New Beginnings (Forever and Always #15) Read online

“I like what I’m hearing…”

  “And I thought it was cute how you rambled on like an idiot.”

  “Okay, I’m not liking what I’m hearing…”

  She rubbed my shoulders and giggled. “I love how big you are. It’s nice to be with a real man who’s got the whole package.”

  Her ex-husband was much smaller than me. It wouldn’t even be a fair fight. He was barely taller than her, whereas I towered over her by at least a foot. “if you’re trying to butter me up, you’re doing a good job.”

  “I’m not. I’m just stupid for ever letting you go.”

  My heart squeezed at her words. “Well, now I’m yours.”

  She kissed my chest again. “And I’m not letting you go.”

  My palm moved up her thigh to her ass, one of my favorite features. The light from the TV shined on us but I ignored it. The window showed the lights and skyscrapers of the city. But I didn’t care about any of that. All those things reminded me what it was like to be alone. Now that she was back in my life, I realized how meaningless life was if you didn’t have someone to share it with.

  My hand moved to her small stomach. “Why can’t I tell my family? It’s killing me.”

  She gave me a sad look. “I just don’t want to get everyone excited for nothing…”

  After what happened to Scarlet, that was on my mind too. “That’s not gonna happen to us. Don’t think like that. I’ll get you in with the best doctor in the city.”

  “I already went,” she said. “He said everything is good so far.”

  My fingers glided over the skin. “I tell my family everything. It’s agony not telling them about the greatest thing that ever happened to me.”

  “I know,” she said gently. “Let’s just wait a few more weeks.”

  I groaned. “You’re going to start to show. And I think they would be offended if that’s how they found out.”

  She looked away as she considered my words.

  “And are you going to tell your parents when I meet them? You aren’t going to be able to hide this for long.”

  “No, I’ll tell them.”

  “Then let me tell mine,” I said firmly. “My dad would be so happy.”

  “Happy that you knocked up some girl?” she teased.

  “You aren’t some girl,” I said immediately. “And he would be thrilled. He knows I want a family of my own.”

  “But we aren’t married.”

  “So? Why does that matter?”

  “Well, it’s frowned upon.

  “I don’t give a shit,” I snapped. “Just because we aren’t doing things by the guidelines set by society doesn’t make our actions wrong. I love you and I’ll take care of you. My dad would be disappointed if I was a pussy and abandoned you. Actually, he’d beat the shit out of me until I was inches away from death.”

  She chuckled. “I can’t see Andrew hurting a fly.”

  “You haven’t seen him mad,” I said quickly. “When he’s pissed, watch out. When I was little, we were at the mall and some guy came in with a gun to rob the place. When he reached my mom and told her to take off her wedding ring, she couldn’t get it off. So he pulled out a knife to chop it off. My dad slammed his head into the wall and knocked him unconscious. He was hailed as the mall hero.”

  “Wow.” Her eyes were wide. “Your dad is a badass.”

  “That’s an understatement.” I thought about my childhood and how great a parent my dad was. My mom was good too, but I looked up to my father in a way I could never explain. “It kills me I can’t tell him…”

  Cassandra cupped my face and sighed. “Okay. You can tell him.”

  I smiled. “I can?”

  “I can tell it’s important to you.”

  “Yes!”

  She chuckled at my enthusiasm.

  “When we get the house, we’ll invite everyone over and tell them.”

  “Doesn’t it take a while to buy a house?” she asked.

  “Not when you’re rich.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Money can’t solve all your problems.”

  “But it can fix most of them.” I stood up and carried her to the bedroom.

  “I thought we were going to snuggle on the couch?”

  “Nope. We’re making love. I want to see that baby bump.”

  “You’re obsessed with that thing.”

  “Damn right I am.” I lay her down then pulled her shirt off. She got my boxers off just as quickly.

  She grabbed my shaft. “Ten inches of pure man.”

  I moaned then spread her legs, pushing her knees to her ribs. “Just for you.” I slipped inside her and stared at her stomach while I moved into her slowly. My cock wanted to explode as soon as we began. I couldn’t look at her stomach anymore so I stared into her eyes.

  “Mike…” Her hands moved down my chest. Her green eyes burned in a fire while I rocked her back and forth. Her breasts shook with every thrust I made. I knew we both had work in the morning, but I didn’t care. I wanted to do this all night and into the early morning.

  I had a meeting that lasted for three hours. I sat patiently in my chair and waited for the conference to end. My coffee was sitting on my desk, cold, and I had a million other things to do. Having shareholders was a pain because they were obsessed with the well being of the company.

  When I was finally done, I returned to my office. Pictures of Cassandra were returned to their rightful place on my desk so I could see her face when I was thinking about her. The bad thing about her working in the same building was my constant need for her. It was distracting. I wanted to fuck her on my desk every time I had lunch.

  My door opened and Laura walked inside, looking professional in a suit. I hadn’t thought about her once since I last saw her. I just hoped Cassandra wouldn’t stop by in the next fifteen minutes.

  “Hey,” she said.

  “Hey.” I closed my screen then faced her.

