ROMANCE: BAD BOY ROMANCE: Basketball Daddy (BWWM Alpha Male Billionaire Pregnancy Romance) (African American Unexpected Pregnant Contemporary Romance) (114 page)

Teresa had a hard time bending down. She placed a hand on her bulging belly and lowered her body as low as she could. Her fingers grazed the top of the book and she managed to snatch it up in a quick, deft move. She smiled. She was getting quite good at this.

“What are you doing? Why didn’t you just ask me to pick it up?” She heard Rose’s voice behind her and turned to look at the woman hobbling up to her. Rose’s joints had gotten better, but she was still not very steady on her feet.

“My book fell out of my hands. It wasn’t such a big deal.” Teresa smiled at Rose, who was shaking her head indulgently.

“I don’t know how you can read while pacing around the place.” Rose admonished her, and then came to sit down on the garden chair, overlooking the flourishing apple orchard. Teresa took a deep breath in. It smelt of apples everywhere. She instinctively stroked her belly and smiled.

“Any day now, dear. Any day.” Rose was smiling too.

They heard the sound of Derek’s bike and looked towards the front of the house. In a few seconds, he came into view. Whisky had run ahead to greet him and he came striding towards them. Teresa was still not used to seeing him. How delicious he looked in the sun, with his broad shoulders, the hat that he was going to tip at her and those hands he used to grab her. She still had goosebumps every time he looked at her. She wondered what their child would look like. Would it have light skin like its father, or Teresa’s dark complexion? Blonde waves or black tight curls? She couldn’t stop imagining it. She couldn’t wait to meet the baby.

“Hi there.” Derek was smiling as he walked up to her and pulled her into his arms, gently now that the baby in her belly separated them.

“Hi,” she managed to say, before he muffled her voice with his lips. His hands crawled to her back, bunching the fabric of her dress behind her. He was kissing her like he’d seen her for the first time, like he wanted to push her onto the grass and climb on top of her. He always kissed her like that.

“Hello, Derek. I’m here too,” Rose interrupted them. She was still embarrassed around them when they kissed, although she’d seen them together for the past eight months behaving like they’d just met.

Teresa chuckled as Derek drew himself away.

“Hello, Rose. Enjoying the sun?” he asked, and threw Teresa a wink.

“You should reprimand this young lady. She keeps bending down and picking up things. It’s not good for her.” Rose was a tattle tale and Teresa rolled her eyes. Derek threw her another look and they both laughed. As long as they had Rose around, they could be sure that they were overly looked after.

“So, I have something to show you. Will you come with me?” Derek turned to Teresa again, grabbing her hand and beginning to walk away.

Teresa bit down on her lip and turned to Rose, who shrugged her shoulders in mock surprise.

“What is it?” she asked Derek, but he was silently leading her to the back of the house and then right in through the back porch. Whisky followed them at his heels.

“What kind of a surprise is it?” she asked him again, unable to deal with the excitement. Usually, he surprised her with flowers from the garden or a sudden kiss when she wasn’t looking. This was bigger than that. He led her through the different rooms, through the hallway and to the corner of the house on the ground floor. He stopped in front of the room under the stairs.

“So I’ve been working on this for a few weeks. And I finally found the last part that completes it.” Derek looked excited. She still had no idea what it was. He had already built a nursery for the baby upstairs beside their bedroom.

He went over behind her and placed his hands on her eyes and then, with his feet, pushed the door open.

Teresa took a few steps into the room. She had barely been inside this room before. Derek used it to store his farming gear before.

“Ready? There,” he said, slowly dragging his hands away from her face. Teresa opened her eyes.

The room was freshly painted, a light pistachio color that immediately lifted her mood. White, wooden cabinets had been fitted to the walls and neatly arranged with books. A large, oak table had been placed near the back French windows along with a leather armchair. On the side of the table, a brand new computer had been fitted as well. The floor was thickly carpeted, and a small cradle was placed in the center of the room.

Teresa whipped around to face him.

“What…?” She had no words.

