His Best Man's Baby (8 page)

Color drained from the woman’s face. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Croft. You’re right. Please accept my apology.”

“Kate?”

Both Tae and the nurse turned in the direction of the authoritative voice. One of the doctors stood nearby, a man. Tae had never liked having a male doctor, so the times Dr. Chen wasn’t available, she’d chosen to see the nurse practitioner.

“May I have a word with you in private?” the doctor said.

If possible, Kate paled even more. Now Tae panicked. “It’s not a big deal, a small mistake. We’re fine.” Kate cast her a grateful glance, but the doctor ushered her away, and another nurse took her place. The royal treatment commenced as if she were someone of high importance. After the nurse finished taking her weight, she led Tae to a room, and every staff member on the way greeted her with smiles and other pleasantries. Not until she’d been left alone a few moments to change into a gown did she realize why. They treated her the way they did because she was in a position to sue.

Breaking a personal record, Dr. Chen appeared less than five minutes later. “How are we doing, Tae?”

“
We
are probably pregnant,” she said, unhappy. “But before that, I hope I didn’t get Kate into trouble. It really was no big deal.”

“Let’s concentrate on you.” With her usual perky attitude, she ran down the plan for the current visit. “We won’t discuss any visits in the future until we’re sure. Now, when was your last period?”

Tae dealt with all the questions, the giving of blood, and receiving a mountain of information once it had been confirmed she was indeed pregnant. She arranged for the next office visit, at her ten-week mark for a sonogram and then returned to the waiting room to meet Daniel.

He stood up and walked toward her, causing her heart to pound out of control. “Everything okay?” he asked, and she nodded, unable to speak. “How about lunch?”

She considered coming up with an excuse, but the truth was she wanted to be with him a little longer. “I’d love to.”

* * * *

By the time Tae returned home, it was after five. She had spent the entire day with Daniel. They had had lunch, and then at his suggestion, they had gone window shopping at Concord Mills mall. Both of them felt it was too early to begin buying baby items, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t peruse what was out there for babies. The more they conferred on colors and styles, clothing and furniture, the more she enjoyed herself with him. When he dropped her at her door, she couldn’t help admitting at least part of her feelings.

“I wanted to thank you for today,” she said, a tremor in her voice as she stared at the floor like a child.

“It was my pleasure.”

She looked up at him. “No, you don’t understand. I… didn’t know if I wanted kids. Not that I didn’t like them. It’s just that I was scared, and I’m still terrified, but you made me feel a little bit excited about the baby, and I’m grateful. So thanks.”

He took her hands in his, and she tried to pull away, but he held on. “Don’t pull away, Tae. I promised you I would be here for you, and I will. You don’t have to feel like you’re alone—whether it’s with emotional support or even financial, I’m going to be here.”

“Hold up, cowboy.” She managed to get free. “I can take care of my own child.”

“I know.”

She waggled a finger at him. “Get that straight.”

He chuckled. “It’s straight.”

“Why do I feel like you’ll still be offering me help?”

“Because I will.”

She rolled her eyes. “Good night, Daniel.”

He leaned forward without warning and kissed her cheek. A gush of sensation raced to her nether regions. “Good night,” he whispered, and he strode down the stairs toward the street like he hadn’t just ruined her panties with a chaste kiss. Tae ducked into her apartment, shut the door, and locked it, but no barrier could keep memories of the past from invading her mind and making her relive the pleasure of lying in Daniel’s arms.

Chapter Eight

Tae was twenty-four when she started dating Daniel. At twenty-eight, he was mature and confident, but friendly and attentive. They met in a bookstore where Tae had been buying smut, and Daniel had been buying something ridiculously boring like the political economy of the mass media. When she had rounded a corner and bumped into him, both their piles of books went flying, and he joined her on the floor to gather them. His smile and those eyes had taken her breath away from the start, but the fact that he’d see what she chose to read made her consider not for the first time of giving up the paperback stuff for books for the new thing she’d heard about—an e-reader, whatever that was.

She grabbed
Big Girls Do It Better
and dropped it on his stack of books. “I think this one’s yours.”

