his tongue inside her mouth, which turned her on even more. "I want your cock inside me. Now," she told him between kisses.

She didn't have to tell him twice. Brooks thrust himself inside of her and she moaned as she felt every inch of him filling her. She moved her hips in motion with his as he pushed in and out of her, wrapping her legs around him and clasping her ankles together.

Cambry trailed kisses from his ear down to his collarbone, lightly nibbling on his neck. He groaned in pleasure. Each of his thrusts grew rougher and harder until she could feel him slapping against her groin. "God it feels so good," he whispered.

She smiled and smacked him once on the ass. Brooks raised one eyebrow. "Is that how you want it?" he asked.

She nodded and he immediately pulled away. Placing his hands on her waist he flipped her over. Cambry stuck her ass out and leaned over the arm of the couch. He placed himself against her opening and thrust inside of her once more, still rough and hard. With each thrust, he smacked her ass. She gasped in pain and pleasure and felt another orgasm building. "Don't stop!" she cried as he spanked her repeatedly.