The Marriage Clause (7 page)

“Congratulations and you enjoy your pregnancy,” India said.

They took the elevator to the sixteenth floor and once there Mikael pulled the blinds apart to reveal the amazing view of the river. From here they would be able to see the fireworks of Fourth of July without having to brave the heat or the crowds.

India came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.  “Did I mention how happy you make me?”

He loved feeling her warm body against his. “It couldn’t possibly be as happy as you make me.”

“How about you check out the Jacuzzi tub and I’ll order you some cheesecake,” Mikael invited.

She pressed a kiss against his back. “Okay, but you get two pieces and we get in the tub together?”

He turned and kissed her nose. “You have the best ideas.”

She winked as he walked away. “I know.”

India left and he made two calls. First it was to tell Etta and Brownie that she had said yes to his marriage proposal, to which they squealed and started talking wedding plans. That was his cue to say goodbye, and his next call was to order cheesecake. When it was delivered he joined her in the Jacuzzi and there they soaked while the jets relaxed their bodies.  India made the announcement that they’d be sleeping naked on the sheets that felt like clouds. Who was he to disagree? If the woman he loved wanted to sleep naked she could have whatever she wanted.   With the air on a very cool sixty-two, they snuggled under the comforters and he pressed kisses on the skin on her neck.  He loved the way she squirmed when she was getting aroused.  She gasped and went still which set him on alert instantly.

“Are you okay, did I hurt you?” Mikael asked.

“No, I felt the baby move!” she said excitedly. “Put your hand here.”

She took his hand and put it on her firm, round tummy and they both laid still. He felt an almost imperceptible bump and then another one.

“Oh my God, I feel her!” He laughed in amazement and joy. “There she goes again, she’s getting strong in there.”

“I think she was happy with the cheesecake!” India laughed. “I used to feel the fluttering kind of movement for weeks now, but this is the first kick.”

He kissed her stomach. “That’s daddy’s girl, my sweet baby girl.”

They kept their hands on her tummy and felt nothing more.

“I guess she fell asleep,” India said. “But that means….”

She turned and pressed herself closer and ran her hand down his thighs and when she cupped his cock and stroked it Mikael knew exactly what she meant and got hard instantly.

“I know I’m getting bigger, I hope it doesn’t disappoint you the way I look,” India said insecurely.

“Can’t you feel how much I want you?” Mikael met her gaze. “You’re the one that I want, the one that has my heart and my future bride. I love very inch of you.”

“Then show me how much,’ she whispered and pulled his head down to her.

Their eyes met, and like every other time he lost himself in her gaze. How could they have grown up together and he watched her grow up and not see her as she is now? There was more than once when he went back through their lives and he saw her laughing, crying or upset.  He recalled how he wanted to fight or protect her and thought it was just being a best friend. It was much more than that, he loved her for that long and didn’t know it.  But now, looking into her eyes was like being pulled by a magnetic force. When their lips met her eyes closed, and India made a soft sound of pleasure that made him ache.  He wanted her so much that it went past wanting to make love with her. He couldn’t imagine not waking up next to her or hearing her voice. This was the kind of love Brownie always told him he’d find and he literally found it with the girl next door. Mikael deepened the kiss until the sound of their breathing filled the air.

He pulled away and cupped her cheek gently. “How could I ever exist without you?”

India smiled. “You never have to find out. You got me babe.”

“If you break out in song, I’m running away.” Mikael chuckled.

“Come on,” she teased and then sang huskily. “I got you babe.”

Mikael grinned. “I got you babe.”

India laughed in delight. “You are so crazy, I love it!”

He kissed her gently. “I want you, India. You feel so perfect in my arms, you were always meant to be in my arms.”

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” India whispered.

Mikael rained kisses down her neck and all over her breasts.

“Make love to me,” she begged huskily.

A soft growl escaped his throat and he submitted to the overwhelming desire that raged through him. Still, Mikael was infinitely gentle because knew that in her belly his child grew, and he would rather die than hurt either one of them. Their next kiss was hot and intense and he felt his arousal grow. They were naked, flesh to flesh, and he could feel the tiny shivers of her body run through him.

