She's Having the Boss's Baby (6 page)

“This one’s zonked out, too,” Adam said, and carried T.J. into the house. His wife Trish was already inside taking care of the latest addition to their family, two-month-old Annabelle.

Cameron shook his head. “Never thought the day would come when there’d be more kids than adults at a Duke brothers party.”

“The kids are great,” Aidan said, and took a sip of scotch.

Cameron laughed. “Spoken like a die-hard bachelor determined never to have any of his own.”

“Hey, I meant it,” Aidan protested, then shrugged sheepishly. “Is it that obvious?”

“I recognize the code words.” Cameron relaxed in his chair. “Kids are great as long as they’re someone else’s, right?”

Aidan chuckled. He might’ve been guilty of uttering those very words on more than one occasion. Oddly enough though, tonight he had liked the feel of Jake, trusting and sound asleep, tucked up against him. Wow. He couldn’t believe he’d just had that thought.

“I was never gonna have any of my own, either,” Cameron said. “None of us were. Hell, my brothers and I made a sacred pact when we were young. No marriage. No kids. Ever.”

Aidan frowned at the familiar sentiment. “So what happened?”

“Julia happened,” he said simply. “And Jake. Mom had something to say about it. Come to think of it, my brothers added their two cents’ worth, too.”

“Sounds like a united front. What’d they all say to change your mind?”

Just then, Julia stood and eased little Jake off of Aidan’s lap and into her arms. “I’ll take him in to bed.”

Cameron jumped up. “Let me do it.”

“No, you stay and talk to Aidan,” she said, and reached up and kissed him before walking away.

Aidan took another sip of scotch and wondered how quickly he could leave to get home to Ellie.

*

At fifty thousand feet, Aidan stared out the window at the cloud cover below. He and his father and taken care of their family business so Aidan had left a day early, anxious to get back to the island. So far, he’d spent most of the flight reminiscing about the last few days with his father and Sally and the rest of the Dukes. It was still a little weird to realize that he and his dad and brother were suddenly part of a great big loving family they’d never known until two years ago.

And he wondered what it said about him that he could still feel the imprint of little Jake’s slippery wet fingers clinging to his shoulders in the pool. The kid had gotten to him, along with the rest of the brood.

Who’d have guessed that he and Logan would end up with a loud, active extended family after all these years? Growing up, it had been the three of them alone: Aidan, his brother and their dad. But now things were changing. Their family was changing and growing. Was that change another reason why he’d made up his mind so easily about offering to father Ellie’s child? He wasn’t prepared to answer that just yet.

To divert himself, he stared out the windows. The cloud cover had dissipated and he tried to guess what area of the country they were flying over.

“Looks like Louisiana,” he murmured, gazing down at the verdant surface a mile below. Rivulets intertwined like snakes through miles of lush growth and trees, emptying into small lakes and ponds. Bayou, he thought. Definitely Louisiana. That meant he had another two hours in the air before they reached Alleria.

He leaned both arms on the high back of the leather seat and thought of his own unhappy youth. His mother had walked out on the family when he and his brother were seven years old. Both Aidan and Logan always vowed to stay single because women couldn’t be trusted. Their mother wasn’t the only woman in the world who’d proven that theory true.

And after hearing his cousin Cameron’s story about what he’d been through with his own miserable father, it just went to show that there were plenty of men who couldn’t be trusted either.

Hell, Aidan knew that. But it hadn’t hit so close to home before. Cameron Duke’s old man was a son of a bitch.

Aidan realized that he and Logan had really lucked out in that realm. Their father Tom was the best dad any kid could ever have.

But their mother was a mess. Not that she had ever beaten them, or starved or lashed out at them. No, his mother’s sins were ones of neglect and abandonment. She just didn’t care. She’d never even taken the trouble to figure out which of them was Aidan and which was Logan. She used to look at one brother or the other and say, “Which one are you?”

That was pathetic, but it wasn’t criminal.

