Billion Dollar Baby Bundle 2 (3 page)

Early morning light poured through the glass, hurting her eyes. Selene blinked and squinted her eyes. Ethan was breathing hard, his body moved up and down in the air. It was then she noticed a bar hung across the top of the window frame.

Another pained grunt escaped Ethan’s mouth as he continued his pull-ups. Selene smiled: for once she was greeted with a pleasant surprise.

She laid silent determined not to disturb Ethan’s workout. His back was to her. Selene couldn’t help marveling at how his once lean, toned frame had been transformed into the hard-muscled body of an athlete.

He exercised in the nude. A bead of sweat ran down his neck over his large shoulders and down his back.

The bizarre geometric tattoo he sported on his back caught her eye. As his muscles flexed and strained the shape seemed to moved and twist. It made Selene uncomfortable.

She cleared her throat. Ethan let go of the bar and turned to face her. The smile, absent from his face for months, had returned again.

He walked to the bed, leaned over her an whispered, “Good morning.” He kissed her lips softly, then moved down over belly. He whispered, “Good morning,” again, this time to their unborn baby. He kissed her belly lightly.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked as he rose to his feet.

“Mmm,” Selene murmured as she yawned and stretched her arms.

In a motion similar to Selene’s, Ethan stretched his arms above his head, then fell straight down to the floor. Bracing against the impact by landing on the palm of his hands, Ethan hit the floor hard.

Curious, Selene peaked over the bed. He was doing push-ups. His body was so straight it looked stream-lined as he moved up and down on the floor. Selene rested her head on her hand and watched.

“I’ve been thinking…” she began.

“Uh-oh.”

Selene threw a pillow at him. “As I was saying, I’ve been thinking and I’ve changed my mind.”

“About what?”

“About knowing the sex of the baby. Can we have Dr. Graham come to the house and do an ultrasound?”

Ethan stopped. He rose to his knees.

Brushing the hair out of her face, he ran his fingers around her ear, down her jaw line and over her lips. “Of course. And I want you to start decorating the baby’s room.”

“But-”

Ethan kept his finger over her lips. Selene had been hesitant to start a room for the baby.

The events of the past few months had left her paranoid and a bit superstitious. She couldn’t stop thoughts of ‘what if?’ What if they were attacked and she miscarried? What if there was something wrong with the baby? And her worst what if: What if something happened to Ethan?

Distancing herself from him had been a defense mechanism, she knew that now. She thought that is she could stay away from Ethan her love for him would wane, but that hadn’t worked. And now staring into his eyes she realized how foolish she’d been. Life was short. They should take advantage of every second they could together.

“Promise you’ll start looking at decorating the baby’s room?” he asked.

Selene nodded her head. Ethan removed the hand covering her mouth and kissed her. The kiss started out slow and intimate, then quickly escalated. Their tongues volleyed against one another. They shared a common neglected hunger for affection: a need they set out to fill with each other’s bodies.

Ethan jumped on the bed. He hovered over Selene, afraid to put pressure on her pregnant belly. Selene laughed at how delicately he treated her.

To remind him she wasn’t as fragile as she looked, she grabbed his shoulders and pushed him onto his back. In truth, she wasn’t that strong. Ethan could have easily resisted her, but he enjoyed indulging her playful aggression.

He rolled over and eagerly waited for her to mount him. Selene wasted no time. She straddled his prone body, her legs spread wide over him.

“Take off your nightgown,” Ethan said.

“No, I’m a whale.” Since discovering she was pregnant Selene had become self-

conscious of her body. The thought of being naked in front of Ethan made the blood rush to her face in embarrassment.

“You’re beautiful. Don’t talk like that.” Ethan rubbed her thighs slowly until she relaxed.

Then he pulled her nightgown up around her belly and ran his hands over her tight round stomach. “Beautiful,” he repeated.

Selene took the gown and pulled it over her head, leaving her completely exposed. She looked down at her full figure. Her body had become foreign to her: her full breasts, her bowed expansive stomach: she was all curves.

