Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set (227 page)

Their nature did eventually lead them back to his bedroom.  She was more than a little self–conscious as she stood naked in front of him.  While she was thrilled with what her pregnancy had done to her breasts, she felt like her stomach was huge.

He followed her eyes from his flat abdomen to hers that was expanding with the growth of their child. 

“You’re beautiful baby.  We’re gonna take it slow and easy.  If it’s not comfortable for you let me know.”

“This probably sounds like a dumb question and I probably should have researched it myself, but how do you have sex when a woman is further along in her pregnancy?”

Kiefer smiled.  She shot him a dirty look.  “No.  I haven’t been with a pregnant woman before.  I took the liberty of doing some research of my own.  I had a feeling that you might come around while you were still pregnant.”

“Uh huh.”

“Shh baby.  Come here.”  He led her to the bed.

They made love three times that night.  She didn’t have to work the next day so she spent the night at his house.  It was like coming home to fall asleep in his arms again. 

She moved in two weeks before the baby was due.  He had proven to her that he was trying his best to be the man that she needed him to be.

Macy Kendrix was born right on time.  She weighed 7 pounds 7.5 ounces and was 21 inches long.  Kiefer was a wonderful father.  He proposed on the one year anniversary of their second chance relationship and Delphina accepted

I Can Love You Like Nobody Can

Cecilia was sitting in a restaurant with her husband of six years when a woman walked by.  Cec had the offhanded thought that she was beautiful, until she realized that Liam had smiled at the woman.  She gave Liam a questioning look.  The woman had disappeared, but his eyes had followed her exit.  He looked like he was a million miles away.

“Liam, who was that?”

Liam turned back to her, brushing a strand of dark hair out of his eyes.  Cec was always bugging him to cut his hair, but he’d never listened to her about it before, and she was sure that he wasn’t going to start anytime soon.  “Nobody.”

Cec raised an eyebrow.  “That smile was way too familiar for you not to know who she is.  So why are you lying to me?”

Liam shook his head at her.  “Cec, why are you being paranoid?  So the woman was attractive and I looked at her.  Are you on your period?”

Cec shook her head at him. “Every time a woman has an issue with a man, the first thing he asks is are you on your period.  I don’t have to be on my period to notice that you totally check out a woman, smile at her like you know her and then tell me that she’s nobody.  I’m going home.  Have a nice rest of the day at work.  I’m guessing that you’re going to be home late again tonight.”

Liam sighed.  “Yes.  I’m sorry baby.  But you know we need the money.”

“I can look for a job.   I told you that it’s not a big deal.”

“We made an agreement before we got married that you wouldn’t have to work.  You were going to stay at home and raise our kids.”

Cec sighed.  “We don’t have any kids remember?”

Liam rolled his eyes.  “Of course I remember.  I have to go babe.  I’ll see you later.”  He leaned over and gave her a kiss.

“So I’m assuming that you’re working late with nobody again huh?”

Liam let out a frustrated sigh.  “Cec, haven’t you ever heard that assuming things makes an ass out of you and me?  This is a one man campaign.  If they keep laying people off we might have to go live in your parents’ guest house.”

“Ugh.  Maybe if your parents were the ones that had the guest house.  But mine-no way.  I’ll live in a cockroach infested studio apartment before I live with them again.  They won’t stop asking when we’re going to give them a grandbaby.”

“We’ll make a baby when we can afford one.”

“Sometimes that sounds like it’s not going to happen until I’m going through menopause.”

“Baby, it’s gonna get better.  I promise.  I’ll see you later.  Don’t bother to cook dinner for me.  I’ll get takeout.”

“I wish you’d let me send you something for dinner if you’re working late.”

“You do too much as it is.  You’re like a superwoman.”  Liam gave her another quick kiss.  “Bye babe.”

He turned and walked away.  Cec sighed as she got up from the table.  She didn’t like the feeling she had gotten when the woman had walked by their table.  She knew she was attractive.  She wasn’t normally self-conscious, but Liam’s “nobody” had been beautiful hands down.  If they were in a beauty contest together, Cec was sure that “nobody” would come out the winner by a unanimous decision.

Cec brushed her dark hair back over her shoulder and grabbed her purse from where she’d tossed it on the empty chair beside her.  She left a tip on the table and then walked to the register to take care of the check. 

