Beginning with Forever (50 page)

“I hear make-up sex is the best
kind of sex,” I kid him breathlessly.

“
Well then I guess we’ll just be using the bedroom only.” He buries his wicked smile into the crook of my neck.

I
caress his face between my hands and lock into his sultry hazel eyes. “I will agree to marriage on one condition, it has to be after the birth of our baby. I want to give you enough time to decide.”

“You already know what
my heart wants. Time isn’t going to change my decision,” he confidently confirms.

“
The next challenge for you is to convince my mother. She’s the derivative of stubborn.” My mother has no clue about our relationship; let alone a baby and marriage. I know she won’t be ready for any of this, but I can’t hide my pregnancy from her for too much longer. I’ll be showing soon. “I’m pretty sure my mom will not welcome our baby news with the same excitement as your parents. I’m forewarning you. She might attempt to knock you out first and then be more inclined to listen afterwards. Where do you think I get my feistiness from?” I look at him with a clever smirk.

“I’ve had lots of practice with a particular feisty and very challenging
young woman. I think I’ll be able to handle your sweet mother.” He smiles playfully at me.

“Okay, but
don’t say I didn’t warn you.” I return his cunning response with the roll of my amused eyes. My mother’s hardened outer shell is even more difficult to crack than mine. No man has been successful besides for my father. Carson’s ceaseless charm might be exhausted before he can convince her.

O
nce again, I’m racking up frequent flyer miles. I’m safely belted in and staring out the window as we taxi down the runway with Carson calmly holding onto my right hand. The lingering memory from last night’s endless passion is clearly present in my mind as well as my tender body and lips. As soon as we entered the house, he ripped our clothes off in record time. I was completely naked in his arms by the time we reached the bedroom. We spent the entire time in bed just as he said we would and took only one dinner break. He made love to me until I surrendered to exhaustion. I don’t doubt that his stamina could’ve continued until this morning.

His
sweet kiss on the back of my hand interrupts my blissful reverie. “How are you feeling?” he asks with his concerning green eyes, addressing my fear of height. The cabin pressure is increasing. This means we’re climbing in altitude.

“
I’m fine. I have you here with me,” I assure him.

“Let me
know if you need to lie down. I was selfish last night. I should’ve let you sleep instead of keeping you up almost all night. Your body makes me greedy. I want nothing else but you whenever you’re with me.” He leans into my lips and gently kisses them.

“I m
ay have to accept your offer after a while, but will you join me?”

“I don’t think you’ll
get any rest if I join you,” he perks up.

I’m using my
allotted two personal days for the year to accompany Carson on this trip. The Dean has made it clear that he will not tolerate any more trouble from me. I’ve been abiding by his rules ever since he scared me shitless that day in his office. I’ve never been so intimidated in all my life, minus the first time I talked to Carson at the hospital. I’m uneasy about this trip back to Boston. The last time I met with Kat, she wasn’t fond of me, and now, I’m breaking baby news to her. What if she doesn’t accept it with open arms like Carson thinks she will? But why would she deny her son’s baby? I’m stressing myself out by overthinking. This can’t be good for my little Peanut. Maybe a little rest for my body and mind will do me some good.

____________________

“Wake up Beautiful. Captain Franco wants us in our seats, securely belted. We’ll be landing in Boston in fifteen minutes.” I rub my drowsy eyes to see Carson cozily dressed in a heavy navy wool sweater. He helps me slip on his light jacket. “We didn’t pack for cold weather for you. This will have to do until we get back to our place.” There he goes again with that ‘our’ word. I don’t consider anything that belongs to him, mine. I need to correct him before he says it in front of Kat and gives her a heart attack.

“Carson, we need t
o set something straight here. Your wealth and assets are not mine. Please don’t say ‘our’ in regards to your things.” He appears offended, maybe even hurt.