“It’s yours. It’s your office. And the cradle is for the baby when you want to spend your day here.” Derek walked around the edge of the room, running his hands over the walls. Teresa was too dumbfounded to say anything. This was hers?

“I know how much you miss New York. I know how much you miss your job. I fixed an internet connection for the house so you can work from here, for as long as you need to. Stay connected.” Derek stood with his back to the windows now, crossing his arms. Teresa wanted to squeal and jump with joy. Instead, she smiled widely and stroked her belly.

“Thank you, Derek. This means a lot to me.” She didn’t know how else to confess her feelings to him.

“And once you are ready, and you think you need to go back, to New York I mean, I won’t stop you,” he said. His voice had dropped a little. He was looking at her face, then at her belly, and then her face again.

“I would like my child to grow up here, in Klaire.” Teresa walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. She couldn’t imagine a life without him. She didn’t remember what her life was without him, without living in this house, without Whisky or Florence or Rose. Without waiting for him to come home to her every day from the farms, or the orchards, or a farmer’s market in the nearest city. 

“Isn’t this life too simple for you, Teresa?” he asked hoarsely. It seemed like he was afraid of the answer.

“It isn’t too simple for you. And you’ve grown up in luxury,” she said, the smile still on her face.

“But I moved here out of choice. I wouldn’t want you to feel like you’re forced to live here in a small town in Texas. Cooped up.” He breathed out deeply and looked down at her. He was doing all this to please her. He wanted to hold on to her tightly. She wanted to tell him that he didn’t have to, that she wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’m happy here now, Derek. I have you, I’ll have our baby and now I’ll have my work,” she said, looking around the room, still in shock that he had secretly managed to do all this.

“Good. Because I wanted to ask-” and Derek fell down on one knee in front of her, as she watched in surprise. Her hands flew to her mouth.

“Will you be my wife?” he asked, looking up at her. She had never felt happier. She had never wanted something more than she wanted to be his wife

“Yes. I will,” she said, and watched as he pulled out a small, green, velvet box. He popped it open to show her the ring he had picked out for her. It had a large diamond the size and shape of an almond. He slipped it onto her ring finger as she continued to gasp for air.

“Derek!” she squealed, and threw her arms around his neck and held on tightly. He was stroking her back. They were kissing again, fervently. His hands were on her back and now feeling their way down to grab her butt.

“Teresa. I love you,” he whispered hoarsely, and she shut her eyes. He was pushing her towards the desk now, and she could feel herself growing wet. She could anticipate it, him inside her. He turned her around, just like he had the first time, and gently pressed down on her lower back. Lately, he was more cautious, because of the baby. Teresa bent forward, her hands firmly on the table. Derek Mason had just asked her to marry him and in the same breath was going to make love to her.

“I love you, Derek,” she whispered, for herself rather than for him to hear. His hands reached over from behind her and grabbed her breasts. They were swollen and bigger than usual. He squeezed them and, without warning, thrust himself inside her. She hadn’t heard him undress and wasn’t expecting it as he pushed himself inside her and pulled out.

They were both moaning. Derek grunted with every push and she screamed every time he pulled out. She could feel the flesh of her exposed butt pressing against his bare thighs, his hands gripping her breasts as he pushed and pushed again.

He was throbbing and big inside her and she could feel him moving. Derek groaned and increased the speed of his rhythm. Teresa could feel her body shake, in an effort to fulfill his need to devour her.

They were both going to orgasm at the same time. He reached down with one of his hands to rub her as he thrust inside her repeatedly. The sensation was too much to bear for her, and she came quickly and loudly, all over his hands, with him still inside her. He was shaking, too. With one hand he continued to stroke her, while his other clutched her shoulder as he emptied himself inside her.

Several seconds later, she heard a clear panting as the fog of her orgasm began to clear. He was still inside her but was now slumping on her back.

“That is the best marriage proposal I could have ever hoped for,” Teresa said with a laugh, and Derek laughed too, still panting. She felt him smoothly slide out of her, and she turned around to face him.

“Well, we’ve christened your office now, so it’s officially yours.” Derek was laughing as he zipped up his jeans. Teresa straightened her dress and smiled.

