Nothing Like the First Time (20 page)

As we lay next to each other, Grey’s hand traced a pattern over my body. He teased my sensitive nipples with his fingers and then he moved in with his mouth. I thought he was going to kiss my lips,
but I was wrong. He kissed down the length of my torso and stopped between my legs. He inserted a finger into my already sensitive sex and I moaned and squirmed against him. He was adamant that I wasn’t getting away and he proved this by replacing his finger with his tongue. His tongue darted in and out of me as I writhed on the picnic blanket beneath me. Grey maneuvered himself so that he was between my legs and hooked my legs up over his shoulders. There was no getting away now because this was exactly where I belonged.

After making me come again, Grey lay on the blanket, pulling me on top of him.

“You are the most beautiful woman on the planet, Carly Summers,” he whispered against my skin.

“And you are the most delectable man in the universe,” I said as I kissed my way along his jaw and up to pull his lower lip into my mouth.

“I want to still be doing this when we are old and grey!”

“What do you mean, picnics or amazing sex?” I laughed as I bit his lip gently.

“Both. I never want us to become one of those couples that are only together because we fit like a comfortable pair of slippers or because we’re afraid of starting over with someone new. I want us to love each other always. Even when we fight, I don’t want us to go to sleep at night angry.”

I was
momentarily quiet as I chose my next words.

“Grey, I promise to love you always. To be there for you through the good and bad days. I’m here
because I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

“The same applies here,” he said as he pulled me flush to his still gloriously naked body.

Chapter Fourteen

I finished my article for the local paper, a piece on a local girl by the name of Carrie. She had penned a novel and my article told about her successful book launch at the local outlet of a huge bookstore chain. I’d known Carrie in school, though she was the year above me. We hadn’t hung out but had always been pleasant to each other in passing. I was pleased for her recent success and hoped she would go on to become a famous author. Once upon a time, I had dreamed of becoming an author
, but when it came to it, I was more suited to journalism.

I had just put a fresh pot of coffee on when the doorbell rang.

I got up and opened the door. Grey stood there with a look on his face that I couldn’t quite figure out. He walked in and sat down at the kitchen counter. I poured us both a mug of coffee and handed him the sugar and cream.

“The results are in. The doctor wants to see me this afternoon.”

So that’s what the look had been about. He was apprehensive and scared of the outcome. It would change his life if he was the father to this four year old boy. He’d not only have a son, but a sick one. He would have to do whatever it was Selena and her partner were willing to let him do in regard to being in Kai’s life.

“Do you want me to come with you? I’m sure
Jodie could cover my shift. I won’t breathe a word, I’ll just say I’m not well.”

“I’m scared
, Carls. I’ve never been scared of much in my life except for when I thought you would never take me back but this, this is different. It has the potential to make a huge change to my life and if you stay with me, to yours.”

“If I stay with you? Grey, I’m marrying you
, for heaven’s sake! For better, for worse. I’m here for you ‘til death do us part.”

He reached over for my hand and squeezed it tight.

“I knew I made the right decision coming home.”

He smiled a tight smile.

“I’ll call Jodie.”

Jodie
answered on the third ring.

“Hello,” came her chirpy voice.

“Hey, it’s me. I was wondering if you could cover my shift, I feel like shit. I think I ate something that disagreed with me.”

“Oh sure thing
, honey. Hope you feel better. You let me know if you need anything.”

I felt bad for lying but Grey’s secret was not mine to share.

“Thanks. I’m sure I’ll be okay. Grey has come over to take care of me.”

“Oh good, at least you aren’t alone. When you feel better
, we need to discuss things like the cake, the photographer, etcetera.”

“That we do! I
’m leaning towards red velvet and cream cheese. As for the photographer, Grey has a friend who can fly in to do that. He’s good and the price is right.”

“
Red velvet and cream cheese sounds perfect. It’s good that Grey has a friend who’s a photographer. As for your reception, at least that’s sorted, the Sterling home is just so beautiful. Have you sorted an invite list?”

“Yes. I’ve sent a list off to the printer.”

“Okay hun, well, I better get ready for work, have you let Jim know you won’t be in?”

“No, I’ll do that now.”

“Okay, love you, Ms. Summers!”

“You too
, kiddo,” I replied and hung up.

I dialed Jim and told him I wasn’t well. Now all that was left to do was wait. We had a couple of hours before Grey’s appointment.

“Would you like to go for a walk?” Grey asked.

“
Sure.”

I grabbed my coat and took Grey’s hand in mine as we left my house and went for a walk.

“I can’t just sit around and wait, you know?”

“I know. Just try not to stress. Let’s talk wedding stuff or something.”

We walked for about an hour and discussed venue ideas for the ceremony. It helped Grey to focus on something other than his potential son and whether he was a match for bone marrow.

At the doctor’s office, we were seated by a pretty redhead receptionist. She told us the doctor was running a few minutes late but assured us he would be along soon. She made us both a coffee and we sat in the waiting room waiting for the doctor to turn up.

A few minutes later, Doctor Tressenbaum introduced himself and shook hands with us. He led us into his office and closed the door behind us.

Once we were seated, Grey took my hand. He held on a little tight but I couldn’t blame him.

“Mr. Sterling, Ms. Harriet is on her way. I just spoke to her and she was stuck in traffic. Can I get you anything while we wait for her?” Doctor Tressenbaum’s manner was impeccable. He was polite and had a fatherly sort of way about him.

“Nothing for me
, thank you, Doctor.”

