She's Having the Boss's Baby (8 page)

“Stop that,” he berated himself aloud. Taking in a deep, bracing breath, he let it out slowly. “Now get back to work.”

*

Ellie re-read the custody agreement one more time. The lawyers had sent her a fully executed original and since she’d already signed it, she was satisfied with it. It was a done deal. But she still couldn’t quite believe Aidan had agreed to go through with it, so she’d decided to read the document again, just to make sure. And oddly enough, just reading the legalities of what Aidan had consented to do for her made Ellie feel even closer to him, somehow. Oh, they were definitely closer now that they were having sex, and that was wonderful. But this agreement made her feel even closer to him on a vital, life-giving level.

They had agreed on many of the essential points she had listed in her slide presentation and most of those items had been integrated into this legal document. But Aidan had fought back persuasively on a few of the others. He simply hadn’t been willing to relinquish all his claims to Ellie’s future baby.

He wanted to be listed as the father on the child’s birth certificate and Ellie was in complete agreement with that. A child should know who her father was, right? Even if that father wanted nothing to do with her.

Ellie rubbed her arms to ward off the chill that that thought brought. Even though her own father had cut off all ties with her and her sister, that didn’t mean that Ellie’s own child would ever experience that same level of hurt and confusion. No, her child would always know that she was completely loved and wanted by Ellie. They were a complete family, just the two of them. But now Aidan wanted to play a tiny part, too, and she had decided that that was fine. After all, once the baby was here, she didn’t expect him to be much more than a friendly visitor in their lives.

But Aidan had surprised her again by requesting a more liberal visitation arrangement than she had originally proposed. Of course, since her original idea was that there be no visitation at all, no connection between her child and Aidan or his family, she supposed she couldn’t blame him for asking for a little more leniency on that item.

Still, Ellie had argued with herself on that one. After all, some anonymous sperm donor wouldn’t be given those rights, would they? No, of course not. But since it was Aidan and since his family was so lovely, she couldn’t find it in her heart to fight him. Besides, they would all be living on Alleria so it would be pretty hard to avoid having her child run into its father from time to time. Better to be upfront about all of this from the get-go.

But then Aidan had insisted on supporting her and her child monetarily, too. Ellie had tried to turn him down, but he had persisted. She’d pointed out that it was odd for a man who had no interest in children to be so adamant about supporting this child. Aidan had brushed it off as being something any man would do, but Ellie knew he was wrong about that.

Finally, Aidan had included a clause that stated that he intended to rewrite his will to include the child, which, in the privacy of her office, had moved Ellie to tears. She had never expected that level of generosity and support, especially from a man who, let’s face it, had only offered to father her child to keep her on the island. That’s what she’d originally thought, anyway. Clearly, she was wrong about him in more ways than one.

*

The following morning, Ellie decided that this must be her week for signing personal legal documents. Soon after she arrived at her office, her assistant dropped a thick, padded envelope on top of her inbox. It was her copy of the Sutherland partnership agreement Aidan had promised her. How he had been able to have the lawyers write it up so quickly was a mystery to her, but she’d read it over carefully, called the lawyer to clarify a few issues, then signed it the next day.

Unable to hold in her excitement, she checked that her secretary wasn’t watching, then jumped in the air and clicked her heels with joy. She was now a partner in the Sutherland Corporation! She clutched the document to her heart and tried to hold back the happy tears trying to escape her eyes. It wouldn’t do to burst into waterworks in the office, but this was a moment worth savoring. After all, it seemed that so many of her dreams were coming true. A fabulous career advancement, a baby someday soon, and hot sex with her fantasy man.

This called for a celebration. She brushed her hair and added a touch of lip gloss to her lips, then walked down the hall to Aidan’s office.

“Are you busy?” she said when he opened the door.

“Always,” he said, but since he was smiling and holding the door open, she walked in.

“I wanted to thank you,” she said.

“For what?”

She threw her arms up in the air and whirled around. “It’s official, I’m a partner! Thank you so much, Aidan. I won’t let you down.”

He stood there grinning at her, so she hugged him before she could think too much about it.

