Closer To You (Suits in Pursuit) (19 page)

The pillow soaked with tears, his mixed with hers.

“Axel, I … I,” she stammered, sensation and feeling flowing through her stifled her words.

Freed, she
gave her mind, body and heart to him, completely unrestrained. “Axel, I don’t want to live without you,” she cried out in rapture.

The union
was like the first time they had discovered each other.

Merging into her, his tempo was steady. “You never will,”
he panted heavily.

In the
afterglow of their encounter, he held her tightly against his drenched body as she lay on top of him.

“Kerrigan, can I ask you a question?”

She rose, propping herself up on his chest and looking into his eyes. “Yes,” she said softly.

“Do you know why I love you?”

She gazed down at him. “No, I really don’t.”

He
searched her eyes. “Well, you have a beautiful spirit. You always put others ahead of yourself. You’re the first woman I’ve ever met who hasn’t asked me for a dime, and instead have given me something more than all the money in the world—your heart and your capacity for love, not superficial lust. You have a brilliant mind, and I admire your hard work and independence.”

Still staring into her eyes, he stroked her cheek softly. “I was a broken man after the ordeal with Sara. I was afraid to trust and filled with anger. For years, I surrounded myself with empty shallow women. Women I knew I couldn’t get close to, and I was lonely. When you walked into my office, I was forced to open my eyes. I don’t know how, but I knew—I loved you from the start.”

His face went blurry, and her chest heaved, unable to catch her breath. “I thought you were like all the other men I dated in the past, and there weren’t very many, but they all treated me the same. They told me I was pretty, but in the end, they only wanted one thing. None of them respected my mind, and when I refused to give them my body …”

She paused, the dam behind her eyes bursting as tears streamed down her cheeks. “I expected to be treated that way, I expected to be rejected and hurt. My insecurities have nothing to do with you or our differences. They have to do with me believing that the only thing a man could
be interested in, was my body. With you, it’s different. The way you look at me, the things you say and do. I had no choice but to love you.”

He tightened his grip on her and lifted his head to kiss her softly. “Our souls recognized what neither of us knew—we are the completion of each other. We are bound by love.”

She couldn’t hold back any longer. Tears flowed down Kerrigan's cheeks, and he swiped them away. They lie there entwined and fully sated. For the first time in months, she slept soundly in Axel’s arms.

Saturday, January 5

Light streaming into the room forced his eyelids open. He reached out for her, but instead, his hand glided over the smooth, cool bed sheet. He stretched his arms out, a wide grin extended from one ear to the other. He would have felt a twinge of panic, but things between them were changed forever. After the night they shared, she wouldn’t leave him again. They had talked all night long, coming to terms with their love and putting aside their insecurities and fears.

He lay there
content for a few minutes before a heavenly aroma wafted in from the kitchen. His stomach growled. Part one of his plan had worked exactly as he had hoped—get the girl back. Now for part two of his plan—keep the girl. He picked up his phone and dialed.

Axel
swaggered lazily into the kitchen. Kerrigan scooped a spoonful of eggs onto a plate piled high with pancakes. He walked up behind her and wrapped her in the warm embrace of his arms spanning her waist, caressing her belly.

He kissed the side of her neck.
“Good morning beautiful. How are you feeling?”

She
spun around, the long white flowing dress that he bought for her fanning out, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
God, she’s beautiful!

“I’ve never felt better. What about you?”
Returning to her task of preparing breakfast for them, she glided to the refrigerator, floating. He loved that he did that to her.

“
Baby, I feel the same as you.” He smiled, leaned down and gently kissed her plump lips. 

He
pulled away, his brow furrowed in deep thought. “When is our baby due?”

“July 17
.”

“Good. There’s time.”

“Time for what?” she asked curiously.

“I have a surprise
that I want you to enjoy before the baby gets here. Now what are you cooking in here, besides that bun in the oven?”

She
giggled. “I made pancakes, eggs and bacon.”

He closed his eyes, inhaling.
“Hmm. Let’s eat. We have places to go today.”

“Where are we going?”

“I’m not telling.
”

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

Kerrigan leaned forward, her head turning right and then left as she peered through the passenger and driver’s side windows
. She recognized the route he took.

