A Baby Affair (Parent Portal 2)

“I’m afraid you’re going to get hurt again,” Angie said. “And I know that you can’t stop being you, or needing what you need, and that if you don’t reach for what you want, you will get hurt.”

“Don’t you ever yearn for things anymore, Angie?”

More silence.

“I’m never going to turn my back on you again. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“And you believe it?”

“Most of the time.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too. Good night.”

Angie hung up before Amelia could ask her younger sister to tell her what she yearned for and try to help her get it.

She was left with one other choice. To care. Be aware. Be present. And let the rest go.

But the subsequent long night showed her that the choice was easier thought than done.

* * *

Craig didn’t change his mind. Granted, his job consumed all of his thought processes through most of the next day. But he wasn’t having any trouble showing up at Amelia’s building at a quarter to six on Monday night with a healthy dinner he’d purchased at the grocery store.

They’d never seen each other on a Monday before.

He’d almost put condoms in the bag, too, until he’d realized he wouldn’t need them. He knew he was clean, and with her recent medical tests Amelia had just had done and shown him, he knew she was, too. And it wasn’t like pregnancy was an issue. He did print out his recent medical results to give to her, just in case.

Condom-free sex. He’d never had it.

He’d never had sex with a pregnant woman before, either. But with his baby inside her...that part seemed kind of natural. And the rest of it—having sex when he knew there was no chance of building a relationship—he’d done it before. But not for many years. Not since before Tricia.

Amelia had given his name to the security guard—a different one from the previous time he’d visited her—and an elevator door opened the second he pushed the button. It took him up to her floor, the foyer of which was well lit. Someon

e had put a potted silk tree in the corner by the elevator. Not quite a backyard full of the real thing, but a nice touch.

Feeling a little empty-handed with just his bag of dinner, he knocked. Flowers, some kind of little gift, would have been more his style, to mark the occasion, the first time having sex, but this wasn’t a date. Not in a traditional sense. It was more an...appointment.

He’d left on the dark pants he’d worn to work, changed his shirt and tie for an off-white pullover. He was sure she’d have on her leggings and oversized T-shirt. Other than the first time they’d met, that was all he’d ever seen her in. It was all very practical.

He knocked a second time. With a tad more force. And got hard the moment she opened the door.

If it had not been for those gold-green eyes, he hardly recognized her. Her hair was down, waving past her shoulders, over breasts that were perfectly emphasized in a black-and-white dress stopped at the top of her thighs. The fabric had to be at least partially spandex, the way it hugged every curve of her body. Every curve. Including that baby bump.

Even it was a turn-on—that proof that his seed was growing inside her.

And she was wearing makeup.

“Wow.” He didn’t mean to speak aloud, but didn’t stop himself in time.

Her grin made him glad he hadn’t. “Thank you,” she said, looking him in the eye. There was nothing shy or hesitant about her and he handed her the bag of food, then before she could dispose of it, took her in his arms, pulled her up against him and started kissing her like he was going to take her to bed right then. Full-on, tongue-engaged, body-pressing kisses.

He started to lose his thoughts when she pressed her body just as hard against his, her tongue engaging as eagerly. His hands couldn’t stay still, running up and down her back, over her waist, learning the feel of her, finding that butt and holding on as he moved his crotch against her.

Her hand found his on her butt, covering it, holding him there, and then her fingers curled around his. A splash of cold dimmed his inferno as her body left his and she led him across the floor, around a corner, down a hall wider than his kitchen and through double French doors into a suite that felt luxurious, but all he really noticed was the queen-size bed.