“Lil
y, wealth is of no value to me if I can’t share it with you and our baby. I know you love me unconditionally whether I’m rich or not. Money should never be an issue for us. This will be the only discussion we’ll have about it, okay?” He stares sternly into my eyes for submission. I nod my head to please him, but I still don’t agree with it entirely or at all.

The jet
lands safely under the commendable flying skills of Captain Franco. I glance out the window and see delicate snowflakes whimsically floating around. I didn’t think I would ever miss the snow, but it’s actually welcoming. Owen is standing by a black BMW SUV, exactly like the one Carson left for me. I didn’t want to sound ungrateful, but it’s much too large of a vehicle for me to comfortably drive around the island. Carson taps my shoulder lightly, “Angel, are you ready to go?” He offers me his hand and lifts me up to him. “My parents will be meeting us for lunch at our place. I thought it’ll make you feel more at ease, and there’ll be no surprise guest this time.” He smiles guiltily.

“What
are we going to make for them to eat, your infamous grilled cheese sandwiches? I’ve never divulged this information to you before, but after that first bite of your delicious sandwich, I knew you were the one for me,” I tease him.

He wraps his arms around my
waist and gently embraces me. “Lily, are you telling me you fell for my mad cooking skills and not my mad love making skills?” He chuckles and playfully shakes his head. “Let’s get going, so I can convince you that my latter skill is far superior.”

Owen
considerately greets us at the bottom of the steps with a down coat in his left arm for me. “Good morning, Mr. Bradley and Miss Ly. Let me help you with this coat.” He holds it up to allow me to slide my arms through the sleeves and then lifts it over my shoulders. The warmth feels wonderful.

“Good morning
, Owen. Thank you for this coat. It’s very thoughtful of you.” He politely nods his head and smiles. I’ll never get over how much he reminds me of Dwayne Johnson. Just once, I want to ask him to impersonate The Rock and yell out his famous line. Maybe one of these days when Carson isn’t around and Owen’s professional guards are down, I’ll be brave enough to ask him. It might loosen him up and give us both a few chuckles.

“
Owen, thanks for thinking of Miss Ly. Is everything under control at the office?” He nods his head, but gives Carson the
I have something to tell you in private
eyes. Carson’s spirited demeanor quickly becomes guarded. We quickly enter the backseat together. Owen sits in the front with the driver. Carson has an alarming expression on his face. I know it’s none of my business, but I wish they would just discuss it freely in front of me and get it over with. “Carson, what’s going on? Your mind is a million miles away from me ever since we stepped into this vehicle.”

“I’m just pondering a
bout what to order for lunch.” He attempts to disguise his real concerns, but I’m not falling for it.

“Oh, is that all?” I
reply sarcastically, so much for not having any secrets between us. I decide to refrain from asking any more questions because it’ll only upset me more if he fails to answer them truthfully. I sit completely still and quiet all the way to his penthouse.

The driver dro
ps us off in front of the Zen. Carson hastily steps out and cautiously assists me like I’m nine months pregnant. Is he seriously going to be this overprotective for the next seven months? I’m not sure if I can handle being smothered. He holds onto my hand and shields the snow from my eyes with his newspaper. The doorman greets us while propping the door open for our entrance. I briefly wave hello and part with a smile. Carson hurriedly paces through the lobby, almost dragging my arm to urge me to keep up with him. Will I ever get use to his fickle mood? I ask myself for the n
th
time. I’m not sure if he’s excited or upset. He presses the up button impatiently three times, knowing that it won’t hasten the elevator any. What’s making him so antsy? Thank goodness the doors finally open. He enters first and then pulls me into his arms and depresses the penthouse floor button. I see a middle aged man casually dressed in khakis and a heavy pullover fleece racing to our elevator with a grocery bag in his arms. I swiftly break away from Carson’s embrace to intercept the doors before they close all the way, and the man jumps in with us.

“Thank
s for holding the doors,” he says with a grateful smile.

