Strollers & Stilettos: A Sexy Contemporary Romance (In Stilettos Book 4) (10 page)

She would never get used to this euphoric feeling. Her skin hummed, and her heart thundered. Alec ratcheted up the tension when he nipped her lower lip with his teeth. His mere touch could turn her body into melted butter without even trying.

He palmed her breast with a moan and another rotation of his hips, and Jaya called out his name on a breath. He freed the front clasp with practiced ease and released her breasts into his waiting palms. Gently, he tested the weight, and she arched into his hands.

“Alec.”

He tore his lips from hers to kiss her jaw and nuzzle her neck. “God, baby, you smell so good. I want you so bad.”

The hard length of him nudged her, and she widened her legs to make room for him as she dragged him even closer.

He chuckled. “Patience—”

Jaya slid her hands into Alec’s hair then tugged hard before finishing his sentence. “Is not one of my virtues.”

He planted a hot kiss on her neck. “You’re sure about that, baby? Because I want to take my time with you. I want to tease you until you can’t remember your name. I want to take my time making you scream.”

She wasn’t in the mood to be teased. She wanted to hold him to her breast and not stop until they were both sweaty and heaving and panting.

Fire coursing through her blood, she reached for his belt, and he didn’t stop her. Instead, he focused intently on her breast, testing the weight, then lightly pinching the peak, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger.

Jaya wrapped her hand around his thick erection.

He stilled and cursed, his breathing ragged against her neck. “Damn.”

She smirked, stroking him up and down. “How about I make love to you before the baby wakes up?”

“Good plan,” he whispered.

Chapter Ten

Alec tried to focus as Beckett gave him the rundown on the build.

“So far, we’re on target with construction. There are a few minor issues with materials being held up in customs.”

“Adele and her damned Italian tile,” Alec muttered.

Beckett chuckled. “Yeah, well. The project manager assured me it was the best and she was working on getting it out. I was told today, so I’ll call and confirm after our meeting.”

“Where are we on staff?”

Beckett handed him another folder. “So far, I’ve got three different employment agencies on it. We’ll be fully staffed in time for the opening in the summer.”

Alec studied his friend closely. Was this what Adele meant by he had to release the reins a little? He’d been able to stay here with Jaya and get more done by sending Beckett than going himself. Maybe this wasn’t the end of the world. If this was what it meant to delegate, he could get behind it. And not with just anyone obviously, but Beckett had already shown he could get the job done.

Sure, they’d had a rocky start. When they’d first met, Beckett had been more than a little protective of Jaya and his own position in their little group, but he and Alec had worked things out eventually, and now, Alec found himself trusting Beckett with more and more responsibility. Maybe it was time to give his friend a raise.

Beckett studied him. “Is there a reason you’re staring at me like that, Alec? Because I have to tell you, I already have a fiancé, and I’m honestly not on the market.”

“Jackass,” Alec muttered under his breath.

“Well, you’re looking at me like you’re appraising me. I can only assume my stellar looks have blinded you temporarily.”

“Tell me, Beck, how do you hold your head up to walk around? I mean it’s gotten so swelled.”

Beckett chuckled but leaned in, his expression sobering. “There’s, uh, something I wanted to ask you.”

Alec nodded. Maybe a little ahead of schedule, but hey, he could work in a position change for Beckett as well as a sizable raise for all the hard work he was doing. “I already know where you’re going, and we’re on the same page. It’s time I made it all official; you’ve been working your ass off doing the job of three people.”

Beckett frowned. “Wait, what are you talking about?”

Alec blinked. “A new title and a raise for you. Why? What are you talking about?”

Beckett’s brows rose in surprise. “Wow! That will certainly help pay for the wedding. Thanks, man.”

“No need to thank me. You deserve it.”

Beckett shifted in his seat. “Thanks just the same. I know you’ve shown a lot of trust in me lately, and it’s appreciated.”

“You want a hug now, or what?” Alec spread his arms.