  “You and Cassandra are back together?” She stood in front of my desk, her arms across her chest.

  “Yep.” I thought that was pretty obvious.

  “I’m happy for you.”

  I wasn’t expecting that. I thought she might be mad by the way Cassandra yelled at her. “Thank you.”

  “I hope it works out this time.”

  “It will,” I said firmly. “I’m sorry about the way she yelled at you. I—”

  “Don’t apologize,” she said immediately. “I was standing on your doorstep wearing lingerie. Her response was appropriate.”

  Wow. This conversation was going to be easy. “Yeah. It didn’t look good…”

  “So, I can put my two weeks in today.”

  “What?” I said quickly. “Why?”

  “I doubt Cassandra wants me to work with you anymore.”

  “It’s fine. She trusts me.”

  “But I don’t want to—”

  “You aren’t stripping anymore,” I said firmly. “We’re all adults here. She’ll get over it. I think it’s pretty obvious I’m in love with her.”

  “If you’re sure…”

  “Don’t worry about her. You did quit, right?”

  “Well…”

  “If you weren’t a girl, I’d slap you.”

  “I’m leaving, but my boss is having a hard time replacing me. I work a few nights here and there.”

  “You don’t owe him anything,” I said firmly.

  “But when he throws cash at me, I can’t say no.”

  “I’ll give you a raise if you quit.”

  “No,” she said quickly. “I’ll quit. Don’t worry.”

  I sighed in relief. “I really don’t want Ryan to find out. He’d rip my head off.”

  “He won’t. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy to go into a strip club.”

  “Definitely not.”

  “So…was Cassandra mad about us?”

  “No. She and I weren’t together at the time. She has no right to be upset. But I do feel like shit because of it.”

&
nbsp; “We all make mistakes,” she said simply.

  I eyed her. “You’re really cool. I’m surprised you don’t have men swooping in after you. You’re smart, pretty, logical, and easy to get along with.”

  She shrugged. “I guess no one catches my interest.”

  “You got burned, huh?”

  “I may have…”

  I could tell she didn’t want to discuss it. That was fine.

  The door opened and Cassandra walked inside, holding a Starbucks cup. She stilled when she saw Laura by my desk. Why did she have to walk in right this second? Laura was just about to leave.

  Cassandra gave her a hateful glare before she marched to my desk, her heels echoing against the hardwood floor. She put the cup down. “I figured you were grumpy without your morning coffee.” She snuck another spiteful glare at Laura.

  “Thank you.” I stood up and kissed her. “That was very thoughtful of you. But I should be the one taking care of you.” I waited for her to leave but she didn’t make a move.

  This was awkward.

  Laura averted her gaze then headed for the door. “Thank you, Mr. Preston.”

  “You’re welcome, Ms. Campbell.” I hoped being professional would make Cassandra less intimidated.

  When we were finally alone, Cassandra calmed down. “How was your meeting?”

  “Boring.”

  “You always say that.”

  “Well, they are always boring.” I pulled her into my lap. “You shouldn’t wear heels anymore. Your back is already carrying a lot of stress.”

  “It’s not a big deal. I pretty much sit on my ass all day.”

  “And it’s a beautiful ass.” My hand rubbed her behind.

  “What did she want?”

  She changed the subject quick. “She and I hadn’t had a chance to talk since she…came to my apartment a few nights ago.”

  “Did you tell her to take a hike?”

  “Will you calm the hell down?” I snapped. “What do you think I said? Let’s have a thing together on the side?”

  That seemed to bring her down to earth. “I just don’t want to fight for you all the time.”

  “Fight for me?” I asked incredulously. “Cassandra, I’m yours. What about trusting me?”

  “I do trust you.”

  “Then start proving it.” I didn’t mean to be aggressive but her words got under my skin.

  “I just don’t want her to keep throwing herself at you.”

  “Who cares if she does? You think I’d want that when I have you?”

  She averted her gaze in embarrassment.

  “You know what she said to me? She said she was happy for me. She knew how depressed I was over you. Honestly, you shouldn’t be jealous because being with her was depressing and carnal. There was nothing else going on. She was a friend more than anything. And then she asked if she should quit to make things easier for you and I.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I said no. There’s no problem between she and I. We’re both mature about it. And I really don’t want her to go back to stripping. That’s not an option.”

  She studied me. “It sounds like you care about her.”

  “Well, I do. She’s my friend’s sister-in-law. I wouldn’t want my sister being a stripper. I got to get her out of there before anyone finds out. And I can tell she’s been struggling. I’m just trying to help.”

  Her eyes softened. “I’m sorry for being psycho about this. It’s just…it’s hard for me.”

  “I understand.”

  “But I do trust you, Mike.”

  “Good.” My hand moved to her stomach. “And if you’re really worried about me betraying you, just remember my dad will annihilate me if I do anything. I mean, anything.”

  She smiled. “I guess that makes me feel a little better.”

  I kissed her cheek. “You’re the only one for me, baby. The only pussy I want is yours. And it’s a damn good pussy.”