So yes, their dad was the best there ever was. But Aidan still had his mother’s genes. He’d always worried that he might turn out like his mom and be a terrible parent who only cared about his own selfish needs. But it didn’t have to be that way, he realized now. He knew himself, knew he would never be like her. By making his offer to Ellie, he knew her child would be in good hands. Ellie would make a wonderful mother and Aidan would be there to support them both.

Aidan shook away all thoughts of his mother and focused instead on his dad. It had been so good to see him interacting with Sally and all the Dukes, almost as if they’d always been a family. They had welcomed all three Sutherland men unconditionally, but Aidan got a special kick from seeing his dad so happy.

“I have your lunch ready for you, Mr. Sutherland,” Leslie said.

“Thanks.” Beyond grateful for the distraction, Aidan put aside all those thoughts and sat to wolf down the perfectly cooked pasta and salmon Leslie had prepared. While he ate, he flipped through a business magazine and made some notes. Afterward, he put the finishing touches on some contracts he’d brought with him, then slid his briefcase away for the rest of the flight.

Aidan poured himself a glass of wine and tried to relax. The plane was over the Gulf of Mexico and he couldn’t wait to get home. He was getting more and more anxious to see Ellie again and he’d convinced himself that she’d made her decision to take him up on his plan.

He almost laughed when he thought about how he’d planned to find a woman while he was in California. Who knew his feelings would change so drastically in a week? Now all he could think about was Ellie. He couldn’t wait to see her again.

He recalled her nervousness about “getting naked” with him and chuckled, thinking he could hardly wait to calm her nerves.

Unbidden, an image of little Jake popped into his head. Weird, wasn’t it? Aidan was a man who had never wanted children and yet he was willing to father a child for his business associate. He squirmed a little uneasily in his seat. Fathering a child and
being
a father were two different things though, he assured himself. The baby would be his blood and would have his full support throughout his life. That didn’t mean he would be interacting with it on a daily basis.

And at that thought, another memory of Jake, curled up and asleep on his lap, zipped through Aidan’s mind. He scowled and pushed it out again. He wasn’t interested in being anyone’s dad. But he was most definitely interested in Ellie and in making sure she had the best for the little family she wanted to create.

Of course, on the off chance that she was still feeling ambivalent, he would be happy to make the decision for her. The thought of getting her naked had become a bit of an obsession with him, so if she needed persuading, he was the man to do it.

He sat back in his seat and smiled at the different ways he’d be willing to use to convince Ellie to agree to his offer.

*

“I’ve got to go inside,” Ellie said, sitting up on her beach towel and stretching like a sleepy cat. She’d been daydreaming for the last hour about Aidan. Oh, who was she kidding? She’d been thinking about him all weekend, wondering what it would be like to have sex with him. She would find out soon enough and the thought made her equally nervous and thrilled. He would be back tomorrow and she couldn’t wait to see him again.

But she had to make sure their arrangement remained strictly business. Yes, she would enjoy herself with Aidan, but she would never allow herself to slide into a state of pure unadulterated passion from which she might never recover. The danger was self-evident; she was, after all, her mother’s daughter.

So to maintain the business aspect of the deal, Ellie had spent all day yesterday preparing a computerized list of objectives, rules and contingencies. Once Aidan was back in the office, she would present it to him and explain everything in detail so that they were both on the same page going forward.

She spent a long moment adjusting her eyes to the sun, then stood and began to gather her things.

“Are you sure?” Serena asked, not moving an inch from her beach towel. “It feels so good to lay here and do nothing.”

“That’s all I’ve done today,” Ellie lamented, as she tossed her sunblock and paperback novel into her small carryall. “I’ve become a slug.”

“I’m so proud of you.” Serena sat up and used her hand to block the sun from her eyes. “And I love that new bikini of yours.”

“The one you forced me to buy?” Ellie laughed.

“Yes, and you’re welcome,” Serena said. “It looks fantastic on you.”