“McBride is this close to signing with us,” he said mimicking the
space of an inch between his index finger and thumb. This topic would distract her curiosity.

“That’s great! What happens next? Do I still
get to work on the account? At least until…” she said looking down at her belly.

“Yes, of course. That’
s completely up to you. I got the call a couple of weeks ago. We have a meeting with him to go over the finer details two weeks from now. Your brilliance, your creativity is what landed McBride.” He gleamed. At last, she was his again. “You know, after the baby gets here, you could always open the boutique you’ve always wanted.”

“I don’
t have the start-up capital. Besides, no bank worth doing business with is going to give me the size loan I’d need to get started.”

He flexed his brow up and down.
“You don’t happen to know any wealthy investors who might be willing to give you the working capital you’d need, do you?” He smirked.

“
I’d never ask to borrow that kind of money from you!”

“
I’d never
let
you borrow that kind of money from me, I’d give it to you. You don’t get a say in this,” he said, his tone decidedly decisive. “I believe you can do anything you set your mind to.”

She
pierced him with her round eyes and spoke her thoughts. “You always get what you want, don’t you?”

He reached out and squeezed her knee. “I do.” She squirmed at the tickle of his touch. “You should know that by now.” He said, one corner of his mouth slanting up.

The car rounded the corner, and then slowed to a crawl. She whipped her head around and pinned him with a puzzled look.

“It’s okay baby. Jordan won’t kill me. How do you think I found you?”

He told her the whole story of how he had hired a private investigator to find her, contacted Jordan and gained his trust. Her red cheeks glowed.

“You both must think I’m such a ridiculous and silly woman
,” she replied.

“No.
You and I each played our part. Let’s not dwell on the past anymore. We’re moving forward together. We’re here so I can meet your family properly. I also need to help you pack up your things from the cottage.”

“You know about the cottage too?
Wow, you must have hit it off with Jordan.”

“I think so. He and I
speak the same language.”

“Did he tell
you about the baby?” she asked.

“
No. He didn’t share that news with me.” He placed his hand under her chin. “Come on sweetheart. Quit the stalling. It’s time to go inside.”

He took her hand and held it tightly
. Her shoes tapped against the hard concrete path as they walked to the house. She unlocked the front door, and they walked inside, pausing at the entrance of the family room. Her eyes scanned the room. To her surprise, everyone was there. Jordan, Nicole and their daughters, her mom and dad, his parents, Aunt Emma, Ryker and Ashley were all there. As she registered each person’s face, tears welled behind her eyes. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth, and she staggered, grabbing Axel’s arm to keep her balance.

He
wrapped his arms around her waist, caressing her belly, and then leaned down to her ear. “It’s okay baby. They’re all here to celebrate with us. Jordan explained everything to your parents. I explained everything to mine. Everyone knows about the baby too,” he whispered.

The dam
inside her broke as tears spilled down her cheeks. She turned in his arms and stared up into his eyes, lips trembling, speechless.

He kissed her softly
on the forehead. “Come on, everyone’s watching. Let’s go say hello.” Breaking his hold, he stepped forward, turned slightly and held out his hand. Kerrigan's grasp was so firm, her nails digging into his flesh formed small crescents in his palms.

Axel led Kerrigan
to her mother and father, who stood next to built-in bookcases at the other end of the family room.

Her mother pulled Kerrigan into a hug. “I’m so glad you worked out your problems. He seems like a wonderful young man.”

“He is wonderful.” A lovesick grin eclipsed her face.

Stepping forward, her father held her at arm’s length, studying her. Creases formed at the edge of his lips into a smile. “You look happy, sweet pea.”

“I am happy daddy.” She beamed.

He wrapped her in his protective hold and whispered in her ear. “Axel better treat you right and if he doesn’t…”

She interrupted her father’s lecture. “He will. This was my fault, not Axel’s. He’s a great man.”

Her father released her and turned to Axel.

“Good to see you again young man.” Mr. Mulls said.

“Good you see you again, too, sir.” Axel replied.

Kerrigan frowned and looked at him. “A
gain
?” She whispered.

“I’ll tell you later.” He winked at her
.

Kerrigan’s father gripped his chin. “
I can see that you love my daughter. Whoever makes my baby girl happy makes me happy too.”

