She's Having the Boss's Baby (7 page)

He appreciated that Ellie was ultra-organized, but it was time to lighten things up, even if it meant throwing a wrench or two into her well-ordered plans.

“Only at night?” he wondered, as he urged her closer and ran his hands slowly along her spine, down to her supple bottom. “What about the mornings?”

“Mornings?” she said on a soft sigh. “What do you mean?”

“Some would argue it’s the best time of the day for what you have in mind.”

“Oh, but—”

“Or lunchtime,” he said, leaning back to stare into her eyes. “Sex in the office might be fun, Ellie. We can use my conference table.”

“Now you’re teasing me.”

“You think so?” he said. Her expression was so vulnerable, so earnest, that he wanted to ease her into bed—or onto the dining room table—right here and now. In fact, that was a damn good idea.

“Aidan, I don’t think you’re listening. This is important.”

“I’m listening,” he assured her as he slipped his arm around her shoulders and walked her over to the couch, where he urged her to sit down with him. “But for now, let’s skip to the bottom line. I’ll help you get pregnant and I’ll help provide for your child. You’ll have a partnership with Sutherland Corp. and stay here on Alleria. We’ll have contracts drawn up that specify all the points you’ve talked about.”

“Well, yes, but there’s more to discuss.”

“The thing is, Ellie, I don’t think we should be too rigid about this. After all, we don’t want to put too much pressure on you.”

“Pressure?” she said, then frowned. “Do you think I’m being rigid? Be honest.”

“Of course not,” he said, absently skimming his thumb along the soft skin of her arm. “It’s smart to cover all the bases.”

“Thanks. I think so, too, and I’m glad you agree.”

“Good. But as long as we’re covering bases, I think waiting until Friday is problematic. It would be better to get started right away.”

She considered that little bombshell. “But it won’t be any use if the timing isn’t right.”

“But think about it, Ellie,” he said. “You’re going to be nervous all the way from now until next Friday night, and that’s never a good thing. It’ll take a lot of pressure off you if we started practicing right away.” Damn, that was a good one, Aidan thought to himself. “That way, next week when the timing is critical, we’ll know what we’re doing. We’ll be ahead of the game.”

She stared up at him. “Something tells me you already know what you’re doing.”

“I do,” he said helpfully. “But I’m not the one we’re concerned about. You are. And there’s something else you might not have considered.”

Frowning, she said, “What’s that?”

“You probably ought to decide what kind of sex you’d like to have the first time. Plenty of experts say that that’s the key to assuring that the entire…
project
goes well.”

Her eyes narrowed with doubt. “Why does that matter?”

“It goes a long way toward dispelling the nervousness factor,” he explained.

She bit her lip. “I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of experience in differentiating the types.”

“I do.” He turned on the couch to face her so he could see her reactions. “I’ll name off a few and you can decide where you’d like to start. There’s funny sex, of course. Lots of laughs, no pressure, very relaxing. And there’s romantic sex. You know, a little champagne, roses, soft jazz in the background.”

“Oh, I like that,” she whispered.

“Yeah, that’s a crowd pleaser,” he said, warming up to his subject. “And then you’ve got your naughty sex.”

She swallowed carefully. “I’m not sure about that one.”

“We’ll try it out so you can be sure though, right?”

“Um…”

“There are plenty of other choices, too,” he continued nonchalantly. “And once you’ve decided on a type, there are additional factors to consider. Like style, for instance. Do you want it slow and easy? Fast and hot? Break the glass sex? Swing from the ceiling sex?”

Slowly but surely, the color of her cheeks had turned a deep rose. So he’d managed to excite her a little. He hoped so, hoped she was as turned on by this conversation as he was.

He had to discreetly adjust himself as she licked her lips. “Some of those sound complicated. And dangerous.”

“I’ll make sure we’re perfectly safe.” He took her hand in his. “Look, why don’t you let me be in charge of those decisions. At least in the beginning.”