Ellie felt positively decadent after four hours of doing nothing but swimming and sunning on the small patch of beachfront at the far end of the resort area. Few guests ever ventured down this way so the Alleria employees were welcome to sunbathe here. It was the first time Ellie had ever taken advantage of that perk; the change was thanks to Serena.

Also, thanks to Serena, she’d spent way too much money on a flattering two-piece bathing suit they’d found in one of the resort’s fancy shops. That was after Serena had taken one look at Ellie’s serviceable one-piece tank suit and been horrified.

“You’re a bad influence on me,” Ellie said as she reached for her towel and shook the sand off.

“My work here is done.” Serena sighed and stood up. “Guess I’d better get going, too. I need to prep a few things for my staff meeting tomorrow morning.”

Ellie left Serena at her house and kept walking until she reached her own cottage another few hundred yards away. Her feet were gritty from the sand and her skin was drenched in sunblock, so before going inside, she stopped to use the outdoor shower near the kitchen door.

She tossed her cover-up onto the veranda and stepped under the stream of cool water. She savored the feeling as it splashed against her warm skin, trying to imagine how it would be if Aidan were showering with her. Wonderful, she thought, and slowly ran her hands along her arms and legs and stomach to brush off the sand.

*

Aidan dropped off his bag and briefcase in his suite, then jogged over to the business offices to find Ellie. She always spent Sunday afternoons at her desk, catching up on business news and any loose ends that needed to be nipped before the work week started.

She wouldn’t be expecting him a day early and he figured he’d be catching her off guard. He wondered if he would be able to tell by the look on her face whether or not she was willing to get naked with him—as she put it. Or would they have to discuss things further? Somehow he knew she’d made up her mind. Ellie rarely hesitated when it came to decision making, although, granted, this situation was a unique one.

He strolled past her secretary’s desk and went straight to her office door. It was closed so he knocked, then immediately opened it and walked in. “Ellie, I’m back. Did you have a chance to…”

She wasn’t at her desk.

Okay, not a big surprise. It was Sunday afternoon, after all. So maybe she was doing laundry or cleaning her house. He crossed the busy lobby and headed outside, taking a shortcut through the main pool area and past the tiki bar. The din of music and laughter faded as he made his way across the property to the residence cottages on the other side of the coco palm garden.

As he neared Ellie’s house, he heard a woman singing. One of her neighbors, no doubt. Not a bad voice, he thought, although it sounded a little garbled, like the singer was under water.

None of their guests ever stayed over here in the residence cottages, so it had to be an employee. At least it wasn’t Ellie, Aidan knew that much. His prim, proper, straight-laced senior vice president would never…

He stopped in his tracks as he caught sight of the dazzling backside of a woman standing under an outdoor shower, wearing what could charitably be called a string bikini.

His mind shut down as raw primordial need took over. Words formed in his brain, but he couldn’t utter them aloud. Sexy. Gorgeous. Body. Want. Now.

Mine.

The woman continued singing, completely oblivious to Aidan’s presence. As his mind slowly clicked back into working order, the term
poleaxed
came to mind. He was pretty sure this was what it felt like to be smacked over the head with a two-by-four. He’d never seen anything so stunning in his life.

As the woman rubbed her hands over her skin, Aidan had to bite his tongue to keep from offering to do it for her. Finally she reached for the spigot, cut off the water and turned.

And Aidan felt his chin hit the ground.

Ellie?

Four

A
idan had never seen his senior vice president in a bathing suit before, let alone something like the teasingly skimpy scraps of material she was wearing now. Hard to believe, but the real Ellie was even better than the sexy dream images that had been invading his mind the whole time he was away.

Okay,
he thought.
Yeah. He could definitely do this.

Ellie’s eyes were still closed as she wiped water off her face and smoothed her hair back.