He looked down and read the cover, then back up at her. At his confused blink, Tae bit the inside of her cheek and fought not to crack a smile. After a moment, he grinned, and the sunshine came out in her world. “I don’t think so, but why would
you
read it?”

Now the tables were turned, and she struggled to defend her habit of devouring pieces that had little to do with her major in literature. “I…”

His hot gaze traveled from her face, to her breasts, on down to her wide hips and thighs. “You don’t match the woman on the cover, but then maybe you were curious?”

Was this his way of complimenting her? Or was he saying she wasn’t white like the woman on the cover, so why was she in his face? Before she could formulate an answer, he continued.

“You’re a very beautiful woman and a far cry from being described as ‘big.’”

Her heart almost leaped from her chest. “I think you missed my thick thighs and big booty, but thank you for the compliment.”

He helped her to her feet and gathered the rest of her books. Rather than hand them over, he offered to carry them to the register for her, and Tae accepted.

Before she knew it they were dating, and she was falling desperately in love. There had been one problem at the time—she was a virgin, and while she was no little thing like he claimed, Daniel was huge both in height and build—and in his pants. The night she invited him to her apartment with a mind toward having sex, she’d been nervous as hell.

Daniel wore slacks and a button-up shirt. His blond hair was combed to perfect order, and he looked good enough to eat. In fact, the whiff of his cologne made her mouth water. The man made things worse when he touched her arm in a gentle caress, his blue eyes filled with concern.

“What’s wrong, Tae? You look frightened.”

She’d clutched her hands together, swallowing the lump in her throat.
Damn it, I’m twenty-four. Get a grip, Tae. Just tell him the truth.
She’d opened her mouth, but confessing her lack of experience turned out to be impossible.

Daniel’s thumb caressed her bare arm. She’d worn a miniskirt and a matching blouse with spaghetti straps. The V neckline plunged low enough to tease with her ample cleavage but was still tasteful. While she dithered trying to find the courage to say something, his gaze dropped to her breasts and lingered. She’d been looking down and noticed the tent rise in his pants. This wasn’t the first time, but she didn’t blame him. Her panties had needed changing on too many occasions after he’d left them soaked with his kisses and his roaming hands.

“You know I love you, don’t you, honey?” he said.

She melted and raised her hands to his waist. Daniel drew her closer so she rested her head against his chest. “I know. I love you, too.”

He leaned back and lifted her chin. “We don’t have to do this. I can wait.”

She tried striking a sassy pose. “Please, I invited you, remember?”

“And you’re a virgin.”

Her world crumbled. “You knew?”

“Of course.”

Panic tightened her throat so she had to force words out. “Because of my kisses?”

His brows creased. “Your kisses bring me to my knees. No other woman has tasted as good as you. No, I know because of your fear and how many times we’ve been at this point and you’ve backed off with an excuse. If it was just that you wanted to be sure it wouldn’t be a one-night stand, I think you would have given in ages ago.”

She groaned. “I’m sorry, Daniel. I really do want you, but I don’t know why all this time I haven’t found the one I wanted to give my virginity to. Not until I met you. I don’t want to lose you.”

He grasped both her arms and gave her a small shake. “You are not going to let me make love to you because you’re scared to lose me! With that this plan is canceled. Go get your shoes. We’ll go bowling or something or to a movie.”

“But we were going to—”

He gazed at her breasts again and dropped his hands to his sides as if she’d burned him. When he turned his back, it hurt her, but she got it. That decision was what did it for her. Daniel was willing to suffer blue balls rather than take her for the wrong reasons.

“Hurry up,
please
.”

“Okay.” She smiled behind his back and spun away to head to her room. Once there, she began stripping out of her clothes. She tossed the tank on the floor and unbuttoned the skirt. In her bra and panties, she was about to call him, but changed her mind. If Daniel only saw her underwear, he might be able to resist. She needed to be naked. The panties hit the chair, followed by the bra. She bent in half trying not to hyperventilate, but blood rushed to her head instead.

“Tae, honey?” Daniel called.