“It’s probably not very businesslike, but I was sitting in my office staring at my signature on the partnership agreement, and realized I just had to share my happiness with someone. I thought of you.”

“I’m happy, too, Ellie. And so is Logan. We’re both thrilled to have you on board. And we know you won’t let us down. You could never do that. You’re our right-hand man.”

“Woman,” she amended.

“Person,” he said, and they both laughed. It was an old routine, but she loved it.

They stared at each other in amusement for a long moment. Ellie turned speculative as Aidan’s eyes turned a smoldering gray and narrowed in on her. It wasn’t the first time she’d felt like she was staring into the eyes of a sexy, too-tempting-for-words predator.

They stayed frozen in place for a few charged seconds, then both of them took one step toward the other and in an instant, his mouth was covering hers in a kiss so incendiary, it was a miracle she didn’t burst into flames.

He let her go, sucked in a deep breath, then ripped his jacket off and loosened his tie. As he grabbed at the buttons of his shirt, he dashed to the door, slammed it shut and locked it. “Take off your clothes.”

He didn’t have to ask her twice. Her shoes, gray linen slacks and pink panties were already strewn on the floor. She was halfway out of her blouse when he grabbed her and hefted her up into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and they kissed again.

“This is going to be fast and hot,” he warned her, his rugged body tight with coiled tension.

“Then what are you waiting for?”

He laughed, took a quick glance around and said, “Over there.” He rushed her to the wall behind his desk and pressed her back up against the smooth surface.

“Take me,” he muttered, holding her steady as she slid down his torso and took his hot, hard arousal inside her so deeply, she cried out.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked immediately.

“No. God, no,” she assured him, her eyelids fluttering from the blissful impact. “You just feel so good.”

He kissed her hungrily. “So do you.”

She began the slow glide up and down, moaning as each thrust touched her more deeply, more thoroughly than anything had ever touched her before.

With her back pressed against the wall, her breasts jutted out at him, teasing him to distraction. He made a quick adjustment in order for his mouth to reach out and feast on her, feeling a hot blast of satisfaction as her nipples tightened in response. He used his tongue to lick and suck them until he had her shuddering in his arms.

He took over for her, grabbing hold of her buttocks and holding her firmly as he plundered her moist core with hard, slow, thrusts, doubling the gratification for both of them. He moved faster, went deeper, harder, pushing into her with a savage fervor that nearly drove him to the brink of madness. His mind blanked out and pure sensation took over. When Ellie cried out his name, he buried himself inside her with one final thrust and tumbled with her into the sweet void.

*

Replete with pleasure, unable to move, they stood against the wall hanging on to each other like drunken sailors for several long minutes.

Aidan finally found the strength to carry Ellie across the office to the leather couch, where they sprawled beside each other in full naked splendor. Ellie didn’t have the energy to cover herself, but figured Aidan wouldn’t mind.

“Now that’s a first,” he said after a while, still trying to catch his breath.

“I take it that was naughty sex,” she whispered, amazed that she was able to speak, let alone string words together to make a full sentence.

“No, that was office sex,” he said, then considered his words for a moment. “Which is inherently naughty, I think.”

Ellie considered their nakedness and the sight of all their clothing spread across his office carpet. She was still struggling for breath, but now she knew it wasn’t just from the activity of moments before. Had a line been crossed here? Her heart was pumping faster and her throat was all tangled up. Too many emotions were zinging through her to allow her to think straight. She’d never felt anything like this before, but there was no way she could say any of that aloud.
Keep it light,
she cautioned herself. “This definitely qualifies as naughty.”

He rolled over and kissed her, then reached to fondle her breasts. “Did you like it?”

“I did,” she said, trembling from his touch. “I liked it very much.”

“Good. Me, too,” he said, easing her up and over until she was lying on top of him, bringing him back to life. “So now that we’ve had naughty office sex, I say we move on to
Congratulations, Partner
sex.”

Six

A
idan and Ellie had been sleeping together for a week when Logan and his new bride returned from their honeymoon.