She let out a sigh of relief. “I would appreciate that.”

“And we’ll start Tuesday night.”

“But that’s the day after tomorrow.”

“Right,” he said. “My place. Eight o’clock.”

Alarmed, she stared at him. “But that’s too soon.”

“I don’t think so,” he said, smoothing a strand of her hair back behind her ear. “In fact, I think we should get a few preliminaries out of the way right now. After all, practice makes perfect.”

And with that, he covered her mouth with his in a kiss that she met with such need and all-consuming heat, he wondered if he would survive until Tuesday.

*

Aidan was right about one thing, Ellie thought on Tuesday, as she struggled to pay attention to her notes on a new contract. She was going to be nervous until the deed was done. Maybe it really was better that they’d decided to start having sex right away. She would hate to feel so jangled up in knots for another full week.

So, yeah, she thought. Good thing she was having sex tonight. With Aidan. At eight o’clock. Tonight. Oh, mercy.

She had almost thought they’d get the whole thing started the other night when he’d come to her house. The way he had looked at her after her shower had almost turned the cool water on her skin to steam. And the way he’d described all those different types of sex? She knew he’d been goading her, but it had worked. And then he’d kissed her. She’d been so wound up, it was a wonder she hadn’t jumped him right then and there, on her couch. In bright daylight.

Naughty sex?
She exhaled heavily. She’d heard about naughty sex but had never experienced anything close to it. The two measly sexual encounters she’d had in the past could easily be placed at the farthest opposite end of the spectrum from naughty.

The first time had been a fumbling, blind-leading-the-blind failure. The second time wasn’t much better. They were both with Teddy, her history study partner in college.

He had seemed like a nice guy in class, so she’d agreed to go out with him a few times. Their dates were pleasant so, even after his bumbling sexual attempts, she would’ve continued seeing him if she hadn’t overheard him bragging to his friends a few days later. Teddy was so sure she would soon be drowning in the afterglow of his awesome lovemaking that he would be able to induce her to do all his homework from then on.

Seriously? Men could be very weird.

On the other hand, Ellie had no doubt that Aidan was an expert in all things naughty. She pictured his tanned hands sliding up her thighs to explore her deepest depths while his clever mouth rained kisses down her neck, along her breasts, across her stomach and farther down her body….

The contract notes were forgotten as she shoved her chair back from her desk and stood. And breathed. It wouldn’t do to faint in her office in the middle of the afternoon. But gosh, she was anxious to get this over with. But, she amended, please don’t have it be over too fast. He would make it last for a while, wouldn’t he? Aidan would do what he could to make it pleasurable for her. Wouldn’t he?

“Of course he will, you knucklehead,” she muttered aloud. For heaven’s sake, he was so sexy, so masculine, so sure of himself, it wouldn’t take much effort at all for him to send her zooming straight to heaven.

Besides, none of the women she’d seen him with over the years had ever looked as though they were disappointed in his company. She frowned at that thought. Aidan had been with dozens of women. How was she going to measure up? Her experience was so small it hardly counted. This could be very embarrassing.

“But you’re not in a relationship,” she told herself. “This is business. Strictly business.”

They were only going through with this
project
so that Ellie could get pregnant. Sending her shivering into ecstasy was not a necessary part of the agenda. Pregnancy was. That was the bottom line. And as a businesswoman, she was all about the bottom line.

But she shivered a little anyway, just thinking about Aidan in bed with her. Touching her. Kissing her. Nibbling her.

“Oh, God.” She sucked in more deep breaths to calm herself down. Then, glancing back at her desk, she shook her head.

Aidan had been wrapped up in conference calls all day, so Ellie had honestly thought she would get a lot of work done today. But no. She was useless. The contract would have to wait another day. She was going to go home and pamper herself and get ready for her big night. In bed. With Aidan.

Rolling her eyes at her own foolishness, she grabbed her purse and left the office.