Beckett’s laugh was booming and loud. “I’ll pass, but how about I ask you to be my groomsman? Braedon is my best man, but you and Caleb have been like brothers to me. It’s like you guys have become my family so…” His voice trailed.

Alec clutched a hand to his heart. “Aww hell, now you’re gonna make me misty.”

His friend merely shook his head. “So is that a yes?”

Alec shook his head. “Nope. It’s a hell yes.”

* * *

An hour later, Caleb strolled into Alec’s office with a spring in his step. “This is the part where you call me a genius,” he said with a smirk.

Alec rolled his eyes. “Nah. Not today. I’m not in the mood to inflate your ego.”

Caleb dropped a file on his desk. “Even though I found your mystery woman with nothing but a photograph and a baby to go on? I’m telling you, that’s genius status.”

Alec’s eyes went wide. “Holy hell, you found her?”

His friend shrugged. “Please see earlier comment about genius status.”

Turning his full attention to Caleb, Alec asked. “Who is she?”

“The alias I found her under is Melanie Jacobs. She’s a former employee with an axe to grind. She was fired from the Westhorpe Boston two years ago, just before you returned. She tried to bring a discrimination lawsuit shortly following her release, but it was thrown out of court.”

Alec frowned as he scooped up the file. “Discrimination? For what?”

“She claims gender discrimination, but no other female employee would back her claim. She was hotel front staff. She asked for a raise, and her manager refused. It seems she wasn’t the most conscientious employee. She insisted and didn’t get what she wanted. She stopped coming to work, and eventually, her absence got her sacked. Then she sued.”

“Wow. She’s a piece of work.”

“That, my friend, is the truth. For a while, she worked a couple of other hotel jobs, but her work history ends right around when she would have delivered Alexa. After that, I can’t track her.” Caleb slid a picture in front of him. “Do you recognize her?”

Alec shook his head. “No. Should I?”

“Maybe you crossed paths with her casually and you don’t even know it.”

“No.” Alec stared down at her employee photo. She was pretty with her blond hair and her wide green eyes. In some ways she resembled Max, but only in the chin. “No. I honestly don’t know her. I’ve never seen her before.”

Caleb nodded. “It was worth a try. I talked to a few of her neighbors; they say she kept mostly to herself. Didn’t talk to too many people. They, for instance, never saw a boyfriend hanging around, not in the last two to three years anyway.”

Alec blew out a breath. “Someone somewhere has to know this woman. I mean, she lives like a ghost. What’s she hiding from?”

“It might not be that she’s hiding but rather that she’s just not that interesting.”

“Caleb, man, she had a baby, and no one seems to know her? What about the people at work?”

“We did a little better there. One of the managers said she was adopted when she was little and was looking for her birth parents. So my guys are combing her background now.”

From the corner of his eye, Alec noticed movement in the temporary nursery they’d set up for Alexa. She was awake. Since coming to work, he’d been tempted at least a half dozen times to just go play with her. Even as he acknowledged the desire, he also acknowledged that eventually they would stop playing house and have to find a permanent solution for the baby.
You can’t just keep her
.

But now he understood Jaya, and in many ways, Adele. It had only been a week, and he felt bonded to the kid. Enough to be saddened when they found her undeserving mother and sorted everything out with the authorities.

Caleb snapped his fingers. “Yo, Earth to Alec, are you listening?”

Alec brought his focus back to Caleb. “Yeah, sorry. Alexa’s awake, so I was just checking on her.”

Caleb raised an eyebrow. “This is the same baby you were seemingly allergic to a couple of days ago?”

Heat suffused Alec’s skin. He deserved that jibe. It didn’t mean it didn’t embarrass him. “Yeah, the same one.”

Caleb grinned. “She is a pretty cute kid. Can’t help but like her.”

“I guess you can say she grew on me.”

Caleb was silent for a moment, and then he asked. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but what happens if the DNA comes back positive?”