The following day was Logan’s first day back at work. He was sitting at Aidan’s desk checking the computer while Aidan riffled through the file cabinet on the far wall, when Ellie walked in.

“Welcome back, Logan,” Ellie said cheerfully, and rounded the desk to give him a hug before dropping a document on the desk. “I hope you and Grace had a wonderful honeymoon.”

“It was fantastic.”

“I’m so happy for you,” she said, then turned to Aidan. “I’m making that New York phone call in thirty minutes.”

“Thank you.”

Both men watched her walk out of the office; then Aidan said, “I know we talked about offering Ellie the partnership when you got back, but something came up while you were gone. I made her the offer last week and she accepted.”

Logan frowned at Aidan. “Did you notice that Ellie knew it was me sitting here?”

“So?” Aidan said absently as he picked up the document Ellie had delivered.

Logan glanced down at his dark navy business suit, burgundy silk tie and white shirt, then stared across at his brother, who wore the same basic outfit. “I’m sitting at your desk, dressed exactly like you. Anyone in the company would think I
was
you. But Ellie knew it was me.”

Aidan gave him a sideways glance. “Ellie’s smart. She’s been able to tell us apart from day one. No big deal.”

Logan stared long and hard at Aidan. “Oh, hell. You’re having sex with her! Are you out of your mind?”

Aidan scowled and told himself he never should have let his brother walk into his office. “Where the hell did you get that idea?”

“We’re twins, remember?” Logan said. “I can read you like a book. A really
stupid
book with a lousy plotline.”

“Get serious.” Aidan’s gaze slid from his twin’s. He never had been able to hide a damn thing from Logan. But damned if he was going to stand here and be lectured. “There’s nothing going on. How in the hell did you come up with sex?”

“Easy,” Logan said as he pulled two small bottles of sparkling water from the small refrigerator in the credenza along the wall. He popped the tops, handed one to Aidan and walked back to the desk. “And I’m right, too, so stop pretending it’s not true.”

Aidan took a long gulp of water and tried to figure out why he’d been so anxious for Logan to get home.

His brother wasn’t finished ranting. “And what was that about offering Ellie the partnership? Don’t you remember we talked about doing it together when I got back from my trip? You couldn’t wait?”

“I told you, something came up,” Aidan muttered.

“Yeah, I know exactly what came up,” Logan said with an evil smirk.

“That’s not what I mean,” he said, and grabbed a bag of chips from the supplies cupboard to munch on.

A few minutes ago, Aidan had been pleased to see Logan at his office door. He and Grace had been back on the island since the day before, but Aidan hadn’t had a chance to talk to Logan until this morning. But right now, Aidan was kind of wishing his brother would take off for another week or two.

This was the problem with being a twin. He couldn’t get a damn thing past his brother.

Annoyed with the direction their conversation was heading, Aidan paced back and forth across the office floor. Finally he turned to his brother and explained things in a reasonable tone of voice. “Ellie was making plans to leave the island for a few weeks. I had to do something to stop her.”

“So you slept with her?” Logan shook his head. “That was your plan?”

“No. I mean, yes. But that’s not why.” He scraped his fingers across his scalp in frustration. “It’s a long story.”

Logan sat in one of the comfortable visitor’s chairs and stretched out his long legs. “I’ve got all day.”

Aidan huffed out a breath. “It’s complicated.”

“Dude, it wasn’t complicated until you slept with her.”

Irritation spiked. Yeah, he and Logan had always talked together about the women in their lives. But he didn’t like Logan talking about Ellie. “Just shut up about that, will you?”

“She’s an employee,” Logan pointed out. “You’re putting the company in a bad position. What if she sues you? Did you consider the possible consequences? You know she could—”

“Stop.” Aidan held up his hand. “I’ll ignore the fact that you slept with Grace when she was working here as a cocktail waitress.”

He was happy to see his brother frown as that realization sunk into his thick skull.

“She was a fake waitress,” Logan mumbled.

“Right. Look, Ellie’s a partner now, not an employee. But just in case you’re still worried, don’t be. She and I signed a contract before we did anything.”