*

The scene was set for romantic sex.

Aidan glanced around the living room of his penthouse suite and approved of what he saw. He had always been a romantic guy and enjoyed the trappings that went along with it. So he felt confident as he instructed his catering guy where to place the ice bucket and the dessert he’d selected for tonight.

If there was one thing Aidan Sutherland knew how to do, it was set the scene for sex. But this time, he had to admit, he was really enjoying himself, picturing Ellie walking in and seeing all this. Candlelight, champagne on ice, chocolate mousse with whipped cream for dessert, soft, sultry jazz playing low in the background, dozens of roses and star lilies arranged in different vases around the suite.

The doorbell rang and he strolled over to open the door. And couldn’t help but smile. Her hair was lifted up off her neck with a few wavy tendrils curling down. He’d never seen her wear her hair like that, but it suited her and made him glad he’d decided to dwell on romance tonight. She wore sexy, strappy sandals and was dressed in a short, colorful sarong-style skirt that wrapped around her waist and a thin turquoise top that accentuated her breasts.

That’s how Aidan saw it anyhow. Now that he’d seen her in that bikini, he was pretty sure everything she wore from now on would accentuate her breasts.

“You made it,” he said, swinging the door wide to let her in.

She smiled. “Did you think I wouldn’t?”

He closed the door behind her. “You looked a little preoccupied in the office today. I wondered if you might be having second thoughts.”

No,” she said with a firm nod. “This is the plan we agreed on and I’m ready to go through with it.”

He pursed his lips in a twisted grin. “There’s no firing squad in here, Ellie. You can relax. In fact, I’ve got just the thing to help us both unwind.” He led her over to the dining area, where he popped open the bottle of champagne and poured them both a glass.

“To…success,” he said, raising his glass to her.

She laughed and clicked her glass against his. “To success.” She took a sip of the bubbly liquid and said, “It’s wonderful.”

He took a sip and observed her over the rim of his glass. “You look beautiful.”

She smiled with pleasure. “Thank you. So do you.”

“Thank you,” he said with a grin. She was normally so competent and sure of herself, but now her gaze flitted around, clearly indicating she was nervous. She finished the champagne quickly and he filled her glass again.

“Well,” she said, after another sip. “Better.” As she continued to glance here and there, it seemed to dawn on her that things were a little different. “Oh, you did something.”

“Yes.” He stood by the table and enjoyed watching her make her discoveries.

“Everything looks so nice. You have candles. Oh, and flowers. So many.” She wandered over to the fireplace mantle where the largest vase of roses had been placed. “They’re so pretty. Did you do all this for me?”

“You seemed to like the idea of a little romance.”

“I do.” Her eyes were shining and her mouth was curved in a smile he wanted to taste. “I really do.”

“I aim to please,” he said easily. “Let’s start over here.” He crossed the room to meet her halfway. Taking hold of her arm, he led her back to the table.

“Here, try some of this.” He took the cover off a silver bowl filled with chocolate mousse and dipped the spoon in. He added a small dollop of whipped cream and raised it to her lips. “Tell me what you think.”

“Oh. Oh.” Her eyes closed as she savored the taste. Her tongue lapped at a bit of chocolate on her lip. Aidan’s stomach muscles twisted in a dark coil of desire and he grew rock hard as he watched her expression turn to one of rapture. “It’s heaven.”

When she opened her eyes, he put the spoon down. “I’m sorry, Ellie, but there’s something we need to take care of right now.”

Five

“O
h,” she said, blinking as if she were coming awake after a long nap. “About what? Our custody agreement? Aidan, you don’t have to worry. I already took care of that. It’s been signed and sent back to the lawyers.”

“Good, but this has nothing to do with that. This is about…this.” He took one more step closer and covered her lips with his in a kiss so tender, so sensual, so much sweeter than any chocolate, he found himself in danger of losing it right there. He clamped on tight to his control because there was no way he was stopping now.