“What now?” she asked him, and Derek sighed.

“Time to call my parents. They wouldn’t be expecting this call from me,” Derek said, and Teresa felt a rush of excitement.

“Does this mean they’ll want to come to Klaire?” she asked.

“Sure. Especially if we have the wedding here. Don’t think Steve the Mayor will be too thrilled about the whole idea.” Derek laughed as he grabbed her by the waist again. Teresa bit down on her lip. Her life had never been this exciting in New York. They were both smiling at each other, staring into each other's eyes.

“What are you thinking about, cowboy?” she asked, stroking his clean-shaven chin with the back of her forefinger. She still couldn’t get enough of him, couldn’t stop wanting to touch him.

“Just wondering what our baby is going to look like. I hope it gets your hair, at least,” Derek said, and Teresa smiled.

Her father had been right to send her here to Klaire. It had changed her life. How had he known? He couldn’t have planned all of this. Whatever it was, she could be sure that he was passing on his blessings to her now.

*****

THE END

Bonus Book 24: Charmed by the Wolf Dragon

By:
Eliza Moon

Description

A curvy girl discovering magic PLUS a sexy guy who is all she wants PLUS a secret that could kill them both!

Kiara is a young, curvy witch who thinks she’s got it made. Great best friend, magical abilities and a beautiful, curvy body.

But when Spencer discovers her secret and asks her to cast a spell on him in exchange for his silence, she has no idea that doing so will change her life forever.

Spencer turns out to be her dream guy—a muscular bad boy who isn’t all bad. And the best part? He’s a wizard, too. They often do magic together, but Spencer doesn’t know everything about her, and if he did, it would kill him—literally.

Kiara must make sure no one ever discovers her deepest secret, or it could mean the death of someone she loves.

How will Kiara keep this secret from Spencer, who she tells everything to? What lengths will she go to in order to protect those she loves? Kiara will have to decide which is more important—love, or magic?

Kiara walked into the forest and past the small clearing where she usually did her magic. Today she was on a mission to find a certain plant to complete her latest potion. She’d heard that a patch of twayblade orchids grew deep in the forest to the north of the stream. She took out her cell phone to check her progress. She was getting close, but her signal was also getting low.

When she reached the coordinates the online forum had given her, she put her phone away and started searching. The plant usually grew about a foot high and was a tall cluster of smaller blooms, so she kept her gaze low to the ground and moved leaves and other ground debris aside to look. Kiara had to find this plant. It would be used to make a potion that made sure others believed her lies. It was critical to help her keep her secret, and her current supply was getting low.

She brushed a clump of leaves out of the way and her hand banged into something hard. Some sort of stone statue lay there on the ground. She brushed the rest of the dirt and leaves from it and stood it up. The statue was a dragon, three feet high, made of gray and white stone. It was intricately carved with extreme attention to detail. Each scale stuck out to a point, each claw looked sharp enough to cut her. It was incredibly lifelike. Kiara observed it, appreciating the fine quality of the carving. As she wiped the blue gem eye free of mud, the eyelid fell in a quick blink.

She stepped back from the statue and watched. Surely it hadn’t just blinked. As she stood there, watching, it blinked again, this time with both eyes. She took from her pocket the stone she used to find magic artifacts and held it in her palm. She spoke the words of a spell to the stone to reveal magic, and the dragon took on a bluish cast of light.

It was alive and full of magic. She’d read about living statues but had never seen one before. All she could recall was that they could be freed and brought back to life, but that sometimes creatures were made into statues for a reason.

After thinking for some time, she decided she would free the dragon. It was little, after all; maybe just a baby or a child. She took out her wand, pointed it at the statue and cast the spell.

The magic worked slowly. The stone cracked and chipped away, little pieces falling to the ground like rain. She realized that the statue wasn’t just coming back to life, it was also growing. So much for thinking this was a baby. The stone continued to fall away and the dragon continued to expand until he stood before her in all of his ten-foot-tall glory. His scales shone a deep emerald green, his eyes a lively blue, and the spikes on his tail were long and white.