“No problem
,” I grin. Carson gently pulls me back against his body and doesn’t verbally interact with either one of us. He stands aloofly while the man makes small talk to pass the shared awkward confined space. Carson’s jealousy is evident through his demeanor.

“I’m Andrew.
My partner, Stewart, and I moved into this building a few months ago.” I feel Carson’s grip loosen around my waist and a vague smirk appears across his face as I stare at his reflection off the shiny metal doors. Carson can rest assured that Andrew will keep his distance from me. I bite down on my lower lip to refrain from laughing. Andrew has a clean-cut appearance with wavy blond hair, grayish blue eyes and a confident smile. He flaunts a well-groomed goatee and sideburns on his defined face. He stands slightly shorter than Carson.

“I
’m Lillian and this is Carson. Welcome to the Zen.” Carson reaches his hand out and welcomes him, too.

“Maybe we c
an meet up for dinner one of these weekends. We’re still trying to get acclimated to this part of town and make new friends. We’re on the fourteenth floor, second unit to the left of the elevators.”

“Sure, sounds like a lot of fun,
” I respond. It’ll be nice to have some new friends when I eventually make this place my permanent residence. The doors open to his floor, and he prances out with his groceries. I wave good-bye to my first new Boston friend. “Hope to see you guys around.” He waves back and the doors close.

“You wouldn’t mind
if Andrew and I hung out occasionally, would you?” I mumble under my breath, trying not to laugh.

“Not at all, y
ou may have as many boyfriends like Andrew as you want,” he answers lightheartedly.

We arrive on his floor with h
is moodiness nearly dissolved. He opens the door to his penthouse and like a gentleman, he gestures for me to enter first. The door is closed behind us, and he takes my hand again. I survey the place, imagining my life here with him. How will I adjust to this kind of elaborate lifestyle? It’s excessively over the top and unrealistic for me. This place is much too expansive even if we fill it with several more kids.

“Come with me.
I have something to show you.” He enthusiastically leads me down the same hallway as his bedroom. Instead of entering his room, we stop in front of an adjacent one. “Close your eyes for me.” His mood is lighter yet and cheerier. I do as he requests. He steers me into the room. “Now open your eyes.” I see a beautiful solid mahogany crib and a matching upholstered rocking chair and ottoman.

“Car
son, I don’t know what to say. How did you manage all of this so quickly? You just found out yesterday.”

“All I w
ant to know is do you like it? If you don’t, I can have them sent back and then you can choose something else that appeals to you.” He searches eagerly for my approval.

I turn
around and hug him tightly. “I love you. Of course I like it,” I excitedly tell him.

“We’ll
visually break our baby news to my parents rather than verbally share it. It might be easier this way. I can already see my mother crying happy tears, standing here in this room.” He caresses my abdomen with his hand. “Welcome to your room, Peanut.” I’m more anxious than ever for my baby bump to grow bigger as I see the excitement in Carson’s eyes.

“I hope you’re right about
Kat welcoming me and our baby. Do you have a backup plan if she doesn’t?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Lil. This is her grandbaby.
Let’s not talk about this anymore; stress isn’t good for your pregnancy. Would you like to freshen up while I order lunch?”

“
Yes, I’d love a hot shower.” Maybe it’ll warm me up since I’m freezing cold.

“I’ll make it quick and jo
in you.” He gives me a naughty grin as he walks off.

Showers with Carson are never
quick, but always pleasurable. And as if that wasn’t enough, he carries me over to his bed and has his way with me again. I’m completely out of breath, but sated with my fill of Carson. The doorbell sounds off and I panic, pulling the sheet over my chest. We’re both naked and not ready for company. Carson checks his security screen and sees his mom and dad. We’re like two high school kids shamefully caught in the act by his parents. Carson casually slips out of bed and wraps his hard lean muscular body with a plush white robe. “They’re here early. I’ll go let them in while you get dressed.” He gives me a frisky smirk.