“Just had to get that out of the way,” he muttered, running his fingers along the side of her face, his desire to touch her more urgent than the need to breathe.

“Okay,” she whispered and swayed a little unsteadily. “Okay. Good. Practice. Like you said. Probably a good idea, really. Makes perfect sense.” She licked her lips and stared up at him.

That was enough to push Aidan into going for more. The taste of her lingered on his mouth, like a fine wine that made you thirsty for more.

He pulled her close for another kiss, then changed angles and used his tongue to urge her lips open. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him, her fresh scent surrounding him as her soft curves molded to his hardness. He kept his hold on her gentle while his tongue plunged and wrestled with hers in a sensuous dance that left him on a dangerous edge. He wanted to go deeper, taste more of her sweetness, more of her essence, more of everything.

“More,” he murmured, and moved his hand to graze the smooth arc of her breast. His mouth returned to hers, claiming her for his own with another mind-numbing kiss so hot it felt as if he were branding her. Or maybe it was the other way around.

“Yes,” she answered, holding on to his waist in an effort to press herself even closer to him. It was a possessive move that he enjoyed way too much. He wanted her even closer, but that wouldn’t happen as long as they were both wearing so many clothes.

Taking a step back from her, he grabbed the hem of her top and lifted it up and off in one smooth move. She reached out and did the same with his shirt, tossing it aside.

“Better,” she said greedily, and splayed her hands against his bare chest.

He laughed, but the sound emerging from his throat was raw with need. “Almost.” He untied the knot at her waist and her skirt slid down her legs to pool on the floor around her feet. He held her arm to steady her as she stepped out of her clothes and slipped off her flirty sandals, ending up in only a lacy pink bra and a tiny matching thong.

“Much better,” he managed to say.

As he encouraged her, she seemed to gain more confidence. Now she tentatively hooked her thumbs under the thin straps of her panties and then glanced up at him.

“Yes,” he said.

She pulled them down slowly, her gaze fixed on him all the while.

He hadn’t thought he could get any more rigid, but he was wrong. In a rush now, he grasped her petite rear with both hands and hoisted her up into his arms. Their mouths met in a frenzy of heat as he walked into the large master suite with her arms clinging to his shoulders.

He knelt on the end of the bed and laid her on the cool linen, then followed her down. With both hands, he brushed her hair back from her face and then ran his palms along her jaw, her throat, her shoulders. When he reached her breasts, he cupped their warm softness and rubbed her pink nipples with his thumbs, causing her to moan with pleasure.

“Beautiful,” he whispered and bent down to take her in his mouth, first one breast, then the other, licking, sucking and nibbling as Ellie writhed with delight. Her hands grabbed his shoulders and held him tightly as she moaned her approval.

Sensation soared through him like a heat-seeking missile. His body was hard and aching and he yearned to release himself within her heated depths, but knew it was more important and ultimately more fulfilling to bring her to pleasure first. Mainly because it brought him so much pleasure to touch her like this. Especially her breasts. He couldn’t get enough of them.

Truth be told, he’d been thinking about her for two long days and dreaming of this moment for two damn nights. Hell, longer really, if he was being honest. He’d spent most of his time in California dwelling on her. And that was before he’d seen her taking that erotic shower in her bikini.

And now he couldn’t get enough of her. And unless he’d missed his mark it was obvious that Ellie felt the same way. Okay, maybe her true motive was to get the baby she’d always wanted, but she was still enjoying herself.

He wasn’t ready to think about her need for a family of her own. Right here and right now was all that mattered. This was real, he thought, as he ran his tongue over her delectable nipples. Sex was real. Ellie’s lush body was real. Her staying on the island was real.

Aidan raised his head to look at her and saw her smiling at him. Something twitched in his chest, something warm and unfamiliar that was probably hazardous to his health. He would have to think about that later. Right now, the need to taste her again was overwhelming and he stretched up to meet her mouth with his in a sizzling kiss. As their tongues linked and tangled together, he slid his hand down the length of her body. Her skin was smooth and slightly damp from their exertions and he wanted to savor every inch of it.