Ethan ran his hands over her breasts. Her nipples had changed color to a deep red. At first Selene found this disturbing, but now she thought they looked inviting like Maraschino cherries. She wanted Ethan to run his tongue over them and bite into the milky flesh of her breasts. With that thought fresh in mind, she settled down onto Ethan’s cock.

There was something about sex in the morning that felt special to Selene: waking up warm and comfortable, the stress of the day ahead feeling distant and insignificant. It allowed her to focus on his body and her own without distraction.

His skin was warm and lightly tanned. Small droplets of sweat dotted his chest. Selene could smell the musky scent of sweat radiating off Ethan’s body. It mingled together nicely with the feint hint of sex from the night before. The aroma aroused her.

She took Ethan’s cock in hand and positioned herself over it.

The muscles of his abdomen clenched in anticipation. He slid inside her easily.

At first she moved in slow concentric circles. She wanted to feel every inch of his thick cock.

Ethan let Selene take the lead. He matched her speed, moving in time with her body, only breaking rhythm occasionally to thrust once hard into her. The jolt would send Selene into fits of giggles.

Feeling tempted by his commanding thrusts, Selene increased her speed.

Their moans echoed through the silent home.

Ethan fucked her high and hard. Even in their frenzied state they maintained a kind of symmetry. Their bodies moved in time together. Each had an instinct for the other’s sexual needs and desires. It was the one area of their relationship without complication or complaint and when they came together Selene felt a long welcome peace.

They laid in bed side-by-side. Ethan rubbed her belly and laughed as he felt it kick.

“How about John?” he said.

“How about him?” Selene said facetiously.

“I meant as a name for the baby.”

“What if it’s a girl?” she asked, amused by his insistence that the baby was a boy.

He thought for a moment. His face turned serious. “My grandmother’s name was

Penelope. She was the only one in the family that was ever really good to me.”

Selene ran her fingers through Ethan’s hair. “Penny would be nice.”

He smiled at her ruefully in an effort to change the subject. “Of course, it’ll be a boy so…”

Selene hit him with a pillow. Ethan responded by tickling her, which sent her into another fit of laughter.

“We’ll know soon enough,” he said. “While you were sleeping I called Dr. Graham. He said he’d come by this afternoon.”

“Good,” she said and pulled the covers over their heads.

Dr. Graham was a tall, middle-aged man with glasses and dark hair that was just graying at the temples. Selene thought he was quite handsome and under different circumstances she might have flirted with him. She wondered if he was married. What was the life of a doctor’s wife like, she thought. Long nights alone, boring charity galas, still better than living under the constant threat of death. Selene shook the idea out of her head. She loved Ethan, for better or worse.

Dr. Graham smiled at them warmly as they entered the room. The doctor had just finished setting up his equipment in the library. He shook both of their hands and guided Selene to a chaise lounge.

After she laid down, Dr. Graham carefully lifted up her top exposing her belly.

“This’ll be cold,” he said.

He poured gel on her stomach then began the ultrasound. The fast paced echo of the babies heart beat reverberated through the room.

“Is that normal?” Ethan asked.

“It’s perfect. No worries,” the doctor responded. “Would you like to know the babies sex?”

Ethan and Selene exchanged a look. “Yes,” Selene said.

“Well, do you see this?” Dr. Graham said pointing to a white blur on the monitor. Selene couldn’t make anything out on the screen it looked like a Rorschach test to her. “It’s a boy,” he announced.

“A boy,” Selene repeated. Ethan took her hand and kissed it. She would have a son. The thought brought tears to her eyes. Ethan kissed her hand again and smiled down at her.

Dr. Graham let them have a moment, then ran through what would happen at the hospital (she was still a couple months away from delivery). He asked them if they had any questions. Before either could respond, there was a knock at the door.

Miss Miller entered. Selene was momentarily taken aback. She hadn’t seen the woman in months and wondered why she was here now.

Ignoring Selene, Miss Miller’s eyes were focused on Ethan. All business, Selene thought, typical Miss Miller.

She told Ethan he had an urgent phone call. He looked to Selene. She furrowed her brow, worried about who could be calling.

“We’re done here,” Dr. Graham said. “If you’re needed elsewhere,” he added with a smile.

“Go,” Selene said.

Ethan thanked the doctor and left the room. Selene pulled her top down and sat up. Dr.