She stepped back, a little fearful of his imposing size.

“You freed me,” the dragon said. The gratitude was obvious in his tone.

Kiara nodded slowly. “And why exactly were you made into stone?”

“It’s a long story that ends in heartache.”

“Can you give me the abbreviated version? I just want to make sure you aren’t some evil dragon that was turned into a statue because you were, I don’t know, killing whole towns of people or something.”

The dragon shook his head slowly. “I am of a peaceful clan. I was cast into stone by another dragon who sought my true love.” He paused then and touched his heart. “It seems too much time has passed. She is gone from this world.” He hung his head and a large, glittering tear fell from his eye.

“I’m sorry.”

“I trust she had a good, long life. What is the year?”

“2016.”

The dragon nodded slowly. “Three hundred years I’ve been sleeping in that stone. I thank you for freeing me. I can give you a great reward, but it comes with great responsibility.”

Kiara’s heart leaped in excitement. Dragons were rumored to be powerful magical beings, capable of great and mighty spells. If you believed they existed. “What’s the reward and what’s the responsibility?”

“I can give you the power to shift into a dragon at will. You will gain the power of flight, and can then access the dragon haven where all our great riches are kept. Your magic will increase in strength. But this great power must be kept hidden at all costs.” The dragon pulled a ring from his finger. “You will wear this at all times. If you tell the secret that you are a dragon shifter, or if someone should discover your secret, that person will become ill and die as the curse is activated. If you take the ring off, you will erase the secret from their mind and die in their place.”

Kiara didn’t take long to consider. She’d been keeping the fact that she was a witch a secret for years. Even her best friend, Erica, didn’t know she was a witch, and aside from the other witches she knew in her senior class at Eastside High, no one in school knew they even existed. It wouldn’t be hard to keep this part of the secret as well, and she definitely wanted the power.

“I accept the responsibility,” she said.

The dragon handed her the ring. It was a band of woven gold vines with a green emerald at the center. She slipped it onto her pointer finger and the ring shrank to fit her perfectly.

The dragon raised his large paw, set it on her head and began casting spells. The air swirled around her and she saw flashes of green and blue and red. She’d thought there would be pain in the transformation, but she hardly felt any sensation at all aside from bursts of heat and cold along her skin. Then everything settled and the air became still again.

Kiara looked down and saw a deep purple belly, round and curving toward the ground. She twisted, seeing her long tail laid out behind her, tipped in pointy black spikes. Her hands and feet were now paws with soft pads and small claws. All of her skin, once smooth and creamy, was now small diamonds of purple layered on top of each other. She reached out and stretched, stepping from side to side to feel her new body move. She felt massive and strong, as if she could knock over a tree with only a swipe or squish an animal with one stomp.

This would take some getting used to, and she had a sudden urgent need to make sure she could get her old body back. She closed her eyes and willed herself back to human, just to make sure that she could. It was much easier to change than she expected. All she did was picture the form she wanted to be in, and then her body shifted to that form. It was painless and quick—more like jumping into the water after picturing being wet than the bone-crunching images of a Hollywood werewolf transition.

***

When she saw that her clothing was all still there, she was relieved. Those movies always had wolves shifting back and ending up naked somewhere in the woods. That would be miserable. But that was Hollywood and this was real magic. Magic could do things like keeping your clothing for you while you became a dragon, apparently.

“Powerful magic,” she said. She made a small bow to the dragon. “Thank you for this gift.”

“Use it wisely.”

“I will. Will you tell me your name?”

The dragon considered. According to legend, if he told her his name she would be able to summon him. Their names alone were powerful.

After a long while he said, “I am Sindri.”

“Thank you.” She bowed again, overwhelmed by all he’d given her.

“Would you like me to show you the way to the haven?”

“Yes! Please.” She closed her eyes, letting her body change back into a dragon. Already the transition was becoming effortless. She felt like she’d done it a hundred times. Sindri took to the air and Kiara watched for a moment. Then she extended her long wings, raised them and pushed down hard. Her body lifted several feet off the ground. She broke into a grin and raised and pushed down her wings again, flying into the air for the first time.