Alec’s brows snapped down even as his gut clenched. “If she is mine, I’ll do what I should have done when she as born—take care of her.”

“I know you will. But have you and Jaya talked about it? Does she know it’s a possibility?”

Alec’s shoulders stiffened. “It’s not a possibility.”

“I hate to break it to you, Alec, but a night you can’t remember with a woman who you can’t remember equals a possibility. Don’t you think you should warn Jaya before she gets the shock of a lifetime?”

Alec felt ill. “I don’t want to surprise her, but I have brought it up. She insists she believes in me.”

“This is going to get ugly, you know that, right?”

“I know. No matter what happens when we find this girl, she’s already got it out for me. But I will do whatever it takes to protect Jaya and Alexa. Even if I have to protect her from her own mother.”

Caleb scratched at his jaw. “I don’t know, Alec, something seems off about this whole thing.”

“You mean besides somebody suggesting that I’m somehow father material?”

Caleb chuckled. “I don’t know. I saw you with the baby. You eventually figured it out, didn’t you?”

“A baby is one thing, but picture
me
raising a kid and giving guidance. Yes of course, kid, do the Paris/Dakar race. Never mind that people have died trying.”

Caleb leaned back and chuckled. “Well, that’s what you have Jaya and Adele for—so you won’t say stupid shit. Besides, most guys I know who are great dads didn’t know shit about being fathers until they had to be. You’ll figure it out when you and Jaya are ready.”

Alec hoped Caleb was right. One step at a time though. First things first—find the mystery woman and discover why she was fucking with his life.

Chapter Eleven

“Okay, Alexa, Auntie Jaya doesn’t feel too well, so I need you to cooperate with me.”

Jaya hefted Alexa out of her crib, and the baby cooed at her. A tiny hand reached for her hair immediately and clamped in at the roots.

Jaya winced. “See, that’s what I’m talking about. I know you like Auntie Jaya’s hair, but this makes an owie.” She gave Alexa an exaggerated sad face, and Alexa giggled.

“That went well.” She kissed the baby on her forehead. “Okay, fine, hold on as you like. We’re going to get you a bottle then hopefully put you down for a nap so I can work on the Westhorpe Gala. That’s where Uncle Alec asked me to marry him.”

Alexa sputtered, making a motorboat sound.

“I see you’re not impressed. Well, I’ll have you know it was a pretty fun event. There were chocolate fountains and everything. Can you say chocolate?”

The baby scrunched her face and enthusiastically said, “Da.”

“Yeah, you know what? We’re going to work on your vocabulary.” As Jaya warmed the bottle, she shifted Alexa on her hip. Why the hell was she so damn tired? Was she getting a cold? She didn’t feel nasally, and should she really be holding the baby if she was getting sick? Though logic dictated that since she was looking after Alexa, it couldn’t really be avoided.

She tested the bottle on her wrist just as the doorbell rang. “Who could that be? Want to see?”

Alexa looked far more interested in the bottle. “Come with me, kid, we’ll eat on the go.” She shifted Alexa in her arms and gave her the bottle as she walked.

The baby’s eyes fluttered closed as she sucked contentedly.

Jaya opened the door with a relieved sigh. “Micha, Ricca, thank God you’re here.”

Ricca spoke first and scooped Alexa right out of Jaya’s arms. “Alec called in the cavalry. He said you weren’t feeling so hot and you were working from home. So I figured you’d have your hands full. I persuaded Micha to come and help.”

Micha eyed Ricca and the baby dubiously as they made their way into the expansive living room. “More like she guilted me into coming. Then she threatened to post the picture of me changing Alexa’s diaper on Facebook.”

Jaya whistled. “Ricca, stooping to blackmail? Now that’s just cruel.”

Ricca merely rolled her eyes as she stroked Alexa’s cheek. “Whatever. I only have a couple hours, but Micha has the whole day off. And as much as she denies it, she likes the little rug rat.”