As she walked home, uncomfortable thoughts were circulating in her head.  She was an attractive woman with her trim figure, dark hair and eyes and creamy pale skin.  But Liam was undoubtedly a very attractive man even if he did need a haircut.  He was 6’2 and had muscles like he worked out, though he did only on rare occasions.  He looked like a man that had a manly job, when his job was in advertising.  At the moment, he was one of the very few left in advertising at the green household products company that he worked at. 

Cec understood that there had been layoffs, but she was beginning to doubt more and more that he was really just working late.  In what she called her crazy paranoid moments from early in their marriage, she had believed that a woman that looked like she should be on the cover of a magazine would steal Liam away from her.  He HAD been on the cover of a magazine.  Women had called their house for months afterwards, though the picture had showed the wedding ring on his finger.  The article about him inside had also mentioned his wife, but Cec doubted that most of the women that called their house had bothered to read the article.

Then again, she thought as she put the key in the door to unlock their house, some women didn’t seem to care if a man was married.  Some women actually seemed to take it as a challenge to steal a man away from his wife or girlfriend.  Cec had met way too many of those kind of girls in high school.  Her high school boyfriend had been stolen away from her by one of them.  Of course she had a feeling that it also had to do with the fact that she wouldn’t have sex with Gene, and the other girl was known to put out.

Cec shook her head at herself as she sat down on the couch.  She was going to drive herself crazy if she didn’t stop thinking about the woman at the restaurant and she knew it.  She tried not to think about it as she went about her daily activities of laundry and house cleaning, but it wasn’t working.  It didn’t help that Liam got home even later than usual that night either.

She was reading a book when he walked into their bedroom.  He gave her a look.  “What?” she said.

“Why are you awake?  It’s after midnight.”

Cec rolled her eyes.  “I can read a clock Liam.”  She felt irritated and knew that a fight could start all too easily.  “Why are you coming home now when you’ve got to be at work in eight hours?”

Liam sighed.  “Babe, I told you.  I have a very important project to finish.  If I do well enough, there’s a chance that I’ll get the job as head of advertising.”

Cec snorted, suddenly wanting a cigarette like she hadn’t wanted one since she’d quit five years before.  “You already do all of the work.  I thought they got rid of that position.  I thought they had to pay the last guy too much.”

“They wouldn’t have to pay me as much as they paid him and they know it.  I’m going to take a shower and go to bed babe.  Why don’t you go to sleep?  You look tired.”

He went to the bathroom before she could say another word.  She gave the closed bathroom door a dirty look.  She marked her place in her book and then rolled over towards the edge of the bed.  He hadn’t noticed that she’d put on a piece of her sexiest lingerie.  She knew that he was tired when he got home from work, but it seemed like forever since they’d made love.  Right now, she thought she’d even take some down and dirty wham bam thank you ma’am sex. 

He took forever in the shower.  She was half asleep by the time he crawled into bed.  He pulled her to him and then leaned over and turned off the lamp.  “What’s wrong babe?  What’s on your mind?”

“Nobody.  Oh, I mean nothing.”

Liam sighed.  “Don’t start that shit again.  I don’t want to fight.  I’m tired baby.  Goodnight Cec.  I love you.”

“I love you too, but ignoring it isn’t going to make it go away.”

“There is nothing to make go away Cec.  You should wear that teddy when I’m not so damned tired.  I’d ravage you.”

“Sure.” 

Liam slid his hand between her legs.  “Don’t sure me.”  He let out a quiet groan.  “You’re not wearing panties.  And you’re rather moist.  Who knew that arguing turned you on so much?”

“Ha ha.  Make love to me Liam.  I don’t care if it’s quick.  I’d take a quickie right now.”

Liam lightly stroked her womanhood.  “I can feel that.  Damn can I feel that.  Have I really been neglecting you that much?  I’m sorry baby.”

Cec moved against his hand and spread her legs slightly.  “You have.  Take me just like this.  Please.”  Cec didn’t care at that moment if he was thinking of someone else.  “I’ll make your coffee extra strong in the morning.  Love me Liam.”

He groaned again.  “I think I’m gonna have to or I’ll end up with blue balls.”

“Weirdo.  Can you take your pants off with one hand?”

Liam chuckled.  “My horny wife.  Yeah, I think I can manage.  Or you could always touch yourself for the thirty seconds it takes me to take my pants off.  You know how much it turns me on when you do that.”

“Not tonight.  Please Liam.”