Axel
pulled Kerrigan into his side, grabbing her around her waist. “Yes, I love Kerrigan very much. She means the world to me.”

She rested her head on his chest, addressing her parents. “I love Axel, too.”

“I’m so glad you two were able to straighten out your misunderstanding,” Mrs. Mulls said.

“Me too,” Axel said, tightening his grip around Kerrigan.

Mrs. Mulls touched Axel gently on the shoulder. “Jordan told me you lost a business deal just to be here.”

Kerrigan jerked her head up and caught his eyes. “What! Axel, you didn’t tell me that. I, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.” She apologized.

He leaned down. “You’re worth much more than a business deal.” He flashed a grin and then whispered to her. “Besides, you’ll have all the time in the world to make it up to me.” His attention turned back to Mr. and Mrs. Mulls. “If you’ll please excuse me, I’d like to say hello to Jordan.”

Walking pass a side table filled with
family pictures, Axel sauntered toward Jordan and Nicole. Reaching his hand out, Axel shook Jordan’s hand. “Jordan, I can’t thank you enough for all of your help and support.”

“I’m glad I was a part of your reunion. You and I are going to be good friends.”

“I have no doubt.” Axel said.

Wrapping their manly arms around each other careful not to get too close, they gave each other the standard man hug.

Next, they greeted Axel’s parents.

“Kerrigan, you look perfectly radiant. I’m so excited about being a grandmother. I’ve enjoyed meeting your lovely family.” Mrs. Christensen gave Kerrigan a hug.

“You’ve done well.
You took my advice.” Axel’s father said as he shook Axel’s hand. “You’ve created one heck of a moment.”

Emma gave each of them a
squeeze. “Kerrigan, you’re beautiful as always. I knew you would find your way back to each other.”

“Thank you Emma,” she said.

They made their way to Ashley and Ryker. The pair was deep conversation and stood away from the group near a window overlooking the perfectly landscaped garden. Ashley’s face lit up like stars in the evening desert sky.

Her mouth dropped open
when she saw Kerrigan’s round tummy. “Kerri! Oh. My. God. You’re glowing. You look adorable. We have a lot of catching up to do.” Ashley placed her hand on Kerri’s belly. “I should have known he knocked you up. Axel could never keep his hands off you. Obviously it wasn’t only his hands that he had a problem keeping to himself.” Ashley laughed.

“Ash!”
She giggled and rolled her eyes at her friend. “I’ve missed you and your scandalous tongue so much.”

Finally, they greeted Ryker. “Axel and Kerrigan, I’m happy for you both.
Bro, I’m glad you finally pulled your head out of your...”

Axel
interrupted his brother. “Ryker, me too,” he replied.

Everyone mingled and chatted before Nicole announced that a buffet-style
lunch was ready. Axel made a plate for Kerrigan.

“Sweetheart, you
need to eat. Then I want you to take me to the cottage. I want to see what all needs to be moved.” He leaned in close so that only she could hear. “And I want to be alone with you for a while. I’ll sneak out ahead of you so that we’re unnoticed. Meet me there in ten minutes.”

She
slipped Axel the key. “Okay, in ten minutes.”

Axel walked to the cottage behind the house at the far end of the multi-acre backyard.
The cottage was fenced in, set against the backdrop of looming mountains. He made his way down the winding, descending path that led to the front door. The key inserted into the knob, he unlocked the door and stepped inside, waiting.

Ten minutes later,
the front door screeched opened. He stood at the other end of the small room, leaning against the kitchen bar, his gaze caressing Kerrigan as she glided pass the threshold.

“
The space is cozy and nicely decorated. Don’t you think?” she asked.

“Uh, huh.”
The last thing on his mind was the coziness or decor of the cottage. “Is the front door locked?” He asked.

“Yes. Why?”

Tempting eyes bore into her soul. “You know why.”

He stalked toward her
, pinned her against the living room wall, and then whispered hoarsely in her ear. “I don’t want us to be disturbed.”

Without pause or hesitation, his lips captured hers, h
is hard bulge pressed into her stomach. Impatient hands slid down Kerrigan’s bosom to her thighs. He quickly lifted her dress and massaged her thighs as he parted them en route to his destination. His fingers dipped into the side of her panties and dug into her folds. Liquid heat awaited his touch.