She had the taste of strawberry cheesecake on her lips, and when her tongue slipped inside his mouth he could not help the moan of pleasure. India was lying on his side and he ran his hand up her inner thigh and cupped her mound.  India moaned and moved against his hand. He gently played with her clit watching as her lips parted in pleasure and her hips moved against his hand. Her hand tightened on his shoulder as he slipped his finger inside her and she bent her to he could have better access to her core. Mikael bent his head to the smooth globes of her breasts and deftly found her hard nipple with his mouth.

“I think it’s going to be so sexy when they’re full of milk,” Mikael said huskily. “You are so fucking hot.”

“I want to taste you,” she said suddenly.

His eyes widened in surprise. “Can you do that?”

“There’s nothing that says I can’t and I’ll know when to stop,” she answered.

His cock was rigid and achingly hard when she settled herself on her knees between his legs. Mikael watched her and held his breath and she ran her hands down his hard thighs. When she took his cock in her grasp and stroked him with long firm strokes, his breath hissed out between his lips.  He lifted his hips reflexively in tandem to the rhythm of her hand. She met his gaze and he knew she was watching the pleasure cross his face from her touch alone.  Mikael held his breath as India’s lips wrapped around the head of his shaft and then a low moan left his lips. She took him deeper into her mouth and he thought he could die from the pleasure of the sensations coursing through him. Her mouth and tongue worked to build the fire inside him.

When he couldn’t stand it any longer Mikael pulled her toward him and took her lips in a hunger-filled kiss. Mikael made sure she was lying comfortably on her back before he touched her.  She was pregnant and while he could still give her pleasure, he needed to make sure that she was in a position so that she wouldn’t be hurt. There was no way he could put his own need above her safety. His slipped his hand between her legs to caress her pussy. She was slick and moist and slid his two fingers deep inside her. Her body bucked against him and she cried out in pleasure. Mikael took his time and built her pleasure to new heights.

She spread her legs and took his fingers deeper and he sat up so he could watch his fingers slip in and out of her sex. She was amazing and beautiful to watch as he pleased her with his hand. India would arch off the bed and the tiny cries of passion were driving him crazy. He used his thumb to circle the sensitive nub of flesh in between the pink folds of her pussy. Her breath became frantic pants and she grasped the sheets. His fingers glistened with the juices her body created and he felt the walls of her pussy clutch at his digits.

“I’m going to come Mikael.”

The way she said his name with a breathless whisper-frantic voice almost made him lose control. He pressed his fingers faster inside her and he sucked her nipple deep into his mouth and she cried out as her orgasm rocketed through her.  The need to bury his cock inside her became his only thought. He loved her and maybe that was what made it different, to be in love the person who shared your bed.  All day, every day there was only India, her smile, her kiss, her scent—it was all about the way she made him feel.

Mikael helped her turn to her side facing away from him and ran his hand down the sexy dip of her back. He caressed her thighs and ran his hand over her burgeoning belly and full breasts arousing her once more. He pressed kisses on her shoulders and neck as she reached behind her to stroke his cock. He angled himself and she arched back to give him the access to enter her from behind.  He slipped into her and the heat of her pussy closed around him as he groaned through gritted teeth. She pushed back to meet his thrusts and he played with her nipples as he took her. India’s cries mingled with his low guttural moans.

“Give me more,” she begged.  “I want to feel all of you.”

“Yes, God baby, I can’t stop,” Mikael groaned.

“You don’t have to, love me.” India laced her fingers with his.

There was never a point he would’ve said no to her, or wanted to. India got on her hands and knees, and Mikael followed her and thrust into her. Their pace became frantic, their breathing echoed each other’s while his fingers caressed the soft skin of her thighs.

“Yes, Honey, I’m going to come,” she cried out. “Come with me.”

“India, I am baby, let go.”