Aidan couldn’t speak, could only gawk like some teenager at her awe-inspiring breasts. They were barely covered by the jungle-print scraps of material, but they were high and round and perfect for him. Perfect for his hands. Perfect for his mouth.

Her stomach was smooth and touchable, her hips round and shapely and delicious, and her legs…had he already mentioned touchable? What about delicious?

“Ellie?”

Her eyes popped open and she let out a squeal. “Aidan?”

He kind of wished he hadn’t said anything as she slung one arm across her breasts. With her other hand, she tried to cover the enchanting apex of her thighs.

“What’re you doing here?” she cried. “Oh, no! This is… Oh, just…let me get dressed!”

“Not necessary,” he insisted, but she was already running up the steps to her front door. “It’s just a bathing suit. I’ve seen them before.”

“Not on me!” She fumbled with her keys and dropped them. “It’s unprofessional.”

True, Aidan thought. He had to give her that one. Seeing her like this wiped away every image he had of her prim, proper business attire.

“Ellie, stop worrying about it. It’s the weekend. You’re not at work.”

She continued to protest. But suddenly his ears were no longer capable of hearing as she bent over to retrieve her keys, giving him a stunning view of her world-class derriere.

Oh, dear lord. He could die a happy man now.

“You weren’t supposed to be home until tomorrow,” she said. “I’m…surprised, that’s all. Let me take this off. I mean, change into something more suitable.”

“Ellie.” He snatched the keys from her hand, jammed the proper one into the lock and pushed the door open for her. “We live and work on an island. A
tropical
island. A resort. Everyone wears bathing suits around here—” Though not as well as she did, he added silently. “Quit making such a big deal about this. I don’t care.”

“I know,” she muttered, “but I’m not used to you seeing me—to me being dressed like—to have you show up at my house and—” She blew out a breath and took another one. “Never mind. Well. You’re home early.”

“Yeah,” he said, gazing down at her. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she whispered.

She was so close, he could almost taste her. Lust had him reaching to pull her closer. As her breasts skimmed his chest, she gulped and pushed away.

“I’m all wet,” she said, her voice raspy.

“Again, let me say I don’t care,” he said.

“I do.”

Her voice gave her away and he knew she was affected by the moment. But apparently she was going to fight it. She brushed past him and stepped inside, then waved him in after her.

“You wait here,” she said. “I’ll just be a minute.”

Aidan acceded to her wishes even though he wanted to follow her right into her bedroom and have his way with her, but that would be pushing it. Right?

Frowning, he watched her scurry from the room; then, alone, he took a moment to look around. He’d never been inside Ellie’s cottage before, he realized. Restless, he wandered the room, picking out the touches that Ellie had added to make it her own.

Aidan and Logan had chosen the California Craftsman style for these two-bedroom residential cottages. Inside, the designers had added Caribbean flair to the traditional sturdiness with pale painted walls, blond wood floors, ceiling fans, lots of windows and vivid island fabrics on the furniture. Those details gave the rooms more charm and lightness than what was usually found in corporate housing.

But this cottage carried the stamp of Ellie’s personality. There were surprising bits and pieces of her personal style everywhere he looked. Colorful pillows were scattered across the couch and chairs. A set of watercolor paintings showed striped umbrellas on the beach and children playing at water’s edge. A whimsical bowl of papier-mâché fruit was the centerpiece on the small dining room table. And on every shelf there were framed photographs of friends or relatives, plus knickknacks, seashells, a small bowl of dried leaves and twigs. And books. Lots of books.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” she said, rushing back into the room.

“It’s not a job interview, Ellie.”

“No, of course not.” She wore pale linen pants and a thin, sleeveless red blouse. Her hair was still wet but combed and tucked behind her ears. Her feet were bare. She looked almost as delectable right now as she had in her bikini a few minutes ago.

Why hadn’t he noticed how sexy and beautiful she was the minute he’d hired her? He’d worked with her for four years and the thought had never crossed his mind until recently. Maybe he needed more than an eye exam. Maybe the doctors should take a look at his brain.