She squeaked and darted across the room, farthest from the door. A glimpse of herself in the full-length mirror brought her to a stop, and she examined her body. Not too bad, thick thighs but not dimply. A big butt appealed to a lot of men. She liked her boobs. They hung just right, and her nipples puckered from being uncovered.

Tae climbed on the bed and struck a pose, turned on her side, a hand on her hip, and one leg bent. Maybe she should get some water and go to the bathroom.

“Tae!”

Her heart stopped. Daniel stood in the doorway staring at her. Boy did she hope he really loved her, because he’d confessed he hadn’t dated a black woman, and he was in for a surprise when he got a load of her dark pussy. She waited for him to speak, but he had frozen like a statue.

“Well?” she demanded. “Do you like me or not?”

He shook his head, and she thought she’d sink through the bed and down through the floor. He left the doorway and approached with an unsteady gait. “You’ve got to be sure, Tae, because you look so good, I can’t help myself. I have to have you. I don’t like you. I
love
you, and there is no way we’re bowling tonight!”

She rolled onto her back and tossed an arm over her eyes. The bed sank down as he climbed onto it. She gasped. Daniel’s fingers curled around one ankle, and he gave it a tug, spreading her legs. Her pussy opened to him. She dared to take a peek at his reaction. The man appeared mesmerized. He licked his lips and slid his hand up her leg to her thigh. A nudge of his knuckles widened her legs even more.

“Will the come taste the same?” he wondered aloud.

She panted. “I-I don’t know.”

“I have to find out.” He started to jerk at his shirt buttons but stopped himself and then began undoing each of them with trembling fingers. All the while, he didn’t take his eyes off her. She felt like a meal laid out just for him, and it turned her on big time. He placed his clothes on the chair where she’d tossed her underwear earlier. His clothes were laid out neatly, and she would have laughed at the difference between them, but nerves kept her silent.

Daniel returned to the bed and climbed between her legs. He paused every so often to kiss her skin and caress it. At her apex, he leaned down and breathed deep. A shudder shook her from head to toe.

His gaze met hers. “This is my first time too in a sense. We’ll learn each other. Tae, I don’t want you be afraid. I promise I won’t hurt you. I’ll take my time, and you tell me if there’s anything you don’t like. I’ll stop.”

The gentle assertion soothed her raw nerves, but they jangled up again in a different way when he lowered his mouth between her legs to lave her slit. She squirmed and moaned. He rested tender hands on her thighs, not holding her down but comforting her.

“Daniel.”

“Easy, baby. It’s okay. I’m going to take it slow.”

He used his thumbs to part her folds and teased the tip of her clit with his tongue. She cried out and moaned, unable to keep her hips from rising off the bed. A man may never have penetrated her, but she knew how to bring herself to orgasm. The pleasure from her own fingers did not compare to the bliss from Daniel’s hungry mouth. He sucked her clit into his mouth, and a powerful orgasm descended within seconds. She touched his shoulders, whether to push him back or draw him closer, she didn’t know. In the end, she closed her thighs, trapping him between them and arched her hips to ride his face. Daniel sucked and sucked, holding a rhythm that drove her wild. She whimpered his name. The orgasm took control. The second she let go, he replaced his lips with his thumb and massaged her clit while he licked her flowing juices.

The entire time Daniel feasted on her pussy, he made sure not to push his tongue too far past her lips. Still, he lapped up every drop of her come and then climbed up the bed to lie beside her. Tae curled into his arms, feeling his hard cock between them.

“I want to please you,” she said.

“Have you ever given a man head before?”

She considered saying yes and then doing her best, but she couldn’t lie to him. “No, I thought if I did that, it would lead to more.”

“Then we’ll save it for later. First, I’m going to make you fully mine.”

Her eyes widened. She pressed a hand to his bare chest, and tingles of awareness raced up and down her fingers to her arms. Desire kept her from telling him no, but fear balled the muscles in her belly to knots. She swallowed, trying to wet an arid throat. Funny all the wetness lay in her eyes as she tried not to cry.
What a scaredy cat. Just do it. You want him.

Daniel hovered over her with kind eyes. He raised her hand from his chest and kissed her fingers. “Do you want me to stop?”