The two dragons soared gracefully side by side, and she loved this new feeling of the air pushing against her as she glided through it. She would have a hard time staying on the ground.

“The magic that exists naturally in the atmosphere keeps us hidden above the tree line,” Sindri explained. “But on the ground, we are visible to humans who should come across our paths. You would be wise to quickly learn a cloaking spell.”

Kiara tucked away this information. It was the first thing she’d work on when she got back. In fact she had been working on such a spell, but as a human witch she was limited. Her dragon magic, however, would likely allow her to cast the spell with ease.

They flew over expanses of blue water until, up ahead, she saw a small, very green island. It appeared to be shimmering, which meant it was hidden from plain sight. Likely only those with dragon magic could see it. She followed Sindri to the ground and landed softly beside him in a patch of plush grass.

“You’re a natural flyer,” he said. “You will learn the dragon life quickly.”

“Thank you.” She lowered her dragon head a few inches to reverence him, gleeful that she was taking to this form so readily.

The island was thick with vegetation. She recognized many plants as rare magical plants. Here, they grew in abundance. There was a large patch of the twayblade orchids she’d been searching for back in her forest.

He led her along several paths through the trees, showing her all of the magical elements available there. It was something like a magical super store. She could fly here, get everything she needed in one place, and fly back.

They stopped before a large cave, the opening carved into a small mountain of stone.

“This is our treasure collection.” He stepped inside and she followed. Inside was a large, damp cavern in roughly an oval shape, with a pathway circling its perimeter. They followed it deeper into the cave until they reached another opening, this one much smaller than the cave’s main entrance.

Another dragon was there, keeping guard over the entrance. He stepped aside when they came near and nodded at them. Kiara followed Sindri into a room that glittered with gold and colorful gems. Piles of treasure sat high in all corners. Gold coins, jewelry, crowns. Like something straight out of a movie.

“Like all things on this island, as a dragon you are free to take what you need. But know this: the island knows your heart. If you become greedy or use the resources of this land for ill purposes, the island will shut off its magic to you.” He picked up a thick gold necklace. “To live in the human world, you need human currency.” He handed her the necklace. “This should buy you plenty.”

She took the necklace and slipped it onto her arm like a bracelet. It shrunk to fit her as the ring had back in the clearing near her house. Good, she thought. She wouldn’t have to worry about losing it on the flight back.

“May I gather some plants as well before we fly back?” she asked.

“Take what you need.”

They returned to the place where they’d landed, and she carefully bit the stems of several twayblade orchids.

“Return home now, young dragon. You will need time to rest after such a journey until you are more experienced.”

She held the orchids in her paw. “Thank you, Sindri, for everything.”

“Use your gift wisely.” He nodded at her, then leaped into the sky and flew off.

Kiara put the plants carefully into her mouth and took off, too. She’d have to get some sort of pouch for her trips here to carry things back. She returned to her forest, guided by the scent, which was easy to pick up with her heightened sense of smell. This was why animals were so good at finding things and could always get home, she thought. The smell was like a map leading her home. She landed in the place where she’d found Sindri, and changed back to human form.

Again, she was relieved to find all her clothes intact. Not like those werewolf books she read where their clothing burst every time they changed. Life was much better when you had magic to take care of that sort of thing. She ran her hands down her body, feeling her thick waist and thighs. Every inch of her curvy body was still there, though it felt like maybe she’d grown even more curves. Her muscles seemed to be stronger and bigger, making her arms and thighs even thicker and fuller than usual. Her breasts, too, seemed to have become more voluptuous with her increased chest muscles. She smiled at that. Now she had even more of herself to love.

Kiara started the long walk home, and as Sindri had said she was feeling rather tired. But she had the plants she needed and a gold necklace which would fetch a nice sum when she sold it. She put the necklace on, letting it fall between her full breasts. Her step gained a bounce as she wound through the trees and brush, and she felt happier than she could ever remember feeling in her life.