Graham bent over and began rummaging in his bag for something.

“I want to thank you for making a house call,” Selene said. “We’re very-”

She was interrupted by the sound of a scream coming from the kitchen. The scream was followed by a thud and the sound of crashing, as if several people were fighting.

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She sat frozen, unsure what to do.

“Oh yes,” Dr Graham said cheerily. “I know what stress you’ve been under. No worries.

It’ll all be over soon.”

Finally finding what he was looking for, he sat up. In his hand was a long hypodermic needle. Selene opened her mouth to yell for Ethan but it was too late. The needle went into her neck and the world went dark.

A fast paced hollow beating sound, echoed through her mind. The ultrasound, she thought, the baby: a boy.

Selene smiled and opened her eyes. She floated on a bay of crystal clear blue water. The sun was warm on her skin. It shone brightly and pulsed with the sound of the baby’s heartbeat.

She felt the baby kick.

She wanted to rest her hands across the expanse of her full belly, but when she brought her hands to her midsection her belly was flat. No worries, she thought.

The tide carried her out further; the water around her grew darker. She knew she was drifting out to sea.

The current was soothing, it lulled her into a hypnotic state. She felt her eyelids grow heavy. I bet it’s peaceful in the deep, she thought. The urge to fall asleep and slip below the water was overwhelming.

The sound of a woman’s scream shot through the atmosphere like a bolt of lightning.

Selene opened her eyes. All was quiet except for the sound of gently lapping waves. Her eyes grew heavy again. Then came a voice: “You may come with me now. If you’re

finished.”

“Ms. Miller?” Selene said out loud. Her voice sounded distant to her ears. She barely recognized it as her own.

The sound of the baby’s heartbeat grew faster and faster. The sun’s light grew brighter, filling the world with blinding white light.

Selene covered her eyes and began to kick wildly in the water. She was suddenly having trouble staying afloat. A hand grabbed her ankle. She tried to fight it but couldn’t, its grip was like a vice. It pulled her under, deep into the water. Her lungs burned desperate for oxygen. Finally, she let go: she breathed the water in.

To her surprise, her lungs did not fill with water. She opened her eyes. The blinding light was gone and replaced by darkness. She realized her hands still covered her eyes. A hand pulled at her wrist.

“Stop it!” the voice commanded.

Selene uncovered her eyes. It was Ms. Miller. She stood inches from Selene’s face. “I thought I was going to have to slap you,” she said matter-of-factly. “You’ve taken leave of your senses.”

They were in a small dark room with bare cement floors. A thin stream of light poured between the cracks of a heavy wooden door.

“Don’t bother,” Ms. Miller said. “I already tried. It’s locked.”

Selene remembered her dream. Her hands flew to her stomach. It was round and full. The baby locked in his own world, safe and sound. Selene sighed with relief.

“Who was it,” she asked, “that kidnapped us?”

Ms. Miller looked at her quizzically. “You mean you don’t know?”

Selene shook her head.

“Well how should I know?” Ms. Miller said frustrated. “You know more about this business than I do.”

Selene doubted that. Ms. Miller knew far more about Ethan’s business dealings than she did.

“I didn’t even know you were pregnant. You two work quickly.”

“What do you mean?” Selene asked. “You were there at the interview. You know about the arrangement.”

“Arrangement?” Ms. Miller looked puzzled. She narrowed her eyes. “Mr. Cole was

interviewing new girls for his… business ventures.”

Selene assumed she was referring to Belle Amie. “You thought I was a hooker?”

Ms. Miller scoffed. “Don’t flatter yourself dear. We get women from all walks of life.

You’re nothing special. Now tell me about this arrangement.”

Selene told her everything. Starting with the conditions of Ethan’s billion dollar trust fund she worked through the events of the last few months up through her kidnapping. When she was finished they sat in silence. Selene waited for Ms. Miller to speak.

“What exactly did the trust fund say? You’re sure the only way to get the money was through an heir?”

Ms. Miller didn’t seem to be concerned or even surprised by these revelations. Selene eyed her suspiciously. “I don’t know.”

Ms. Miller grimaced then rose. She walked to the door and knocked twice.