She straightened a magazine on the end table. “So, have you been back long? Would you like something to drink? Did you have a nice weekend with your family?”

She was still nervous. He had to admit he liked it. It was good to know he wasn’t the only one affected by that sizzling moment or two they had shared on the front porch. But as tight and uncomfortable as his body was feeling right at the moment, Aidan had to smile. Surely Ellie was the only woman in the world who would expect a man to indulge in small talk so soon after—

After what?

Nothing had happened, really. Nothing like what he wanted to happen anyway.

“Aidan?” She was watching him. “Did you hear me?”

Over the roaring in his blood? Just barely. But he answered her questions anyway.

“I did. I’ve been home an hour. No, thank you, I don’t want a drink. And yes, seeing the family was great,” he answered in order of the questions she asked. Casually leaning one shoulder against the heavy bookshelf, he said, “Look, I know I’m home a day early, but I couldn’t wait to see you. You know why I’m here, right? I’m hoping you have an answer for me. Do you, Ellie?”

“Um, yes. About that.” She fiddled with one of her shirt buttons fretfully, causing him to fixate on her breasts even more than before. She seemed to realize what she was doing because she dropped her hands abruptly and gazed up at him. “I would prefer to discuss it tomorrow in the office.”

“You want to discuss it in the office,” he repeated slowly as he gave her a cool, assessing look. “Because it’s…business?”

“Well, no, but yes.” She frowned, annoyed at herself. After taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she continued. “Yes, Aidan. It is business. Anything that involves relations between you and me will have an effect on our business dealings. And after all, we’ll be signing both a contract and a partnership agreement. Our lives and our jobs are about to become inextricably intertwined, wouldn’t you agree?”

Damn, Aidan thought. Even when she got all prim and proper on him, he wanted her. Badly. Now that he’d given himself permission to want her, he couldn’t seem to stop.

“Now, you made me a proposition,” she continued, “and I would like to negotiate the terms. In that regard, I went ahead and made a list of conditions along with some facts and figures I’d like to go over with you. Tomorrow. In the office.”

She’d made a list. Why was he not surprised? But he was impressed and gave her high marks for presenting her case so eloquently. So why did he just want to grab her and kiss her? He would, he vowed. And soon. But right now, it was obvious that Ellie needed to exert some control over the situation, so he was happy to allow it. For now. “Let me first get one thing straight, Ellie. The bottom line is, your answer is yes. You’ve decided to go ahead with my plan.”

“Well, yes. But my conditions—”

“Are on a list,” he drawled. “At the office.”

“Yes,” she said primly. “That’s right.”

He spied her tablet computer, the one she carried with her at all times, on the side table next to her purse and briefcase. “Do you have a copy of the list on your tablet?”

“Yes, but it’s not as effective at making a presentation as my—”

“Let’s see it.”

“But—”

“Ellie.” He pushed away from the bookshelf and approached her. “I don’t mind sitting through your
presentation
tomorrow, pie charts, Venn diagrams and all. But I’d like the main issues settled right here, right now.”

She scowled, but appeared ready to concede. A good thing since he considered it a very reasonable request.

“Fine.” She grabbed her tablet, started it up, then scrolled through several pages to get to her list.

“Wait, let me see that.” He turned the tablet so he could view the screen and laughed. “Roman numerals? Bullet points? This isn’t a list, it’s a business presentation. That’s why you wanted to go over it at the office. You created a slide show for me.”

Her eyes narrowed and her voice went cold and tight. “I happen to think better with bullet points.” She folded her arms tightly across her chest. “Stop laughing.”

But she was biting back a smile, so Aidan knew she wasn’t too deeply offended. He was just glad she didn’t have any clue how badly his body parts were throbbing at the sight of her lush breasts straining against the thin material of her blouse. She might change her attitude.