“Yes baby.”  He shifted slightly.  It seemed to Cec to take forever before he was finally inside of her.  But it was so blissful when he was that she was sure she was going to have an orgasm right away.  When he pushed himself more fully into her she did have an orgasm.  She cried out his name so loud that she was glad that they didn’t have children.  He laughed at her, but he came soon after she did.  When he withdrew from her, she felt a little less suspicious than she had earlier.  She was pretty sure that if he’d had sex with someone else recently he wouldn’t have come to orgasm quite so fast. 

She turned her head and kissed him.  “Thank you.  I love you Liam.”

He chuckled.  “Thank you darlin’.  I needed that more than I realized.  I love you Cec.  Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Liam.”  She snuggled back into his arms and was soon asleep.

Cec started to feel better about their relationship, but her suspicions rose again over the weekend.  They went for a long drive, and Liam seemed as if he was a million miles away again.  When she asked him what was on his mind, instead of nothing, he said nobody, even though she hadn’t asked him who was on his mind.  She cried a little that night while he was in the shower.  She felt like he was slipping away from her.  She loved Liam so much that it hurt sometimes.  She was so afraid to lose him.

They got into a fight when he got out of the shower.  He ended up sleeping on the couch that night.  He was gone when she woke up in the morning.  She wondered if she had driven him into the arms of his “nobody”. 

He returned home in the late afternoon, with takeout and a bouquet of flowers as a peace offering.  She tried to tempt him into sex that night, but he told her that he had to get up extra early in the morning. 

Monday night, she waited to take her shower until after he got home from work.  She knew that he had already showered that morning.  She crawled into bed naked and kissed him with a passion that felt almost frantic even to her.  He pulled back after a minute.  “Baby, are you sure you’re okay?”

“No, I’m not okay.  You’re a million miles away all of the time.”

Liam sighed.  “I’m stressed.  There’s this new guy in the department.  There’s talk around the office that they’re going to give him the head advertising position instead of me since he was an advertising exec at some other company.  I’m sorry baby.  I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

Cec pulled completely away from him.  “And part on what’s on your mind is your ‘nobody’ isn’t it Liam?  Tell me the truth.  I can take it if you’ll just tell me the truth.  We can make this work.  I love you too much to walk away.  But I can’t stand your lies anymore.”

Liam pulled her back against him and kissed the side of her neck.  “I don’t want to talk about that ridiculous crap anymore babe.  Let’s make love.  Maybe if we make a baby, the Gods of fate will watch over us and make sure I get that job.”

Cec shook her head.  “You’re lying.  I don’t even have to look at your face to know it.  Go sleep on the couch again.  Maybe if you’re quiet enough, you can have phone sex with ‘nobody’ without me hearing.  I’m sorry to break it to you, but it’s just you and your hand tonight.”

Liam let out a frustrated sigh.  “Just like a woman.  You’re the one that attacked me after you came out of the shower.  You get me all hot and bothered and then decide you don’t want to have sex.  I think that with the way you’re acting I’d rather have my hand for company than you anyway.”

“Go away Liam.”

He got out of bed and stalked towards the door.  “For a woman that seems to think her husband is cheating, you don’t make a lot of sense Cec.  You know that a lack of sex is one of the main reasons why men stray.”

Cec threw his pillow at him.  “The lack of sex lately has come from you until tonight.  But I guess you probably don’t need it from me since you’re doing it with someone else.”  She gave him a tight smile.

He shook his head at her.  “Go to sleep Cec.  I hope you wake up in a better mood.”  He opened their bedroom door, walked out and slammed it shut behind him.

She cried when he was downstairs.  She knew that she hadn’t handled the situation in the right way.  There was a part of her that wanted to apologize to him.  Another part of her still thought that he was lying to her and didn’t deserve an apology.

The next morning, Liam gave her the silent treatment.  She stuck her tongue out at his back when he left for work, feeling juvenile, but not caring.  She felt despondent and didn’t know what to do.  That afternoon, things only got worse.  She answered their home phone in the middle of the afternoon.

“Hello.”

“Is Liam there?”

It was a woman’s unfamiliar voice.  Cec narrowed her eyes, wondering if it was “nobody”.  “He’s at work.  May I ask who’s calling?”

The woman hung up.  Cec slammed the phone down.  She paced the living room for a while, wondering what she was going to do.  By early evening, she’d decided that she had one last chance to keep Liam.  There was no way she was going to screw it up.