  She blushed at my words. “Okay. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” She left my lap then headed to the door. “I’ll see you after work.”

  “I look forward to it.” I winked at her.

  When she walked out, I stared at her ass, like usual.

  “Do you think you should be working out?” I asked when we walked into the gym.

  “I’m not paralyzed,” she snapped.

  “But you shouldn’t be running marathons either,” I yelled back. I was already concerned about Cassandra, but when it came to my baby, I was borderline insane.

  “The doctor said it’s good to exercise.”

  “But gently, right?”

  “I’m just going to do some walking and a few free weights.”

  That made me feel a little better. “Okay.”

  We went into separate changing rooms then headed into the gym. She was wearing a tight top that showered her distended stomach.

  “Why the hell did you have to wear that?”

  “What’s wrong with it?” She looked down at herself then back at me.

  “It’s hot. Now I’m going to be distracted the whole time.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re always distracted.” She walked off and headed to the treadmill, her earphones in. I watched her for a moment before I headed to the weight machines. I never did cardio, just weights. My goal was to be big, not lean and toned like my brother. That was why I was the hotter sibling.

  I kept looking at Cassandra the entire time, looking at her stomach. I had no idea why I was so obsessed with it. I’d seen pregnant women before I never thought they were hot. With Cassandra, it was the hottest thing in the world. I’d wake up in the middle of the night with the sudden urge to be inside her. She swatted me away but I did it anyway while she moaned quietly beneath me, her eyes drooping in sleepiness.

  When we finished our workout, I placed my hand on her stomach. “You okay?”

  “I feel fine.” She wiped her forehead with a towel. “Now I’m hungry.”

  “Let’s get home and I’ll make you something to eat.”

  We took my Jaguar to the apartment then showered together. I took her from behind under the soapy water, my hand on her stomach, and then I went into my office with my phone in hand.

  “What are you doing?” she asked. “I thought we were going to watch the game?”

  “I need to make a phone call.”

  “Okay.” She closed the door.

  I was glad she didn’t ask who I was calling. I understood her trust issues, but they were unnecessary with me. Even if she didn’t trust me, she should at least know I wouldn’t lie to her about anything.

  “Rogers Real Estate,” he said over the phone.

  “Hi, it’s Mike Preston. I’m checking on a bid I put in for a house.”

  “Hello, Mike. Nice to hear from you.”

  “So, have the owners decided?”

  “Yes. Unfortunately, they went with someone else.”

  My heart fell. Cassandra loved that house. I had to get it. “What if I raise my bid?”

  “I don’t think it would matter. I suspect the owner knows the buyer.”

  My mind launched into full capacity. I had to get this house if it was the last thing I did. The look on Cassandra’s face was one I’d never forget. I knew she wanted to settle down there. “Who’s the owner?”

  “A wealthy family here in Connecticut.”

  “Can I have his name?”

  “It’s a woman.”

  “Oh. Can I have her name?”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “I’m going to speak to her directly.”

  “I’m not at liberty to divulge that information.”

  “How does a thousand bucks sound?”

  He was quiet for a while. “You’re determined.”

  “My girl loves that house. I’m getting it.”

  “Forget the money. Here’s the name, address, and phone number.” He read it off to me and I wrote it down.

  “Thank you.” I
hung up then stared at the information. Athena Lucas. I brainstormed how to approach her and get what I wanted. Obviously, money didn’t mean anything to her. She probably had more than she’d ever need, just like me. I called the person I trusted most.

  “Hey, son.”

  “Dad, I need your help.”

  He sighed. “What did you do?”

  “No, nothing like that.”

  “Then tell me.”

  “I’m trying to buy a house in Connecticut. My bid was substantially higher than the asking price and I was still rejected.”

  “And what do you want me to do about that?”

  “Do you know the name Athena Lucas?”

  My dad mumbled quietly then cleared his throat. “Yes, I knew her husband. He passed away a few years ago.”

  “So, this woman is old?”

  “No, about my age.”

  “So, she’s old?”

  “Not a good way to get me to help you, son.”

  “Whatever. Do you know this woman personally?”

  “No, but I golfed with Dan a few times.”

  I rubbed my chin. “Do you think you can come with me to talk to her?”

  “And do what?”

  “I don’t know. Name drop, talk her up, give her a reason to give me the house. You know better than anyone that success is about who you know, not how hard you work.”

  “Actually, I don’t know that,” he said coldly.

  “Well, you’re an exception. Please help me.”

  He sighed. “You know I’ll do anything for you, son. But I don’t know how much help I can be.”

  “Just come with me.”

  “When?”

  “You doing anything now?”

  “I’m retired. What do you think?”

  “I’ll be there in half an hour.”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  I hung up then grabbed my keys and wallet. Cassandra was in the kitchen when I headed to the front door.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “I need to see my dad.”

  “Everything okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “What are you doing?” She came to me then put her arms around my neck.

  I couldn’t lie to her but I didn’t want her to know what I was doing. I didn’t want to get her hopes up. “I can’t tell you.”

  “Okay…”

  “But I’ll tell you when I can.”

  “Should I be worried?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.