Logan jumped up from his chair and gaped at his brother. “What did you say? You signed a contract for sex? What the hell is going on around here?”

“What the hell do you have to be mad about?” Aidan shouted. “This isn’t about you.”

“If it’s about Sutherland, then it’s about me, too, you idiot.”

“Fine.” Aidan scrubbed one hand across his face, took a swig of water and muttered, “The contract wasn’t about sex, all right? It’s for a baby.”

Logan opened his mouth to retort, but no words came out. He took a breath, blew it out and then blinked a few times as if his twin was just a hallucination he was trying to bring into focus. Funny. Aidan had never actually seen Logan speechless. He kind of liked it.

“Well, that shut you up anyway.” Aidan handed him the bag of potato chips and continued his pacing.

A full minute later, Logan found his voice again. “I think you’d better sit down and tell me the whole story.”

*

“That went well,” Aidan muttered at the end of the day. What with all the interruptions and conference calls and business meetings, his conversation with Logan had stretched out over the entire day, and Logan had just left the office to take Grace to dinner. He’d invited Aidan to join them, but Aidan had declined. He had too much to think about. So instead, he went and grabbed a cheeseburger and fries from the bar, then headed back to his place to watch a football game.

He took a bite of the perfectly prepared burger and savored the flavors, marveling that he still had an appetite after hashing it out with his brother. Aidan had patiently explained everything to Logan. He had defended himself valiantly, making it clear that desperate times called for heroic efforts and that’s why Aidan had finally decided to help Ellie get pregnant.

His brother hadn’t seen it quite the same way. Far from it, in fact. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Logan had basically laughed his fool ass off.

“Heroic efforts?” he’d said derisively. “Man, you’re killing me.”

“I mean it,” Aidan had insisted. “How else could I guarantee that she’d stay here and work for us? I fell on my sword, man. I made the ultimate sacrifice for the corporation.”

He frowned at that, because as swords went, Ellie was a pretty damn good one. And it wasn’t as if he’d had to suffer to keep their most valued employee at the resort.

Logan snorted, not an attractive sound. “You
sacrificed
yourself by having sex with Ellie? How the hell is that a sacrifice? She’s gorgeous! You like her.”

“Wha— Of course I like her,” he sputtered. “A lot. She’s a good friend. She wants to have a baby and I want that baby to know its father. I wasn’t going to let her go off to some sperm bank and then raise a kid all on her own.”

Logan chuckled. “Oh man, you’ve got it bad. Hell, you’ve been half in love with her ever since she started working here.”

Aidan’s eyes narrowed on his brother. “What did you just say?”

“Oh, just admit it,” Logan said, ignoring Aidan’s threatening glare. “Remember when you introduced her to that idiot Blake, then got completely pissed off when they started dating? You’re so transparent, it’s ridiculous. So now you’re finally sleeping with her. It’s not such a stretch to predict that you’ll fall in love with her. Especially if you have a child together.”

Aidan had to shake his head a few times to make sure his ears were really hearing those words. “Okay, you just went off the deep end, bro.”

“Say whatever you want in your own defense,” Logan drawled. “But I’m telling you, you did all this because you love her.”

Ridiculous.

Seriously, it was sad to see how fast Logan’s brain had turned to sludge after his wedding.

“Oh, man. Oh, no. Dude, you’re pathetic,” Aidan had said, hanging his head in sorrow. “Barely one day back from your honeymoon and you’re already deluded into thinking the whole world’s in love. Birdies singing in the trees, rainbows dancing in the sky, unicorns frolicking in the jungle. Snap out of it, man. You’re embarrassing both of us.”

Logan held up both hands. “I’m just telling it like I see it.”

“I’d get my vision checked if I were you.”

Logan had laughed uproariously and shortly after that, he’d taken off to meet Grace.

It was a new low in brotherly accusations, Aidan thought as he took another bite of his fully loaded cheeseburger. He still couldn’t believe his own brother had charged him with being in love with Ellie. It was worse than pitiable. It was a sad, sad cliché. Now that Logan had gone and gotten married, he wanted everyone else to be in love. Well, good luck with that.