He could feel her heart beating in time with his own, could feel her anticipation spike as he moved his hand across her thigh. As he touched her most sensitive skin, she moaned and pressed up against his hand, urging him to touch her everywhere. He strained to control his own needs, but he was on dangerous ground as he entered her warm core and heard her gasp.

“Please, Aidan, please,” she said, writhing with pleasure as he stroked her, stoking her heat again and again.

He glanced up at her. “Please what, baby?”

“I want you inside me now,” she cried. “Now.”

With a feral grin, he moved to his knees to comply with her demand. Spreading her legs, he entered her in one swift move, covering himself to the hilt.

She gasped and clutched his shoulders. “Oh, yes.”

“Oh, yeah,” he muttered gutturally in response, as he thrust once again to embed himself even more deeply within her tight, lush folds. After a moment, he began to move, slowly at first, deliberately, inexorably, the sweet friction building pressure as he pushed himself into her warmth, then out.

He kissed her again, sweeping in with his tongue to parlay with hers. The provocative movement mirrored their more primal rhythms, pushing him relentlessly to the edge each time, before he was able to reel himself back with what was left of his ragged control.

She gasped with joy, giving him the strength to rally, and with one last burst of power, he plunged again, and again, impaling her with more sensual force than he’d ever been capable of before. As she screamed his name, he thrust inside her one last time, then fell to earth and into her welcoming arms.

*

Outside, the tropical air was hushed and still. In Aidan’s room, Ellie could hear only the sound of their breathing, heavy and tattered, and the soft whirring of the ceiling fan above the bed. Despite her near exhaustion, Ellie was exhilarated. She wanted to burst into song, although most sexual etiquette books would probably frown on that.

She lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling fan, feeling dazed and confused in all the best ways. Who in a million years would’ve ever believed that she would wind up having incredible, mind-blowing sex with Aidan Sutherland? Not Ellie. Heck, not anyone who knew them. Yet here she was, damp, spent and completely enthralled by what they had just done together.

And before she went spiraling down into a dark place, she quickly told herself that
enthrallment
just meant that she’d had fun. That was all. It didn’t mean she would suddenly become obsessed with him, for goodness sake. This was business. Or rather, pre-business.

Tonight was merely a practice run for later when she would be ovulating, at which time she would hopefully get pregnant. But that didn’t mean that what they’d done tonight didn’t qualify as amazing and exciting. True, she didn’t have a lot of empirical data to compare it to, but she was willing to bet that their lovemaking could match up to anyone else’s on the wildest side of the wild scale.

As Aidan turned onto his side and wrapped his arms around her, her heart swelled. He had been so generous, so caring, so thoughtful. So sexy. So forceful and compelling.

She had expected sex with Aidan to be fun. She hadn’t expected it to be so deep, so intense, so shattering to her heart and soul. And didn’t that spell trouble? Probably so. But she figured as long as she kept the thought tucked in a corner of her mind that this was essentially a business arrangement, she knew she would be able to control her emotions.

“I can tell you’re thinking too much,” he murmured. “Let’s have none of that.”

“But it’s all good thoughts,” she assured him. “I feel good.”

“Yes, you do,” he said, rolling up onto his elbow and eyeing her as a panther would eye a doe.

Without a word, he dipped his head down and licked her breast, causing her to moan in response. He took her nipple into his mouth and tormented her with his lips, tongue and teeth.

“I have to have you again,” he said.

She ran her fingers through his hair, then latched on and pressed him to her breast. “Yes, please,” she said.

*

A while later, she struggled to lift her head off his chest. “Was that naughty sex?”

He chuckled. “Officially speaking, tonight we’re featuring romantic sex.”

“Romantic sex,” she murmured. “I like it. Although I really think I’ll like naughty sex, too.”