Her body clenched around him like liquid heat and Mikael felt his balls tighten and his own orgasm begin. His groan mixed with her cries of bliss as they went over that passionate edge. She fell against the bed and Mikael followed, his arms automatically wrapped around her cocooning her in his embrace. He turned so she was on her side and her belly was pressed between them.  But they were still close enough that her belly was touching his torso and he felt the baby’s small movements again.

“Guess who’s awake,” she said sleepily.

“I don’t mind at all.” Mikael moved and came back with a warm, wet wash cloth and a dry one. She murmured in contentment as he cleaned her up and then came back to lay next to her. “Now my soon-to-be wife, you go to sleep and me and my daughter are going to have a conversation. I read they can hear around now and I want her to know my voice.”

“Okay.” India laughed and yawned. “You keep her entertained, it’s good practice for those three a.m. feedings.”

Mikael did just that, even as her breathing deepened and he knew India was deeply asleep. He talked to his baby, and every time she moved in her mother’s stomach he was still amazed. When he felt sleep taking him as well, he pressed a kiss against her stomach. Mikael moved up the bed to hold her in his arms and closed his eyes. He was holding his wife and his child at the same time. He was the luckiest man in the world.

Chapter Six

India looked at the stenciling she had on the walls of the second bedroom and sighed. Now they would be moving and she’d have to start all over again. After they signed the paperwork with Gran and Brownie, Mikael wanted to start the renovations immediately and get the move done before fall.

That, and as the pregnancy progressed she was getting bigger. She wanted to help as much as she could before it was too much for her.  Luckily, she kept the original design and she wasn’t too far into the project and Mikael promised to help.  She was worried about the loss of the income from paying Gran rent. But Gran assured her the house was paid off and accepted India’s help to pay the taxes on the property each year.  Still, she managed Gran’s bank accounts and helped her get the bills paid every month. India still planned to put the nine hundred and fifty dollars she paid in rent into the bank account each month. All these thoughts were going through her head as she stared at the walls and she didn’t hear Gran come into the room.

“Are you trying to peel paint with your mind?” Gran asked.

India turned and laughed. “No, just running things through in my head.”

“I’ve got something for you,” Gran said. “Something you may want to pass on to the baby.”

India looked at the box. “What’s in there?”

“Come on, I’ll show you.” Gran smiled and walked out the door.

In her room Gran sat on the bed and India did too. She opened the box to reveal a folded blanket in soft pastel colors and a rabbit that matched.

“Do you remember these?” Gran asked.

“Sniffles and my blanket.” India gasped in delight.  “I haven’t seen these in forever.”

She lifted them to her nose and inhaled. They smelled like lavender, and she knew that Gran had taken loving care of them all these years.

“Do you remember the last time you had these?” Gran asked gently.

India shook her head. “No.”

Gran played with the hem of her shirt. “You were three and I came home to find you watching TV by yourself and your mom was gone. Tears were on your cheeks because she’d spanked you and said hateful things to you. You told me everything in your tiny baby voice. I never wanted to hurt a person more than I wanted to slap the piss out of her that day.”

“Oh Gran,” India said softly.

“You looked at me and said ‘I was bad Gwan,’ you couldn’t pronounce Rs then. I said ‘no Honeybee, you are the best baby in the world.’ But you gave me sniffles and that blanket and said you wouldn’t take them back until your momma came home.” Gran shook her head and a tear slipped down her check. It broke India’s hear to see the past still caused her so much pain. “You had such a bad time sleeping that the only way I could get you to fall asleep was to be in bed with me. But you were so stubborn even then and you never took them back, and as you grew and your mom didn’t come home you forgot about them.”

“Gran, she hurt us both.” India took her Grandmother’s hands. “You didn’t have to keep these all this time if they caused you pain.”

“They didn’t cause us pain, she did,” Gran said. “I needed to keep these because I made them for her and then she gave them to you. God knows your mom wasn’t a good mother but you will be.  The baby deserves to have something that was yours that you love and comforted you even if it was for a little while.”

“The baby will love it and the baby will love you,” India said. “I don’t remember her, but I do remember you held me every night, and I remember that I never felt anything but love as I grew up.  I lost a mom but you lost a daughter, still the two of us together we made a family.”