Aidan shook his head again, feeling nothing but sorry for Logan. He felt sorry for Grace, too, because his brother was clearly in need of psychiatric care.

On the other hand, he mused, Logan was right about one thing. Ellie was gorgeous. Of course, Logan had no idea just how gorgeous since he wasn’t the one who’d seen her in that bikini. A good thing, too, because Aidan would have to kill him if he had.

That had nothing to do with love, by the way, he assured himself. That was just pure male defensive action. No man wanted other guys checking out the woman he was… Aidan frowned. The woman he was currently having sex with. Right. That’s all it was.

The image of Ellie in her dripping wet bikini halted his thought process for a few minutes before he managed to get his mind back to the subject at hand. Logan and his wacko thinking.

Yes, his brother was right when he said that Aidan
liked
Ellie. Why wouldn’t he? They had worked together closely for four years now, and Ellie traveled with Aidan any time they went to meet with investors. The two of them agreed on almost everything and had a great time together whenever they traveled together. Negotiations were always more fun when Ellie was there with him. Aidan loved watching her come up with all sorts of obscure facts and figures in an instant to impress the investors and their accountants.

Okay, Aidan didn’t actually mean that he
loved
watching her do those tricks with numbers. He just meant that he
liked
it. He was
impressed
and
entertained
by her. That’s all. He didn’t mean
love
, as in
I love you.
He just meant…

“Oh hell, enough already,” he muttered, and stuffed a French fry into his mouth. “Chill out. Jeez.”

This was all Logan’s fault. His brother had wigged out over the whole
love
issue and now Aidan was second-guessing every last word in his head.

Funny how Logan was the big “love expert” these days, considering that both of them had once felt the same way about that useless emotion. Part of their cynicism had come from the complete lack of love their mother had shown them and their father. But their scorn had grown with their life on the surfing circuit, where every woman they’d met had seemed more than willing to pledge her eternal love just to get close to the celebrated twin brothers. Love was a joke.

Hell, his brother had been even more scornful about love than Aidan, considering that the one time Logan had actually convinced himself he was in love, he’d gone and married a woman who had cheated on him to her dying day. She’d put on a good show, but she hadn’t known the meaning of love, never mind commitment and faithfulness.

Of course, once Grace had come into Logan’s life, he’d changed his mind about all of it. Grace was the real thing, and Aidan couldn’t blame his brother for falling in love with her. But did that mean that Aidan had to follow in lockstep? Why would he bother to fall in love with one woman when he could have his choice of so many? It was a no-brainer.

Lately, of course, the only woman he was interested in was Ellie. They were having a good time together and would continue to do so as long as it lasted. Didn’t mean he was in love, despite his brother’s deranged insistence.

He never should’ve said anything to Logan. He had a feeling he was going to regret that lapse in judgment for a long time.

“Hell, I
love
this burger,” Aidan exclaimed scornfully. Then he popped the last juicy bite into his mouth. “There. See? That’s true love for you.”

*

It was early in the morning two days later when Ellie walked to the office and came upon Grace digging in the hard sand around the base of a coco palm tree. The research scientist was dressed for gardening and wore a straw hat with a wide brim to protect her from the strong rays of the sun.

Ellie had become friends with Grace through Serena and Dee, a waitress who worked in the bar. Ellie called out a greeting and Grace waved, then jumped up to give her a hug.

“I haven’t seen you in ages,” Grace said. “Not since we got back from our honeymoon.”

“I don’t have to ask if you had a good time,” Ellie said. “I can tell just by looking at you.”

“It was heavenly,” Grace admitted. “But I’ll tell you all about it when we girls get together this weekend.”

“Can’t wait to hear all the details,” Ellie said, then glanced around at the trees. “Are you out here hunting for more spores?”

Everyone knew that Grace had come to the island originally to collect the rare Allerian spores for her research. That’s when she’d met Logan and they’d fallen in love.

“Yes, this area of the grove is riddled with the little darlings,” Grace said, and glanced up at the sky. “Morning’s the best time to find them, before the sun gets too hot. I’ve done all I can do today.”