He ripped his gaze away from her and stared at the screen. She had divided her list into several main topics: Pre-pregnancy and pregnancy. Post-pregnancy. Baby care and support issues.

Okay, she got points for taking an organized approach to life, but talk about a buzzkill. Time to take back control of this situation. “Send me the pertinent points and I’ll have the lawyers draft the agreement we talked about.”

“I’ll do that,” she said. “But that’s all about the future. I would like to go over the current issues that concern you and me.”

“You and me?” he said, wondering why he’d thought this would be easy. A woman with a sharp, intelligent brain could be a dangerous thing, he reminded himself. “What about you and me? You already said you agreed to my idea.”

“Oh, I do agree,” she rushed to say. “I thought it all through and I’m very happy to go ahead with the plan. I’m certain that your sperm will be suitable.”

“Suitable? Damn, Ellie.” He chuckled as he pulled her close to him, but she stopped him again.

“Please, Aidan. You’re distracting me and I’d really like you to watch my slide presentation first. It only runs ten minutes and I went to a lot of trouble to make sure everything was covered. I think it’ll help clarify our duties and responsibilities to each other.”

“Duties and responsibilities?” Aidan shook his head. Leave it to Ellie to explain sex using bullet points.

“Yes,” she said. “That’s the key to understanding our roles in this project, don’t you think?”

“Our
project?
” he said.

“Well, yes. That’s how I like to see it. We’re collaborating toward achieving a tangible goal and we have guidelines and milestones to meet.” She shifted to his side and held up her tablet so they could both get a look at the screen. “If you’ll allow me to go through my slide presentation, all will be explained.”

He placed his hands on her shoulders in a sincere gesture. “I admire and respect you, Ellie, but I’m not going to sit through a long slide presentation that explains how to have sex.”

“Oh, but this isn’t about the
how
. It’s more about the
why
and the
when
and the…well, if I can proceed?”

“Fine,” he said, gritting his teeth. First time for everything, he told himself. And if it meant having her in his bed, he would force himself to listen. “Let her rip.”

“Thank you. Now it’s—”

“But I think you’re stalling,” he said, turning to her. “Believe me, I know my duties and responsibilities. I know how to deliver my extremely healthy sperm the old-fashioned way. And I think we’re both in agreement on what we want, right? So I’d say we’re ready to get started.” He brushed his knuckles slowly down her arm.

She swallowed carefully. “Ready. Oh, yes. Um.” She shook her hair back and seemed to regroup. Gripping the tablet again, she said brightly, “That’s all covered in item six. Let’s just go over the others.”

Before he could argue further, she slid her finger across the surface to reveal the first slide. Aidan’s eyes were inexorably drawn to the screen. Damned if she hadn’t come up with a full-bore bullet point agenda covering his duties and responsibilities, right down to his diet preferences and clothing choices. Some experts thought that the correct choices in both areas were essential toward making his sperm more motile.

The woman’s responsibilities were just as eye-opening. There were estrogen hormone levels to be tested and she would have to monitor her temperature. And then there was something called the luteal phase, which caused a little chill to run up his spine. The very word sounded vaguely sinister.

It was all strangely mesmerizing, like a traffic accident on a California freeway. Gruesome and shocking, but he couldn’t look away.

The last page was a month-by-month production schedule. Ellie gave him a moment to review it, then said, “I don’t have my calendar with me, but luckily, I’ve already memorized the days.”

“Luckily,” he muttered, then decided he’d waited long enough. She continued to speak as he leaned in and kissed her neck.

She gasped, then moaned. He moved his lips to her earlobe, then down to her shoulder. After a long moment, she tried to continue. “I’m s-scheduled to start ovulating in the next five to seven d-days, so if you can arrange your schedule, we should have s-sex beginning Friday night and…and…oh, my…continuing through the following Wednesday night, with S-Sunday and Monday being the most optimum days.”

He took the tablet and set it down on the table. He’d seen enough. More than enough. Talk about information overload. His eyes were bleeding.