“Okay. Is there anything you wish to discuss separately from Ms
. Harriet before the results?”

“No
, Dr. Tressenbaum, nothing.”

“Okay then
, we’ll just wait.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes before the office intercom buzzed and the receptionist announced that Selena Harriet was here.

The doctor got up and opened the door.

There she stood, the woman I had wondered about for the past few days. I’d not asked Grey anything about her, I didn’t want to pry. She was gorgeous. She was tall,
with long blonde hair and blue eyes. I could see why he had liked her. She also wasn’t alone. There was a handsome man with her, holding her hand. Kai wasn’t with them so I wondered where he was.

“Ms
. Harriet, please come in and be seated,” Dr. Tressenbaum invited.

“Thank you
, Doctor.”

Even her voice was silken, though it trembled slightly.

They came in and were seated with us. Quick introductions were made. Her partner was Brad. He seemed friendly enough.

“Let’s get straight to the matter of why we are here
, shall we?” The doctor was friendly yet efficient.

There was a
moment of silence as everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath.

“Mr
. Sterling, you are not Kai’s biological father.”

I felt a small amount of tension drain away from Grey as he relaxed slightly.

There was a sharp intake of breath from Selena. I could tell she had been sure it was Grey.

“However, by some twist of fate, your bone marrow seems to be a match.”

The tension ratcheted back up in the room.

“It… it is?” Grey asked hesitantly.

“Yes, Mr. Sterling. Kai would benefit immensely if you were to consider donating a small amount of bone marrow.”

“I’ll do it!”

I knew he would. He was an upstanding kind of guy and would not see this woman lose her four year old son if he could do something to make him better.

Selena burst out crying. Brad comforted her but she sobbed relentlessly for a few minutes.

Once she had calmed down and the doctor had brought her a glass of water, Selena looked at Grey.

“Thank you so much
, Greyston. I’m sorry about all this—I really thought you were his father. The only other person it could be is Kevin, and he died a couple of years back.”

“I’m sorry to hear that
, Selena. I’ll donate my bone marrow, between us, we’ll get your little boy well again.”

“Between us?” she asked.

“Yes. My bone marrow will be given to Kai, then there’s your part in it all. You and Brad will take him home and get him better.”

“Oh, I see. Sorry, my mind is a little…” she trailed off.

“It’s okay. If the doctor can schedule my operation as soon as possible…” Grey looked up at the doctor.

“
First of all, you need to have a counseling session to make sure you’re committed to the donation, and then you’ll need a physical exam. I can book those for first thing tomorrow morning,” he said kindly.

“Then that settles it. Tomorrow it is.”

“Thank you,” Selena said as she looked at Grey.

“I told you I’ll do anything I can and I meant it.”

The doctor asked his receptionist to book Grey in with the Outpatients Department for the morning and she gave him an appointment for 10:30 a.m.

***

When we arrived back at my house, I put a pot of coffee on while Grey booted up my laptop. He wanted to do a little more research about the donation process. He told me he’d researched it over the two weeks we hadn’t spoken, but now he needed to go over it all again.

With a cup of coffee in hand, Grey and I looked over the information on the internet. It said that you are given anaesthesia and you can choose to be awake and aware of your surroundings or you can be unconscious as the marrow is extracted. The actual procedure is seemingly quite simple; you lie on your stomach and special hollow needles are used to withdraw liquid marrow from both sides of the pelvic bone. The incisions made are not long and don’t require stitches afterwards. The recovery seems short and simple
, too. The doctors monitor you until the anaesthesia wears off and most patients go home the same day or the following morning. The doctors have regular contact with you to see if you are suffering from any side effects.

With the facts in hand, Grey let out a long sigh.

“I’m determined to do it, Carls,” he said after a long moment.

“I know. I’m here and I fully support your decision. By some fluke of nature, you
’re a match and I know the man you are at heart wouldn’t let this boy suffer—you’ll donate your bone marrow and he’ll recover. The procedure looks quite simple. You can stay here afterwards if you like. I can be here in case of any adverse side effects.”

“I need to know more about possible side effects
, but I’m not backing out now. Kai deserves a chance at life. He’s four years old and he has a good chance of recovering. Apparently kids with leukemia have more chance of recovery than adults.”

“Well
, then, that’s good. You have your counseling appointment in the morning—you can ask any questions you still have—and I can either be with you or wait at home for you.”

“How do you feel about me doing this?”

“Grey, I don’t want to sway your decision.”

“Does that mean you don’t want me to do it?”

“No, it means you need to make this decision for yourself—but it seems your mind is made up, anyway. I support you and will be here for you every step of the way. If you want my honest opinion, I believe you’re doing the right thing.”

“I need another coffee,” he said and made his way into the kitchen.

I stayed in the living room, not wanting to interrupt him. It was clear he needed a few minutes alone.

I looked at the website he had been on. I decided to look up the possible side effects. This operation
could cause back or hip pain, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and bruising at the incision site. Well, that seemed relatively simple. There didn’t seem to be anything Grey couldn’t handle. It also said that marrow replenishes itself within a few weeks, so it wouldn’t weaken Grey to donate.

He came back into the
living room and sat next to me on the sofa. He took my hand in his and looked me directly in the eye.

“I’m so glad you’re by my side, Carls. You are an amazing woman and I
’m a very lucky man.”

“More like the other way round, I’m the lucky
one.”

I closed the gap between us and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

We went to bed that night and Grey held me tight as he drifted off to sleep.