“I’m sure you will,” he said, and reached out to nip at her earlobe with his teeth. He licked the tender skin, then moved along her jawline, kissing and nibbling as he went. “Let’s be sure to work on that one later in the week.”

She shivered. “I’d like that.” Experimenting, she reached down and stroked his length, tentatively at first, then with confidence as he grew more rigid in her hand.

“I like that, too,” he muttered, gritting his teeth.

“You don’t mind?” she whispered.

“I’ll mind a lot more if you stop.”

“Good,” she said as she continued learning every inch of him. She wanted him in every way, wanted to experience more of him, all of him.

And what was wrong with that? she thought.
Want
wasn’t the same as
need,
right? Right. She would simply enjoy herself for as long as she was able to. It didn’t mean she was obsessed; it meant she was having fun.

Besides, enjoying herself, relaxing, was essential if she was trying to get pregnant. And pregnancy was the ultimate goal. Once she’d achieved that, she would deal with the myriad feelings and worries. For now, she would concentrate on enjoying sex with Aidan.

Stretching up to meet his gaze, she said, “I like the way you feel.”

“Feeling’s mutual,” he was barely able to utter. And then he didn’t speak at all.

*

An hour later, she stirred beside him.

“I should go,” she whispered.

“No,” he said, surprising them both.

It meant nothing, he reasoned, only that he wanted her in his bed for a while longer. Why not? Their connection was strictly physical. His heart was not engaged, only his libido. That made it okay for her to stay. At least, that’s what he told himself because it couldn’t be anything more than sex, right? The greatest sex of his life, for sure, but still, it was just sex.

And besides, it was just one night. Everything would go back to normal tomorrow.

“Stay,” he urged, ignoring the warmth spreading through his chest, dangerously close to his heart. He wrapped his arms around her and gathered her close so that her curvy backside was pressed against him temptingly. “A few more minutes won’t matter.”

*

The next day, Aidan was too busy to leave his office so he didn’t run into Ellie at all. He had hoped she would stop by at some point during the day, only because she was his right-hand man…person. They always had business to discuss.

But he didn’t buzz her and ask her to come by because, well, he didn’t want to seem too eager to see her. Even though, truth be told, he couldn’t wait to see her again.

“Great. It’s already getting weird,” he muttered, scowling at his coffee mug.

He pushed away from the desk and poured himself another cup of coffee. Yeah, it was getting weird, and it was all on him.

He’d originally suggested helping Ellie out so that her child would grow up knowing its father and so he wouldn’t have to run his business without her. And yeah, okay, there was that little issue of wanting Ellie in his bed more than just about anything. But now that he’d scratched that itch, so to speak, he should’ve been over this feeling of constant need for her. Instead, he found himself thinking about her too much, wanting her too much.

So yeah, the weirdness was all coming from him. Idiot.

“It’s just sex,” he said under his breath. And therein lay the problem. He hadn’t had a good, healthy bout of wild sex in a long time, so naturally, he was still thinking about it. The fact that he’d had that wild sex with
Ellie
wasn’t the issue. He would’ve felt this way about anyone.

Good. Problem solved. He wasn’t as big an idiot as he thought he was.

It was no big deal. They were both having a good time. Eventually, Ellie would get her baby. Aidan would achieve his goal of keeping her child from growing up without the support of one of his parents. And Ellie would stay on the island, which meant that the Sutherland Corporation would continue to operate at the same high level of efficiency that Aidan and Logan and their investors had come to expect.

And that meant that all of this wild sex was a win-win for everyone.

Yeah, that was his story and he was sticking to it.

Good. He’d worked it all out, so now he could get back to concentrating on business. He had a load of work to get through today and he was going to stay in the office all night if he had to in order to get it done. He didn’t have time to dwell on Ellie’s extremely hot body, her shapely thighs or her magnificent breasts, or the startling image of her clever hands wrapped around his—